F430 New owner diary inc. maintenance & upgrades

Hello Ferrari Chat. I've used the UK forum 'PistonHeads' for a few years and have only recently started to frequent this forum more often, but haven't yet been very active. The following thread is a copy and paste from my PH thread to date, which going forward will be updated here.

Sunday 22nd June, 2014

Those who have read my M3 thread will know I was hunting for a Rosso (red) Spider with tan interior, but in the end I decided I would be happier in something slightly more toned down. I put a deposit on this Grigio Silverstone Spider last week and will be collecting it at the beginning of August. The dealer is being very helpful in that respect by waiting for me to complete and move house; apparently a lot of his customers are collectors and don't tend to collect for anything up to six months - interesting!

The car is flawless and I really can't wait to collect it.

The spec is as follows:
2006
27k Miles
Full Ferrari Service History
6 Speed Manual
Grigio Silverstone Exterior
Rosso Leather Interior
Carbon Fibre Driving Zone Trim
Ferrari Navigation and telephone module

The Dealer photos:








This thread won't be updated frequently like my others as I'm not planning to modify it in any way

Famous last words..

Wednesday 13th August, 2014

I said I wouldn't modify it, but...

I'm having the steering wheel trimmed to my own design by Jack at Royal Steering wheels.

He's starting on it when back from holiday on 4th September

I also found a photo online of another Grigio Silverstone car but with a red roof (I got the colour wrong in my original post; it's Silverstone not Titanio). I'm currently getting quotes for a roof re-trim.

 

Does anyone know why tags are off? I like to host my own photos so tend to rely on it.

Thanks.

 

Saturday 27th February

A change of car! I picked up a new one this morning.

2008 F1, 25k miles, 1 owner, and full Ferrari history with one performed every year from new. The clutch was replaced 1k miles ago and prior to sale the ball joints have been replaced with Hill versions. It has both original keys, and a large history file with the original bill of sale. The CCMs are barely worn.

Options:
* Carbon Driving Zone;
* Carbon F1 paddles;
* Carbon rear segment (Challenge grille);
* Carbon steering wheel airbag surround;
* Carbon steering wheel with rosso 12 o'clock strip;
* Electric seats
* Heated Seats;
* Giallo Callipers;
* iPod interface;
* Scuderia wing shields;
* Nero leather roll ocer hoops;
* Nero leather trim with contrast rosso stitching;
* Radio / Navi / Bluetooth System;
* TPMS.

The car was supplied by Autologix. David is great to deal with; there’s no sales rubbish, just a really down to earth approach from an enthusiast. I have been impressed with the attention to detail as the prep is certainly Ferrari showroom standard.
Used Rosso Corsa*Ferrari*F430 for Sale | Nottinghamshire

Values of manual F430's are going through the roof at the moment and mine made 57.27% in the year and five months I had it, so as a result I've got into a newer car that is a much more suitable base for my Scuderia project due to its updated electronics, and a bonus is I'm protected from any significant depreciation - which I foresee over the next few years; I think we're in a bit of a bubble at the moment. As I've said before - regardless of values the car is there to enjoy.

I'll write more on the change when I get time including my impressions of F1 vs manual, and the updates present on this MY2008.5 model.
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Thanks! It was

 

Thanks Darius. I have a few plans for it

 

I am embarking upon a weight loss project for the car, and soon realised that however much I like the stock rear bumper it would be silly to keep it and the heavy F430 exhaust & undertray arrangement, so I shall replace the lot.

For those not familiar with the exhaust system differences I've uploaded a couple of photos. First the stock F430 tailpipes: the green arrow shows the silencer mating flange, and the blue arrow points to the rear of the car.

The 16/Scuderia in comparison makes do without the long pipes and has a much more direct path between the car and tailpipes, which now exit through the centre of the rear bumper. The simpler route sheds weight as the F430 tailpipes are quite heavy, but it also improves aerodynamics due to Base Bleed.

Given that I was now changing the skirts and both bumpers, I decided it would make sense to go full 16M spec but with a few expections:

1) Sound deadening to remain;
2) Carpets to remain;
2) Leather trim to remain.

