RE: PH Heroes: Ferrari F355

[Jonty355]

andymc said:

yellow in spyder format for me

Me too... but I'm a very lucky bd!

[phib]

CoopR
[report] Yesterday (13:51)
My favorite by far, a total 90's icon

I will have one by time I'm 30... Red Spyder, cream leather

http://www.pistonheads.com/pics/members/19008-car....

Sorry Jonty just has to be red :-)

Edited by phib on Thursday 10th July 08:36

Edited by phib on Thursday 10th July 08:36

[Jonty355]

No thats fine, I originally wanted a red berlinetta F1, but then I found the F1 box to be slow, plus the manual makes that lovely clinking noise when you shift (4th to 5th especially), and then the spider had to be done to appreciate the noise, and the yellow just suddenly appealed.

Colour wise, I personally prefer the yellow spider, but red berlinetta.Yours does look very very very nice though.

Where abouts in the UK are you based? Would love to get some pics of them together.

Edited by Jonty355 on Thursday 10th July 08:56

[pistolp]

It all depends what you're comparing it to

of course by modern standards it may appear not that quick and there are build quality issues but its an ealry 90's design, thats the best part of 20 yrs.

If thats all you can say about a car such as this then you are missing the point

[Jonty355]

pistolp said:

there are build quality issues

[Italian mode on] Heeeey! Whats'y thee matter? They's a addy thee character! [Italian mode off]

[tim200sx]

One of my favourite cars.
From a time when Ferrari's were actually good looking...

Edited by tim200sx on Thursday 10th July 09:10

[phib]

I think I must have very very rose tinted specs as I honestly cant say I have seen any issues with mine... touches wood and hugs a tree !!!

What are they meant to be ?

[Turbo Sandwhich]

One of the best lookin ferrari's made! Il have an F355 and an F40 for my two car garage please!!

[spidermanUK]

2fster said:

Baffled Spoon said:

daveco said:

IMO-The best looking car Ferrari have ever built. I've always wanted one

Simply love this car in every respect.

+ 1.

360 and 430 don't actually do it for me I'm afraid, 355 for me all day long.

Now, where'd I put that Lotto ticket?!

I've owned all 3 models. All Spiders, all manuals, all from new. The only one left in my garage currently is the 355!

And they weren't particularly garage queens, the 355 has done 19,000 miles in 9 years, the 360 did 6250 in 2 1/2 years and the 430 did 7600 in 2 years. The 360 was dull, uninvolving and irritating! The t/c was useless, so much so that it had to be switched 1/2 off EVERY time I approached a roundabout otherwise it killed the power!

The 430 however, was brilliant....and seriously quick. The t/c issues were sorted and so was the noise!

BUT the 355 is an event to drive, and it never fails to put a smile on your face!Obviously it's not as fast as the others.....it's not as fast as a lot of things, but it's a truly great car to drive! As for reliability etc. yes, I had a few problems in the early days, all fixed under warranty, and it's just had its 3rd engine out cambelt service which can be a little pricey.....but it's certainly worth it!

There are some serious dogs out there though, good ones are increasingly hard to find, those of us lucky enough to have a good one know we're on to a good thing and tend to hang on to them!

And yes, I've lost a boatload of cash on all of them!

[Dagnut]

Jonty355 said:

andymc said:

yellow in spyder format for me

Me too... but I'm a very lucky bd!

I would of said total poser

[RB Will]

My Brother had a nice dark blue example, for all of 2 weeks when he was driving along and the front bumper fell off and went straight under the car. Dealer bought it back off him after that and he got a DB7 Vantage.

[Dagnut]

theskippy7 said:

"a 40-valve, 3.5-litre version of the 348’s venerable V8.

The company had squeezed 109bhp per litre out of the unit"

Is that all???????? Ive got 360bhp squeezed out of my 2.0ltr giving it 180bhp per litre.

thats still impressive even by todays standards let alone 15 years ago..I'm sure there lots of heads here who have 360 from a 2.0 litre thats not impressive at all with forced induction..you could sneeze on an EVO and get 360bhp from it.

[Jonty355]

spidermanUK said:

Obviously it's not as fast as the others.....it's not as fast as a lot of things, !

Why do people keep saying this? How is 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, 0-100 in 10 seconds and a top speed of 183mph and some fantastic handling at any sort of speed not quick?

And those that say Subarus are quick... erm, I think if the 355 had such short gear ratios that it was out of puff at 140mph then it would be bonkers. But, downforce anyone? I'd like to see a Subaru corner at 180mph... lots of tyre smoke I reckon!

Edited by Jonty355 on Thursday 10th July 10:55

[Dagnut]

Jonty355 said:

spidermanUK said:

Obviously it's not as fast as the others.....it's not as fast as a lot of things, !

Why do people keep saying this? How is 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, 0-100 in 10 seconds and a top speed of 183mph and some fantastic handling at any sort of speed not quick?

