355 F355 Suspension improvement suggestions

Dampers don’t need rebuilding unless they are leaking.

Springs would be a good start. FHP replica springs or H&R.

 

Superformance

 

What about the current system do you not like ??

You can add to the damping by rebuilding with heavier shock oil; keeping the actuators.
You can change the damping linearity by modifying the holes in the pistons (change what the actuators actuate.)

Doing either without doing making similar changes to the springs is fraught with peril.

And if you are in there that far, you might consider replacing the suspension bushings.

 

Don’t do bushings from Superformance. Do OE bushings.

 

All bushings were replaced on my Scud with OE bushing along with HE joints as most of it was already highly worn at only 20k mi. The same bushings Ferrari used on a 355… my cars with 30k mi arent nearly as worn. The Scud is a visceral car so the wear on the OE bushings is much greater.

I can tell you the Scud with fresh OE bushings/HE joints is a perfect setup for the road. Drives like a go-kart/race car, but fully compliant for the road. No squeaks. Super responsive. The Scuds low weight along with duality suspension is peak road going Ferrari to me. Better than a Speciale imo. It’s what I seek to mimic in my 355.

The main superformance bushing you need to be concerned about is the one used for the dampers. Theirs is not a monoball bushing like OE. People have been buying theirs due to JayEM’s youtube reviews, but JayEm doesn’t know what he’s talking about here.

Plus, there’s hardly much of a price difference between their bushings and OE if you shop around (Eurospares). Unfortunately, the OE bushings are soft and will probably only last you a good 15k mi before they deteriorate again, but that is what keeps the car road compliant imho.

The same bushings will last much longer in the 355. Not sure how many miles your 355 has, but my bet is most bushings are visually still ok… they’re just 25 years old.


Depends on how hardcore you want to get with the 355, you might want to consider monoball bushings from Japan. It’ll get you a step closer to Scud feel.

 

Here are the Scuds lower damper monoball bushing at roughly 20k mi. All 4 corners were worn like this. The Ferrari bushing used here is the exact same one used on a 355. When I spoke with Rob at Deltavee, he didn’t think it was necessary to change the lower damper bushing on a 355 as he’s never seen one worn lol. I had mine all changed out anyway.

*Scud upper damper bushing should be OE as well imo.



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https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/bilstein-damper-rebuild-re-suspension.680978/

 

Is it strange that I can feel zero difference in suspension firmness between normal and sport modes?

 

Quite normal. With the Fiorano ECU the difference is very noticeable.

 

Ok, gonna ask this here. I recently drove a 355 that is not my own for the first time, also a '98 GTB. The difference in suspension feel was significant. My suspension is bone-stock and untouched, everything works correctly, but there's a lot of body roll, dive, and squat. The ride isn't floaty, but my 993 on PSS10's is vastly stiffer.

My buddy's 355 is slightly lower than mine, but is on stock springs. The odd thing is the actuators on top of the shocks are missing. So maybe something was done other than lowering it slightly. It really handles better than my car -- far less body roll, feels much more nimble and responsive. It's not a FHP car (I looked up the part numbers on the springs). I would like my car to handle like his and figured it was just some sportier springs, but nope.

 

If the actuators are removed, its possible the adjusters have been set to firm. The OEM ECU doesn't use anywhere near the full spectrum of the adjustment when switching between comfort and sport, the FHP ECU uses a greater range hence the difference in feeling between the two settings.

 

+1

in fact, I don’t use Superformance for anything anymore. The quality has deteriorated while the prices have risen to match OE.

 

I find my F355 "sloppy" in comfort mode and "crisp" in sport mode.

 

Where I feel the difference is mainly how well it soaks up sharp road impacts at slower speeds. This is noticeably better with the comfort mode engaged. So I mainly use that on a few sections of local roads that are in poor condition, and entering and leaving my neighborhood.

 

I doubt you’ll have issues with their springs. There’s ton of height adjustment on our dampers.

 

There is no issue with superformance springs they are identical to the OEM FHP springs.

The issue is that the spring is long and firm so to get it very low on the rear especially means the lower spring perch can foul on the stabilizer bar link. Which limits how low you can set the ride height. This would be the same on the OEM FHP springs. So if you want to firm up the suspension and have it very low you need H&R lowering springs on the stock shocks.

 

Presumably the FHP springs work if you're staying at stock or stock-ish ride height? (I don't know how people with lowered 355's don't destroy the front bumper -- I scrape lightly all the time at stock height)

 

They work at stock height and can be lowered below stock height. You just cant slam the car like most want to do when fitting what they perceive are lowering springs. The Fiorano springs are for more sporting driving not to snow ploughing the road with your front bumper.

 

Who would slam their 355? Proposterous!

 

Gents, can someone explain the operation of the rear suspension on the 96’ 5.2 us car. I noticed leakage coming from the upper mounting plate on mine and was told from the shop they will need a full rebuild or replacement. Image Unavailable, Please Login