What is the best year 355? | FerrariChat

What is the best year 355?

Discussion in '348/355' started by Hemiragtop, Nov 6, 2004.

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  1. Hemiragtop

    Hemiragtop Karting

    Nov 5, 2004
    145
    I'm in the market for my first Ferrari and I need some advice. I'm considering buying a 355 Spyder 6 speed, is there a certain year or model that I should consider. I usually hold on to my cars for a long time, so I'm looking for a model that would be the most desirable of the 355 spyders. Thanks in advance.

    JP
     
  2. Senna1994

    Senna1994 F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 11, 2003
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    Orange County
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    Anthony T
    A well sorted 95 is the fastest and best sounding. The most refined and probably most reliable would be a 99.
     
  3. msage430

    msage430 Formula Junior
    BANNED Silver Subscribed

    Feb 8, 2004
    373
    calabasas
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    mike sage
    99 f1 spider
     
  4. ferra355

    ferra355 Karting

    Apr 28, 2004
    58
    Sacramento
    Full Name:
    Jim
    I've had my 355f for about a year and just love it . the only prob I ever had was the battery needed a jump from not driving it in like 2 months . But like most Ferrari owner's i think would say is thier meant to be driven . Oh and i found out that there's A big secret the manual doesn't tell yo0u when your going to jump the battery , that is you have to remove the right panel located in the engine compartment ( thiers elen screws like 3 ) then you will see the little red positive cable box where you can jump it !
     
  5. freshyip

    freshyip Karting

    Oct 28, 2004
    63
    New Territories, HK
    Full Name:
    freshyip
    hello newbie here! ;)

    i am also in the hunt of a 355, may i please ask why the early produced (96)...or even the later produced 355 is better? (pros vs cons wise) thx

    and also was the 355 challenge limited produced? only the 355 challenge had the flappy paddle gearbox right?

    what is the difference between 355 f1 or the others..thx...:)
     
  6. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
    33,736
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    Brian Crall
    Ferrari makes very few cars and when a new model is designed it takes a while to get all the bugs worked out. With few exceptions the cars get lots and lots of improvements over their production life, some trivial, some not.
    For that reason in terms of quality and reliabilty the best is almost always the last.

    The 355 Challenge was built for racing and none had the paddle shift

    F1 denotes the fact that IT has the paddle shift.
     
  7. 2000YELLOW360

    2000YELLOW360 F1 World Champ

    Jun 5, 2001
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    Art
    If you can find a 355 with the valve guide issues fixed, with late electronics, and late emissions, that would be the best Ferrari. Finding that car will be very, very difficult, but I'd see what you can find. You'd have the most reliable 355, and one of the fastest.

    Art
     
  8. Mercedes_Benz

    Mercedes_Benz Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 1, 2003
    465
    South Florida

    May i ask why the 95 is faster then then 99?
     
  9. Auraraptor

    Auraraptor F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Sep 25, 2002
    13,196
    MO
    OB1 vs OB2
     
  10. SSNISTR

    SSNISTR F1 Veteran

    Feb 13, 2004
    8,046
    SFL
    That shouldn't effect performance, it's just a PCM upgrade to better keep track and diagnose problems. I looked into some times, Road & Track for example got a quicker time with a '98 then a '95.
     
  11. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
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    Brian Crall
    To achieve OBD 2 they had to change from a pair of mass meters to a large single and the two small ones had more total flow capacity. Power difference is small.
     
  12. ferrari355gtb

    ferrari355gtb Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,600
    UK
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    R

    2 are better than 1 - reckon on about 5 to 10 bhp more. It also makes the Tubi sound a lot better too. My recommendation would be to buy as late a version of 2.7 Motronic (OBD1) as possible - I think this would be around mid to late 96.
     
  13. cal355

    cal355 Formula Junior

    Jun 16, 2004
    383
    San Francisco
    Full Name:
    Cal
    Only 1995 F355 were OBD1/2.7 Motronic 380hp rated.1996 F355 are OBD2 with single MAF rated at 375hp.
     
