Pulled the trigger...I've got a 456 again.

I decided to get this 2002 MGT. It needs the belt service and new tires and some bumper paintwork if I choose, but all in all a great car and I made a good deal ( i think). Now to start investigating upgrades to the suspension to make it sharper and maybe some exhaust mods for a little better sound and power. Maybe 575 wheels also, although I like the originals as well, but I'll put my old ferrari recommended snow tires for the 456 on those and might try something else for the rest of the year. I'm excited to have one of these again. I loved the gt feeling and of course the classic look.

http://www.tillackco.com/sales/2002Ferrari456GTM/index.html

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I've always like them also...but the 575 wheels looks good too....i'll wait and see. thanks for the kind responses.

Just a question....would anyone have a problem with driving it from LA to utah with the belts done yet? it only has 6k miles on it but it is 6yrs old?

thanks
ccr

 

That came out wrong. I meant would anyone have problem without the belts done yet? I'd rather have the work done here locally.
chuck

 

I drove my 456 from LA to SLC, UT this past wkd and it was great. It had that great GT feel and the miles were effortless. Unfortunately I noticed about a 5mm window gap and the drivers side that was not picked up in my PPI...hopefully just an adjustment will take care of this. It is in for the belt service now and all fluids. While getting this work done I'm tempted to try the 550 front shocks as suggested in a previous thread, since these are markedly softer on the 456 and keep the rears which are actually stiffer than 550s at speed. I've also been told that I can swap out the steering ECU from the 456 with the 550w/fiorano pkg. I tried this on a 575 I had...and changed it with the one for the 575 w/fiorano and it was night and day as far as feedback and tightness in steering.

The other possibilities are swapping out airboxes to BMC filters and exhausts/headers ( no need for emission worries here) and maybe 575 wheels but I like the stock look also. I would like it to handle/accelerate a little sharper. It all seems a litttle uneccesarily muted.

Any thoughts?
ccr

 

i'll look for those tires.
Why would you hesitate tweaking the suspension? besides the cost of experimentation to see how it works...what might go wrong? i really don't know but for now am working with my local dealer's service dept and we'll see what we can come up with.

It just seems that the 550 improved on the 456 in many ways...and although they are different cars with different purposes i think that a 456 that handled and performed more like a 550 would be awesome. It might not be possible and i'll just have to get both someday, but i'm going to try a few things.
ccr

 

I swapped out the steering ECU from my 456 with the one for the 550 fiorano...by the way the same part number as for the 575 fiorano. Whereas the 550 stock ECU made no difference the fiorano one made the steering much tighter...less boost i guess in the power steering, and it "feels" much better. I also swapped front shocks with the 550 shocks and it overall feels taughter and more responsive up front. It might be in my head but it seems better. Unfortunately the suspension warning or fault is showing on the display now and my dealer tech's can't seem to get it off. Furthermore, the entire suspension is in fault mode and the default "stiffest" setting. This is fine for me since I wanted it stiffer but i wish it was adjustable and the fault wasn't showing. Everything works fine...the ecu just seems incompatible with the 550 shock. If we just plug the 456 shock back in the fault goes away.

Any thoughts on how to get around the fault? the 550 has normal and sport settings also...it should be adjustable. oh and a 550 ecu suspension swap doesn't fix the problem..the same fault codes come up.

I also fixed the small gap in drivers side window. a new regulator was needed. we tried swapping out just the sliders which are the same as those from a BMW E36 but this didn't fix the problem. i guess ferrari got the window mechanism from BMW, perhaps originally used on the 850. but i was able to preserve the motor and swap out the regulator and its tight now.

i've kept the stock wheels and exhaust for now.
ccr