Does anyone know what Ferrari's official "top speed" of the 348 is/was?
Good grief!! Anyone here have their own 348 at 150+ ? I sure as heck don't have the experience, stamina, budget, or airport tarmac to attempt anything like that. Not to mention the unique handling traits of a 348 !
Mine's rock solid at 120............haven't gone faster though..........couldn't imagine what 171 would be like with the wind noise !!
I've owned both the early models and the later models of the 348. The 91 348 didn't have the suspension mods that the 94 spider had. I had the 91 up to 155 once. Would never do that again. Needed two lanes, pretty scary. The 94 on the other hand was rock solid at 150 (the highest I ever drove it). The 355 was rock solid up to 165, and the 360 works great at 170. The published top speed for the 348s is, I believe 167 for the earlier models, 171 for the later models which have 12 more HP due to the exhaust. The 348 are very, very sensitive to tires and pressures. Before anyone tries to see how fast they'll go, I strongly recommend that they make sure they've got the tire pressures exactly as recommended. Art
I did 170 indicated (so probably 160 actual) last year at Brainerd Intl up here in Minnesota on the mile long front straight and subsiquent flat out banked turn 1. Shes pretty damn solid unless you get a cross wind coming out of the trees at the end of the straight...about wet my pants there.
Wow. I'm impressed. Even if the speedometer is 10% off (or hell, even 20% off), I wouldn't have the cajones to get anywhere near the 4-o'clock position on my speedo. Call me a wimp, call me a quiche-eater.
Quickest I've gone according to my Road Angel GPS device is 150mph and it was solid. This is in my 93 348GTS, there was plenty more to go on the throttle but the road was fast running out. Chris
I've started to get more confident with mine, driven on the M4 motorway a few times cruising at 125 - no problems (348TS 91). Guess I'll have to go a bit faster at some stage.
I've been at over 160 mph(according to speedo) quite a few times with the top down with no problems. Hit a smidge above 170 and realized that I was at the redline stage. This was with a passenger and the front full of luggage.
155mph in my 91 348. Felt soild but that was with the addition of the rear wheel spacers which I hear make it more stable? I know they do around high speed corners. Way out on a back country hwy is where I let her loose. Though I would never suggest anyone do that unless on the track. I had to let it rip when I first got her to see what she could do! There was plenty left too, I lacked the balls or had the brains to get out of it. However you want to look at it? 171mph is the top speed from what I read though Mike
ok, since this has turned into a de facto-bragging-rights gig..... 130 at night, empty freeway, wife asleep in passenger seat. (therefore pretty solid - no alchohol involved in her sleep!) ha-ha! - Rick
I dont know how fast I had the 308 up to, didnt bother to look. About 6K in 4th gear at least, dont know what I did in 5th. I'll know more when I put it back together. 120 in my MB 380 SL with the top down, 125 on a motorcycle, 130 in an Alfa, 135 in a MB 300E, 140 and well plus in many old Pontiacs, and Mopars. Heck, my dads 73 Chrysler New Yorker would roll at over 135. But I know what you mean when you talk about using two lanes at high speed. But seriously, A Ferrari should be arrow solid at high speed, if not it needs help.
173mph on airstrip with timed gear run by foc with the help of nitrous, car was very stable (over 180mph on speedo)
had my 348ts up to 230km/per hour down the back straight on pukekohe racetrack in auckland new zealand last year. my owners manual says top speed of 272 km/per hour. buggered if id want to be going that fast. i agree with others comments, the cars are solid, although the smallest bump or rise in the road is really noticeable at that speed. and it was a ferrari club day, and a couple of 355's and 550's went past me like i was parked. if you want fast, get one of those. in my experience its not the speed that is the problem, its slowing down for the first corner before you run out of track that's the killer. but its also my experience that a ferrari has a feel about that no other car has. the car lives and breaths, and becomes one with you, and i just trust that it will look after me for our mutual survival. so far it seems to.
I just bought an 89 348ts and had it up to 140 on the ride home. Not perfectly solid, but much more comfortable than my old infiniti was at even 110 mph. Only rode at speed for a short while, there was a state trooper to slow me down. BT
I've had my 1990TS to 160 and it was just fine. Little bit scary at that speed though. The wind noise is unreal and things go by real fast. Has a tendency to play tricks on your mind if you know what I mean!
Didn't Ferrari make a number of changes/updates to the suspension/chassis for the '92 model 348 to improve high speed stability?
Well I guess I'm gonna have to chime in also. My 1990 348ts sees 100mph almost every time I drive it. I gets there so easy, that I really have to pay attention not to go over 100mph. The fastest I have had it was 140mph indicated on the speedo, ran out of straight road. I have had it up to and just over 130mph a few times, and the handling is a bit twitchy. I don't like how the car acts at that speed so I'm not going any faster until I get bigger rims for it. That and the roads here are not good at all for high speed driving. There is a place hear in California that I am planning on going one of these days so that I can let it all hang out. You can drive as fast as you want leagally. It's call El Mirage. It's a dry lake bed out in the desert, kind of like the salt flats in Utah. The guy that told me about the place said that when he was out there the park ranger was nice enough to clock him with the radar gun. So when I do my run I will get an official top speed.