Newbie Question ~ Which Ferrari is better for track use?

Please, pretty please believe me with sugar on top and a cherry...

Have sooo been there done that, bought the book, saw thew movie, rented the DVD...

Tracking a road car is not *financially* smart for long-term hard use. If you plan to track a lot get a car that is already 100% track car. These can be had for A LOT less than a street version (usually) and are sorted out plus are built with the track use in mind.

Road cars or road/track cars are a major compromise imho. You will NEVER know what a real track car can do but on the good side you can use the car as a grocery-getter or other duties. Also, street capable cars are much more forgiving to driving errors whereas hard core track cars demand a bit more talent.

Want a much higher rush than a road-going tin top Ferrari... for a mere $20k? Get an open wheel Formula Continental. Best thing i ever did was forget tintop and go open wheel purpose built racecraft. From the car's capabilities to total cost of ownership, you'll be MUCH better off.

Just my humble 2 Yen.

But if you MUST have a Ferrari... bring a large checkbook and have a great time. Been there, done that, it was nice.... and NEVER again (and yes, i truly mean NEVER again). Ferrari parts cost alone, plus the major hassles of fixing/servicing the car, are far above what a proper open wheel car costs. Also, time to fix an open wheel car is MUCH faster that during qualification you can 'wall' the car, fix the broken suspension bit, fix the broken front wing half, bang back the aluminum rear wing uprights, align the car and still MAKE IT to the race only a few hours after the shunt... and win the race

Try doing that in a Ferrari **without a full race crew** backing you up.

But yeah, everyone should track a Ferrari once in their life. It is fun and a nice way to learn tracks until you graduate to something more like a much more capable GT1 Corvette or higher if you want to play with the big guys and have the means.

As always, remember that ANY car you put on the track you MUST be willing to completely write it off. Think of it like pushing the car off a tall cliff and being able to walk away without much of a care per se.

 

+2

 

At 6' 3" might be tough, though if all else fails a custom seat (with bead fitment) there should be a way.

Wow, kinda high at $62k and no engine rebuild since 2001(!). BEWARE THE ENGINE and i don't care if it was 'only' FCA events. All i did for a mere 2 years were FCA events (mainly) and the engine shows the results.

Of course at that price ($62k) it should include a freshly rebuild engine and transmission plus new brake rotors and pads at a minimum imho. What spares package is included? Does it come with data acquisition system? Not sure if the tranny gears are as easy to change as my lil ol' FC, but if so how many extra gearsets come with the car or are you kinda stuck with whatever is in the box?

The big killer might be... Is it me, or does anyone else seem to recall there were many complaints from drivers that the 355 Challenge were VERY twitchy due to very high spring rate and some other factor(s)??? Any 355C driver here to confirm this?

i realize like myself you need the Ferrari track fix. Fair enough and that is good and all, but man i am at the other end of where you are at right now and while it was fun... never again. Still, you only live once so keep the shiny side up and don't even worry if she gets walled/totalled. There is always another car to track out there for you

EDIT.. ADDED: It probably has data acqusition, so ask to see the ENGINE REPORT data from the moment it was rebuilt. That may help tell you how many hours of operation since rebuilding, any over revs, etc. Anything less than that... (don't believe what a salesman says). Am sure you would at least get the engine tested at a minimum and demand it be rebuilt would be your best bet.

 

Jeremy,

Always glad to help. Totally understand the desire to track a Ferrari. Have had guys in clubs (non Ferrari) in faster cars hang behind me just to hear the 'symphony' as i rowed through the gears. It was a lot of fun... and dare not even try to think of the overall expenses. Expenses, plus wanting to wheel to wheel race, is why went into 'cost containment' mode (plus wanting a real race car that was competitive). The old 355 you are looking at will probably not really be competitive in many leagues for wheel to wheel racing, but can be fun for HPDE days.

The more i think about it, the 355 had something like 2200 lb or 2400 lbs front springs (not sure what the rears were) and think some guys backed off to a lesser stiff spring set and adjusted shocks accordingly. That reminds me, while you are bargaining ask about when the last time the shocks were rebuilt. i know some guys rebuild shocks after every race or two(!), but a nice yearly rebuild would be a minimum. Not sure who makes the shocks on the 355, probably Koni. Rebuilds are relatively inexpensive but being that you are thinking of a Ferrari the labor to take them off and put them back on could be $$$$ so you might want to ask about that.

That's all i can think of for now.

 

Hey, I love to hear modern Ferraris at the race track. So more power to ya. Just be sure that you understand what you're getting into. I was recently told a story where one get off in a 360 resulted in $20K of damage. And this was just a love tap of a rear quarter panel against a wall.

To give another example, guess how much a new hood on a Maranello runs.... $11K!

Good luck, Dale

 

There's always risk associated with track time but you probably have a better chance of totaling your car on the street than on the track. Its about driving within your limits and enjoying yourself.

 

It would be really cool if all track day enthusiasts bought in to that philosophy, but that ain't the case. Red mist, lack of talent, small p......I mean small feet lead to heroic acts that result in broken cars followed by cursing. All the time.

That's stretching it a bit.

 

It is just a car, anything pure mechanical is 'easy' enough. It is the computer/electronic bits that may be a handful.

Ladies and gentleman, my BS meter has reached an all-time new high.

Agree, red mist and too many other factors. But how about these situations...

ALL the below happened to me THIS YEAR alone:
Ok, so you are Steven and the car in front of you suddenly suffers from the bottom end of his engine letting go, thereby dumping massive amounts of oil on the track...

Ok, so you are coming over the crest of a hill (so you are blind about the other side) and only a moment or so later an accident on the track happened on the other side of the hill so the flag marshalls did not have a chance to be waving... and two cars are RIGHT THERE in front of you...

You are at LRP and taking the lefthander and see a car right in the middle of the track that spun... PLUS you had a bit of a slightly incorrect car setup situation (see ENTIRE video at http://www.enjoythetrack.com/video/lrp0907/snap.wmv ).


FCA event last year:
You find yourself at an FCA event going up the boot at WGI and the car in front of you has a solid rear axle and for some reason this $250k+ vintage Ferrari Barchetta (fyi you are driving lowly 308) suffers massive oversteer and the car is now SIDEWAYS in the center of the track and STILL moving in YOU HAVE TO MAKE A GUESS direction and you are about 90% 'all in' and the sideways car is now fast 'approaching' what do you do? i have video of this but promised the driver of the vintage Barchetta i;d never post it, so as not to lower the value of his $$$,$$$ to probably $,$$$,$$$ right now car.

Then there is the time...

Have survived all the above with no to very little damage to the car, but ALWAYS remember that whatever car you track is a COMPLETE write off.

WHAT MATTERS IS YOUR SAFETY EQUIPMENT/PREPARATION BECAUSE YOU NEED TO SURVIVE WITH NO PROBLEMS AND ALSO KEEP IN MIND THERE ARE OTHERS ON THE TRACK AND THEIR SAFETY IS ALSO OF GREAT IMPORTANCE.

Apologies for yelling, but track guys will hopefully understand. Screw the car, it is MY LIFE (AND YOURS) we are talking about here. It is the guys who seem to care more about their 'precious little car' than their life that scares the sh*t outta me.

risk-reward...