My NARTy 575 Build Thread

Double check to see if it’s actually leaking; mine was just leaking from the bushing. The original part going NLA soon but is often repairable if it is the actual receptacle

 

Surprisingly easy to remove bumper. Remove bottom front undertray. Detach brake air hoses both sides, detatch hose to washer pump. Remove 4 main bolts in engine bay. Then it slides right out. Even easier with the WSM in hand with photos of everything

 

It's always time for a new V12 Ferrari....

 

Congrats and welcome to this club here at Fchat. A blue 575M from Monaco... How cool! I have a Blu Pozzi 550 and I also do quote a bit myself. You can follow my Ferrari-Instagram if you like: ferrari550expedition

will follow your thread! Where do you live and keep the car?

 

Replacing Xenon Ballasts

The headlight nightmare continues! After determining that the xenon bulbs were actually fine, I diagnosed the problem as the xenon ballast itself. To do this, you will need to find on eBay the following part:

Valeo 89002070

This part number was shared across several early 2000s platforms such as Nissan Premier and Audi A4. An alternative part number is Valeo 89001411, which is a slightly earlier version of this xenon ballast. It is distinguished by a slightly different igniter wire that’s silver. Both of these ballasts represent Valeos now defunct ‘6 pin 35W’ design, which they do not make anymore. I’m looking into converting this system into a 4 pin 35W setup so that one can use a more modern and reliable ballast - a deep dive for another day.

Instructions

First you will want to check fuses and relays. Remove passenger floormat and remove two 10mm nuts holding the cover in place.
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Check fuses F7 and F8 (in my case) after popping off the leftmost cover. Both looked good for me so I put the old fuses back.
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Next, I checked to see if the relay for the headlight switch was broken. I swapped R5 and R6 which are exactly the same, then tested headlights. No difference observed. Thus I put everything back and removed the ballast holder for passenger side. I unplugged the igniter and 6 pin plug, and extracted from the car. Then I removed all the torx bolts and swapped the new ballast in. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Then reinstall and plug everything back in.

 

500 mile review & first roadtrip

This weekend I took the 575 on a proper roadtrip to the White mountains in NH and got more familiar with the cars performance and handling characteristics. Suffice it to say that not only did the car crush it, it exceeded my expectations in a few delightful ways. I’m definitely more smitten with the car now than when I bought it, which is an amazing thing.
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Firstly, the positive impressions - stuff that really sticks out to me given my experience driving a lot of modern Porsches and classic bmws:

- By far the biggest surprise for me is just how nicely the car handles both around tight corners and high speed sweepers. While there’s a slight body roll and hard acceleration/deceleration can upset the balance due to porpoising, with sport mode on the car is a fiend for turns. A big GT has absolutely no business being this nimble or engaging. The steering is beautifully communicative as well, maybe slightly light but perfectly acceptable. I felt that I could push the front end of this car far more than I would have anticipated, and understeer kicks in progressively and predictably. You get a good sense of what the car is doing underneath you. Then when you power out of the corner with that stonking V12, you’re left smiling ear to ear at Ferraris masterful engineering.

- High speed stability is excellent, which was also surprising given the quick steering rack, wide tires, and short wheelbase. I was expecting a tango especially when pushing 3 digits but instead it felt very much on rails and capable of hitting its top speed comfortably. Some cars give me sweaty palms when you go very fast, but not this one. You could drink a coffee with one hand while cruising at 100 if you wanted. The fact you can do that AND behave like a little sports coupe is the real genius of this car.

- The F1 slams gears properly when shifting near redline WOT. It’s damn impressive, and I think its character around town is dramatically different than when you’re driving it hard. I think the people who wrote off the F1 never experienced this effect.

- This was to be expected, but the sheer torque and high rpm power is so intoxicating. It’s such a nice step up from the old bmw M cars I’m used to. It interesting how at 4500 rpm or so it gets a second wind and extra shoves you back, and the delivery is perfectly smooth.

- The glass house effect from the big windows makes the cabin feel light and airy more so than any car I can think of. Visibility is great, and it’s almost like being in the worlds finest Imax when driving through scenic valleys and overpasses.

Of course, there are a few gripes I have with the car which I’m looking to remedy. Some of these things might be inherent, but for others I’m sure there’s a solution:

- The lack of cruise control is baffling to me, given how even my old crappy e36 m3 with a throttle cable had one. Definitely need to figure out how to add this.

- The steering wheel, while sexy, feels flimsy to me. At 9 and 3, if I push one hand and pull the other, it moves around a bit in the column and makes a sort of creaking noise. Adjusting the columns telescoping makes no difference. I’m not sure if this is down to a loose column or if it’s inherent to the wheel itself, but getting this to be perfectly rigid would be wonderful.

-The pedals are a bit close together and with my club feet’s it’s easy to hit both pedals simultaneously. I find I need to take off my shoes to get the best accuracy. The throttle pedal itself has an absurd amount of travel, and I don’t think I like non floor mounted pedals.

