308 Frame so solid??

While it is rigid enough to lift both wheels, there is still plenty of flex.

 

what you're seeing is an effect of stiff suspension. The 308 suspension doesn't have a lot of travel compared to most cars we're used to. No, all the creaks and groans my car gives when going over speed bumbs reminds me just how flexable the chassis is!

 

Yep, that frame is stiff....every time I jack up one corner of my car, the WHOLE SIDE of the car lifts off the ground, not just a corner. For me, this means I have to put all four corners on stands, one side at a time.....alittle precarious, but it usually takes two people to raise my car.

 

My 1977 GTB feels MUCH stiffer than my 2003 Nissan 350Z Track model (hardtop). My Z creaks a bit when traversing a driveway entrance/exit at an angle; not so with the GTB.....

Enzo knew what he was doing......

Greg

 

Just put a stand under one side in rear, and jack up other side and do same, then it will be resting on the front wheels, guaranteed. You don't need two people and don't need to get all four corners off the ground.

 

You only need to look at the rear end of the chassis when the engine is out of the car to realize how frail the car is back there. 308s could definitely benefit from some extra bracing back there (and in the front too).

Wil

 

Especially on a GTS

 

I don't think thengine adds much in the way of rigidity since it's rubber mounted but but the chassis probablyflexes more with the engine IN if you jack up the car by one corner due to the extra weight.

Wil

 

i drive up on ramps then jack up each side

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=61449

 

You better chock those front tires if you raise both rears, or your car's gonna roll forward..........

Greg

 

I have owned a few convertables over the years, and currently own a MB 380 roadster. I felt, both as a passenger and driver, that two GTSi's I have been in, were among the stiffest cars I have ever been in. Not as stiff as my Alfa GTV, but certainly very stiff. And I also thought that the GTS cars, were among a very short list of cars that could be raced without need for a roll cage. What other open cars are stiffer than a GTS?

 

How is it gonna roll off two jack stands??? I do it all the time, and it never budges a bit, not even remotely.

 

The 3X8 cars and derivatives are generally pretty stiff cars. This is, in large part, due to a particularly strong triangulated tube frame rather than unibody construction (which can also be similarly stiff depending on guage and reinforcement). The reason you are experiencing some wobbles when you jack the car up is due to the fact of the relatively short suspension travels present on Ferraris. Said another way, whereas other cars might maintain three wheels on the ground when jacking up one corner - due to greater suspension travel (and thereby lessening the wobbling effect) - Ferraris tend to lift the wheels on the alternate corners more easily because of less suspension travel on the alternate corners. This effect is further heightened with respect to fore and aft ends by the stiffness of roll bars - again, these are often thicker, and therefore stiffer, in Ferraris than in other autos.

 

When we're talking about chassis rigidity in performance cars, we're usually referring to torsional rigidity. That's the frame's resistance to twisting, such as when jacking up one corner of a car. The 308 GTS is certainly more rigid than, say, a pick-up truck, but not all that much for a sports car. The GTB has the benefit of a roof to help out some. I still think it's a suspension travel issue. But does that help you jack up your car?
Personally, I use jacks on either side of the car at the "torque boxes" right in front of the rear wheels. This will safely raise the rear of the car up.
Wheel chocks and jack stands for safety! I sound like my dad.

 

...and you are or are not chocking the front tires? If not, man you're taking a chance. My philosophy is always better safe than sorry and that kind of sorry is permanent.

 

Right on, Big Al!!! To not chock the front tires with BOTH rear wheels up is pretty crazy... The jack stands are no guarantee of stability.......


Greg