Very unexpected 296 GTB experience...CF wheels...

I have no clue but have to wonder if that is not the weight difference and rigidity of chassis between GTB and GTS.

Do you have pictures of the new wheel? I was thinking of retro fitting but curious about the looks now that you mention it wasn't great.

 

not to derail your thread but do you know where i can see one? my 2025 incoming 296gts has the old wheel

 

The new wheel just has indents that's all. I'm surprised why 2025 will be the old wheel.

@09Scuderia - did the steering feel even lighter than your GTS? GTS steering is light and also fast. Interested in hearing more details. i wonder if it is the unsprung mass. seems like you liked it better

 

Not sure if they use different spring, damper, and/or alignment calibrations between the cars, could also be simply random variance between the cars.

With all that said, I ordered the CF wheels for my Pista, but they were not ready in time, so they delivered the car with the standard metal wheels and then the CF wheels came later. And my first drive or two I was sure the CF wheels “breathed” with the road better: it felt like they stayed in contact over the constant little road imperfections in my roads, and it felt like they reacted faster to changes in the road. Over time I convinced myself they have better road feel also. I’m also not sure if this is entirely psychological (likely!) or just my being extra sensitive to car calibration (also likely).

Regarding durability, Ive now driven around five thousand miles over about 6 years on the CF wheels and so far the only problem Ive had is when I hit a somewhat medium level pothole and I knew from the impact something must have happened. I stopped and could not find any damage. Upon getting home and closer inspection, I could see on one of the wheel spokes there was the slightest of what Id call splintering. The wheel does not lose any air, and is otherwise just fine. The tire was fine. It clearly flexed a bit from the impact and that spoke flexed just enough to cause this splintering. I doubt many people would even notice. Given that I drive my cars, out of an abundance of caution, I replaced the wheel. But, considering the wheel is not losing air, I kept it with a tire on it, as a kind of emergency spare, in case I am ever stuck, I could have someone bring me this one and I could at least drive home knowing not to push it.

To have to replace one wheel over about 5000 miles/ 6 years/ is not a terrible track record. But neither is it inexpensive, I forget the cost, I think it was around $6-7k for the new wheel fitted. If I were driving in more pothole ridden areas, or driving a greater number of miles, I would probably consider the metal wheels just based on the cost of replacement, but, if the car is to be what I’d call a fun car, I would not hesitate to order the CF wheels.

 

My Pista had the carbon wheels and I couldn't tell the difference between them and some custom wheels I had made. Does your friend have the AF package?

 

You can order them separately I believe, somewhere around $10K per wheel, I've seen a set on eBay for $35k

 

I've had the GTB in both CF wheels and forged. Absolutely no difference at all. Could be tire pressure, outside weather, road differences, tire differences, etc, ...

 

Interesting experience. The Chevrolet Corvette also uses the Mag ride dampers. The factory tunes the Mag ride differently when the carbon wheels are factory specified. Maybe Ferrari doesn't take advantage of the weight difference with it's suspension settings.

 

It’s just the difference in GTB vs GTS.