456 ownership, first year status and questions

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456 ownership, first year status and questions. A bit long, mostly for 456 owners, be patient


More than a year ago I asked a lot of questions on this forum, to find out if a GTA would be a happy DIY experience for a guy with my experience? Most or all of you said yes, go for it. A few months of price negotiations later I bought my beautiful 2000 456M GTA. Local taxes make me only able to drive it April-August, so the first winter was just service including oil, front brakes and the belts.

So now that I’ve owned and serviced and driven it, what do I think? The positive: I love driving it. The steering and suspension is just perfect, such a pleasure to drive. It’s not only like on rails, it’s like it knows where I want to go next. Amazing. The negative: I’ve found the Service Manual disappointing and inconsistent. Doesn’t make it easy to DIY. Deliberate? But thankfully this forum can fill in the blanks

So I plan to keep it. So ahead of me is a long winter where it is stationary in my workshop, I can’t drive it on public roads until April ☹. But that time must be utilized of course. I’ll do the service needed, and thankfully there’s not anything faulty mechanically that I need to fix. But, and here comes some questions, when I’ve now decided to keep it until the end of time, small annoyances should be fixed, now that I have plenty of time. Below are some question, big and some very small, but if you’ve read this far, you’re probably a 456 owner, and might have the experience of some of these things. If you have some advise, please answer here with Q#, or PM me, up to you. Here it is, big and small:

1. Tires/wheels. 17” are a bit small, but I like the look, so I’m not looking to replace them just for a more modern look. But my tires are 7-8 years old, and this car has been sitting still for years, tires are not fully round, I feel it most the first 3 km of every trip. So, what should I do?

1a. Get new tires same size? I’ve read that that is difficult? Is that why my front tires have “rear” stamped on the sidewall?

1b. Different wheels? I’ve seen some nice 19”, suits the car fine. What I absolutely don’t want is harder tires because of lower profile (it’s a GT!), tires scraping on fenders or higher gearing, my 4th gear doesn’t come in until well settled at 80 km/h. If different wheels, do more or less all Ferraris have the same bolt pattern? Where should I look? Pictures of your wheels are welcome…

2. Seating, general. I’m longer legged and shorter armed than the guy they made this for. So I have steering wheel fully back and quite low. I also have seat all the way back, would like an inch more, but then steering wheel is too far away. I could also be looking at moving throttle pedal a bit forward. Just ideas. Any input? Anybody changed their seating position?

3. Seating, lumbar support. I don’t like it, I have it all the way back, still it annoys me. I’ve removed it on other cars I’ve owned, but I’m a little reluctant here, how do I get that far into the seatback without damaging the wonderful leather? Has anybody been that far into their seatback, maybe to remove or repair the lumbar support?

4. I always start the engine before I put the seatbelt on. Can I get rid of the annoying warning chime, is that a separate unit? Where? (See, we’re into the small stuff now)

5. The gear and outside temp displays are weak, almost unreadable, is that fixable?

6. The leather/plastic on the center of the steering wheel has bubbles, can that be repaired, can it be removed by the two screws behind the steering wheel, or will I sit with the airbag in my hands?

7. The Automobilia Book. I’d like to read it. I don’t need to own it. Has anybody pdf’d it, or are willing to ship to me and back? I’ll pay of course

Thanks for reading this far.
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On 1., my tires and potentially new rims-question, if I consider keeping my rims, I found the ones below at tirerack. I believe Continental is German, where can I get a set somewhere in the EU?

And, any input on my question 2-7?
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OK, a bit crude, but it works…

If you’re like me, if you feel a bit cramped in the 456, even with the seat all the way back, read on. I had considered modifying seat rails to make the seat able to go further back, plenty of space. But looking at it now, bearing in mind any modification would have to factor in that the entire seat belt is part of the seat belt mechanism, I saw no good solution, that I could also call safe.

But there’s another way to feel more comfortable with your long legs. I did it years ago in my Jaguar XKR where the soft top mechanism made the seat not able to go back very far. What’s at the other end of your leg normally, especially in a non-cruise control car? The accelerator. So in short, I cut the accelerator arm and welded it back together in a better angle. It was a huge improvement in my XKR, that I still have.

So today I did the same in the 456. There was plenty of room for it, and the pedal arm is easy to get out, and I don’t change anything in the throttle cable/stops area. See picture, outline is of pedal before modification. I make a cut high up, not all the way through, so I can bend it, and trial fit it, and if as wanted I fully weld from both sides. Just as solid as before, and that extra 2-3cm is like being able to move the seat further back. Another advantage for me is that the steering wheel and radio controls etc, they are still within easy reach.

Crude? Indeed. But makes driving a lot better for me…

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Oh yes....
There's still a full 1 cm to the wall at WOT

 

Just learned something new on the same topic. I had the right seat out (heavy!!), and when installing again, you at the back use 4 bolts and 4 special washers, oblong shape. If the washers get tightened at the wrong angle, you can lose 2-3 cm travel of the seat backwards...

Not the case on mine, but could easily happen, they are hard to keep straight while tightening...