My understanding is the car has a hot V. Ie the turbos are inside the V of the engine. The engine as far as I understand, does away with a normal intake manifold (which are mostly plastic these days). Hot V engines are not new. F1 has been using them since 2014. Major manufacturers bmw, audi and Mercedes use them. Increasing the water jacket size is normal to dissipate thermal load caused by 830hp. The 296 creates a huge amount of heat with its hybrid pack, but if you carefully watch the engine thermometer you will see that the temperature is controlled very very well even in 30deg+ temperatures. I have had a 296 GTB and GTS and have not suffered any issues to do with the car dying out (yet!). I did get an issue on my GTB when I started it after 3 hours of use (and 2 hours sitting) where a plethora of lights came on( but I was seriously low on fuel). I had the engine light come on, a misfire and lots of warnings (no hybrid or battery warning’s). I put it down to being very low on fuel. It was fine after refuelling. I personally think Ferrari has done an epic job and has really pushed the envelope. They have done an excellent job on the engineering side. You will always have issues with electric systems for hybrid cars in their nascent form. You must remember, Ferraris are made in very low numbers and as such any issues will show up more readily. I have owned Ferraris for 18 years and I think they have done an incredible job with the 296. I just think the styling is a bit soft !!!
To be fair, and I am by no way a Ferrari apologist, but all cars put out "Cheronble heat" -- hybrid, ICE, and basically anywhere in between.
the temp reading on the gauge is the water temp not the under hood temp where the plastic is which if you took an IR gun reading you would be amazed on the difference in temperature. Plastics don’t take well to constant heat and cooling, they tend to warp and crack. Your ownership of Ferrari’s is noble. I have owned them and worked on them since 1986, you can do the math! Bottom line as far as I am concerned a vehicle with a sticker price well north of $400K shouldn’t have plastics anywhere near the power-plant, but that’s just me. If I were an owner of this vehicle I would buy those pieces as spare parts now, while they are available. I firmly believe that there will be an aftermarket fix for this substandard design issue on a high performance vehicle. With regards to the engine hydraulic engine dampers, all you need is one to fail and it will be catastrophic considering the rpm’s this engine turns. I realize and so does Ferrari that most owners drive less that 1k a year on their vehicles, so they are betting on the safe side. Good luck with both of your 296 vehicles, I will be watching this car very closely.
Yes I agree but most US vehicles have ample room around the engine bay, don’t have sealed bottoms, and have ample radiators to dissipate the heat better than any of the 8 cylinder Ferraris lately. You can take an IR gun to the engine bay of any of the US high powered iron and you will see what I mean. Heat kills engines pure and simple. If you have ever looked at a modern day Ferrari radiator you will see how small it is, vs how much heat it has to get rid of. Just think of it this way, if you have an OAT ( outside air temperature) of 90 degrees the Highway surface is at least 100 plus. You are now pushing 100 degree air thru a radiator that has a thermostat set at 190 with your thermal limit on that vehicle at 220. And that’s with a perfectly operational system and fans. A dirty Raditor or an inoperable fan and your toast!
Going to assume this is a typo or translation error & is supposed to say intake pOrts. Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Thanks for the post. Interesting time will tell with these cars. I hope if things aren’t right they sort things out soon.
I like the fact that Ferrari used the short stroke and wider cylinder spacing for cooling. This engine is running in the 499 P and won LeMans and in the GT3 class and won the 24hr. of Nurburgring. I am not as concerned as Clyde about the plastic intake runner as Ferrari has significant experience with such composites. If it fails, there will be a replacement in some exotic metal-- at Ferrari's expense.
Reminder: race car engines do not require durability as part of the design, even for a 24hr race, after such a race, the entire engine is rebuilt or retired, street cars require much more thoughtful design regarding maximizing engine life.
Every single manufacturer uses plastic everywhere on their engines now. It is not only weight saving but cost saving. I agree manifolds should be made out of metal, but you cannot build such finely balanced intake manifolds out of metal for modern era hybrid cars. The car would weigh over 2 tons if every plastic engine part was produced in metal. By using composite materials for intake manifolds, which car manufacturers have been doing for at least 20 years, they can keep overall weight down. Don’t get me wrong, I do not disagree that a plastic part will eventually faiil, but I do not think it will be due to temperature. It will be due to poor manufacturing and design. And 1986. Wow that’s some ownership of Ferraris right there. Congratulations on a long stint! Let’s all just remember how blessed we are to own and drive these amazing machines courtesy of one Enzo Ferrari.
When this happens to me, I just smile and pose for the picture. The best luxury is driving a Ferrari and not worrying about it
Yes there is a lot of plastic in modern day cars, but paying over $400k for a vehicle and having an engine that has thermal issues from the start and locating such a crucial part made out of plastics should not happen. it’s a like the space shuttle challenger accident, they knew better ! And we all know what happened there!
On the 'face' of it, yes, but, as for literary reference, @TheMayor is rather spot on..at least in the idea of total control of the population Huxley's dystopian novel describes a future society in which technological and medical innovations are used by the state to exercise control over its citizens. https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/brave-new-world-by-aldous-huxley#:~:text=Aldous Huxley's novel Brave New,exercise control over its citizens.
Much of what you say is true but there are other considerations. Those plastic parts are being routinely replace in dealers and repair shops all over the country. For a BMW or a Ford it is at a reasonable price. We all know a major component like that will be a considerable expense from Ferrari. Additionally the Fords and BMWs a small percentage will still be on the road in 20+ years and both companies have a very good reputation for for parts supply for older cars. Ferrari on theother hand has a very large percentage of old cars still on the road and their reputation for supplying parts for older cars is dismal in comparison. Making parts with planned obsolescence has a very different impact on these cars. It would be different if Ferrari cared. They do not and everyone in the Ferrari service industry knows that very well.
I also found it interesting after a brief search I found no online source for Ricambi Originali parts for 296 just to see what some of those prices are now.
Eurospares are now listing parts for the 296 https://www.eurospares.co.uk/Ferrari/296/296_GTB/PartDiagrams
I have worked on a lot of powerplants in my day this one while installed in a vehicle would be a major challenge. The engine bay is extremely tight and doesn't allow for much room.
Truer words were never spoken, my guess is that the long-time owners of these vehicles will find out the hard way on parts availability. Or buy parts from wrecked cars. But once again the average Ferrari owner rarely drives the car more than 3K a year!
