Too much stuff on the steering wheel?!

^ middle wheel is an F430 not a California

 

I found the 458 wheel to be simply fantastic. Ferrari have made a major leap forward. Only item on my wish list would be longer paddles. i put challenge paddles on my Scud and 16M and they were the business

At the other extreme I also like classic wheels such as my 993RS or 288GTO. They go well with manual, no electronics... Classic wheel for classic cars

 

I LOVE the 458 steering wheel.

 

It's a Scuderia wheel not a F430

 

I haven't owned a Ferrari in 15 years since my F355, but one thing I've noticed they are doing on the steering wheel of the Cali and the Italia is where the horn buttons are: the soft thumb rests at 10 & 2 conceal the horn buttons which I think is brilliant!

 

No, not so brilliant really. I keep hitting the horn by accident when parking. A bit embarrassing, as if I'm announcing my arrival and departure!

 

I've managed to do it more than once running hot laps on the track in my Scud. I'm gaining on somebodys six going in or out of a turn and I end up hitting the horn botton. I feel really stupid when that happens and it really has to piss off the driver in front of me. Who has got to believe that I'm an arrogant jerk who has no track manners. It can also be extremely dangerous as it has a tendency to spook the other driver causing him to lose his driving line and break his concentration. After all, the sound of a car horn is the last thing you expect to hear on a track. On the other hand I have never grabbed a wiper or light stalk instead of a shift paddle in the heat of battle. Does the Scud have longer shift paddles than a regular 430 and earlier models?

 

My 1960 190SL had it and I believe the 360SL also.

 

Agree, it happens to me more than I care to admit. Bad design really.

 

Disagree. It takes a few days to get used to the layout and then it all make sense and makes so much sense the stalks seem very old and out of place. IMO this was an exercise in progress and not one of marketing at all. Keeps your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

 

It's actually a terrible idea, instinct makes you pound the centre of the steering wheel when you need it as that's where we're all used to having the horn, when you need to use the horn you need to think about it to press the buttons which defeats the purpose in my mind, the number of times I've not been able to alert someone to my presence because of having to think about where the horn is. It's the only thing I don't like about my 430.

John.

 

i like the italia's steering w/ the exception of the wiper and lite switches. I view them as non essential.

 

I must have been enamoured with the 16M wheel because I posted it twice instead of the California wheel as shown below. Thanks for correcting me!

The 458 wheel does feel very good in the hand. I think, as mentioned above, that a few days with it and you'll be very accustomed to the equipment layout.
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No he didn't. Clarkson is an idiot and makes up BS like that about almost every car he reviews. Try to follow me here... you turn on the blinker before you enter into a turn, therefor the button WILL ALWAYS be in the proper position when you need it. Did you not realize that Clarkson was just doing a bunch or 360 degree turns???

458 Italia: He said you can't see how fast you are going when you have the navigation feature turned on... FALSE!

M5: He said you can't turn off the navigation voice... FALSE!

GT3 RS: He said it's only available in white... FALSE!

I could go on & on. The only thing Clarkson has confirmed is that he is an idiot.

 

Jeremy is an entertainer. Most of that stuff is purely for entertainment.

Whether it is good or bad entertainment or whether he is a good or bad entertainer is surely debatable, but it is not to be taken literally.

For example;

"I know this is a 170,000 pounds, which is a lot even by Ferrari standards, but I don't care. I don't care about the bonkers dash, I wouldn't even care if this thing ate one of my legs!"

Pretty frickin funny and an instant classic, IMHO.

 

I have a 458 and I agree it only takes a short time to become acclimated to the functions on the steering wheel. If we'd always had "stuff" on the steering wheel but now changed to levers (stalks), and put buttons on the dash this whole thread would just be reversed.