296 AF ride - bouncy over undulating roads?

im in a very similar situation, so curious to head from the community.

I don’t think the sound should be any different at all, though, from the non AF. AF is all about the suspension and a bit of CF aero, but nothing else.

my big question is mountain passing rides. I won’t track the car but 2-3x a year. But I will drive it weekly on the street and mountain pass. The ML 600LT steering and suspension are the best for this use case, better than my F8. So wonder if the 296 AF would be closer to the LT in that regard.

 

Good roads, mountain roads, and/or if you want to min/max performance - AF is the way to go. The handling is better, you will notice it, don't go cheap on the tires and warm them up properly.

Overall comfort including "bumpy road mode", require lift, then the NON-AF is the way to go.


Ferrari rep told me during a Ferrari Event ride along in 2023 that the GTB the AF is approximately 30% stiffer / harsher ride, which to me wasn't bad at all on the roads I drive in the country side and suburban streets.

Bump steer is non-existent which is amazing.

However bad roads are certainly more noticeable in the AF but not "harsh".

The first thread in your OP will certainly have all the information in it you need.


Also not officially confirmed, but the GTS AF is perhaps "softer" than the GTB AF version.

 

the customizable damping curves on the multimatic shocks allowed the ferrari engineers to create a handling dynamic on this car that is phenomenal. essentially- they customized these things to behave exactly as they should during track driving. by controlling damping within the shock absorber they enable the suspension to react quickly to changing road conditions, preventing excessive body roll and maintaining tire contact with the ground for better traction. i came from driving R8's. i am not exaggerating when i tell you that the damn car feels like it has awd. it has THAT much traction on the front. in turn 14 and 15 in sebring this car was wild. i cannot tell you how much i recommend this option.

i am not motivated by resale values or depreciation curves. i am motivated by my driving experience and ability to extract all the performance this machine was made capable of by the passion of the engineers that made it. the engineers are not the marketers or the ceo or the sales brokers or salesmen. i sit at the table with them and i thank them for what they did.

i bet these guys crack their brains along with the test drivers and spending weeks ironing out the best settings .... biting their nails, and burning out their espresso makers and doing it for the love of the sport. and they say to each other.... in the end...

"after all we've done i hope some son of a ***** somewhere drives this thing so they can see what it can do vincenzo"

and those dudes they are talking about don't really worry about "bouncy" or "jarry". in fact bouncy and jarry reminds those dudes during mundane drives what this car is capable of.

i could care less about all the other ****. if you don't feel this way i honestly think you should stick with the stock suspension so you don't stress about the money thing. you'll still love the car.

 

man now you’ve got me looking to trade in my F8…

 

I have CUP 2Rs from factory and Carbon Fiber Wheels. It does improve the handling and "harshness" even more. Something to consider. I think the Pilot 4s are the "Sweet spot" for the road because they require less heat, but once heat is on the cup 2r tires they are magical on the road and track. Do a burn out or drive them with spirit for 10mins prior to anything crazy.

 

The higher the tyre pressure, the more bouncy the ride. You might want to lower the pressure. The same applies to sidewalls stiffness; the stiffer the sidewall, the bouncier the ride.

 

i tracked mine at Sebring. the 4S tires were surprisingly good. almost like the regular Cup 2s. the K compound Ferrari picked for this iteration of the 4S is really something. better than any standard 4S i've driven- including the R8 spec.something tells me it is a Cup 2, but with good rain traction.

i do have the CF wheels. FYI.

i think that if you never plan on driving this car very fast you don't need the AF. but if you do you will get more out of it. this car is extremely fast and it needs a serious suspension when you are going that fast.

 

My GTB had the AF, I never thought it was bouncy, but I would have described it as a bit firm for a Ferrari road car. Moving more in the Porsche GT direction, but not as firm as my friends GT3 I’ve driven. However, a lot of this will depend on the roads in your area, the kinds of bumps and road undulations you experience. My roads are uneven, all kinds of high frequency undulations, ruts, little breaks in the pavement, fairly terrible, but not an utter disaster (as much as I would like to tell you they are).

Cup2 tires can be surprisingly usable in the wet, as long as the temps aren’t too low, and take note of which iteration of Cup2 tire you are running- is it K1 or K2. I forget now, but my Pista has one version, and my SF90 has the other. One of them is clearly more track focused (Pista) it has less sidewall cuts and the channels are no where near as deep for water evacuation… the Pista tires will hydroplane fairly easily. The ones on the SF are more like a super version of the 4S- which is a really great tire to begin with…

 

4S would obviously be better for foul weather, but the Cup tires are noticeably nicer for sporty driving. One idea would be to swap to winter performance tires for the winter or even maybe a really good all season like the Michelin Pilot All Season.

 

problem with 296- no regular "cup 2" available... cup 2rs will wear out super fast even on road use. and prob problematic in rain? like i said- imo they don't make cup2 for this car because the 4S K compound IS damn near a regular cup 2 imo. that is the way it feel to me. much stickier than the reg 4s i am used too.