I have sourced a spare OEM carbon fibre 'challenge' grille for a Spider model (they are different to the Berlinetta), and more importantly a very nice 16M/Scuderia rear bumper. I will instruct my painter to remove all of the black paint including overspray on the rear, so that the only base coat on the bumper is Grigio Silverstone - including the overspray on the back - as it would come from the factory. Anal, I know, but it has to be 'right'!
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Carbon plenum
A day away from work today and the afternoon was spent with my Dad on a road trip to collect the new rear bumper & grille. I’ve been on many parts trips to date and found it’s not unusual to go find something else I wasn’t looking for at the time, and today was no exception; I came away agreeing to buy a part I didn't expect to source for the project: a 16M carbon fibre inlet plenum.

The stock plenum is case aluminium powder coated in crackle finish red, and both My Dad and I both think it will be a shame to loose the red accent under the engine bay window, so I'm going to have a custom paint job on the new plenum that will add a hint of Rosso red on top of each plenum chamber.

I'm still collecting parts.

16M/Scuderia MAF sensors
Some parts to improve the inlet system: 16M/Scuderia MAF sensor and throttle body connecting bellows. These are approx. 6mm larger in diameter than the stock F430 parts and go hand-in-hand with the high volume air boxes to help reduce any restriction in the inlet system, relative to the flow improvements from the improved exhaust manifolds.

I have planned some work on the actual inlet manifold itself and then I'll take the car to for a remap.
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16M engine lid
I'd been researching the 16M engine lid (part #81618111), originally in the hope it had a larger duck tail spoiler than the regular spider - as per the Scuderia compared with the regular Berlinetta - but it didn't.

Curious to see what other differences there were I started looking at the parts system and from there I noted that the bolt-on grille brackets are different to suit the 16M mesh type, but nothing else was. My next stop was examination of photos of the underside to compare the structural sections to determine if any weight saving measures had been taken, but nope - none. It was then I noticed something: comparing the undersideof the 16M lid and it becomes obvious that there are scallops to provide clearance to the larger cabon airbox lids.

Curiously, the 16M lid (#81618111) at £1,904.30 ex VAT is much cheaper than the regular lid (#68413111) at £2,359.33ex VAT! I will go ahead and modify my engine lid but leave the airbox alone, aside from the ceramic coating.

F430 Challenge exhaust
I also have a new exhaust to suit the 16M/Scuderia bumper. I've never been a fan of the 16/Scuderia exhaust note - it's too harsh - and I think the standard F430 sounds much sweeter. Something I don't like about the stock exhaust is the valve system; it's a pneumatic system with completely binary operation, and due to the massive difference in back pressure between the silenced and unsilenced route there’s an awkward transition period between the two.

Something I hope will address all of my gripes is the F430 challenge exhaust: it fits the 16M/Scuderia bumper but is different in that it removes the valves from the system altogether, and relies solely on a small straight-through silencer . There's no doubt it's going to be louder than a stock F430 exhaust with the valves closed, however the pipe exits cross over which helps sweeten the sound, as per the F430 exhaust.

I will polish the silencer and have the tubes ceramic coated. In time I may cut open the box and weld in a Burns stainless crossover, which is more commonly known as an ‘X pipe’; this gives an F430 a high pitched N/A F1 sound.

Note: the images below expect for the Challenge exhaust are sample images I found elsewhere on the internet.
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Two more weight saving modifications.

16M/Scuderia Rear Undertray
For reference I've added a photo of the stock F430 undertray and the 16M/Scuderia tray. The green arrows show the additional access panel which doubles up with the existing oil filter access panel on the F430, now equipped with NACA ducts to feed high pressure air into the lower engine bay, and out through the Scuderia's rear diffuser. The blue arrow shows the revised forward fins that blend in to the Scuderia specific rear diffuser (not pictured).

Importantly, the part is constructed from a carbon fibre type material that at half the thickness is the same strength as the F430 equivalent, which is not especially light. I understand this material was first used on the 360 Challenge Stradale undertrays.

Scuderia Luggage Compartment Trim
Like the standard rear diffuser the luggage compartment trim is another area of the car that is surprisingly heavy in the F430. The base needs to be reasonably sturdy for obvious reasons, but it and the rear (bulkhead) sections are made from very heavy compacted fibreboard type material.

For reference I've added photos to show the differences.

