Will Front End Lifter Function on Lowered Car? | FerrariChat

Will Front End Lifter Function on Lowered Car?

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by Eilig, Mar 19, 2016.

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  1. Eilig

    Eilig F1 Rookie
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    Aug 31, 2001
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    Tänzelndes Pferd
    I'm considering lowering a US-spec 458 Italia... not slamming it, but reducing the ride height just a bit. More to a European ride height, which I believe is about a 1 cm reduction from US ride height(?)

    Anyway, does anyone know if reducing the ride height by this amount will have any negative impact on the functionality of the Front End Lift?

    Thanks in advance...
     
  2. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
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    Jun 11, 2013
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    I don't think there is a ride height difference in these cars. The lift will work with the lowered height- the final height will just be reduced by the amount of the lowering. Given the 10mm reduction (about 0.4 inch) you are considering I don't think you will have any issues at all- but you might want to check out having the alignment done. Anymore than this and I think its a necessity and you might also want to look into Novitec lowering springs.
     
  3. cpiguy

    cpiguy Formula 3
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    #3 cpiguy, Mar 19, 2016
    Last edited: Mar 19, 2016
    FYI, I've been told by my service manager that the 488 will NOT be able to be lowered on stock shocks if you have the lift kit. :(
     
  4. rockitman

    rockitman F1 Veteran

    May 31, 2015
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    Christian
    If you lower (Novitec Sport Springs), go 30mm. Any less, it's not worth it visually. With the lift, the car will lift 30mm less than it did with stock.
     
  5. Caeruleus11

    Caeruleus11 F1 World Champ
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    Agreed.

    Interesting about the 488.

    I think if you're going to lower it more than just a little (if permitted by the design) I would also consider spacers because you will see how inboard the wheels are relative to the body.
     
  6. Randyslovis

    Randyslovis Formula Junior

    Jul 7, 2011
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    Atlanta, GA
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    Randall J Slovis
    My dealer has lowered many of its customer's 458s. I lowered both my Italia and spider using the stock parts. It was just a matter of removing, then turning the shocks and re-aligning everything. I would do it again in a heartbeat. To answer your question specifically, YES, you can lower a lifter equipped car the same way. BUT, because of the lift system you cannot go down as much without altering/drilling, etc. Yes, you can take out 10mm easy. I think 15 is possible.
    But, this is the key point I have made many times when lowering questions come up: your personal car may be currently riding higher or lower than factory spec without you knowing it! Ferrari apparently has a specified ride height within a few millimeters. Many cars, including my own have come in quite out of spec. My spider was 10 mm higher than factory spec when my uber tech at my dealer measured before lowering! So, when I took it down, the first 10mm were just getting it to normal spec. After that I went down some more. Car looks and rides great. Your dealer or whoever does the lowering, needs to lower the car and then replace wheels and then recheck ride height at all four corners to make sure it is "balanced". Not corner balanced, but lowered equally. You cannot just do "x" number of turns on each shock and assume everything is level.
    Additionally, going back to the ride height issue, you need to see where your car is now to know if the height you want is possible. Meaning, if you happen to be lower to start with than mine or factory spec you may not have as much room to drop car as you would like.
    As a reference, I have seen several 458s with the lifters lowered. They look great. As you said, not slammed, just more "sporting' in character.
    Best
     
  7. Randyslovis

    Randyslovis Formula Junior

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    Atlanta, GA
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    Randall J Slovis
    #7 Randyslovis, Mar 19, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  8. 2006m5

    2006m5 Formula Junior

    Dec 19, 2008
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    huntingdon valley PA
    Looking good
     
  9. Eilig

    Eilig F1 Rookie
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    That looks perfect for what I want to achieve, actually... Thanks for sharing!
     
  10. secondsole

    secondsole Formula Junior

    Feb 28, 2013
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    Michael
    Mine is lowered 1" using H&R springs, and has 17mm spacers...perfect, and the lifer works great.
     
  11. Randyslovis

    Randyslovis Formula Junior

    Jul 7, 2011
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    Randall J Slovis
    Thanks!
    Randy
     
  12. Randyslovis

    Randyslovis Formula Junior

    Jul 7, 2011
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    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Randall J Slovis
    Glad I could help!
    Best of luck with the lowering.
    Randy
     
  13. DavidJames1

    DavidJames1 Formula 3

    Mar 6, 2010
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    Bangkok, Thailand
    Seems crazy to pay to lower a car and then to have the lifter!!! Not a criticism but you would have thought Ferrari has noticed this and would add some sort of spec option that covers this. I've never thought about it before but I wonder if at the Atelier or Tailor Made if one could do something like that. I've only ever done the colours and materials and added features from their list.
     
  14. Vcruiser

    Vcruiser Rookie

    Aug 6, 2015
    44
    Montreal, Canada
    my 488 is lowered on novitec springs and the lift kit works perfectly
     
    Tarek307 likes this.
  15. DavidJames1

    DavidJames1 Formula 3

    Mar 6, 2010
    1,800
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Seems crazy to pay to lower a car and then to have the lifter!!! Not a criticism but you would have thought Ferrari has noticed this and would add some sort of spec option that covers this. I've never thought about it before but I wonder if at the Atelier or Tailor Made if one could do something like that. I've only ever done the colours and materials and added features from their list.
     

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