hi sorry in advance for this as i assume you guys get this alot, i was at the lotus show on sunday at donnington (uk), as i own a modified lotus esprit, and met a bloke in a 348 spyder (really nice guy and thanx if your on here), he told me to come on here if i need to find anything out, so here i am i am dying to own a 348 but dont really have the big big ferrari budget he he, but seen some at around the 25k mark, could someon please tell me the difference between the models e.g. the TS/TB, and is there such a thing as a GTB or is that just a TB, also what do they do to the galon as it will be my only car and i drive 5 miles to work everyday, will it be ok. and finally, i have seen a yellow 348 on a L reg and it seems cheaper than others by around £2k is this basically becuse of the colour? thankyou karl
Karl, First, you can use the search button above... There are mainlu 5 models of 348. - TB and TS - GTB and GTS - Spider The TB and TS have a 300 Hp Engine while GTB, GTS and Spider have a 320 Hp engine. GTB, GTS and Spider also had some changes to the chassis and suspensions. The first TB and TS (before 92) also have a bosch motronic 2.5 while 92+ have a 2.7. (more sophisticated) If you really want a daily driver car, you have to know that the maintenace prices of a 348 are pretty high, you have to chance the timing belt every 40.000 km or 2 years, and you need to remove the engine to do this job... Clutch is also an expensive part... I think that you have to have a look in the differents thrad of this forum, and that you ll find a lot more information on 348... Hope i helped you
thankyou for the information. i have been looking around and noticed there are not many gtb/gts around at all, there all ts/tb, is there any difference in the look of them? cam belt etc etc, should hoefully not really be a problem as i have a close friend that owns his own garage business, and has done 355's b4 (when ferrari dealer messed it up, mmmMMMM dealers not always the best,,,,alot like lotus) speed doesnt really bother me, i will be honest just after the look, which ever 348 i buy i know it will be slower than my car at present, but i see the ferrari as just a classy car, and been looking at one for years, but never really had the guts to do it
Ferrari's aren't hard to attain, they are hard to maintain. If you are on a limited budget I don't suggest you get one. Unless you are able to do your own mechanical work, then that changes things some. Even then the parts are not cheap at all. However since you are on the other side of the pond, the prices are a bit more realistic, than over here in the U.S. Okay now that that is out of the way. The TS has a removable targa top, the TB is a solid roof, and the spider is a convertable soft top. If you intend to drive the car in the rain, as it does rain alot in England, I would stay away from the TS/GTS models. The tops do not seal very well at all. If one does seal well, in is the acception to the rule, and rare. Most of the cars are rated at 300hp. The later cars got a bump in power due to a single can muffler, also know as the spider exhaust. The early cars had a dual can system that restricts exhaust flow. As a result of the exhaust flow being free'd up they got an extra 15 - 20hp, depending on the power rating method you are using (SAE, Metric). The GTB/GTS cars had 320hp due the the compression ratio being bumped from 10.4:1 to 10.8:1, a taller intake plenum, in addition to the free'r flowing spider exhaust. The GTB/GTS models were a limited production, and were only offered for sale in Europe. The later 348's also had the gear ratios changed to help with acceleration times. Early 348's had handling problems at speeds over 120mph. This was taken care of by increasing the rear wheel offset, in later cars. The Competizione 348 went a step futher by going to an 18" rim, instead of the standard 17" rim found on all the other 348's. The 348's aren't the fastest cars on the road, but they do offer up alot of driving fun, and it is a Ferrari. Try doing a search through the archives, there is loads of stuff to read up on.
thanx ppl, im in contact with a garage in scotland at the moment on a yellow tb, had a cam belt 6000miles ago, so thats not bad. just getting rid of lotus could prove a problem. the bloke at the show did say they dont go wrong really, i assume its like the lotus thing,,,,you here 1 bad story but you dont here the 20 good ones
Well I also have a '90, and mine does have the problems at speed. At 100 to 120mph it really isn't bad, but over 130mph it wants to start wandering into different lanes. I also think it has to do with the width of the rear tires. I'm currently running 265's in the rear. But that last set I had on were 275's and it wasn't as bad. When I had the factory recomended 255's is when it was really noticable.
so as wheels and tyres go, the bigger the better,,,talking my language as i run 285/30/19 on the esprit
Karl In the UK, LHD 348s are quite a bit cheaper than the RHDs (circa £7k based on advertised dealer prices). So if cash is tight, a LHD might be a better option than taking an RHD in poor condition. Also, the reason that most 348s for sale here are TBs or TSs is because the GTB/GTS/GTC volumes for RHD were miniscule. Even so, only about 140 RHD TBs were built. I have an L-reg TB - it's a fantastic experience! Quentin
Not to get off on a tangent, but what octane gasoline should be run in the 348's w/ 10.8:1 compression?
