Will, Thanks for chiming in. Its unfortunate that someone would claim to be one of your employees and give you guys a bad name. Thanks for cleaning that up. Appreciate someone in your position chiming in and joining the conversation.
While we have you here....and since you are the GM of a Ferrari dealership- id love to get your thoughts on the ride height issue. How do you guys deal with it? Is it checked and adjusted for every car? Not trying to put you on the spot by any means and if you dont want to answer, I completely understand but was hoping for a bit of insight from inside the dealership. Appreciate it.
I think the Mods should consider closing the danielLove account. I think it's a problem having a member posing as a certified mechanic and advising members based on that. I dunno, don't want to be the self proclaimed forum police, just don't like to see people get in trouble based on his advice Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
He just wants to be able to sleep at night... He has not been able since he saw the light of the Novitec Springs.
Legend has it that this picture was found to be the wallpaper of the chief designers computer Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
For a split second I thought that was my F8. Then I realized it is a 458. Mine is just as high... Just newer.
C'mon man, we're getting a bit bleak now, aren't we? You need to do as I plan to do today. Go for 6-7 hour drive. Why? Because it's FUN Sent from my SM-G930F using FerrariChat.com mobile app
What I am about to say isn't factory-speak, it's just me. I'm an old guy and although I appreciate how pretty these cars are, I value function over form. My theory is that although lowering them can look really good and our shop gets paid to lower cars, I advise against it. The factory pours huge hours in wind tunnel testing, suspension tuning and general engineering to make these cars handle the way they do. Lowering a car can enhance oversteer or understeer which compromises handling and the driving experience. My answer may not be popular but it's my opinion that they are at their best when driven as designed. Race cars are a different conversation entirely.
Thank you for your reply. I would like to follow up with another question. I actually tend to agree in many ways. I don't lower for a lot of reasons as I track a lot. Now one thing that is a mystery to me is this, and I touched upon it earlier in the thread. When Ferrari do so much to make the cars work in a specific way, which all things considered, is a somewhat one-size-fits-all kind of deal, why is it that the cars often arrive from the factory out of alignment and with incorrect ride heigh? I wonder what the point is, if customer cars are not delivered set up to spec. According to my dealer, they are not obligated by Ferrari Maranello to re-align and adjust ride height as part of the pre delivery inspection. According to my dealer, the car are supposed to arrive with the correct settings. Both my 488 and Pista was nowhere near properly aligned. This makes me wonder how imparotant it actually is to keep it within factory spec, when the factory itself does not adhere to to specs. I can understand that a lot can happen during a long transport, but I live in Europe, and I have seen this with cars that were collected at the factory. My 488 Spider for instance, did not go as far out of alignment just by getting loaded on and off a lorry, and I doubt a lorry ride would result in my Pista sitting over 10 mm too high. I will agree that if one does not have any idea about what one is doing, it is wise to not mess with chassis alignment, but as these cars are also set up with a VERY conservative alignment if set at factory spec, for a seasoned track rat there's a lot to be gained. This is no different than comparing customer cars with either cars used to set lap times at Fiorano or used for Corse Pilota etc. I suppose my point is that I think it is also important for dealers to understand and be able to help clients attain more specific performance goals. I'm well aware that a Ferrari dealer is not a race shop, but when dealing in this kind of hardware, I think some expertise should be available. I fully understand why Ferrari uses a factory setup that is geared a lot towards a lot of understeer and safety, as most clients are not trained performance drivers. But I think it's incorrect to say that there's nothing to be gained by changing the setup, being it by height, alignment, brake pads etc. if you go back and look at the alignment specs of my 488, you can see that it was borderline dangerous. Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent. i would really like to hear your view on what you think about the cars that are misaligned and come with incorrect ride heights. As a client, I simply don't understand why this is accepted by Ferrari quality control. And if it is something that dealers are supposed to do, why is it not mandatory as part of the PDI and part of a six month follow-up check when the chassis have settled? Thank you
Will - thanks for the answer and dialogue. I for the most part agree with most of what you are saying. In my super car evolution, I tend to think stock for most things is the right way to go. But the ride height is something that just bugs me to no end. It’s inconsistent. It’s not the same from one car to the next. It’s not the same from US Spec to UK Soec. Porsche for example every car delivered is the same. Ferrari is all o if er the place. Maybe it was overkill to swap out to Novitec on my part, I could have just used the factory springs and lowered a bit but sad part is I have more faith in an aftermarket part for the springs than I do the factor to springs. I wish we as end users did not have to resort to spending dollars after sale to get the car to look like it should out of the box.
Please keep in mind that as the GM I am not a mechanical engineer and I've never played one on TV. While I spend most of my time in an office, my favorite spot in the dealership is the shop. I have absorbed a thing or two. I think the decision to lower is a subjective one and each owner should enjoy their Ferrari as they see fit, until it's not safe. Some models look tall to me, thinking 430, while others appear planted and just right. As to the cars spec at delivery, the suspension on these cars is pretty abused due to shipping. Ferrari "spec" is very tight and so the Ferrari factory has a "setup" line on the PDI sheet. Our technicians watch for this when the cars arrive and align as necessary to make sure the cars drive as designed before delivery. We only get one shot to deliver the best car so PDI is very important. For what it's worth, I like old Alfas and couldn't wait to lower my GTV. I get it.
Universally applicable. All good with that, except you left out the excess body roll part. Here’s mine. It’s stock. I didn’t get interior pics of me sideways in those lovely Daytona seats, whose leather I so carefully polished before this ride. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I could hate you but that car prevents me from it. Perfect ride stance. It looks like it is settling in nicely!
While it's great with the lowered look, it also has its downsides. If my cars were delivered that low, front bumper, belly pan, rear diffuser and side skirts would be trash within a month. There's not enough clearance to drive the cars hard and a track session would be impossible. Imagine the impact the rear diffuser would take in the occasions where the car catches air over crests in the road and on tracks, or on dips in the road etc. Can't imagine a low slung 458, 488, Pista or F8 would like going though the Fox Hole at 240+ kph. I think what Ferrari needs to do is to design a smaller gap, but still leave enough clearance, This is what Porsche does. The GT3RS is different in the sense that there's very little gap and the car is very low, but it is also very hard in its setup compared to a Pista even. The ride heigh itself is not bad in the sense that it really makes the cars drivable. It's more a case of designing a smaller gap while maintaining a height with adequate ground clearance.
They look a million times better sitting lower than the stock ride height. I've been in several lowered ones and handling has not been adversely affected.
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Looks like it settled in just right! Beautiful pictures. Nailed it! How's the driving experience now that it looks settled? Any different from when you initially changed the springs? Sent from my BLA-A09 using FerrariChat.com mobile app
