Should Ferraris be Performance tuned?

No, nothing drastic at least. Exhaust upgrades, intake upgrades are fine w/ me. Never was a big rim man, the ones they put on are gorgeous already IMO. But Ferrari already does this tuning for you, thats why they made the Stradale.

 

I alway's thought it was funny how a Porsche with mods could actually get a higher price at resale but a Ferrari with them, or any other car for that matter, would drop in price compared to one that's stock.

Exhaust yes. Any 1980s cats would have to be replaced by new higher flow ones. Intake yes. But as far as changing out injection or the ECU that would depend on the model. The only cars I would do anything like that to would be the 308GTSi and 308GTBi models. They were compromised from the day they left the factory. Those I'd change the ignition, injection, and go to an ECU set up in a heartbeat. I would also keep any parts taken off the car to be able to change it back to stock. But, the carb models I'd leave alone. The QV models I'd leave alone.

 

I think to make statement that mods should not be put on at all is too general. Some purists would argue that even a Tubi-style exhaust is not original and should not be done!

I believe that it all boils down to a few points:
1) Use
2) Style
3) Personality

1) Use:
What will the car be used for?
How often and to what extent?
If the car is going to be a weekend cruise through the canyons car, why not spruce it up with some nice wheels or nice sounding exhaust for better resonance?
If the car is strictly a show car and/or garage queen - then no, don't touch a thing...
If the car is a part-time track toy, I would think about doing some modifications - brakes and tires for starters, and exhaust next. then maybe have spare wheels for the track and street, seat harnesses, possible roll-bar, extinguisher, etc....

2) Style:
What is the style of driving you want to do?
If you're a cruise around town type of person, you may not need to have a more aggressive braking system or challenge grill for heat dissipation on the car...
If you're more aggressive on the car, why not get an aftermarket exhaust, possible wheel upgrades to improve the look and stability, and suspension mods to improve handling?

3) Personality:
If you are the conservative owner, you may not elect to make drastic changes... whether or not your car is still in warranty, it may not be "your" personality to modify what is already quite a piece of art
If you are all about "bling" you may go all out..
If you are more willing to try new things, after awhile, it might be a nice change to add a new exhaust or new wheels rather than buying a whole new car!

To sum it up, it really depends on your driving style, what the car is intended for, and really, your personality.

My last car was street-driven former challenge car (348tb)... driven on the streets with rollbar, race exhaust, cf-leather seats, drop gears, modded suspension, and ECU's.... loved it!!

My current car is a 456GT with tubi-style exhaust, BMC Air Filters, 19" Kinesis Motorsport wheels, and newly modded suspension (lowered ride height but will be maintaining factory rake)... Lovin' it!!

Do what you want with your car b/c you love it - who cares what others think, right?

Cheers,
Byron

 

That's perfect Byron, agreed 100%, when people first saw my 360, many thought that I am crazy for moding a ferrari, but I am loving it and planning to do more. so i say do it if u got the ba11s and money for it.

 

I would go as far as fitting a Tubi, Sports suspension and maybe wheel spacers. Definitely no to any after market body parts and wheels.

I do think some after market wheels look good but for my own Ferrari I would keep the body as Ferrari intented it to look.

 

I think every car can and should be modified in some way. I guess since there hasnt been a history of Ferrari Tuners out there, most are not inclined to mod their Ferrari as its not something commonly done, compared to Porsche, BMW, Mercedes etc.

 

How about NART or Michelotto? There were in years past also many smaller Co's duing tuning and not just race cars but also street cars. In my early days in the business, stock Daytona's and 275 GTB's were a rather uncommon sight. I worked on and drove many of both where the wheels/tires, motors and sometimes even the body work was brought up to the specs of their racing counterparts. If you do a search of the various cam grinders many of them still list grinds for the various early V12's. There were people offering the NART style cold air kit for Daytona's as well as 6 carb kits for 2 cam motors etc. And yes they were well excepted by all but the purists. It was only when those cars shot up in value as collector pieces that many were put back to stock.

 

From past experience I can say I will probably go for a higher performance exhaust (Tubi or what ever my F mechanic suggests) to give a bit more hp & a better note, if that is possible. None of my other cars remained stock after a week. Photo: duel Supertraps on the 240Z.
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