And those that say Subarus are quick... erm, I think if the 355 had such short gear ratios that it was out of puff at 140mph then it would be bonkers. But thats the point, downforce anyone? I'd like to see a Subaru corner at 180mph... lots of tyre smoke I reckon!

people are just sh!te talking mate I bet they've never been in one I'd say. saying A car with 270 bhp per tonne isn't fast is a stretch

[BlueEyedBoy]

Dagnut said:

Jonty355 said:

spidermanUK said:

Obviously it's not as fast as the others.....it's not as fast as a lot of things, !

Why do people keep saying this? How is 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, 0-100 in 10 seconds and a top speed of 183mph and some fantastic handling at any sort of speed not quick?

And those that say Subarus are quick... erm, I think if the 355 had such short gear ratios that it was out of puff at 140mph then it would be bonkers. But thats the point, downforce anyone? I'd like to see a Subaru corner at 180mph... lots of tyre smoke I reckon!

people are just sh!te talking mate I bet they've never been in one I'd say. saying A car with 270 bhp per tonne isn't fast is a stretch

Of course it is fast, just not really fast. I got out of one, and back into my Cerbera, I could feel a big difference.

Edited by BlueEyedBoy on Thursday 10th July 11:13

[Jonty355]

Dagnut said:

theskippy7 said:

"a 40-valve, 3.5-litre version of the 348’s venerable V8.

The company had squeezed 109bhp per litre out of the unit"

Is that all???????? Ive got 360bhp squeezed out of my 2.0ltr giving it 180bhp per litre.

thats still impressive even by todays standards let alone 15 years ago..I'm sure there lots of heads here who have 360 from a 2.0 litre thats not impressive at all with forced induction..you could sneeze on an EVO and get 360bhp from it.

Exactly, I read somewhere about a guy who turbocharged his F355, so he was actually getting about 750-800bhp from it. I think you'll find it works out a lot more that what you get from a scooby or evo turbo engine per litre! about 220bhp per litre?

[Ricky944s2]

Ricky944s2 said:

A friend of a friend of mine has one of these, apparently he's plagued with guys shouting 'MR2!!' as he drives by, but a wee trip to the limiter soon sets them right!!!!


Also, was this the one in 90s iconic movie 'Teen Agent'???..... Oh dear,

phib said:

Anorak mode on wasnt it a lotus esprit v8 or s4s in than film .. not that I have seen it honest !!!!

That was it!!! It was red aswell!!!
Dont know whos worse mate, me for bringing it up in the first place, or you for your attention to detail for that spectacular piece of cinematography!!!!

[Jonty355]

BlueEyedBoy said:

Dagnut said:

Jonty355 said:

spidermanUK said:

Obviously it's not as fast as the others.....it's not as fast as a lot of things, !

Why do people keep saying this? How is 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, 0-100 in 10 seconds and a top speed of 183mph and some fantastic handling at any sort of speed not quick?

And those that say Subarus are quick... erm, I think if the 355 had such short gear ratios that it was out of puff at 140mph then it would be bonkers. But thats the point, downforce anyone? I'd like to see a Subaru corner at 180mph... lots of tyre smoke I reckon!

people are just sh!te talking mate I bet they've never been in one I'd say. saying A car with 270 bhp per tonne isn't fast is a stretch

Of course it is fast, just not really fast. I got out of one, and back into my Cerbera, I could feel a big difference.

Edited by BlueEyedBoy on Thursday 10th July 11:13

Hmmm, but then I got out of mine and into a Griff 500 and the griff felt faster but when we had them alongside each other it was close up to 120 then the 355 began to pull away. Ok so the cerb is a quicker car than the griff and is probably quicker overall.... in a straight line.

[phib]

Owning both a 355 and a ppp subaru

I have to say that the subaru is quick to 80 and gives power from 2500 revs. Round bends its pretty untouchable and completely idiot proof but the most ugly and chav thing I have ever seen. I think mine hits 60 in 4.3 but seriously doubt that it would hit 140 !! In the rain its pretty un touchable

The 355 however is just unreal and out of this world to drive, the downforce is very noticable and over 100 ( on a private test track) it just seems to suck its self to the road, 150 easy as doing 50 in the subaru.

However which can the average driver drive quickly day to day no question...... but which would I rather have had last week when the pretty girl in the red audi TT pulled up along side and winked at me ? ( This may be also fiction depending on if Miss Phib is reading this !!!)

With the subaru normally its owners with gold wheels waving, somehow not quite so appealing

[MrKipling43]

Don't think this really warrants being a PH Hero - given that it's rubbish.

Speaking - unlike, I suspect, many people offering their opinions on this thread - from the point of view of someone who's actually driven one, the handling's cack, the build quality is utterly terrible, the throttle sticks and the ride is shaky at best.

Looks and sounds great though.