296 GTS Must-Have Equipment Options

for MUST HAVE I did:
1. AFS
2. Lifter
3. Shields
4. F/R parking sensors. (All of them come with the back up cam now standard. I considered the 3D surround view, but after people pointed out the weird bubbles in the rear view mirrors I decided against it)
5. Carbon Fiber steering wheel with lights
6. Apple play (albeit I'm reading here that it may be standard?

For stuff I added but don't think its must have:
1. Blind-spot monitoring

Stuff that is nice and I may consider depending on what people say:
1. Hi-fi stereo
2. Carbon fiber central tunnel

 

Question, the fiorano pack has no lifter, is it really a big dealbreaker when trying to sell? I see so many saying the lifter is important. Can you not go over speed bumps or something in the assetto fiorano?

 

IMO the lifter is not a necessary option for where I drive the car / live. We had 2 458s in the family without and and one with and we never use the lifter. I can see it being useful in many places and from what I've seen / read that it is very important to have for re-sell, I know for me it was almost a priority (until we got it and realized not needed for our use). The need for Fiorano is subjective because the lack of lifter and the paint, which I know some people despise. I'm a fan of what Fiorano package offers (suspension) but this car won't be a track car as a GTS so no Fiorano for my needs.

 

You dont have to get the paint with the AF. The paint is an additional option. At this point, I don’t think any things are must have- its all personal choice. You could get a car without shields and without the LEDs and someone somewhere will want that one day.

Get the car as you want it. I would just want to say things like the hi-fi or sensors, they are difficult to near impossible to add after the fact.



Sent from my iPad using FerrariChat

 

Must haves for me include lifter, sensors and hi-fi.

I use my lift maybe once every 6 weeks, but when you need it for a steep driveway there's not a lot of other ways around it.

Do not get the factory protection film. It's crap and I've already seen it on the demo cars, the application and seams are downright embarrassing and it had little pulled corners collecting dirt already since it doesn't wrap around the panel edges. Get PPF from an independent installer.

The other thing is that you almost certainly need the paint buffed and detailed before applying any PPF because the factory clearcoat is less than ideal on delivery. That's always been a weak point on Ferrari production cars. Somehow Audi and Lexus can get a nearly flawless paint and clear for their big cars.

 

This was posted several days ago from one of the top paint correction, detailers in the country. This gentleman has done my cars before and is highly respected.
As background, on my F8 I had the paint corrected followed by the PPF, followed by ceramic coating. To say I was shocked when I read this would be an understatement. So now I’m not so sure I did the ‘right thing’. Many theories I guess.

BUYER BEWARE: of any Detail, PPF, Vinyl or Tint shop suggesting that you have them perform a paint correction or polish before they install a Paint Protective Film (PPF) onto your vehicle! They are purely trying to deceive you and take your money. It is 100% completely unnecessary and inappropriate to have your paint polished, thus removing unnecessary amounts of paint, just in order for them to do a “proper” film install. If a company suggests or recommends that in order for you to get the best possible film outcome they should polish your paint I highly suggest you find another installer. Your main intent behind responsible car ownership is to preserve your factory finish. Unnecessary polishing can and will cause premature aging resulting in paint failure, repainting and lost car value.

FACT: PPF will hide any all car wash swirls and light scratches.

FACT: if a scratch will be visible through the film, chances are it’s not removable anyways

FACT: if you can apply a PPF film over a matte(dull) paint finish to makes it flawlessly glossy, it will easily hide swirls & light scratches

FACT: if PPF will completely hide 1000 grit sand scratches it will also hide car wash swirls

FACT: polishing paint removes paint

FACT: when you remove an aged film it will usually leave glue residue behind causing you to mar the finish when removed requiring you to polish(remove) the paint

FACT: if you think it’s a bad idea to have swirls hidden under the PPF, you have flawed thinking

FACT: if a shop requests that they polish the paint in order for the film to stick better = look elsewhere

FACT: if a shop says they’ll “throw in” polishing before they apply PPF they are trying to add false value = look elsewhere.

FACT: if a shop requires that they polish the paint before they install PPF = look elsewhere

Thank you Scott Hibbeler for taking the time to make this video providing undeniable proof that PPF can and will hide swirls & scratches.

 

You don't have to do paint correction before PPF, it just depends on the condition of the paint when you receive the car. 90% of cars I've had delivered need some degree of polishing/paint correction, especially darker colors where the imperfections show more. Sometimes it's just one panel, sometimes it's the whole car. Sometimes it's a very light polish, sometimes a little more aggressive. You're not removing paint anyway, just a minuscule layer of clear coat. To get to the paint you basically have to do wet sanding, which is a whole different thing that I would not recommend. But I'm certainly not paying to get a whole car wrapped just to seal in factory paint imperfections. Once the car is wrapped the paint will likely never see the elements again anyway, so proper paint correction (if needed) is a must. Remember, paint correction is to remove superficial swirls and imperfections, not to remove orange peel or fix deep scratches.

