296 GTS too soft?

If you are not experiencing any problems then Id say you’re probably safe. The manufacturers usually have some tolerance for variability- they know some people will change wheels and tires- tires really should not be an issue unless you’ve changed the sizes. Wheels are usually pretty safe, but, most of the time I just like the OEM look. An example about variability is if you look at most cars factory alignment settings, they usually have an allowable range for each parameter. Thus, it is possible for a technician to tweak the behavior of the car- it likely won’t be transformed, but perhaps could be a touch sharper or a touch more forgiving.

 

There's a lot of great owners on this forum that have tried and tested hardware out there. Not everyone posts stories for certain reasons, but I'm certainly glad that the ones that due help drive fact driven discussions here.

Generally, I'd be more skeptical as a well-to-do group of individuals regarding Novitec's products. There is less R&D than perhaps you are led to believe, despite the exorbitant price tags. From personal experience, I would never recommend Novitec to anyone I know. Save yourself the pain or charge it to an Amex so you at least have a chance of getting your money back when nobody picks up the phone once you see issues.

You may notice there are zero [successful] racing outfits that have anything to do with Novitec. You're better off doing an owners run [group buy] of Eibach or H&R custom springs if you want them. At least you'll know the spring rates and you can be assured the dimensions will properly fit your car.

 

Thx for this. Based on what you're saying here and assuming you're right, I'm amazed that Novitec's rep does not come with any of this negative feedback. In the 5 years I've either used or heard os someone using their products, I've never heard of any complaints. And I'm definitely a driver than a poser and many / most of my buddies are all petrolheads who track their cars too. I'm not questioning your opinion, just surprised it took me this long to hear about it.

 

Well, you heard my negative feedback in my earlier post. The lowering springs that I had installed on my F8 were Novitec. They ruined its ability to hook properly under power.

 

Yeah sure, but this thread is the first one where I read negative. Again, it's great to be in the know on all this, vs not knowing. I just never heard it before, which is surprising. But now that I think about it, this may have been an issue with my 458S...

BTW, since we've mentioned a few things, I'll be totally transparent about what I've done:

1) Novitec SS + lowered 10mm in my 2013 458 Spider.
I always complained about the cawl shake on that car. Everyone said it's the lack of stiffness, but I'm convinced it wasn't. Wonder if it's cause by the wrong set up and the Novitecs... I sold it last year so will never know.

2) 2021 F8 Tributo lowered OEM ride 10mm
After the issues with the 458S I didn't want to mess with the ride quality and as of today everything is total heaven in this car. If I had a wish would be to make it a little more stiff and behave more like my ML 600LT.

3) Novitec exhaust system on the F8T
I'm super happy with the difference, since OEM the F8 is too quiet. All great there.

4) Michelin Sport Cup2s on the F8T
Again, absolute heaven, both for mountain passing and at the track.

5) Novitec exhaust system on the 812 GTS
F1-like result, no troubles at all, but turned out to be too much for my taste, so went back to OEM after a year.

6) Novitec SS on the 812 GTS
Lowered the ride about 10mm. Super happy with both handling and looks.

7) Michelin Sport Cup2 Rs on the 812 GTS
This is probably the best thing I've done in a long time. Completely transformed the car, feeling 500 lbs lighter. Note that's on summer season and at the mountain pass, not at the track yet.

 

I don't think we should be surprised that resellers are not speaking up. The products are so expensive that the volume they sell is likely much lower than other goods sold, but much higher revenue & margin as well. Ultimately, if they don't sell it, someone else will.

Check out this thread: Pista Exhaust Upgrade if you want an example of some of the issues. Scroll up and down to see the lengthy discussion. People don't post Novitec issues, just like they rare post issues with their Ferrari for two reasons:

1. Resale - People want to be able to resell whatever it is they don't like. For me, that was no issue because I did not intend to foist a faulty product onto a fellow owner. Novitec was going to charge me a 25% restocking fee for faulty equipment, which I denied to accept. They were unresponsive, required me to chase them down for help, and in the end, they blamed my dealer tech and foreman for a bad install. When the dealer reached out to them for a technical discussion, they could not point to where they thought the install went wrong. They did not have anyone knowledgeable for the dealer to speak to and were very difficult even set up a call. For $13,000+ USD in metal pipes and insulation, they failed to support their product, which also caused a safety issue. I worked with the dealer to document the issue, and then I ultimately got my money back through American Express.

2. Fear - There are people here who fear they will 'ruin' something for someone else. This is why you will rarely see honest and complete buyer advice for Ferraris in this forum. Just because you see nothing on an issue or you seem to see some positives, it doesn't mean that serious issues do not exist. Owners just live with certain issues because they feel those matters do not take away from their enjoyment (and therefore potential future resale value). Or at least they try to convince themselves they don't care or the issue is not real (Squeak between gears is normal - according to ferrari). I've posted before that literally ever Ferrari I've owned has had some issues. The broader Ferrari community has come to accept that despite the cars being worth at least the value of a small home in some parts of the world, expecting the brand to deliver a high quality vehicle with little to no issues is not only unrealistic, but unreasonable for you as a fellow owner to complain about.
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With Ferrari, I find the true enjoyment, attractiveness of the brand, and the retained value generally outweigh the issues I've faced. For any issues that I've disliked, I've moved on without much noise. With aftermarket accessory brands like the one discussed here, there was zero enjoyment, no attraction to the brand after the issue, and retained value stinks for hardware that honestly feels like it received the bare minimum engineering development, if any.

 

People have too high of an opinion of novitec.

Now it's quality stuff. Nothing at all wrong with it... It's very very good quality. If you are going to mod your car it's a very solid choice.

However... The car was not designed with those spring rates in mind. The car and it's software package was not designed with that suspension. You can lower it and it looks great but just because it says novitec on it doesn't it make it not just a spring. It's a quality spring... But it's a spring...

I remember on 458s that many of the cars that went with an aftermarket suspension had the door bags blow out because of the impact harshness. Now was this a problem from the factory... Yes. But it was also exaggerated by the springs too.

 

The issue with my Ferrari is the poor MPG.

 

I can tell you the issue with the 458 Spider is the chassis itself is just not stiff enough. Adding stiffer springs won’t do any favors. They knew this, which is why the Speciale A got improved bracing. They carried this on to the 488 spider and beyond. And they are still noticeably less stiff than their coupe counterparts.

The Novitec springs for the 458 are within the range of tolerance that the rest of the factory setup can handle. Going from memory, they are about 8-10% stiffer.

I think there were plenty of reports of the airbags going off on the factory suspension.

Novitec may not be as good these days, but a decade or so ago, they were pretty good. Ive used their products on several cars, never with an issue, however, I have experienced that sometimes their communication could be a bit slow, which was annoying.

Wheel and tires, as long as you stay within the factory tolerances you really should be just fine. The question is whats within those tolerances. Same size wheel and tire combination (remember it’s the rolling radii that counts, so bigger wheels means tires with less sidewall means changing the spring rate a touch, likely no biggie, but worth considering).

My take, these days, as things have become more and more complex and the parts literally communicate with each other, in general, Id leave well enough alone and enjoy what the factory has created, they are now even giving us choices. I think this is partly why they offer the AF pack, its not just stiffer springs, its an entirely different suspension that will give you a little more engagement and the exhaust might not be louder but it does sound a little better etc….

 

that's a good one

 

Thx for this. I share your POV