550 minor issues, questions | Page 2 | FerrariChat

550 minor issues, questions

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by speedball, Mar 30, 2004.

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  1. coachi

    coachi Formula 3

    May 1, 2002
    2,108
    SC USA
    #26 coachi, Apr 18, 2004
    I too have experienced this same handbrake problem since I bought my Maranello. I think the emergency brake does release but the light sometimes does not go off. I will try the suggestions given in the thread. I avoid using the handbrake just because it is annoying to turn the light off. I even have to open the door to be able to properly pull up on it and release it..otherwise my watch scrapes the door panels with unwanted results.

    As for the brakes , mine did squeal a bit at the beginning, but I took the car in for service and they cleaned the calipers and rotors and I have not had any more squealing since.

    As for the exhaust, I found a set of new exhausts on EBay (Tubis) and given the real nice price, bought them and installed them. The car sounds much better especially at idle. Seems like most maranello owners have switched to Tubis.

    I too love the car. It is the very best Ferrari I have enjoyed driving. Just for comparison, I had a bunch of work done on my 73 Daytona and drove it yesterday for fun..it was not fun. It has new MSD's, new plug wires etc...and doesnt drive anything like the maranello. I have six Ferraris in my collection and my order of preference is

    (1) Maranello
    (2) 83 Boxer
    (3) 86 TR
    (4) the daytonas (have 2)
    (5) 79 308... that car is an uncomfortable car to drive in my opinion.

    Enjoy
     
  2. shelbee

    shelbee Guest

    #27 shelbee, Apr 18, 2004
    I think you will enjoy one 550 than your two old cars. Congrats!!


    What I usually do, I pull the handbrake up, keep pressing the button, then release until the handle touches the carpet. Usually this will make the light go off easily without any problem.


    I am not a radio user either. Mainly CD. But agree the reception is pretty bad. I think it is because of where they place the antenna.


    This is something I have to live with. Have not changed the brake pads. Thanks for the tips in what brand to change.


    Personally I keep it in stock. It is supposed to be a GT car, you can be inside your car listening to your passanger's conversation or music or whatever without having to listen to your exhausts or someone's else, but it is my 2c.

    Enjoy the torque at the 4th and 5th gear :)
     
  3. ze_shark

    ze_shark Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2003
    1,274
    Switzerland (NW)
    #28 ze_shark, Apr 18, 2004
    Re: handbrake: never using it. First gear or reverse just do fine to stop the car, even in slopes.
    Re: brakes squeeling: mine did not for a while, then ...
    Re: radio. Never using AM. Never seen a good radio in a Ferrari either ...
    Re: Tubi. A personal preference I guess, I am going to put one on mine. I'm generally not in favour of tweaked exhausts, but Tubi mufflers make low rpm cruising really more enjoyable IMO.

    Re: other things of use for a Maranello owner, try reading:
    http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2339
    http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14245
    http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7965
    http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12199
    http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14004
     
  4. Doody

    Doody F1 Veteran

    Nov 16, 2001
    6,099
    MA USA
    Full Name:
    Mr. Doody
    #29 Doody, Apr 18, 2004
    ze_shark - the damn stock cans are RIDICULOUSLY heavy compared to, say, the tubi cans. wildly impressive size and weight delta. i'm guessing that any performance gains from the aftermarket exhausts are purely achieved by weight reduction :)

    speedball - there's been some detailed research on 550 majors here - check the archives (ze_shark may have included it in his links list).

    doody.
     
  5. speedball

    speedball Formula Junior

    Mar 29, 2004
    268
    Pasadena Area
    Full Name:
    Scot Anderson
    #30 speedball, Apr 19, 2004
    Riverflyer........

    Talk about walking amoungst so many great cars..... you must check out this web site .... http://www.autosalon-singen.de ....it's an independent exotic car dealer in Germany ... about 120 km south of Stuttgart. I was there a few months ago just for a look and "maybe" to buy ..... last time I looked they had something like 370 Ferrari's for sale, 4 Porsche 959's (when's the last time you saw one of these), 7 early 300sl's, a Mercedes GTR, and the list goes on and on, including some of the rarest Ferrari's out there .... all for sale. Made an appointment in advance to meet with Herr Daniel Altman ... a great guy, he spent hours showing me around and talking about all the pros and cons with many of the different Ferrari models ..... he's their resident Ferrari expert ......

    Their cars are also priced quite a bit under the US market ... but of course are all Euro models needing conversion if imported to the US ...... I'd been looking at their site for years..... and it was like visiting a museum ...... with one "major" exception ... you could sit in them, open everything, touch, feel ..... and if they believed you're serious ..... test drive ... where else in the world will you find an almost endless section of lightly traveled autobahn just a few blocks from the showroom.
     
  6. riverflyer

    riverflyer F1 Rookie

    Nov 26, 2003
    3,583
    Mendocino, Ca
    Full Name:
    John
    #31 riverflyer, Apr 19, 2004
    Scott, wow, that must have been quite a rush! Do they also offer conversion and complete export paperwork?
    And to all the "experts" with the pbrake fix, thanks, works every time. I was very frustrated with having to mess with the handle release several times on occassion, and making sure the button stays depressed all the way seems to work every time.
    pppsss, went for a great coastal drive yesterday, got rained on(horrors) and rocked through miles of fine two lane twisties in the redwoods. Only had one very momentary loss of traction(too hot into a very tight downhill curve). Once again, I remain in awe of the ease and composure of this wonderful car. And continue to remain puzzled by those that claim the styling is stodgy. To my eye, the car is art.






