296 Owner reviews?

Im not sure if I ever mentioned the reason- because I don’t know why- nor Im not sure if Harris mentioned a specific reason, just that there are times the gear shift is slightly delayed, yet system power continues to flow. Just an interesting observation.

The reality is in order to make this car work, it strikes me that it’s an EV platform first- because everything has to work in e only mode, then, with ICE added on top. This probably doesn’t sound too appealing to many people here, but I’ll tell you in the execution, it’s so well done, you’d have no idea this is the case. I let my friend who stopped loving Ferraris since the 360 drive the car and he got out gobsmacked and then said- the e stuff was off right? Nope, it was on the whole time. It just feels natural. He thought the car had “go-kart” handling….

I agree wholeheartedly with 09Scuderias comments. Great review.

I would urge anyone who is considering one of these cars to give a lot of consideration to the AF pack- how critical is the lifter to you vs the rest. I can understand the reasons for the lifter, but the ride is still comfortable- for a sports car- the other side is you get the best car control Ive ever experienced- and thats for a car that is not a lightweight. The other other side is the Pista has a more compliant ride - yet both “breathe” with the road equally well.. It’s quite an achievement. And it really is the next generation of suspension.

Anyway if you are considering anything like a 488 or F8, I would easily recommend the 296 to you. Pista is a tougher call, it depends on how hard you want to push a car, but if you will push it a bit on the road, I prefer the lighter weight of the Pista. For me, I think the AF suspension and Cup2R tires are a must- though that means foul weather driving is out of the question.


Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat

 

Great info. Seriously, good stuff. The only thing I'll push back on the AF pack recommendation. My 296 GTB did not have AF pack, but I spent two days and many hours of lap times on Fiorano with 296s with AF pack. And i can honestly say the difference between the two is negligible. Now, I think if you are doing a LOT of track time, it may be worth it. But the non-AF suspension is amazing by itself, and having both bumpy road mode and the lifter makes it a better overall proposition. For me, it was an easy decision. Even after driving cars with AF on the track, I still ordered my 296 GTS without AF. For a street car, I think the non-AF suspension is perfect. Different strokes!

 

Always a pleasure to read your views, dear sir!
The 430 felt plenty quick to me, till I felt how the 599 accelerated. My point is that people who reject newer-faster cars don't know what they are missing.

 

Two things make the AF option a no go--the front and rear paint scheme and the lack of control in the rain with the Cup 2s. Ugly and impractical both kill it for me. JMHO

 

You dont need to get the paint scheme with AF.

I spent a day driving a non AF and boy am I glad I got the AF. Just speaking for myself.

 

Agree on the Cup 2s. Terrible street tires. My non-AF package SF90 came with them and I swapped them out immediately for PS4S, a much better all around tire.

 

Yes the world moves on. You can still get a 430 or 599 or 355 or A 365 GTB/4. But if Ferrari kept making the same car over and over, they probably wouldn't be around to make the same car over and over. Someone else has that covered already

 

My Pista has Cup2 (non R) and they are truly excellent and I wouldnt want to drive the car any other way- but it does mean rain driving has to be approached with more discretion and very cold temps are out of the question.

 

That’s exactly why they aren’t good street tires. PS4S is excellent in the rain, warms up much quicker in cold temps, are quiet, smoother, don’t throw rocks all over the underside of your car, last longer, and provide 90% of the dry traction as Cup 2s in warm weather, which is more capability then you can use on the street.​

 

I was musing to a friend at lunch there's that adaptation to speed sensation. You drive a 5-second 0-60 car in college and you're like "WHOOA!"... jump to now and a lot of guys who ordered the 296 have more recent cars that are 600+hp and 3.4s or less. Many 3 and under. So while on the one hand you can say "You don't need a 2.7 second 0-60 to feel excitement," on the other hand if you're coming from a car that is already close to that, then it's going to lack something.

That said, I do understand going backwards in speed terms in exchange for 1) more raw / direct feel or 2) manual transmission - like a Scud, Stradale, F40, older 911 etc. - but you don't hear of many guys choosing to go from F12/812 back to the 599 or 575F1.

Rambling side thought: comparing to other nostalgic items like video games and computers, it's interesting to compare how the market values certain tech advancements more than others. Guys will get emulators for Commodore 64 games, but very few enthusiasts will sit through actually using 5 1/4" floppies and loading on a real C64 system anymore. But Nintendo and Sega cartridges are still desired as an experience to shove the cartridge in (and blow it off first, that's the magic ).

To me, that's like how the market is going to view early Ferrari F1 transmission, Porsche Tiptronic Lambo E-gear and Aston paddle cars. They may have been cutting edge tech at the time, but they are not good enough in operation to overcome the downsides of the experience.