  14. cinquevalvole

    cinquevalvole Formula 3

    Feb 6, 2004
    1,158
    Germany, Bayern
    That's it.
    The 1995 engine with 2.7 motronic has only two lamda-sensors, one at each cat.
    The motronic 5.2 has four sensors - to fail and flash the idiot light: "slow down", "check engine" ...
    Ergo: advantage for the 2.7 modell.

    Air intake is more restricted by the 5.2 central tube. Not convincing.
    Sound: In Europe the 2.7 Version is rated 8 db louder then the 5.2.
    Stock muffler 2.7: 20 kg
    Stock muffler 5.2: 25 kg
    Any questions?

    Maintaining and trusting the early 355 F1 shiftbox in not my cup of tea.
    Take a 6-speed!

    Spider top:
    Because of a well sorted out roof construction the late fiorano edition should be the best, but hard to find. (only 104 build)
    The Spider roof is an important part, so the poor 375 hp rating for late 355s seems to be acceptable for a otherwise well mounted top.
    Anyway, I would go for a 1995 Spider in argento nürburgring :) A dream!

    forza

    cinque
     
  15. Steve B

    Steve B Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
    521
    Naperville
    Full Name:
    Steven L. Biagini
    This is not correct. I have had both a 1995 and 1998 F355 and both were rated at 375 hp per the owner's manuals. The early magazine road tests of the 1995 F355s also list the power output at 375. I believe that the European version was rated at 380 hp.
     
  16. scycle2020

    scycle2020 F1 Rookie

    Jan 26, 2004
    3,477
    potomac
    i would avoid the f1 tranny on the 355, very jerky with potential expensive repair issues inthe future.....
     
  17. ferrari355gtb

    ferrari355gtb Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
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    Mine's an 96 and is a 2.7 Motronic version - albeit a European one.
     
  18. ferrari355gtb

    ferrari355gtb Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
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    Ferrari rated all of the cars at 375bhp but in reality the 2.7 had +5bhp over the 5.2. Probably not noticeable on the road but once you take off the cats and the restrictive exhaust the difference is bigger.
     
  19. Steve B

    Steve B Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
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    Naperville
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    Steven L. Biagini
    If this is true then the 5.2s only had 370 hp since the 375 hp rating was applied to the 2.7s before the 5.2s were even in production? I also have the original F355 product launch brochure which is internally inconsistent. The English section of the specifications table in the brochure lists 375 hp but the text earlier in the brochure lists 380 hp. Maybe a conversion rounding difference from KW or DIN? What is your source for claiming that the 2.7s had more hp?
     
  20. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
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    Brian Crall
    I dont know if Ferrari ever put it in print but they readily admitted it to us when they put the 5.2 into production. IIRC they said about 10 HP.

    Dont get to wrapped up in Ferrari's published HP figures, they are often embellished. What really matters is how well that right pedal works and that generally doesn't give us cause for complaint.
     
  21. PBRacer

    PBRacer Karting

    Nov 3, 2003
    154
    Virginia
    Full Name:
    Stan
    Better do a search on "valve guides" before buying a 95. Lots of folks here had questions/issues with the 95's.
     
  22. Auraraptor

    Auraraptor F1 World Champ
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Sep 25, 2002
    13,196
    MO
    That issue seems to continue on to mid 98 production. No reason to discount a 95 for it.
     
  23. Steve B

    Steve B Formula Junior

    Dec 23, 2003
    521
    Naperville
    Full Name:
    Steven L. Biagini
    I am just wondering what the source is for the claimed additional hp in the 1995s. An addtional 5-10 hp in a 380 hp car would not be noticeable by a driver, so has anybody run a comparative dyno test?. The air intake issue may be more complex than it appears; for instance is the intake air even the limiting factor in the F355's power production? Maybe the power difference is there but I have heard enough unsubstantiated claims on this site that I am cautious. However, I do agree with your last sentence, the right pedal works quite nicely on all of them!!! Cheers.
     
  24. Merdav

    Merdav Formula Junior

    Apr 11, 2004
    980
    Steve what year is your 355?
     
  25. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    The best year 355's would have to be 98 and 99....unconfirmed, but it has been speculated that the switch from bronze to sintered steel guides took place around mid 98...but not sure at what chassis number.

    From 96 to 98 I don't think there were many other changes other than a minor change in the air injection tubes on the exhaust manifolds.
     

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