As far as must haves, I disagree with the fact that painted shields are a must on this car. I am getting them on my 812 GTS but they look correct on that car as the fenders are massive. The 296 is a relatively small car with very small front fenders and very little space between the door and the wheel arches, imo painted shields will look disproportionately large, bordering on the the ridiculous. Again, just my humble opinion.

 

I agree with your comments on the need for paint correction. Several of my Ferraris were delivered with less than stellar paint.

 

For must-haves, I would suggest front axle lift, upgraded hifi and 360deg camera.
For must-not-haves I would say scuderia shields (unpopular opinion, but I'm a purist..)

 

I specced an 812 GTS which arrived in April. I am getting ready to spec a 296 GTS.

Things I will keep:
Shields
Carbon fibre wheel
Front and rear parking cameras
Carbon Fibre central bridge
Passenger display
High power hifi system

Things I will add:

Leather headliner
Suspension lifter
Maybe a few carbon fibre items

Deciding on seats, wheels and colors.

 

This is solid info, excellent post. I might add, the installer will need to clay the car first THEN install the PPF. the really crazy aspect of installing PPF over a car that has ceramic is the PPF may not adhere as well. Ceramic ON TOP of the PPF not needed. There are specifically formulated PPF post wash applications to use for that. An all-over on a 296 shouldn't cost more than $4500-5500. Rule #1 of new car ownership (especially a Ferrari...get PPF done before you drive it)

 

LOL. you never have to do a traditional heavy polish on brand new car paint. but you ALWAYS have to do a paint correction (which is literally claying and removing any fine swirls via extremely light buffing that WILL NOT go past the clearcoat). i have learned about this for the last 19 years via all the cars i have owned.

and... PPF CAN GET swirls on it. you never drive your car through a carwash even with PPF. if you do swirls will appear on the PPF and/or on the coating you put OVER the PPF if you have one.

commercial car washes are the bane of any one who likes to take care of their car. courtesy of the dirty pick up truck that Jethro drove through just before you put your car after...

 

Please can someone confirm what these are?

They were on a demo 296GTB that I tested and the dealer was unable to confirm what they are.

If they are, as suggested, the front parking sensors, I'll certainly not be having them.

 

You should definitely not purchase from that dealer if they can't answer the question, they appear to be parking sensors

 

Those are part of the Surround view camera system option. Here is a car in India fitted with the Surround view option and you can see the system has a unit in both front grills as well as the camera on the centre of the front splitter.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

UK market cars get the Front Parking Sensors option as standard. This is Maranello's demonstrator and you can see there are no visible sensors on the front so they must be hidden somewhere.

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I specced up a GTB a while back and think I will have largely similar options on GTS I have ordered:

Scuderia Shields

Chrome painted rims

Carbon fibre front spoiler

Carbon fibre under door cover

Carbon fibre rear diffuser

Carbon racing seats

Racing seat lifter

4 Point Safety Harnesses

Colour upon request stitching

Embroidered prancing horse on headrests

Coloured steering wheel

Coloured inner details Alcantara

Carbon steering wheel with LEDS

Carbon fibre upper tunnel

Suspension lifter

Adaptive front light system (goes with lifter)

keen to hear what others think (or have gone for)

 

You mean painted shields

 

This is pretty close to my GTS spec apart from I have matt corsa wheels and no carbon fibre centre tunnel or coloured steering wheel.

Also I was “strongly advised” to get the Titanium wheel bolts to go with my rim choice and to be fair they look a lot nicer than standard.

final thought is don’t get the racing harnesses unless you are using it solely in track or you want to be strapped in on every single drive to the supermarket. For some reason Ferrari (unlike Porsche) doesn’t offer you additional seat belts with the harnesses which seems crazy.

 

Why would anyone drive their Ferrari to the supermaket? They must be the same people who wear their Armani suit and their Rolex to go grocery shopping...

 

Interesting that a majority don't order with the CF exterior bits. I didn't and don't regret it one bit.

For those of you who want the CF stuff...OEM CF side sills are available for $5k (google) and aftermarket for $2500. Not sure what the Ferrari price is for the CF sills...$20k?

 

Yes - the same sort of people that fit racing harnesses on road cars

 

I 'll admit that harnesses are a pain in the arse in every day driving, but they do make sense in spirited driving, whether of the road, or at the track.

Many years ago I had bought a gadget that fixed the automatic (normal) seat belt into a certain position, basically turning it into a 3-point harness. I 'm afraid I have misplaced it though. It offered a good compromise between every day usability and holding the body firmly, as you could use it whenever needed, without otherwise compromising comfort.

 

I want to do shields and bucket seats… but no other carbon… would love to get GTS sticker under $400k

I just cannot justify adding $60k + in carbon decorative pieces

 

$8606 USD as an option.