im new here and the owner of a 96 456gt (delivered in summer 97) my car has just over 100000km on the clock with its original engine. its not my everyday car but i drive it a lot and in all weather conditions except snow. it once let me down at 28000km when the flywheel broke, another time at 60000km when a cooling hose started to leak badly(fortunately just in front of my garage). i had the cooling radiator repaired once, im on my second set of rear dampers, had the spoiler mechanism and its electronic unit changed and of course had the ridicilous window problem (which stopped since they fixed it last about 2 years ago!!). i do a lot of long distances ( the longest was about 7000km in 2 weeks) and the car just runs fantastically! i think it runs better now than ever and seems to be almost more reliable than my audi S4. the last 40000km were totally trouble-free (except the radio and cd-player, which took about 10 month to get fixed properly...). i would love to hear from other high mileage 456 owners and their experiences!!!
Welcome. That is great news, I can just hope mine is as good as yours. I have heard that the V12 needs to be driven to get the best from it. I just wish I had time to drive mine more often. Mine has done a fairly low 33K miles (~53000 km) - I think the previous owner did about 10,000 miles in a year in it - so I guess it has been driven. How many clutches have you had? I'm on my second.
im on my 2nd clutch. the reason is that i do a lot of "autoroute". its for sure that these cars love long distance travel.
I'm with you on the rer dampers, though I'm only at 21k miles (about 30kms). I also suspect that the rear spoiler isn't working properly from prior owner's service receipts but don't know how to tell. I can't follow myself to see.
If you have a 456GT, it's easy to know if the rear spoiler is working. There is a dash light which will come on when you exceed a certain speed (I think it's around 80mph, maybe a bit less) and the spoiler doesn't extend. Likewise when you slow through that speed as you slow down, if it doesn't retract. It's not unusual at all to have the light flash for a few seconds as you accelerate or decelerate, and it's not all that unusual for a rock to get in there and cause it to stop working for a while, until you go over a bump and the rock falls out. So, the short version is that if no lights are coming on, the spoiler is working fine!
i had my spoiler and all its mecanism including the electronics changed at about 50000km, since then it works perfectly, although its true that its difficult to know for real. i guess if the warning-light on the dashboard isnt working you'll never know what your spoiler is doing... my mecanic also told me that there are people who just fix the spoiler on speed-position and get rid of any trouble for good!! should my spoiler fail again thats probably what ill do as well.
Why would you think the spoiler light wouldn't be working? I've never heard of that being a problem area. As for fixing it in position, I'm sure that wouldn't be a big deal. It only moves a very small amount anyway. But, personally, I like having things work the way they are supposed to.
I would think mine is working from past service invoices saying it won't work and that turned it off pending repair. I don't know if they disconnected the light. I've never seen it come on.
That's surprising. I've never heard of much problem with that spoiler. My mechanic, who services several 456s, has told me basically the only thing they've ever done to them is lube them, and once in a while remove a rock stuck in there. I can imagine that if the motor died or something, that would be expensive. I don't remember if the spoiler light tests when you turn the key on or not. I'll try to remember to check next time I drive mine (probably this afternoon).
I just tried it, and the spoiler light (lower right hand corner of the instrument area) comes on for a couple of seconds when you turn the key on. I think someone with an SD1 can actually test the spoiler system from the computer.
Code: im new here and the owner of a 96 456gt (delivered in summer 97) my car has just over 100000km on the clock with its original engine..... can you tell us how many recommended service checks you performed during that mileage, and at what intervals? As for phyically understanding the spoiler is working other than having someone try to keep up behind you, how about attaching a piece of tape in a position that would show it moved, or even taping a marker to the spoiler, like chalk [if possible]? Might show a movement.
i do all the service checks exactly as recommended by ferrari. big ones every 20000km, belts every 3 years, plus frequent oil and filter-changes (every 5000 to 7000km) and the car is sent to the mecanics by the slightest rattle,drop of anything, noise or whatsoever. little check-ups and services are made frequently, as i do more oil-changes than recommended and i always ask them to overlook other things in the same time. as for the spoiler: im sure there are ingenious ways to find out if it works or not. but i think if the warning light doesnt come up you shouldnt worry too much.
thanks, do you concern yourself with trans. fluids and what would you say is your average driving speeds....across the board...or averages: know that's hard to pin down, but might get an idea of how 'hard' you push it sometimes. love this car...... so different than an 8 cylinder F thanks
on highways i do between 160 and 180km/h. ( in 6th thats about 3000-3500 rpm) i rev high and push hard getting out of pay-stations. i play quite a bit with the car, doing peaks up to 220-250km/h but let go again immediately. i never stay on high revs for a long solid time. i shift down often and push hard to get away from idiots etc. i love to drive the car in rain because you can play with its reactions on normal roads without risking your licence.
Ethan, it seems to me you are driving the car the way a GT was meant to be driven and the car is performing accordingly: these cars beg to be driven, and not just to the restaurant or to the shopping mall. I had the spoiler motor replaced last year for about $ 300. It is the same kind of device that operates the headlights. Regards
only keep short, or gas guzzling to a min, when on the freeway and only short distances of 2,500+-3,000 rmp, otherwise pushing it above the 3k block for that [umph] torque....like you, up and down the gear ladder whenever I get the chance and ALWAYS doing what others feel a Ferrari should be doing [you can see their looks/smiles in the rear-view mirror].....push it in some impressive pulls, and then let it sit, neatly behind some until they 'part-the-seas' which typically happens....ok, some never check their mirrors.... always after a nice [30min] warm-up and never early.....need that oil to be ready....and the trans. really a cold starter compared to my 348/Mondial-T.... which I took out this weekend for a 300 mile journey: feels like a 'toy' next to the heavier, more powerful, more solidly build 456...... truly deciding to sell the 'T'.....
