Hi everyone, I am not new to the forum: I just don't post much. I've owned a 308 GTS QV (grigio/nero)for 4 years and the car has been a joy and very reliable. Service has been pretty simple and, all things considered, not too expensive. I am considering a replacing my 996 daily driver with a 6-speed 360 coupe. I plan to keep teh 308. All I nuts? Can these cars be used as daily dirvers? My commute round trip is only about 5 miles and the car would be parked in a garage wherever it goes. I have an older M3 I use for bad weather, so the car would not see bad weather in winters. It sounds like model year 2002 and later may be the most well-sorted. Thoughts? Thanks, Chris
I drove my 360 every nice day, and now the 430 every nice day. All cars work and run better with regular driving.
Don't use mine as a DD (I'd love to.. but can't), and I find she runs better the more I drive it. Porsches are the same way IMHO..
Well, you're asking for our opinion so here goes: I'd advise against it. It takes my 360 several miles before the oil temp gauge moves off the stop, let alone getting to a normal operating temp- short trips day in day out not too good for any car and thus I wouldn't want to do that to a ferrari! To me, using a 360 every day would (1) spoil the "specialness" of the car to me- I only drive it for pleasure, not going to work/traffic/rain, etc.. and (2) I like to keep my car mint- I'm not anal about it (couple of stone chips and stuff doesn't bother me), but the beautiful leather dash would start to warp, door dings, interior wear etc... with daily driving, spilled morning coffee or what not. Everyone wants something different from their cars, and there are certainly people that drive them every day- for me, I'd rather have a sedan for daily routines. If I didn't want to spend a lot of money for the daily driver it could be an old civic or corolla- doesn't matter, then you could use the 360 for longer drives even if semi daily- the 5 minute commute just doesn't make it worthwhile to me considering I like to get the car up to operating temp by driving (NOT just idleing the car) each time I drive the car. Getting a civic/corolla/other front wheel drive beater solves your bad weather commute issue as well as it will go in the snow (amazing you have an M3 as a bad weather car- my 540 sucks in snow/ice, although I leave the summer tires on it- I'm able to baby sit my dad's front wheel drive car while the parents are in Florida for the winter- I use than when it snows ) Regarding the year, now that the 360 has been out for 12 years, and after living with my car for 2 years, I have not been able to find any benefit of a later 360 vs earlier 360 in terms of reliability. When purchasing my car I did want to skip the 1999 model just since it was the first year, but any of these cars are relatively low volume and largely hand made (at least the motor and parts of the car) so it's not like GM pumping out 1 million chevys the first model year and investing in design changes to make the second model year more reliable. In fact, had I opted for a 1999 I would have avoided the pre-cat failure that just cost me close to $8K (needed a new header, and 1 new cat but upgraded both cats to hyper flow which was cheaper than one ferrari cat). In short, get the best maintained and finest example you can regardless of year. Of course if 2 cars are exactly the same in every regard get the newer one, but don't limit yourself to only later year 360s.
I have used my 360 as a dd, with a short trip to work but only if I am going to drive during the day to a meeting etc. The length of your trip everyday isn't ideal. The car will not warm up fully before you get to your destination. That is what I found. I would also consider the F1. I read all the threads about the manual vs F1 debate before I brought an 03 F1 a year ago. Once you get used to the F1 it is awesome. I like that it leaves both hands on the wheel, if you turn off traction control you want both hands on the wheel.
I am a previous 308 owner. I also had a Porsche as my DD. I recommend keeping the 996 and getting a 360 or F430. You can then DD/2 the pair. That is what I did, I drive the F430 as much if not more than the Porsche. I also DD/3 with my Yamaha R1. So in summary, I drive all of my vehicles as much as possible and do not have space for a garage queen so I intend to drive them all as daily as I can with 3 DDs. The 308 is a great vehicle, but the 360 / F430 is so much more modern, drivable, reliable than the 308. Not that the 308 is unreliable, but they sure get hot in traffic, are hard to steer at low speed, dont have air bags, inefficient AC, can be rust prone, are slow in comparison, etc, etc. I do miss my 308, until I fire up the F430
I am in the same shoes as you -- 6 miles each way to work. I've been using my 6-speed 360 as DD for 2.5 years without any problems. The oil warms up by the end of mile 2. Also, you find yourself taking scenic routes more often than you would in a regular car. Get the car and enjoy it -- my daily commutes have never been more pleasant! Eugene
Thanks for all the input. Please keep it coming. I've had no problems with the 996 as a daily driver. I probably put about 8-9k on it a year. I've had Porsches for 15 years and they have always been solid - but don't make me smile like a Ferrari. I think I would do 5-6k/yr on a 360, plus some track events. I'd like to keep the 996 too, but my gararge is only so big. It's already stuffed with the 996, 308 (which I dearly love for early weekend drives), M3 (which I also track - all-season radials and it goes like nobody's business in snow), and my old Fiat Spider. I used to be anal about keeping the cars pristine, but I just don't have the time. I'd rather drive them. Any big maintnenance issues with the 360 6-speed? I'm a confirmed 3 pedal guy. The 308 has had the usual stuff - belts, clutch (my first ever to replace - but it was mostly gone when I bought the car), and small stuff. I've been pleased with it and would like to see if the 360 would translate to a much more usable Ferrari. Thanks again.
