Hi everybody I drive a 98 550. The car does not have the fiorano pack and i have noticed that at speed above say 120-130 MPH any bump on the motorway will significantly upset the car balance especially in fast bends. I really does reduce tthe confidence you have in the car. I've tried with the suspension in 'sport' mode but this does not change much. As a comparison my 994 C4S with sport chassis is far more composed. Is that something other 550 owners have experienced ? could it be a wrong geometry set-up or is that just the limits of physics ? All comments appreciated
Wish I could help but rarely get my car to that speed on a regular basis enough to know and when at that speed it is usually in a straight line. If it were mine I would check out the suspension set up and make sure everything it as it should be first. It may be a bump steer issue or toe issue. Maybe you could take it to a track and play around with it a little.
Sounds to me like you don't like the responsiveness of the current suspension alignment (e.g. its faster than you like). First, verify that you are holding the steering wheel with a very light touch at high speeds, road irregularities can shake your elbows and induce unintended steering inputs. You are going to want the camber side to side to be equal, and set the toe in to stock, verify caster, and verify ride height. I'm sure someone else can supply the numbers. As long as you are trying to sort out the car, have it cornerweighted before any alignment. Use new tires if possible, set to hot pressures for the alignment (40-41 PSI for track, 37 PSI for street). A car with insufficient toe in the rear can tend to wander as aerodynamic forces gather with speed. You can deaden the car by adding more toe in, and enliven it with toe out. Deaden wander (especially under brakes) -> more rear toe in; deaden steering -> more front toe in. A car with different camber side to side can wander as the suspension moves and weight transfers back and forth under normal road irregularities. You can reduce the responsiveness of the tires by setting camber closer to zero. This negatively interacts with cornering grip. My F355 was very busy with an unsorted suspension, and very calm with a sorted on. The difference between the numbers was surprisingly small before versus after; the difference in feel is light years apart.
I have not had my car to the track yet, and the corners where I live are not the kind you can take at 120+, but in a mostly straight line, my car at 120+ is very stable and feels like it is just finding its true purpose. In fact my first forays into triple digits have left me thinking about an upcoming track day at the big boys oval down at Calif. Speedway. Speeds up to whatever you and your car can put down. Yeeeha. It does sound like Mitch may be correct and you need some fine tuning of suspension and or alignment settings.
i've taken my car "up to speed" a few times and what scared me was how insanely stable it was and how much faster it wanted me to go. get it looked at. doody.
Thibaut, As stated, check the allignment, set to factory specifications, make sure your tires are relatively new with even wear, and corner balancing at time of alignment is an excellent idea. Any dealer experienced with Ferrari Challenge will have corner weight scales and experienced technicians. Best regards, Rob Schermerhorn
Exactly. We have windy freeways overhere designed for high-speed and I've ahd the car at 160+ with rock-solid stability. --Dan
