458 Spider Owners Please Chime In

We bought a Boxster S largely because of the looks. Considered a 911 Targa but it has a cloth top and probably doesn't have the power you want but looks much better. Of course, looks are in the eye of the beholder so if you like the looks of your 911 Cab then stop crying and just enjoy it.

 

To me it's definitely more exciting to drive than a coupe. Wind in your hair and bugs in your teeth. It just doesn't get any better. My DD is also a convertable. Best of both worlds.

 

+458

Not driving a spider is like a day without sunshine. Man-up. Sit outside. Vitamin D is good for you. Smell the smells. Hear the exhaust. Live a little, man.

Everybody knows sissies drive coupes!
Look at Fl...real men sit outside.

 

I have the 458 Italia for track days and spirited driving, I bought a new Porsche Targa 4 for daily driving/ winter driving and having an open top.

 

Ya Happy?? I put the top up. https://vimeo.com/163962944

 

+1

 

Don't want to kill the love fest but if you really want to man up and feel the environment your in just ride a motorcycle. No contest. Cars should have hard tops. Can't stand sweating in an open car and being blown around.

 

Ride a motorcycle ? Warning Will Rodgers danger ! I like my limbs too much.

 

Spider=jelly.......coupe every time......if you like to drive.

 

Atta boy!

 

Have driven a coupe and own a 458 spider. The option for open air is amazing. Maybe the only downside is when envious people spit on you

 

Plus there are fewer spiders out there, so the resale value should be better

 

dang, you stole my thought. only difference is i currently own a speciale and am looking to possibly move into Aperta. hard top convertibles are best IMO as well

 

I have been told/read that Ferrari has produced more spiders than coupes in previous V8 series cars. I do not know what the final numbers are for the 458 series.
I am a spider owner so I have a vested interest!
Best

 

Resale will be **** regardless so get what you love

 

Get the spider! I just picked up a spider the other day to complement my F12 and it's such an awesome experience driving with the top down.

 

I first bought an F430 Spider, then added a 458 Spider two years later. I like the soft-top and engine window of the F430 Spider, but prefer the look of the 458 Spider's metal top, and also prefer the Spider's profile to the Italia's. The retractable rear window on the Spider is worth the price of admission, by itself. Frankly, I have no desire to own another ragtop, even though I love my F430 Spider. Fred

 

Don't have many tunnels where i live, but, i look for every bridge deck i can find to drive under. My favorite is going under the 4 lane interstate bridge decks, you get to hear two sets of of high rev's working up to the next gear. Spider all the way!!!!!

 

I feel your pain! Was considering the 458 Spider... but ended up picking the Coupe. I just LOVED seeing the engine.

But mostly because I also have a 348 Spider.

So I think your decision needs to be...

Just get a 2nd Ferrari!



(Actually... with the money you would save between the coupe vs. spider... you could!)

 

Just traded my 2008 F430 spider for a 2014 458 spider. One thing I noticed that the rear does not get as scalding hot or is the muffler better insulated? My F430 rear was always running very hot, was worried about the electronics,paint and rubber tubing in the engine. I would always lift the lid after I parked it to let it ventilate quicker.
On my 458 now I notice the REAR carbon ceramic break rotors get very hot, can't even touch them they will burn you. The front not so much? Is that normal? Thinking maybe they are closer to the muffler? This is just on every day driving after about 20-40 miles without hard breaking. Any input much appreciated from 458 owners.
Still miss my F430 but I was not allowed to have 2 Ferraris

 

+1 on loving seeing the engine in the coupe!

 

i never had a convertible before , but with the hardtop, why not. Better for resale perhaps, so thats why i bought it. With that said, i love the option . A lot of attention with the top down ( first convertible), so i don't have it down much. Just my nature. But the times I do, its wonderful. I think the spider looks good either way, top up or down.. Never had the coupe , so can't compare. I think I would be happy with either but would buy the spider again....

 

I love my 458 Italia and don't miss not having an open top. The tradeoff is that the chassis more rigid, I can see the engine, and the lines of the car to me are more fluid and pleasing over the spider's. But I might feel differently if I didn't have a 360 spider.

As for the rear brakes, they often get hotter in spirited driving because the car automatically applies them to stabilize the car, without flashing any intervention lights on the dash or you really even perceiving it. If you turn the switch to race mode, the effect is less. If you turn it off completely, they would heat up as "normal," but I don't recommend that. Why?

Take a look at this video. Hard to say if he had CST off, or just panicked and hit the brakes (NEVER do that in the middle of a turn!), but look what happens. Wait for about the 1:48 mark.

https://youtu.be/ETPZ9BMaUl8

 

The Italia vs. Spider debate is a matter of pure personal taste, period. Both have pros and cons and neither is better than the other.

I opted for the Italia because I needed that glorious engine on display. I compromised. In order to have that, I won't get any open air driving. If the Spider had the engine on display it may have been a different ball game. I also think at the rear of the Italia, aerodynamic purpose of design lines are more apparent.

I'm sad that modern cars and modern Ferraris, due to hardtop requirements (I think!), have gone from completely open top convertibles (Mondial, 348, 355, etc) to semi-convertibles like the 458. If you actually look at the gap a 458 Spider has with the top down, it is roughly equal to my 355 GTS' gap with the roof panel removed!

Like The Mayor stated a couple of posts back, it seems Ferrari has tuned the Italia to be a bit more aggressive, and the Spider a bit more on the GT side. Either way, both quintessential supercars on their own right. I'm extremely happy because I own my Italia, but I'd be at least equally over the moon if I had a Spider. Can't go wrong with any version of the masterpiece that a 458 is. Yes, I love it that much. On Ferrari gatherings here in Portugal, I usually sit behind a 458 smoking a cigarette and enjoying the view in front of me, as if it had been just launched and as if I had never seen one or if I didn't own one.

Kind regards,

Nuno.

 

Yep, hard to tell but it looked like he went into understeer just before he beefed it. Bad brake timing and maybe a little slippery and .... oooof.

No air bags tho...

SV