None- the flywheel is light weight so you have to readjust driving the car- the revs drop quickly which means you have to get on the gas a millisecond sooner than in most any other car between a normal upshift to make it smooth. Some people don't get the hang of it, but most do quickly, and several of us got used to it the first day we owned the car The upside to the lightweight flywheel is when you finally let her rip, the car can bang from gear to gear from 8,500 rpm and the weighting of the flywheel has the revs perfectly synched up for the upshift- it's like they tuned the car for when it's being driven like a ferrari should be ALSO (and more importantly), because of the lightweight flywheel the rpms can be controled (raised/lowered) very easily with the side of the foot- I have never driven a stickshift that I can heel and toe as well as this car, and the ability to control the revs really makes you feel like you are "one with the car". My daily driver is a BMW 540 stick which has a "normal" clutch with a relatively heavier flywheel and I can heel toe that car perfectly since I drive it everyday, but I'm not all over the rev range like I am in the ferrari- maybe typically drive the BMW in a range of 1,500-3,000 normally and the ferrari from 2,000-6,000 "normally", but because of the set up of the ferrari clutch I can downshift smoothly with heel/toe even within a wider range of rev usage. You have to get used to it, but it's quite satisfying once you have mastered it. The clutch on the ferrari (stick or F1) is not as substantial/is more fragil than on most other cars, but I guess that is the price you pay for the performance I'm trying to describe in the prior paragraph. I'm on the original clutch at 18.5K miles and its still pretty good, but I don't expect to get 100K or even 50K on the clutch. An example I'll use is a mustang or vette can take some drop clutch peel outs as can the BMWs (not that I ever did that in any of my cars except maybe 2-3 times in the whole time I owned a vette)- I would not want to see that done even once in any ferrari.
I drive mine (2003 360 Modena) *nearly* daily ~20 minutes to/from the office, out to eat, quick grocery runs, or just out to cruise around. Buy it and drive it!
All of this info is very helpful. It is encouraging to hear from those who drive their F-cars regularily - as they were intended to be driven! Now, to find the right color combo 360 coupe! Chirs
Have fun with the search- took me 6 months of a country wide search to find a red/tan 6-speed stick in the condition and color (red) I wanted. Not likely to find the car down the steet in a used parking lot One other thing I forgot to mention about the stick- I noticed you have a 308 so you are familiar with this- I still skip 2nd gear for the first couple of miles until the gearbox is warmed up a little. I've read others get rid of the difficult cold 2nd gearchange with other gearbox fluids, but my mechanic only uses the ferrari recommended fluids (Shell oils I think?) not aftermarket- it's really not that big of a deal to me- I'd rather have him maintain the car to his comfort as he's the expert who has been working on ferrari/lambo/maserati for decades! Also, I keep the revs below 3,500 or even 3,000 with light throttle until the oil gauge has moved off the peg. Even once it is a little off the peg I only use up to 4K or so until the oil temp is well off the peg before exploring the higher rev ranges or using higher amounts of throttle. The owners manual says to keep it below 4,000 rpm until a certain temp is reached (I forget what temp), but to be anal I keep below 3.0-3.5K, while also being careful not to "lug" the motor. I never idle the car to warm up the motor as driving the car easy is the better way to warm up any car (not just a ferrari). Good luck with the search!
Thanks Andrew911. I drive my 308 the same way, but 2d is an issue only on really cold days. Otherwise, it slips into 2d with no problems. It took me about a year to find a grigio 308 I liked, with records. The search paid off though. I'm thinking blue this time.... So, do you have a 91 too? Chris
I drive mine the EXACT same way.. my wife thinks I'm not driving it right. But I am. I even skip 2nd sometimes when warm, just because it's a smoother transition. I've only had to change 1 clutch in the cars I've owned.. after 10 years of ownership! Good luck with the search.. finding the right car is fun in itself. 6-speed gated cars can be a rare commodity, but for those of us who prefer it.. there is no other way.
No 911- I had 3 (not all at one time) but sold a 1993 cabriolet Carrera 2 with 28K miles to get the 360- the only car I would have sold it for... Some day I'd like to get another mint low mileage late 1980's 911 again (I had an '87 before the '93), but it would have to be in addition to the ferrari, not as a replacement! I'm still an aircooled 911 guy at heart, but the ferrari is a whole new universe- the top of the food chain for a car nut such as myself and I'm grateful I was able to get the 360- true artwork in every respect (looks, sound, craftsmanship of the interior leather (including the smell of fine leather), and of course performance)!
I transitioned ( new terminology for getting older ) through the years as a Porsche driver owning various models. I've kept two of my Porsches, a 1975 914 ( converted to a 3.6 ) and a 1970 914-6. The reason I mention the 914 is due to the " feeling attached " to the vehicle experience and my ultimate DD a 360 Spider converted to Stradale specifications. My preference is a three pedal car ...maybe nostalgic, but all those years of practicing the heel / toe technique could not go to waste. While I enjoy the F-1 paddle system in cars the 6 Speed in a 360 is a very smooth transmission even in bumper to bumper traffic here in Southern California. As these vehicles get older and reading through F-Chat , there seems to be more F-1 related problems than 6 Speed Manuals. For those inclined to work on their vehicles the 6 Speed Manual is not SD2 - SD3 dependent to adjust. It is a basic Pressure Plate / Clutch Disk / Throw out Bearing. The added advantage of installing a Stage 2 / Kevlar Disk for added clutch life and performance driving is a plus of the 6 Speed Manual. I live less than 5 miles from work and drive the 360 almost on a daily basis with no issues. Important to note that the car rarely sits idle for a full 8 hours as I No problems in my book driving a 360 as a DD !
How many miles are on your cars? That must be pretty cool to come out and see a garage with only Ferraris in it.
