which f355 is best?

I think most of the mechanics will say the early cars, the 1995s with the 2.7 motronic are the best cars. Look for the twin feeds from the airboxes to the intake plenums, as opposed to the Y shaped combined path of the 5.2s.

 

The patronizing answer here, is the Best 355 is the one that YOU respond to most, but here are the versions:

There are three models GTB, GTS and Spider. There are two engine management systems, early 2.7 with twin intakes and later 5.2 with a single intake. The 2.7 systems may make slightly more power but are certainly more friendly to mods like exhaust changes or other tuning. The 5.2 is more sophisticated and less tolerant of any emission related changes. and of course there is the choice of F1 gearbox or a stick in the floor. This is a personal matter and both systems are good. There are more potentially expensive repair issues with the F1 but they are very solid for the most part, but much slower shifting than later cars.

You can read here about all the reasons to get a PPI before buying one, but my advice is this: The BEST one is the one that turns you on, and the WORST one is a car with spotty service that is offered cheap!

 

+2.7

 

He does say he wants the coupe...

 

Just a quick plug for the F1... you can search and spend days reading fights between manual and F1 guys. If you already have a 308 with a wonderful gated shifter, a first generation F1 might be a nice compliment. The system is robust, and is the most interactive of any automated manual ever made (no electronic blipping, you still heel-toe downshifts). Gentle upshifts at 3500 rpm are absolutely seamless.

 

+2.7 manual

 

5.2 F1 Spider

Someone had to say it.

 

Yup agree

 

Mine! and you can't have it.
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Its well known that the 2.7 puts out more horses. The change from the 2.7(two brains) to the 5.7(single brain) was strictly for cost savings. Of course Ferrari isnt going to say that the later model has less horses. They are not stupid. Those that know the 355 well will all tell you that the 2.7 is the one to buy.

 

Really? I did not know that. Where is that documented?

 

I have had every version possible on our Chassis dyno. There is no power difference between a 2.7 and 5.2 from what we have seen. In theory a 2.7 car should be more powerful by design. With that said 2.7s are less sensitive to trigger CEL from exhaust modifications if that matters to you.

 

Its documented in my head, first hand from Ferrari mechanics in Italy.
Just looking at the engine, a mechanicaly inclined person can see just the airflow and lack of pollution add ons equals more horses. Need we not mention that the Challenge cars all run the 2.7 version even in the later years of production. I have often been told by those that have worked on the 355 for ions that this is the only time they have ever seen that the first year production was the better. To each his own but those in the know dont have to say much, they just buy it.

I have posted this link before and the numbers are not coincidence.
http://www.zeroto60times.com/Ferrari-0-60-mph-Times.html

To George in Torrino, Once you have your 95B for a couple of years and you have talked to many other owners, you will then know you bought the right year, make and model.
Ciao

 

Seeing as you are in Europe, the absolute best would be if you could find one with factory manual steering!

 

Uhm Yea.

1995 355 0 - 60 4.6 sec 12.6 1/4 mile
1998 335 0 - 60 4.7 sec 13.1 1/4 mile

Got it. No details on actual horsepower differences though and that was my question. If somehow you feel you have some great secret hidden away that you and this mechanic of yours only know of....knock yourself out.

Those speed trap times are so close that driver response and atmospheric conditions would wipe out the margin of error.

Dyno horsepower is what I was looking for. My car with headers, high flow cats and Tubi exhaust would most likely be higher than anything a stock 1995 car could burp out.

2.7 cars do make the CEL issues a lot easier though.

 

Well those add ons on your car can also be done to a 95 year as well as re-chipping the main brains(not on the 5.2) to do what the car was originaly designed to do right from the factory. My 355 is pushing 420 horses and redlines at 9000rpm. The difference from the original car is night and day. Adding the gold kit by DH also helps everything click as it should. There are so many changes that can be made to these cars. There is also a different cam-timing from cated cars and decated cars. Where do your hyperflows sit? It would be interesting to know because to get the proper performance out of the car, you need to adjust your cam timing accordingly.
BTW 0 to 60, a half second is a couple of car lengths. Add another half second and your almost back to a 348 times.

 

So you are under the assumption that 5.2 ECU can not be remapped?

 

Yup change the exhaust 4 degrees, rather pass emission here in SoCal

There is a grip of things to do for any old hot rodder as so many here.

These are very very low HP cars by today's standards, squabbling over 10-30 hp is just silly. Learn to dive it better that will more then make up the difference.

My kids scion pushes over 500 last time he dynoed it. Thats a scion with less then 20 K into it LOL

 

Ive heard of many of the 5.2 being remapped but in many cases it was a nightmare and they had to be redone. The remapping of the 5.2 is not a science and in many cases is guess work. The rechipping of the 2.7 on my car is done by the same people that do the original chips for Ferrari and they also do the Formula 1 cars. Every single person that had ther 2.7 chipped this way was amazed. In other words it was done by the inventors and not by someone on a dyno guessing where the power should or should not be. I can understand someone owning a 5.2 defending their car and they are still an amazing machine but when given the choice, I and many others will opt for the 2.7 everytime. Heres a little bit of reading. For some reason they too have heard that the 2.7 has a few horses more. http://www.the355.com/mambo/content/view/16/27/

 

Hooray! Someone who knows what they are talking about and can back it up with real research has told it how it is. That is exactly what my mechanic who has worked on Ferraris for 30 years said too.

The owners of '95 cars love to tell everyone that they are more powerful but there is no REAL evidence at all anywhere that this is true. That 0-60 site is pointless - even they admit there are so many variables as to make the times practically meaningless. If you look at the site, they have a stock 360 Modena going MUCH faster than an F430! Lol!

What is a fact however is the 2.7 cars are apparently easier to work on and easier to get through tough emissions laws. If this is not an issue where you live it is no advantage at all.

Make sure you try both types of transmissions. Personally I love the F1 but a lot of people don't.
Bottom line: Just buy the best car you can find and you will be happy.

 

Do you really care if it's 2.7 vs 5.2?

Does it really matter if it's 4.6 vs 4.7 0 to 60??

Don't tell me you can really notice the difference between 375hp vs 380hp...?

C'mon, it ain't matter. They are all great cars....they're all F355!!!

But if you absolutely have to know which is the best f355 of them all??

I'd say it's got to be those Series Fiorano cars.

How good are they if you ask me?.....I'd gladly give my left nut for one that's how good they are

 

So prey tell who has these "chips" and what sort of $ are you talking?

N :/)