Hot rodding a 308...

Contact forum sponsors Nick Forza and Norwood. Both have extensive knowledge, as well as complete setups.

Norwood would be your best bet as they are the main US turbo company for Ferrari.

http://www.nicksforzaferrari.com
http://www.norwoodperformance.com

 

Go to the technical forums both here and at the old site (look at the bottom of the main page) and search for supercharger 308 or turbo 308. Lots of people are working to make them fast. If you want fast and cost efficient, you want a different model of Ferrari.

{Allan Mode On}
Really, the best way to make a 308 fast is to drive it over a cliff...or tow it behind a Gallardo
{Allan Mode Off}

 

what?

 

I think you mean 'Cost efficient way of upgrading.' Be warned though a 300rwhp 308 will be LESS reliable then a 500rwhp detuned to only 350.

Thus you sacrifice reliablity for cost with a turbo setup.

 

If you like the earlier body styles (308/328/348) as I do, the most cost efficient way to get a fast modded car is to buy one somebody has already dumped a lot of money into.

For example, a twin turbo 348 sold last year for around $35,000, and the install alone was over $20K. A custom twin turbo Testarossa targa just sold in the $50K range, and I don't even want to think about how much those mods cost.

Because of the low volume, mods are much more expensive for Ferrari cars than Porsches. Additionally, modded cars tend to lose value compared to stock vehicles. Let someone else take the hit.

That said, the 308 and 328 are really fun cars in stock trim, they're just not really fast by today's standards.

Hope this helps. It's just one guy's thoughts.

One other thing -- please fill out your profile. It helps if we know who we are speaking with

 

I have to agree, you will never get your money back when you start hotrodding. The best you can hope for is that you don't make the car worth less....That said, I've been very good at doing the smart thing

What is cost depends on what you you're trying to do and what you start with and what you can do yourself. To make HP is the most expensive. I think that a norwood turbo conversion will run you 15k-30k for 400-600 hp depending on a lot of things. To get 300 hp naturally aspirated you'll need about 5k in parts and maybe another 5k to install. To supercharge, plan on 6k-12k in parts and that much again to have it installed.

Suspension is a lot cheaper. Good shocks/spring are a must and run 800-5k, I went in the middle at $2400. Wheels/tires really change the look of the car, but again good wheels start about $2k and another $1k+ for tires.

So, knowing that there was a long list of stuff I wanted to do to the car, I started with a car that needed a long list of stuff so most of the time I wasn't removing good part to replace with other parts. I was doing work the car needed anyway, and just choosing parts I liked better. It's still expensive, just not quite as bad.

You can make a 308 a very fast car, but there are no cheap easy improvements that I know of. If you want a 300 hp car, it is cheaper to just buy a 348. If you want much more than that, it is cheaper to hotrod a 308 than buy a 355. The 348/355 have a stiffer chassis, but that only matters if you want to roadrace it, on the street you will never push it hard enough to feel the difference.

 

Dont forget some Whoa with your Go. Brembo has a new Big brake kit for 308 front

 

I did forget the brakes, very important if you are going to get anywhere near a track (or drive just plain stupidly fast on a twisty back road).

I forgot nitrous too. If you just want to leave a light faster, it is by far the cheapest way to get hp. Plan on $2k-$3k to add 50-100 hp.

 

You can certainly make a 308 faster. They are not "slow" cars. If you compare them to a Mercedes E55 or a Porsche 996TT, then yeah the 308 would not keep up with them. My point is this, if you want a really fast car, buy a 930 Porsche or a 355-360. If you want a car that drives wonderfully, looks fantastic and is VERY VERY reliable, buy a 308. I've had my car for 3 years, and absolutely love the car. Its plenty fast for me.

Oh yeah, Nick Scianna is a Ferrari V8 God. He can certainly help you make a 308 faster.

 

there are much easier cars to hot rod....souping up a ferrari significantly decreases the longivity and reliablit ofthe cars..thats one of reasons the resale value drops

 

I don't think I have ever seen anything that would lead me to these conclusions. Do you have any data to support your statements?

 

The nitrous tends to melt the spark plugs, I'm told.

 

Standard plugs yes, but you go a couple of grades harder(cooler).

 

I too was worried about the Magnum PI conitations. My 78 308 GTS is my third black convertable car. I have yet to hear "oh that is the magnum car"..

 

Ferraris come "hot rodded" from the factory...the cheapest, most reliable (least headaches) method for more power, is to buy a newer model. A 355B would be the ticket.

"magnum PI comments?", about once per week,...really!