- The sin visors obstruct quite a lot of precious visual real estate especially if you’re tall. Since I sit higher than I’d like but want to keep the normal seats, figuring out a way to redesign the visors to be lower profile would be amazing.

- There’s a fair bit more road noise than I was expecting.

- The buttons and electrics can be temperamental. Sometimes the trunk or gas cap release don’t feel like it and pressing it several times doesn’t work. Sometimes when I try to lock the car, the windows crack open a little. Sometimes trying to start the car, when hot, will just turn over. Just odd, Italian things.

Despite these critiques it’s by and large a sublime car that I feel lucky to own. It’s just missing a few touches I would like for it to be the perfect car, but out of the box one can be extremely satisfied with it. You are also a celebrity wherever you go, which is a new and fun aspect to car ownership I’m not used to.

 

What a great way to get to know the car; love reading the first impressions in that context. it's feels rewarding to us as a community to see the car in the hands of such a great custodian.

Two initial reactions. First, with regard to the steering, mine is dead solid - unsure what the mechanical explanation is, but wanted to share. It's also on the heavier side, which like you, I prefer. My car has FHP, but you can easily and cheaply get yours on that level with the steering ECU from Ricambi. Secondly, road noise is definitely solved with a good set of 6-1 headers from Fabio!

I agree on your perspective on F1. It definitely works well and is great fun (though I did end up converting mine).

Enjoy the journey and the process! And keep documenting

 

Cruise Control: Ferrari did not offer cruise control until the early 2010s era as it was found to 'detract from the driving experience'. Several have over the years retrofitted a GM cruise control module (simple enough) if so inclined
Steering: Should be rock solid unless the latch (for whatever reason) isn't fully locking
Pedals: adjust the placement of the holes now or when you do your manual swap to space out as best for you.
Visor/Height: I had a similar issue (I am tall). Sport seats fixed that issue as they sit a few inches lower.
Certain buttons only work in particular circumstances (the fuel door/trunk). The others (in particular the row above the climate control) should work every time unless the internals are broken (they are fragile if a previous owner manhandled them)

 

Thanks for the feedback - especially since it sounds like my flimsy steering wheel is unique to my car. I’m going to investigate how it’s all fastened together and see if I can tighten it somehow.

Unless there’s a sport seat where I can option it exactly like my Daytonas, I’m sticking with the standard seats. All research I’ve done has indicated you can’t lower them any more than standard unless I’m missing something - maybe someone has modified their seat rails with success? To be fair to them, they are nice and comfortable for long journeys, and boy do they look good.

 

My car also had a lot of road noise when I got it. There is a rubber boot that fits around the steering column that had started falling apart on mine. Part #167341. It took a while to find one but it made a big difference once it was installed. I think it's also kind of common to have small gaps around the windows. Mine has one at the rear of the passenger window that causes some noise. I'll be getting that fixed soon.

 

I also have a very small gap at the rear of the driver's window where the profile of the seal doesn't quite match the glass. Are you getting the glass adjusted or something else?

 

My 575 has very minimal wind noise. It’s quite civil inside windows closed + valves closed. Tire noise is also mute despite the tires being very loud/not optimized for noise.

 

I'm going to try having the glass adjusted first. If that doesn't work the gasket kit around the door will need changed.

 

Installed the MSW steering ECU today. I noticed it weight up nicely around 40-45 and get progressively heavier. I really like it already, but it is a subtle change I hope to appreciate more as I get to know the car better.

I am now beginning the detective work of figuring out my flimsy steering wheel problem. It seems to have gotten worse as well, there is no way it came from factory being able to wobble within the column >1mm. Removed upper plastic shell around the column and found gnarly prying marks. Image Unavailable, Please Login Looks like sloppy workmanship from before. After removing the 6 screws these shells just drop out, no need for heavy prying.

Another oddity is that it keeps hemorrhaging this foam stuff into the driver footwell. It also blows out the vents sometimes. Image Unavailable, Please Login

Lastly, the rear shelf has begun to peel and the luggage rails have become diabolically sticky. Another item I’ll need to address. Image Unavailable, Please Login Lots of work cut out for me! Soon will remove the wheel and see if I can identify the root cause of the wobble.

 

No wobble at all in my 575's steering wheel, even with FHP. Something loose somewhere.

 

Did an incredibly fun upgrade today and retrofitted a Becker 6105 with a Bluetooth module. Big thanks to Auraraptor for supplying me with the 6105, it’s a very nice unit with considerable aesthetic and ergonomic advantages. The Bluetooth module was purchased via eBay and is designed by Becker AutoSound. The advantage to this unit is that it supplies audio via AUX, thus preserving the CD changer. Image Unavailable, Please Login

Importantly, if one wants to use this Bluetooth adapter, a clean way of supplying power and ground is necessary. While a prefabbed plug which connects to the Becker is made for you, there are two wires which need to connect to 12V power and ground, respectively.

