If they've been answered elsewhere, I apologize -- I'm relatively new to the boards. 1. How long to the brake pads on the carbon ceramics seem to be lasting people in general; how much to replace them? 2. Any exhaust or air filters or anything yet to increase the HP of the CS yet, or is it pretty much assumed that Ferrari got everything out of that engine already? 3. Can one get the same tire but wider for the CS? Does the tire exist, and will it fit ok on the CS's 19" rims? I had 295s on the back of my original '99 360 Modena after I put challenge rims on it and I definitely noticed the improvement (no coincidence I think that a 360 challenge race car has 295s in the rear). thanks
Another question: What are your collective thoughts about putting 100 octane unleaded gas in the 360 CS. Helpful? Nuetral? Harmful? I've put it in my first 360 at the pump at Willow Springs and the car seemed to run smoother and have a few more HP. Thoughts? Primarily, a. I don't want to hurt the car and b. don't want to waste money on it if it's not helping the car. I would think, though, that the higher end exotic sports cars would take advantage of higher octane gas, at least to a point. I know my 996 turbo wants at least 93 octane gas, but I'm stuck putting crappy 91 octane gas in it here in California
I think its too early to tell... and, of course, depends a lot more on how much and how hard you brake rather than just how many miles. I'd guess 3000 miles for a heavily tracked car to 12,000 miles for a babied car. Search FChat on Imola Racing, Novitec, M Gruppe, and Meridian to get some leads on people who have CS products or 360 mods that will likely also end up being applicable to Stradales. The "same tire" is a bit unclear... Pirelli is selling two different tires under one name. The P-Zero Corsa is available in a wide variety of sizes... check out TireRack.com... but its not clear to what degree the Stradale's P-Zero Corsa System tires are different than the rest of those Corsa tires. I assume you mean US octane, not Euro octane, numbers. In that case, it would be a useless waste of money... unless you have changed the engine ECUs such that they are tuned to take advantage of the added octane. A search on octane will yield a lot more discussion on that. Only up to levels that they think they might get. If you tune an engine to utilize 100 octane, then it would not run on 91 octane... which might cut sales to CA quite a bit. To tune it to run well on 91 octane, it might be able to run a bit better on 93 octane, but it won't be able to leverage much above that.
A mix of 100 with California's 91 octane to get 93-94 octane will maximize performance, IMHO. The 360 Modena and CS (as well as the 996TT) ECU was programmed to produce optimal performance/HP with US 93 octane, although it can function with a minimum of 91. On a hot day running with 91 octane, it was apparent to me that the ECU was detecting engine knock and retarding the car's timing.
Thanks -- I figured the ECU wouldn't take full advantage of the 100 octane, but also figured in would do some good. Mixing it to get 93-94 makes a lot of sense for both the 360 CS and the 996tt. thanks.
That's too bad they're calling two different tires the same... I assume the CS tire has a softer compound as one person looking at my car was amazed at the tire's rating and mumbled something about it being in the range of a race tire, not a street tire. In any case, I hope to research this more and get the same quality and stickyness in a P-Zero Corsa but also wider. Like I said, when I went from 275s to 295s on my 360 Modena I got a lot better grip; the challenge race car also uses 295s in the rear, so it's pretty apparent the wider tires are good for the 360 and not overkill.
another fchatter (bjc138 in zurich) posted about a month ago the following about stradale brake rotors (not pads...sorry): "Zero fade on the brakes after 300km of track work. Some brake dust but not excessive. The instructor, a Stradale owner, said that Ferrari have tracked cars for 40,000km and not replaced the rotors..we'll see!" i mixed 8 gallons of 100 octane race fuel to 16 gallons of 91 octane (effective 94 octane) and it was hard to tell any significant difference. but i *think* i noticed that things seemed a bit more "crisp" if i'm in a good mood (market is up) i'll add some 100 octane. if i'm in a crappy mood (market is down) i just fill up with 91
NorCal (Bay Area). Shuold be a lot of other stragglers in the SoCal section, but watch out for two jokers: Armen and Rick. Both are notorious, and frankly, I'm ashamed to say I ever spoken to either! --Dan
I usually mix 7 to 2 gallons of 91 and 100 octane respectively to get to 93 octane and the car runs noticeably different. I have tried other blends and anything over 93 seems a waste. Porsche is rated at 93 octane, it is printed on the filler door. I have searched the 360 manual and can not find anything but a reference to 95 RON and I believe that is Euro Research number which is two or three numbers lower than (RON+MON)/2 used in the States. I have asked Ferrari about this and the official word is the car is designed to perform to its peak HP with 91 Octane.
Actually, I've surmised the opposite. The Stradale tire got the name and tread life number from the Corsa R-compound tires, but the Stradale-targetted Corsa System tires are actually a bit harder on long-lived. With no track days, the tires have at least 5000 miles in them... probably closer to 7000 or more miles in them. Real R-compounds (like Kumho V700's) are hard-pressed to make more than 4000 miles. For a dry track, wider is definitely better. And if you also get a stickier compound, it may be a much bigger win. If you try some of the wider Corsa tires, definitely let us know your results. I may try it after August... don't want to embark on a long trip with tires that I don't know.
Rick - that is hilarious -- but as a value investor i must beseech you to take a longer term view!!! start with 2 days and work your way up.
Are those the 295/30s, they are a bit too small in diameter for 360M. I've seen them on 360s on the track, I guess they perform but look funky in the wheel well. The 360C tires has some odd numbers 295/645/18 (haven't seen this size readily available at tire shops).
This may have changed in recent years -- but I do recall my '99 360 manual specified that the car was designed to run optimally on US 93 (98RON) octane gas, although 91 was acceptable. Sold the car recently (awaiting arrival of my CS) so I don't have the owner's manual handy. My current Porsche manual basically says the same thing -- 93 ideally, with a minimum acceptable octane of 91.
On page 6.12 of the '03 users manual does say RON 95-98. Mine from '00 only specifies RON 95. That's probably why the car runs better on 93 US.
