CST & F430 Handling upgrades on 360 ?

What the 360 lacks are two of the best things about the F430 - the new engine and the electronic dif.

These two transform the car from a mere upgrade to something more like a redesign.

 

I actually run the Scuderia with CST-OFF and CT-OFF, so all these driving aids are removed from my opinion.

The big ticket is the e-diff. It doesn't stop to amaze me.

E-Diff works under heaving braking. I can trail brake deep in areas where other cars would just spin. I can feel the diff controlling the rear wheels lock up, it is a weird feeling as the car starts to go a little sideways, but I don't have to make any corrections, as the e-diff reacts and adjusts torque split on deceleration. In this car I don't need to brake in straight line, I can do it anywhere.

Then under acceleration it works even better. The e-diff works at its best with all the systems off (CST-OFF CT-OFF).

One downside is that it makes the Scuderia a horrible car for autocross, on corner entry at heavy braking the e-diff locks the rear wheels to prevent the car from going sideways, this produces understeer when I'm really looking for rotation. Too bad, but I don't mind.

Another downside is weight, the e-diff system is 44 lbs heavier than a conventional LSD. Drexler in UK is making a conventional LSD for the F430/Scuderia, saving 44 lbs. However, I would rather carry the extra 44 lbs and enjoy this e-diff which I think is one of the best enjoyable features in the Scuderia.

In regards to everything else, with proper springs, alignment, wheels and tires the 360 can handle extremely well.

 

Thanks for looking into this guys.. It has been something that I've been interested in..

However, now I'm not sure I want more nannies in the car.. if it were a matter of changing shocks, maybe A-arms, or springs to replicate the handling I might consider it. I read here about how guys "brake for a deer" in the 2nd week they own their car and crash it, in part because they don't know it and push it too hard. I drive my car with the ASR off, and while it makes me a tad nervous as I start to push it, this is the car that I want to know.

 

It would make more sense to just buy a 430 than waste money on potential. I am sure you could also do an engine and trans transplant if you spent enough money.

 

I agree, all these mods and time tying to make a car into something it was never intended to be. Want a faster car? Buy a faster car? Want a better handling car? Buy a better handling car. If you can't afford the better car, wait until you can afford the better car and be happy with what you have. You will never recoup those kind of mods when it comes time to sell the car, and very few people keep highly modified cars forever.

 

+1. One reason I have a 360 is that it's a 6 spd manual, not F1. At the time, I could not find a 6 spd in a 430 I wanted. Of course, a few months after I got my 360, I saw a 430 6 spd that I would want, but I wasn't interested in changing out cars so soon. An interesting idea, Trev.

 

I prefer the looks of the 360 to the 430 personally... plus mine has the gated shifter..

 

Forget about the CST. That's for street use. Take some driving courses and check in the 360 with a more aggressive alignment setting plus stickier tires should keep it close on the F430's tail. Personally, I prefer the looks of the F430 much more than the 360.

 

Any guess on 'how' not cheap it would be?

I drive a 360 with Intraxx suspension, Challenge wheels & brake-pads and Pilot Sport Cups tires. Just did a track competition with the Ferrari club here having lap-times less than 2 seconds slower than the fastest 458 on the track; the car handles incredibly well. Each wheel has an electronic box to convert damping frequencies, so the traction control still works (though they only got it right for sports mode; in normal mode the TC switches on continuously). I guess without putting a 430 suspension, or at least the same geometry as you said, on there, the 430 traction control won't work.

 

Are you racing your car in the Challenge series or FIA GT? Don't get me wrong, your knowledge of the 360 is very impressive, but unless you are racing on a race track, really who cares about a tenth here or there. It's all bragging rights, nothing more.

Just buy a Challenge Race car and be done with it.

I am more into the mods to make our cars do the following:

1 - Sound Better
2 - Make the tires last longer for street driving by getting rid of the POS Pirelli's
3 - Finding out the little quirks to improve reliability to reduce expensive shop time
4 - Finding parts the previous owner's should have never lost in the first place at the most reasonable price.

 

Bridgestones?

Lol! I hear you...

 

Yes Bridgestones. My 1994 RX-7 had Pirelli's, rears didn't even last 10k miles. My 360 had Pirelli's, rears lasted 5k miles. Hoping my GT2 on the way has Michelin's or Bridgestones. I don't track my cars so I could care less about a bit more grip for way less mileage. Even F1 is having big time problems with their new tire supplier. I loved the Bridgestone / Michelin war they used to have. Every change they make to F1 to slow the cars down never works. The Teams always find a way to make the cars faster. I still laugh that the FIA is trying to reduce costs, when all they are doing is costing the teams big time money in R&D to adapt to the new a ridiculous imposed regulations.

 

I am all for upgrades but not necessarily adding 430 parts to a 360, IMO that doesn't make a lot of sense besides of course the wheels which look great on a 360. It probably makes more sense to go to Brembo or Stoptech for brakes, a suspension company eibach, moton etc and perhaps some other changes such as exhaust, but to each his own.