dropping 550

It may look that way, but dont try it. I know 550 owners and they say going off-road is definitely not an option....at all. Paved road or no road.

-Doug

 

It is not advisable, from what I know, just to lower the rear, as this upsets not just the balance, but also the aerodynamics of the car. I can give you the Euro specs front and rear which are significantly lower, from memory lower in fact than US Fiorano spec, however your car will be even more prone to bottoming out at the front, which can potentially cause expensive damage. US/CDN/AUST cars are all delivered with much softer front spings than our Euro counterparts. Many of you are probably aware that front end clearance is an issue and cars have been known to blow motors from damage caused by bottoming out.

I took my car for a "spirited" drive today for a couple of hours. Mostly high speed 140kmh-280kmh roads. My car has springs that are 50% higher rate than factory US, but I still managed to bottom out the car lightly, even at lower speeds (100-140kmh), running close to Euro Fiorano spec ride height.
As a result of this experience I am now contemplating either raising the car about 10-15mm or putting even stiffer springs in, or a combination of the two.

 

The car is designed to sit level once you have a driver in the car. THe seating position is biased toards the rear of the car. Try filling the car with petrol and having two people sit in the car, then tell me the rear is too high, relative to the front. What looks good aesthetically when you are out of the car looking at it, doesn't work so well when you actually driving. US Fiorano spec drops the car 15mm at the rear and 10mm at the front.
The 30mm wheel spacers at the rear will also effectively lower the spring rate as you have just added 3cm of leverage to the suspension arm.
You can safely install 15mm spacers to the front as well as long as you don't lower the car with the standard springs.

 

The rear spacers do hurt turn in, so the front spacers help offset this. The front track of the 550 is designed to be wider than the rear for this reason. I personally can't stand the OEM rear offsets, they really ruin the look of the car.

 

You can lower the car by about 3/4" and it will be just fine. Spacers add other complications.

--Dan

 

Dan
Sorry, but I can't agree with you on this one. If you hit a bump at any speed whilst braking with standard US spec springs you can be looking at avery big $$$ repair bill. There is a 550 at Ferrarifixers at the moment that is just having a comlete motor rebuild from bottoming out.

 

Stephen:

Interesting data regarding the stiffer Euro springs. I haven't lowered my car, but the local FCA chief driving instructor recently bought a 550 having driven mine, and he did so.

Naturally when you bottom out, esp. at high speed or with the older cars (where the radiator plug was on the bottom), you risk significant damage. Nevertheless, even in frequent daily situations, it's the rare case where you're going to encounter a situation (at least aruond here), where you're going to do much more than scrape the nose on a sharply inclined drive-way.

--Dan