1) An F430 like mine equipped with the optional CD changer, which can be seen to the right of the tan leather wheel brace behind the rectangular carpet section topped with two black fastenings. The F430 is trimmed with black carpet.

Now on to the Scuderia type, of which there are three.

2) First, Alcantara trim. This was standard fit on the 16M and optional on the Scuderia Berlinetta (coupe).

3) Next, a Scuderia Berlinetta with optional full trim which constitutes a fully lined compartment in a durable grey fabric. Ferrari were going for a more 'technical' look with the Scuderia models.

4) Finally, the basic Scuderia Berlinetta trim which has a trimmed base and bulkhead and lightweight moulded ABS covers for protection of the wiring loom and chassis leg tops.

All of the options above are available to suit a CD changer.

I decided on the most light-weight option #3 and at the same time will ditch - well, put into storage like I am with all the other parts I remove - the CD changer. I hope the actual material of the floor and bulkhead is lighter than the F430 but I cannot be sure of that until the parts arrive. The eagle eyed will also notice Scuderia models have finishing trims in the bonnet reveal, which at some point I will add to my car.

I've added photos of the parts I've purchased. The material sections need a hoover/vaccum but I am advised everything is like new, having come from a car that's covered just 1,300Km.

I'll start to put together a table of weight savings and comparisons once I’ve had chance to weigh relevant parts.

Note: the images of the luggage compartment parts are mine. The other images are not and are used for illustration purposes.
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Thanks Russell, that's appreciated.

I'm a bit behind with my updates but I actually have the diffuser ready to go on - I'll include it in a future update. I expect the Challenge exhaust to be quieter overall.

I managed to get a new pair of the optional titanium tips for the rear bumper.

I used to host my images on Facebook without realising that they expire their links after a certain time, for security reasons, so I ran everything through my site uploader which auto-resizes and adds the mark, in order to preserve my posts. I will go back and edit my posts to comment which are not my original images (I have some of your undertray).

 

Another weight-saving modification and the first of many handling changes.

16M/Scuderia Front Anti-Roll Bar
The front anti-roll bar remained unchanged from the 360, to 360S, and through to the F430 Berlinetta & Spider. A unique bar was produced for the Scuderia and my expectation is that it is thinner to adjust handling, and of a light weight construction.

The front bar is too thin to be hollow and retain strength - unlike the Scuderia Mk2/16M specific rear bar - so like the Mk2 Scuderia springs I expect it to be made from titanium. I know what to expect with Ferrari prices now and placing economies of scale aside i.e. less Scuderia’s made hence more expensive parts, the price difference between the Scuderia bar and the regular front bar is too great for a change in diameter alone, but I will confirm material in due course.

I've attached a photo of a 360/360CS/F430 (Spider and Berlinetta) steel front bar, which is noticeably thicker than the Scuderia version.

iPod
I have purcahsed a 16M iPod. An option for the 16M was an iPod Touch integrated into the dash. The iPod sits inside a plastic cartridge, which is housed within a 16M/iPod specific carbon dashboard moulding. I am undecided if I will go this route.

Front uprights - 16M/Scuderia/F430 Challenge vs F430 CCM
As I had identified the same caliper mounting for the 599 and all F430 models, the only way that the larger Challenge/Scuderia CCM 398mm discs could be accommodated was either: 1) a revised knuckle with 9mm longer bosses, or 2) 9mm spacers between the knuckle and caliper. The use of spacers would work and has been proven may times but for a number of reasons it is not ideal, so the likely change would lie in the knuckle.

I already knew that the 16M/Scuderia had different part numbers for the front knuckle despite the suspension arms and rack position being the same as the F430, and having looked at the knuckles on my own car I could see little scope for weight reduction, so the caliper mounting had to be different. I found some photos to satisfy myself it was the case.

On the photo of 16M/Scuderia front knuckle, the green arrow highlights the longer caliper mounting bosses.

I found out that the F430 Challenge uses standard hubs with adapter studs. I would prefer not to go that route so I will search for some Scuderia parts.
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16M/Scuderia Front Anti-Roll Bar
This has arrived. Previously I said:

I was wrong. It's a steel bar and at 18mm is 1mm smaller in diameter than the 19mm standard F430 bar. It's not titainium, it's just very overpriced Despite the cost I wouldn't think of leaving it out as it's part of the Scuderia handling package.