 

Very interesting perspective. I drove both non AF and AF at Fiorano and given my driving skills felt the differences were marginal. Moreover I’m not sure it is even possible to drive a car without lift in central London given the state of the roads, all the half baked traffic calming measures and underground car parks. I certainly wouldn’t be able to get out of mine without the lift. AF was therefore not an option and to be honest for what I use the car not really a consideration.

 

Apologies for going a little OT- and I thought as you did for a little while- but I discovered, in extended sporty driving, anything over about 35 minutes at a stint, I found the 4S would begin to overheat on my Pista. So, I did try them. I went back to Cup2 for ~2.5 seasons and then winter performance for the other times- which is not that often since I dont want to get the car exposed to all the garbage on the road, but sometimes the roads are clear, yet its cold outside, so the winter performance are a good option then. Also Cup2 have a much stiffer sidewall and give you more feel and the whole experience is more "positive"- anyway, thats how I see it.

I should mention that discussing this with a friend who races Porsches- (sshhhh) he mentioned hes seen similar things on some of the Porsche GT cars- those who fit the 4S found out they overheated- its something to do with the suspension calibration. My guess is it's similar on the Pista. I mean Ferrari does deliver them as OEM for a reason.

My strong conviction for someone who is going to use the 296 in a more sporting manner is to get the AF and the tires. I think it needs it. However, sometimes practical considerations need to be addressed.

PS, I stopped getting into video games after PacMan and Space Invaders. I thought they got too complex to be fun- with exceptions of the mid 1990s Madden and NHL games....

 

PS4S overheated on the street in 35 minutes? Having used them on many cars over the years, and taking into account the fact that Ferrari installs PS4S on their cars from the factory (my 296 GTB came with them), I simply don’t believe that’s a true statement.

But we can agree to disagree. It’s perfectly okay.

 

They began to overheat in that time and yes, I was surprised too as the car became pretty squirmy. To be fair, it was fairly gradual and I was on longer drives, but I realized it was around 35 minutes- keeping in mind the ambient temps were into the 90s (F). This was over several days on a trip through Sicily. The 296 comes with them on a different suspension with different settings. Just something to file away.

 

Again, I don't believe that statement for second. I've been using these tires for years on multiple cars, as have many others, and they are considered the best performance street tires for a reason. But as I stated earlier, we don't have to agree.

 

Agreed. Ive been driving Michelin tires since XWX was on new cars. However I am giving you the truth. It something to keep in mind if you buy an AF car and put on 4S tires or something similar / buy a standard car and fit Cup tires- you have to remember the engineers are much more informed than we are.

 

They put Cup/track tires on AF package 296s because they assume the owners are going to track them. They put street tires on non-AF packaged 296s, because they assume the owners will primarily be using them on the street. However, they use Cup tires on the SF90, AF package or not. The fact that they do tells me that the AF suspension geometry and/or spring rates is irrelevant to the tire choice for these cars. You can use better track tires, which are worse everywhere else, or better street tires, which are better everywhere else (except for the track). I'm still able to get a 2.3 0-60 on the street in my SF-90 on PS4S with heavy 22" and 21" wheels (which are definitely not optimal for performance), and the car is better everywhere else (rain, cold weather, noise, longevity, etc.). If I were to track it, I'd stick the stock wheels and Cup tires back on.

Regardless, there is simply nothing that will convince me that your PS4S became too hot on your Pista after 35 minutes of street driving. I know better than that.

 

Disagree. A track Ferrari is a challenge or XX car. No one is seriously tracking a street car. Im not sure about the cup tires on the SF90, I didnt think they did that, however, Im pretty sure with the multimatic suspension you can only get it with the cup2 tires- the R is optional.

You can believe what you want, I can only tell you what happened. I was surprised as well!

 

They put the cup tires on the AF pack so that it turns faster laptimes. This is for all the armchair racers who like to compare published lap times. Regardless of which tires you get delivered on the car, if you actually drive the thing you will get to choose whatever tires you want in short order.

 

You can put cup 2 Rs on a non AF pack 296. And I also don’t believe PS4S are overheating on the street.

side note, I changed from PS4S to continental extremecontact 2 on my 765 bc I didn’t love the newer PS4S and the traction is much better. I’ll probably be changing to regular cup 2s on my 296 once I wear down the PS4S.

 

Yes, this. I’m surprised there’s even a person willing to take a counter argument.

 

I think it's the perfect blend of performance, looks, and drivability. The car only gets batter as you drive it. The performance is extraordinary, the Ferrari sound is so pure and the fit and finish like all Ferrari's is impressive. It loves to be driven, and for this car just sitting in the garage treated like wall candy doesn't serve it well. My one negative is the user interface. While I like the intent, for me the interfaces could be simplified and be made more accessible. It's also a great value when compared to the SF90 if you use performance as a major factor.

 

Agree PS4S are fantastic tires all around...I've routinely track them on our Cayman / 911 GT cars on days I'm concerned it may rain (So Fla) and they are truly an excellent tire on and especially off the track, and we push them hard.