     
  7. speedball

    speedball Formula Junior

    Mar 29, 2004
    268
    Pasadena Area
    Full Name:
    Scot Anderson
    #32 speedball, Apr 19, 2004
    Exactly my thoughts ...... Maranello is the only Ferrari that has caught my eye since the 275 GTB's and 365 GTB's ............. I love this car.

    While you were driving through the twisties and redwoods ..... I was maybe doing 35mph in bumper to bumper traffic here in LA. Not fair!

    NO .... Auto Salon doesn't handle conversions and had little info to offer on this ... but they will handle shipping to the US. When (or if) the Euro ever gets back where it was a year ago ($ .89) their cars will be a real deal and well worth the cost of importing. The Euro is currently at $ 1.19.

    Regarding my squealing brakes stated at the beinging of this thread ....... I put R4S Porterfield pads on a few days ago ... only driven the car about 100 miles since and haven't worked them very hard because these need to wear in slowly ... but so far not a peep out of them ...... I champered the leading and trailing edges and put red anti-squeal compound on the back of each pad ..... Also flushed the sytem with new ATE Super Blue ....... It's possible once the pads wear in a bit, get real hot, or have some hard stopping, they may start to squeal again ... but so far, so good (fingers crossed) ... I hate squealing brakes and it was embarrasing driving a $ 200k car that sounded like a beater 74 Pinto pulling up to stoplights.

    As for feel and stopping power ... haven't notice much difference from the oem pads.... but they work fine ... and are completely quiet (my only reason for changing) I am aware that the real difference should be when they get warmed up ..... my oem pads were most likely original ... had very little wear if any .... basically the same thickness as the new pads. At this point, I'm very happy with Porterfield pads....... also, changing to ATE Super Blue fluid made it easy to tell when the old fluid was fully flushed because of the color change.
     
  8. bobafett

    bobafett F1 Veteran

    Sep 28, 2002
    9,193
    #33 bobafett, Apr 21, 2004
    Scot: how are you enjoying the R4-Ss? I am pretty happy.

    --Dan
     
  9. speedball

    speedball Formula Junior

    Mar 29, 2004
    268
    Pasadena Area
    Full Name:
    Scot Anderson
    #34 speedball, Apr 21, 2004
    Most importantly ......... still have yet to hear a peep out these ..... very quiet and appears 90% less dusting ..... so yes ... I'm very happy with the R4-S Pads. Thanks for the recommendation.

    Anyone looking for improved brake pads ..... add my name to the list of owners recommending these. Cost $ 288 w/tax for a full set (for a 550). Porterfield is located in Costa Mesa, CA.
     
  10. Geoff

    Geoff Rookie

    May 24, 2004
    13
    Japan
    Full Name:
    Garang Geoff
    #35 Geoff, May 27, 2004
    I used to have a similar problem with the handbrake in my 550. It got worse by the day and one fine day, the brake light just refused to go off no matter what I did (this including some serious yanking which I hope did not cause any damage). After some investigation, I noticed a bare metal gap between the leather covering the brake handle shaft and the black plastic grip of the brake handle. I then found that I could gradually push/twist the black plastic grip back in to close out the gap totally. Since then, I have never had this problem again. I guess the harder I yanked on it during the frustrating moments, the further out I was pulling the grip; hence preventing me from depressing the button enough to release the brake.
     
  11. speedball

    speedball Formula Junior

    Mar 29, 2004
    268
    Pasadena Area
    Full Name:
    Scot Anderson
    #36 speedball, May 29, 2004
    Thanks for your input ..... I "solved" this issue a a few months ago ..... I'm 6' 4" and the problem was I just wasn't getting the handle down all the way .... felt like I was .... it's sort of back twisting exercise to hold in the release button and get that last little bit to the floor before releasing the button. Have never had a problem since figuring this out...... and it appears I wasn't the first one to experience this. Would have been nice if they placed the handle in the traditional center console location like on most cars. Oh well ..... basically almost never use the e-brake anymore except on hills.
     
  12. davehelms

    davehelms F1 Rookie

    Jan 3, 2004
    4,629
    Full Name:
    Dave Helms
    #37 davehelms, May 29, 2004

    Very common problem on 355 and 550. Pull the handle off about an inch, and 2 drops of Super Glue on the metal, and push it back on. Hand brake light gets inconsistant when the brake cable needs adjustment as well. Simple adjustment in front of the LR wheel.
    Dave
     
  13. ghost

    ghost F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa

    Dec 10, 2003
    10,043
    Singapore
    #38 ghost, May 29, 2004
    Scot, PM'd you.
     
  14. ze_shark

    ze_shark Formula 3

    Jul 13, 2003
    1,274
    Switzerland (NW)
    #39 ze_shark, May 29, 2004
    Speaking of minor issues, did everybody notice that the right (passenger side) windshield wiper stops much lower than the bottom of the windshield ?
    Mine is way lower and has to step down the windshield frame, can't be good for the wiper.
    Is this another 'specialty' on my car or a 'feature' of the 550 ?
     
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