Challenge Exhaust
I cleaned up the exhaust and compared it to the Scuderia rear bumper, and the challenge tailpipes are approx 100mm narrower. I'm going to send it away to be modified and ceramic coated.
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Scuderia MAF Sensors
The Scuderia MAF sensors arrived and which gave me a chance to examine them; it turns out that the Scuderia uses a completely different type of sensor to the F430 and both the element and connector are different. Converting my car is needlessly complicated so I began to research an alternative.

I've added photos of the F430 MAFs which are common-or-garden Bosch used on a variety of cars. They are 85mm ID and have grilles to promote laminar airflow over the sensor.

The Scuderia MAF is 90mm ID and does not have a grille. They have a completely different sensor type and plug to the F430.

After some research I found a 90mm ID Bosch sensor with the same sensor mount as the F430, the same body length, an integral grille, and same lug positions to mount the Scuderia airboxes. Matching the OEM sensor as closely as possible makes more simple the process of modifying MAF scaling & remapping the ECUs to suit.
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360 Power Steering Cap - Alloy Type
Something that always bugged me in the F430 engine bay was the plastic cap on the ZF PAS reservoir; it's a fairly ubiquitous reservoir that is used my a number of manufacturers on number of cars over the years. On the 360, Ferrari went to the trouble of producing a machined alloy cap to match the fuel and oil caps. It can be seen in the attached photo of a 360 bay.

The F430 uses the same reservoir and cap but is stuck with the plastic cap, so I went looking for a new 360 cap to retrofit to my F430, and I now have a brand new one.

16M/Scuderia Front Undertray
The 16M and Scuderia front bumpers (both slightly different to each other) use a different undertray to the standard F430; the contour along the leading edge is different. As is the case with mostly all 16m/Scuderia parts it is lighter than the F430 version, however in this case there aren't any fancy materials used for its construction - its just thinner.

There were impact cracks in the material on the N/S from a grounding incident, so I laid up some black-died fibreglass reinforcement on the back and treated cracks on the front to some epoxy. In time I may replace it with a brand new part.

16M/Scuderia Front Air Ducts
Like the undertray, the front air ducts are a different shape, and lighter. These are made from very thin ABS plastic rather than fibreglass used on the standard cars. I'm really pleased with them as they are like new.

Titanium wheel bolts/lugs6M/Scuderia Front Air Ducts
I've bought a new OEM Ferrari titanium wheel bolt set. These will complement a set of lightweight wheels by further reducing unsprung weight.
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My search for parts has been far and wide.

OEM Optional Carbon Fuel Flap
I found a brand new genuine accessory cap in Spain. The finish is perfect.

16M/Scuderia Mk2 Suspension
The early Scuderia used steel suspension springs but the 'Mk2' moved to titanium (rear I think) and revised dampers. I found a very, very nice set of used springs and dampers in Germany.

The Mk2 springs can be identified by their metallic grey colour, and of course: their weight. The rear dampers are machined down at the bottom end to reduce unsprung weight. The Mk1 front dampers were also machined down at the bottom end, but for the Mk2 it was a return to the more standard F430 damper body, however the whole assembly is surprisingly light.

16M/Scuderia Mk2 Suspension ECU
My plan is to add the 'bumpy road' button from the Scuderia so I wanted the suspension control unit to help achieve that, but also because it is matched to the revised spring & damper rates. 244 466 is the final revision of the unit that Ferrari made.

16M/Scuderia Mk2 Front Hubs & Uprights
I mentioned in a previous update that I was looking for a set of 16M/Scuderia front hubs to use on a 398mm front CCM conversion. As is usually the case with this type of projects there's no telling where and when the parts turned up. Firstly a right hand side front hub turned up in Germany, and a short time later a very nice complete pair including uprights, hubs, and all acceleration sensors turned up in the UK.

I've since learned that in addition to the additional spacing on the caliper mounting bosses, the uprights also provide additional offset for the front hubs thus increasing the front track.

16M/Scuderia Exhaust Tips
I sourced an unusually nice pair of standard 16M/Scuderia in the USA; these are quite often corroded and discoloured due to heat. I don't like the polished & outwardly rolled tips on my Challenge exhaust so planned to cut them off and use the 16M/Scuderia version instead.