For 12V power, I figured out that there’s this odd red wire which connects to a black wire via a simple plug and is used to amplify the radio signal. Simply expose the copper on the end of the red wire of the Bluetooth module and kind of sandwich it in there - it’ll be very snug when you do. Image Unavailable, Please Login
For the ground, expose the copper on the end of the black wire, remove the gear shift selector plate, loosen a 10mm nut and then stuff the copper leads into the gap, then tighten. Image Unavailable, Please Login

Having a tight ground is important or else you’ll get a weird background noise. And voila! No splicing or cutting of the cars harness required, which is hugely satisfying.

 

Did some fun maintenance this weekend and replaced MAFs (still original at 22 years), air filters, brake rotors and pads, and tightened up my steering wheel (the 4 Allen bolts which affix the steering wheel to the hub had come slightly loose). Some important findings were discovered along the way:

-MAFS: CONFIRMED that the sensor contained in Bosch 0281002309 works perfectly in our cars. These sensors+housing cost me 120$ each, and in order to remove the sensor you’ll need a special 5 sided star bit with safety countersink to remove the two little bolts. OR you can use knipex cobra pliers like I did . The new sensors look slightly different but the wire gauge is exactly the same. I noticed smoother idle and power delivery after installation.
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- Brakes: I got the rotors and pads from Formula Dynamics and went with their ceramic, low dust option. Happy overall but sadly the front pads did not come with a cutout to install the brake wear sensors, so I’ll need to contact them to amend that. Another finding was that if you have a friend, they can hold the caliper for you while you wiggle off the rotor, thus avoiding having to undo the hard lines and needing a fluid flush (my fluid is basically new). Lastly, I noticed that the drill patterns are the same for both front and rear rotors (both the originals on my car and the new ones were like this). In other words, there does not seem to be a “left side” or “right side”, so the patterns are not symmetric. On the left rotor my drill patterns point upward, on the right downward. Just an odd Ferrari quirk I assume.
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Overall an enjoyable job which improved the refinement massively and got rid of a nasty vibration under brake. I also discovered my car got a new steering rack in 2007, which was the year my car was imported to the USA from Europe and thus federalized to meet DOT safety standards. Why that is, I’m not exactly sure. At least the underside was mint!
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Nice work, low hanging fruits that makes a difference are the best jobs!

I agree with you on this, but what I noted when I removed mine, which I assume are the original discs, is that they are actually stamped "L" and "R" on the wheel mounting surface. It might be just to identify which side they belong to afther they are installed and used, to be able to refit them at the same side - which is exactly what I did. Or else - there's actually some differences that's not easy to spot..

 

575 and 456 disks are the same L/R. Single PN for both. I think the girodisks upgrade multi piece rotors are mirror L/R, however.

 

It is great to hear your detailed experiences. It is a well built car and you can enjoy it alot before it needs restoration. I installed a cruise control from Dave were at Fchat. It is a good thing on long trips. Also makes it harder to get a speeding ticket (even though I managed to that BIG TIME with my 550. One hand at the steering wheel at 100 mph. I do it at 200 mph. in Germany. If alignment is right, the cars is like sitting on a train on a rail way track. About the sun visor... You can flip it towards you and not all the way up, which is possible if you don't want to modify yours. Wish you the best with your new aqusition.

Erik
Oslo

 

I completed the Becker Bluetooth modification with power and ground connections identical to @Geoff_kg (thank you for the pro-tips). Two suggestions for others: (1) crimp a 'fork' terminal connector on the end of the black ground wire. The fork will slot in nicely under the grounding bolt's collar and insure a tight connection. (2) use double-sided tape to stick the blue Bluetooth unit somewhere in the radio cavity - that's to prevent it from eventually rattling around. Lastly, the positive wire crimps nicely in that original connector that @Geoff_kg identified (see picture). I recommend carefully prying the spade connector open as wide as you can before crimping the Bluetooth unit's positive wire alongside the existing wire. This took quite a bit of fiddling with small screwdrivers and very narrow needle nose pliers.
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Top tips from Roarke!

I renewed headlight gaskets recently and it was certainly an “art” to get them to fit right. 90s Italian gasket technology is a little different to say the least, but patience and care will get them looking great. Mine had completely perished. Image Unavailable, Please Login

Next up was updating the shock ECU to 205619. This was definitely the most noticeable handling upgrade I’ve done, and I’m extremely pleased with it. While it does not eliminate body roll or dive/squat, it reduces it significantly especially under hard braking in both normal and sport modes. Comfort is preserved well in both modes too, and I find myself switching between comfort and sport regularly depending on how I feel like driving the car. Sport gives the car a “taught”, ready to attack corners feeling that works really well the skunkworks steering. The car is even more of a pleasure to drive.

If I were to perfect the handling of this car, a slight increase in spring stiffness and rear anti roll bar would be perfect, which of course the Ferrari engineers identified years ago. However, I don’t feel like it’s a “must have” quite like the steering and shock ECUs. With Fiorano springs seemingly impossible to find, I might consider adjusting the spring preload by dropping the car 10mm or so, given that we have coilovers out of the box.