Break-in vs. performance

When my brother bought his F430, we would occasionally get an opportunity to drag race each other out on a quiet street. We were rather surprised that he was not able to beat my 996 GT3 RS. We also saw quite a few YouTube vids showing F430s beaten by GT3s. This made no sense as the F430 has a definite power to weight advantage over the 996 GT3. Of course an impromptu street race is not a scientifically accurate measure, but it was clear to me from our occasional straight-line "experiments" that his car was not faster than mine.

After some thought I posited that break-in may have been the reason. Most Ferraris are driven very sparingly and can take years to rack up enough miles to fully loosen up. Many Porsches, OTOH, are driven a lot more than that (my RS is my daily driver). So I figured that our experiences, and those on YouTube, may be down to factory-fresh Ferraris chasing loosened-up Porsche's.

Now, about a year later and some 6000 miles on the F430, I think my assessment was correct. This past weekend we had an opportunity to go again and this time the Ferrari was able to put some air between us. I'm still really impressed that my RS, with its 100 hp deficit, is able to hang so close to the 430's rear bumper. But there's no question the Ferrari is now the faster car.

I must stress that my theory remains unscientific. For one thing, neither my brother or I are prepared to punish our cars with a launch from rest, so our races have been rolling starts (that "LC" button is just wasted space on my brother's console). Also, Johannesburg is at 6000 feet altitude, so we're both down about 18% power. However, we did race once at sea level when his car had about 2k miles on it, and I was able to beat him there too.

Bottom line is - I was faster than him a year ago, but he's faster than me now. As his car is a F1 and we're talking rolling starts, it can't be down to an improvement in his driving. So I believe it's break-in that's made the difference. And that would suggest his engine has gained some serious extra power - maybe 80-100 hp!

I think it's a tragedy that so many Ferraris are garage queens that rarely get to fully mature. Many owners never get to experience the thing at its best. Besides just power, the car feels so much better with miles on it. I drive my bro's car enough to tell you that it's a much more enjoyable machine now than it was 5000 miles ago. Not only is it faster, but the suspension and F1 box both feel slicker in operation.

Don't trap your Ferrari in a garage. Get out there, put miles on it and you'll discover a wholly improved machine emerging with maturity.

Here are some pics from a x-country trip we did last year: Road Trip

 

Yes, the GT3 is definitely an over-achiever. And the RS, with its LWFW, revs out astonishingly fast. And it just feels so brilliantly "connected" to drive. I'm a GT3 RS addict.


>> Well remember Ferrari does test the engines, and newer cars don't need the same break ins like old cars do.

That's true, but the factory break-in is nowhere near sufficient to fully loosen up the drivetrain.


>> If you ask me, he beat you later on due to one real thing....he got better at driving the car!

Of course I can't disprove that, but exactly how much skill is needed for a rolling start and paddle-shifting? Besides, 3rd gear at WOT, I used to slightly pull on him. But not any more.


>> Engines do get more powerful and efficient after being broken in and driven for a while but not as you stated "gaining 80-100hp after break in".
>> Not like they used to, I'd say maybe 10 ponies or so....not enough to make the differece he stated on the first post LOL.

From my (admittedly unscientific) seat-of-the-pants experience with the F430, plus its gains against my GT3, I'd put money on the F430 having gained > 50 hp between 1k and 6k miles. It's an altogether more enjoyabler car now than it was new. Same was true of my RS, BTW. It too got faster and more pleasant to use with a few thousand miles of wear. I'd love to see a dyno comparison of an F430 at 1k miles and then at > 6k miles.


Glad you guys enjoyed the pics. They were taken between Johannesburg and Plettenberg Bay. I do the trip every year, and I drive down on Christmas day to avoid traffic and police. It's a fantastic experience for a sports car nut like myself. My brother usually flies, but he drove his Ferrari down this past December. We had a great time on the road together, as you can imagine.

If you want to see more pics of cars and previous trips (in my old Mk-I GT3), check out my website. I also wrote a story about the first trip I did in 2003: http://www.warrengore.com


Anyway, get out there and drive those Ferraris! They're not ornaments.

 

If the power gain is less than say 20-30 hp, that would not be enough to feel by the seat of the pants. And I doubt it would be enough to explain the gains against my RS. That is why I feel it's more like 50 hp or more. Is that really impossible on an engine designed to make around 500 hp? I believe there is a substantial reduction of internal friction in a fully loosened-up engine compared to when it's new. I would imagine, at 8k rpm, that even a tiny reduction in friction could make meaningful extra horsepower. And it's not just the engine that loosens up, there's also the tranny and diff.

Don't many high performance engines consume a lot more oil when new than after a few thousand miles? That's gotta tell you something.

Could the ECU be involved? Does the ECU modify its programming at all as the engine wears in?

Anyway, forget all the technical stuff - my post originally was just to tell you guys with very few miles on your cars that they will get better and better the more you drive them.

 

>> The F430 is mid-engined....just as good, if not better for traction.

The GT3 totally has better traction off the line - much higher % of weight over the rear axle. Better traction on corner exit too. Mid-engine gives better handling balance in corners, not better traction. Anyway, it's irrelevant in a rolling-start, straight-line race.