16M/Scuderia Exhaust Tips - Optional Titanium Version
As it happened one of my favourite finishing touch parts came up for sale: the optional titanium exhaust tips for the 16M/Scuderia. I was lucky to find a brand new set in the UK.

The titanium versions are approx. 15mm longer than the standard 16M/Scuderia version and have a nice bead rolled on the end. They are of course quite a bit lighter than the surprisingly heavy standard version; I will weigh everything in due course

The standard 16M/Scuderia tips are now for sale - if anyone wants them please let me know.

I have some really nice parts en-route from Italy which I am quite excited to receive
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More parts have been trickling in from the continent. At the moment I'm a bit like a kid at Christmas! I've already fitted some carbon door handles which I'll cover in a later post, and the second upgrade is a pair of 16M/Scuderia seats. These are brand new and I've gone for nero leather to match my car but giallo (yellow) stitching, which does not.

The stitching of my interior is rosso (red), however I wanted a yellow Cavallino. The rub is the carbon race seats are available only with a uniform Cavallino and seam stitch colour, so I've gone with yellow knowing that I could dye it (but, obviously, not the other way around). Using this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9HLels2aEU technique, and roping in my girlfriend to help, we set about dying the yellow seam stitching red!

I've attached a couple of progress shots showing how effective it is. The OEM stitching in the cabin area is prone to fading so I'm going to employ the same process to freshen it up.

Time to complete one seat was approximately 40 minutes.
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Finally I got some time to fit parts.

16M/Scuderia passenger seat
My stock seats are both heated and electric. Personally, I think electric seats have no place in a supercar due to the considerable added weight, and after a few runs out with the seat heating, it's really not very powerful either. I have the original bill of sale and it was a heady £1136 option! I loose both heating and electric adjustment with the Scud seats, but importantly loose a ton of weight.

I've attached some before pictures. The original seats are held in with four M10 cap screws; they are really easy to remove. I used a satin black spray can to paint the exposed areas of red paint, because the 16M/Scuderia seats mount differently and leave some of it exposed. The circular object on the centre console is the speaker for the parking sensors.

I wrapped the now superflous eelctrical connectors in non-adhesive PVC tape, then again again with felt tape. I use the initial layer of PVC to prevent adhesive gunking up the connectors thus leaving them in an easily re-commissionable state for the future, if required.

The weight difference between seats is considerable. I'll put each on the scales when swapping the drivers' side.

Carbon exterior door handles
The OEM carbon handles are entirely carbon fibre (some aftermarket versions are laminated stock handles). I'm going to weigh all of these king of parts just out of curiosity, regardless of whether they make a significant saving or not.

I was a little unsure about a mix of exposed carbon next to paintwork, prior to buying this car, but in person I think it looks fantastic.

Carbon fuel flap
This took more than a few adjustments to get perfect, but it was worth it.

Alloy PAS reservoir Cap
I've attached a before shot of the engine bay. I realised after a trial fit of the cap that the orientation of the tank in the engine bay is different to the 360, and hence the machined in relief for the vent outlet (blue arrow) is in the wrong position when the cap is mounted with the 'Ferrari' lettering on a horizontal. To get around this I drilled a 3.5mm hole in the base of the plastic cap to allow it to vent downwards (green arrow).
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Four boxes arrived: new OEM 16M optional wheels. I've already dropped them off to the bodyshop to be repainted in the same grey used on regular Scuderia wheels, and the matching satin lacquer. For me the optional 16M forged wheels were too dark in anything other than direct, bright light.

The optional wheels are forged by App Tech. They produce wheels for the Veyron, La Ferrari, and a number of other specials Our Product Examples
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Drivers' seat
Firstly some additional photos showing the fitting process I described in a prior update. I've removed any remnants of carpet protection film that remained under the seats and masked off the seat mounting locations.

Exposed seat mounting locations sprayed satin black.

The seat loom wiring on the drivers’ side hadn't been taped up very well so I rectified with cloth tape; I've not yet found fleece tape used on the car.

