Congrats! Mind elaborating on the reasons behind flying vs boat? I presume it’s more than just the travel time?
Hi, and thank you! I appreciate it. I am out here in the San Francisco Bay Area. According to my dealer and my experience, just the boat transit time to my area was 6-7 weeks. Then there was customs/entry into the US. Plus, another day to get into the dealer. Air delivery cuts 6 weeks of the process for me. I will get the car in 2 weeks instead of 8+ weeks by boat. Usually. During the global transport delivery lockup, my F8 delivery took another 10 weeks on top of my usual transport process. Also, I have anecdotally heard that there is more care in air delivery vs. boat delivery cars. A dealer told me all his vehicles are air freighted for this reason.
I have done the same for my last few f cars. My GTS cost almost 2x my previous cars and that was a ways back…I will most likely my 296 GTS but I bet it’s a lot. I am in the Bay Area too. You have a beautiful spec!
Does the paperwork say the exact rim sizes? I was going to start a new thread about aftermarket wheel options...
Have no paperwork yet. Will see it when the MSRP sticker shows up. Lol. If you mean the air freight paperwork, I have seen it a few times. It shows me the real weight of the car but not the rims. The air freight company is separate from Ferrari and they just show weight and what they shipped and where it went. Knowing what the weight listed is always interesting.
Dealer notified me today that my order has been accepted and car should be in production in January. I figure I'll see in in March. That would put it just at18 months from order to delivery.
Really happy as I pick up the 296 today. Had the window sticker sent to me. I noticed that the tires were “Bridgestone Potenza.” Have Bridgestones been used on other models? Maybe I should have them switched to Michelin Cup 2 for delivery. If not, could be next week delivery. I know nothing about these specific Bridgestone tires.
If you ever owned another regular Ferrari going back at least 25 years there's a good chance it would have come on Bridgestone
I will only buy Michelin - probably PS 4S again like my last 4 performance cars. For me it's the sweet spot for street without having to be 110ºF+ to work. Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!
Furthest back for me was my 1999 360 of 22 years ago. I don’t remember what tires I put on it. All I know is that I have always had much better performance with Michelin than Pirelli. I have never owned any F car with a model year before 1999 as I wasn’t excited by any models other than the F50, 288, and 355 from the time period of 1970 to 1999. Do you happen to know what tire class these Potenza match up with in the Michelin and Pirelli line up? Thanks
Same experience. I switched my TdF over to MPS4S and it became fantastic and much easier to drive. To give you a sense of MPS4S, they will be used on the T.33 from GMA. I have Cup 2 tires but it takes 15 miles to heat them up. Adding an extra 10 or so miles on the TdF every time I drive it to get them warm is not great. Have Cup 2 on Pista. Went from 9mm to 5- mm in 2K miles. Replacement is at 3mm I believe. Normal driving.
Same experience - even going from the stock Michelin K1 (F12 special issue) to the 4S was a huge improvement in traction. I got 18k miles out of my first set of 4S rears but admittedly they were skittish even when hot. My commute is only 7 miles down one arterial road. They barely have time to warm before I'm turning it off.
296 is at home now. Too dark to show you my bad garage pic. Will take one tomorrow outside in hopefully sunny weather. Tires are Bridgestone Potenza Sport. On the drive home, I could immediately tell that the 296 has more torque breakaway power than the F8 and Pista. But never got above 40mph as I was on side streets to avoid rock chips. Also, I could feel the shortened wheel base right after leaving the dealership. Very different compared to other modern (era 2000 to current). Sound is very good. Better than Pista in quality IMO. Volume is same. So far, very impressed. More later. PPF gets done mid December. I have scar tissue from my first Pista drive by not waiting for PPF and getting a rock chip on the roof. The same with a Portofino. So my 296 lives in the garage until mid December .
Waiting that long because I love the work my PPF pro does. We have also become friends. He does the full paint correction, polishing, PPF, and ceramic coating. Always comes out great. He does quality work and spends one to two weeks on the car. High attention to detail. Worked with him for 8 cars. Great each time. Does not do windows as he thinks the film adhesive could get stuck if the film will get changed if it yellows. So, he is backed up. There is also the thanksgiving holiday. I found a good video comparing the Michelin MPS4S vs Bridgestone Potenza Sport. First large difference is that tread depth on the fronts are very different. MPS4S with 6.8 mm and Bridgestone with 4.0 mm! The first run times are slower on the Bridgestones. But as good/better on the second run. Tread loss is -40% on the fronts for Bridgestone! MPS4S with -5%. So the Bridgestone is consuming a lot of rubber to get similar times. That makes me think that Bridgestone is actually one step behind in technology development. They are probably at the MPSS stage and have tuned this tire to get good reviews. Well at least I’ll burn them out faster and get something better! Here is the link: And I have a picture of me driving away from the dealership. They texted me it tonight! Rosso Imola . View attachment 3425675
Good questions on the inner sills. We have not done them. I should ask. It's a one-man show for him. Not a "company" even though its a legal company. He doesn't want to manage others, etc and likes running his own schedule and quality. On the company side, I frequently hear the name "PFS" in the LA area and now in the SF Bay Area. But don't want to become a marketing agent for any named company on the site (with the exception of Ferrari).
I've done full PPF on all my cars and doing sills is usually included and if its not included it can't be more than $50-$100 especially if you paying $8-10K for full wrap. At that price point I'm sure most if not all installers will not charge for extra film anywhere you want it. If they do, get another installer.
The 'ROSSO' colors seem a popular choice judging by the late unlamented SF90. Interesting how they shortened the wheelbase to increase the agility. Should look retina searing after it gets the 'treatment' from your guy! Thanks for sharing.