The drivers’ seat has a seat belt warning activated by a switch in the buckle (rather than an occupancy mat). Rather than have a separate plug for the sensor Ferrari used spare connectors on the power seat plug, so given that functionality goes with the Scuderia seats - along with the seat side loom - I needed to decide on the best way to install the Scuderia seats and maintain the sensor function; I could have bridged the terminals on the car loom to permanently disabled but I don't like to do things that way.

I decided to solder a fly lead and OEM connector to the car side of the seat loom so that the seat buckle plugs directly into the car leaving the heated and power seat plugs unaffected - this way the original seats can be swapped back in without the need for further alteration on the car loom.

I added a photo showing, from left to right; heating, power, new seat buckle plug.

I finished dying the stitching on the drivers’ seat.

Interesting to note that the Scuderia seat sides and knobs are all carbon. From the 458 onwards they were just moulded plastic. Cost saving?

16M Stripe
A helpful Australia based 16M owner helped me to get exact dimensions of the factory strips; David if you are reading this thanks again. I had an exact replica of the factory stripe replicated in vinyl, which will do until I have the stripe sprayed on and lacquered over as per OEM 16M.

Dad helped me with his architectural skills - amongst other things he's good with accurate measurements and laying out.

Applying stripes remains one of the most nail-biting things I've ever done to a car, but it's worth it in the end.

Final photos to show rear sections complete including roof up and down. I'm really pleased with it.
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Seats - finished
Today I got both seats bolted in. For reference the fittings required are 8 x M8 spring washers and 10 x M8x45mm cap screws. I also tested the seat belt warning and it works fine.

Photo shows a comparison of my dyed stitching with the factory original on the centre console and steering wheel.

The seat belt and clasp bolt to the seat with metric fine M10 1.25mm pitch. I have reused my original bolts which on the old seats are hidden from view under a cover. On the Scuderia seats they are exposed, so I used a black plastic nut cap to finish them.

16M/Scuderia suspension - Left side
Before starting I plugged in each replacement strut to the car and checked each setting on the Manettino; all struts checked out OK in each mode.

Removal and refit was actually quite painless: the ARB link is removed, the upper arm to allow the strut to be withdrawn, the lower shock bolt securing nut, the lower shock bolt itself - which needed carefully drifting out - then finally the upper shock bolts and electrical connector. Photo to show the original left hand rear strut (left) next to the replacement Scuderia version (right).

The front was even easier - a pleasure to complete. The ARB link is removed, the lower shock bolt securing nut, the lower shock bolt itself, and then the upper strut bolts and electrical connector. Photo to show the original left hand front strut (left) next to the Scuderia strut (right).

Misc
Something that bugged me on my last car - and the new one - is the emergency release cord for the luggage compartment which had faded and gone pink. Sharpie to the rescue.
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My new wheels were painted yesterday. I'm really pleased with them.

Photo to show the comparison between the OEM finish (left), and the new colour (right).
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16M/Scuderia Front ARB
The 16M and Scuderia have a unique front anti-roll bar which I've measured at 18mm diameter. It is steel construction. I have removed my original front bar which measures 19mm in diameter. The F430 has a slight propensity to understeer when pushed and this is one of the changes that will help to rectify that and make it a little bit more of a drivers car.

I found the best approach was to remove the front undertray and set up a light underneath the car so that the bar can be guided out of the whelarch. Dad helped me with this - it's a two man job really that involves turning of the bar in various directions as it is withdrawn in order to clear the car and keep it away from AC & coolant hoses

Photo to show my original F430 bar (top) and Scuderia bar (bottom).

Photo to show Scuderia bar installed and highlighting the narrow space we had to work with. I have a pair of bushes on order to suit the smaller diameter bar.

An ARB has both sprung and unsprung weight. My weight calculations for the ARB take this into account and went something like:
1) Measured length from the end to the bush stop, viewing this length as the lever i.e. unsprung section;
2) Measured the straight length between the bush stops - the sprung section;
3) Working on the basis the bar is equal in thickness divide total grams by total length to get g/mm;
4) g/mm x lever mm x 2 = unsprung weight;
5) g/mm x sprung section mm = sprung weight;
6) Calculate delta between F430 and 16m/Scuderia bars.

I realise that to be completely accurate would be more in-depth, but please pick me up if the general approach is incorrect.

Photo to show 16M/Scuderia suspension - Right side front, and also the front right fitted showing Scuderia bar in situ.
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