Ferrari F430 Spider
Discussion
A couple of photos from http://www.shiltechperformancecars.com/ showing the Hill bearing and new clutch in situ:
Collecting the car tomorrow morning.
So far very impressed with Shiltech customer service.
Collecting the car tomorrow morning.
So far very impressed with Shiltech customer service.
Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 13:23
Superb read, I think it's fantastic you have the confidence in your self not only to carry out the mechanical side of things but also make cosmetic changes to suit your tastes. You obviously do extensive research and also go into jobs well prepared with quality parts, a good lesson for many of us I suspect!
mwstewart said:
I'm not impressed with the service work performed on the car to date; for example the pollen filter wasn't changed at the last annual service (I've also had this on my M3 after a service at BMW). I've heard good things about Meridien Mondena Ferrari in the New Forset so I'll give them a shot for the upcoming 31k service, which is a combined annual & mileage.
Schedule and content wise the servicing is very rigorous. The cars are servied annually regardless of mileage and undergo a major service at the folllwing intervals:
6,250, 8,750, 31,250, 43,750, 56,250, 68,750, 81,250, and 93,750.
Mileage and annual based can be combined if they fall around the same time. Full service details are here: http://www.ferraridatabase.com/The_Downloads/The%2...
I don't see any need to reduce the oil change interval on this car unlike the M3 which I reduce by half (my own change inbetween the dealer schedule of 15k miles). The only things I tend to do are the usual fluid checks and a visual inspection.
Had a poke around Meridien Mondena a few weeks ago. Very impressive. Had a LaFerrari and an Enzo hiding round the back.Schedule and content wise the servicing is very rigorous. The cars are servied annually regardless of mileage and undergo a major service at the folllwing intervals:
6,250, 8,750, 31,250, 43,750, 56,250, 68,750, 81,250, and 93,750.
Mileage and annual based can be combined if they fall around the same time. Full service details are here: http://www.ferraridatabase.com/The_Downloads/The%2...
I don't see any need to reduce the oil change interval on this car unlike the M3 which I reduce by half (my own change inbetween the dealer schedule of 15k miles). The only things I tend to do are the usual fluid checks and a visual inspection.
Hows your trip planning going? I'm leaving on the 18th for mine. Sadly sold the M3 cab so i'll be doing Garda in my little Mini Cooper S! Pretty much booked all accommodation.
Currently Bromley>Nurburg>Munich>Stelvio>Garda>Como>*undecided*>Paris>Bromley
All one nighters other than Garda and Como where we are staying longer for a bit of a relax! Any ideas where to stay going Como to Paris? cant decide....
gregs656 said:
Superb read, I think it's fantastic you have the confidence in your self not only to carry out the mechanical side of things but also make cosmetic changes to suit your tastes. You obviously do extensive research and also go into jobs well prepared with quality parts, a good lesson for many of us I suspect!
Thank you 
S3_Graham said:
Had a poke around Meridien Mondena a few weeks ago. Very impressive. Had a LaFerrari and an Enzo hiding round the back.
Hows your trip planning going? I'm leaving on the 18th for mine. Sadly sold the M3 cab so i'll be doing Garda in my little Mini Cooper S! Pretty much booked all accommodation.
Currently Bromley>Nurburg>Munich>Stelvio>Garda>Como>*undecided*>Paris>Bromley
All one nighters other than Garda and Como where we are staying longer for a bit of a relax! Any ideas where to stay going Como to Paris? cant decide....
That's good to know. We'll probably make a weekend of it in the New Forest.Hows your trip planning going? I'm leaving on the 18th for mine. Sadly sold the M3 cab so i'll be doing Garda in my little Mini Cooper S! Pretty much booked all accommodation.
Currently Bromley>Nurburg>Munich>Stelvio>Garda>Como>*undecided*>Paris>Bromley
All one nighters other than Garda and Como where we are staying longer for a bit of a relax! Any ideas where to stay going Como to Paris? cant decide....
Cooper S should be a blast on the mountain passes - can't beat a good hot hatch!
We've curtailed the plans slightly - my girlfriend's Dad wants to book a surprise holiday for the Mum's retirement, and guess what? It's in September. Girlfriend and I can't move the leave we've booked (both work on same project at work) and have no additional leave left to play with, so I said 'ahh well' - we'll cut the RT down to one week to accommodate the surprise. C'est la vie!
Will get back to you with a condensed plan!
It is now approaching the one year mark with the car year with the car so I will reflect on the ownership experience. First a few pics from recent use.
This was a particularly memorable drive in Dorset when mist started to descend along hillier sections of the route.
The first Ferrari I've found out in the 'wild': a California. I was parked next to it in Corfe last Sunday.
The car gets a lot of attention from young children. I've let quite a few sit in it and had one family follow me to ask if their son could look around it. I always oblige where possible.
A few musings about the car now that I have used it for a few thousand miles and some trips away.
Braking
- Given the opposed piston design of the calipers pedal feel is never going to be as sharp as a regular car, but it's not bad. I have found the car to be under-braked for high speed driving: a couple of stops from 150+ and the brakes are very much impaired until they cool. I will upgrade the brakes in due course.
Engine/performance
- The engine is a masterpiece and with the replacement manifolds I have all of the performance I really need for the road. There is always enough torque even at low RPM.
Gear change
- Superb. A joy to use. The best part for me is that the mix of lightweight flywheel/clutch, and high revving cross-plane crank engine dictates skill is requited to drive smoothly and reduce any undue wear on the clutch. This is especially the case when slowing in second gear; I have come to understand why the F1 system wears the clutch prematurely.
Handling
- The balance between ride comfort, steering response, and body roll is what really separates this car from anything else I have driven. The suspension and layout of the car really shine through and it is simply awesome how the car responds to steering input.
- The front tyres are ‘only’ 225 section so steering never feels dull, and grip levels – whilst high – are not ridiculously out of reach as to make the car feel too aloof.
- Standard geo settings are very conservative and will be changed. This however is just fine tuning.
- The front end gets light at high speed. This looks to be addressed on the 16m by the revised front bumper.
Noise/comfort
- The seats are great. Very comfy and very supportive.
- Pedals are offset to the left which would be fine in the LHD car, but in a RHD without cruise control I find my right (accelerator) leg starts to ache a bit after two hours driving.
- Wind noise isolation is better at high speed than the '06 CLK55 I had. There is minimal wind buffeting inside the cabin at road speeds - very impressive. It helps that you sit down low inside the car.
- The replacement manifolds have made the car significantly louder than stock; a standard F430 Spider drove past me at the weekend and made me realise just how much difference there is - it didn't sound like a Supercar at all. My car sounds incredible. I now find 75 mph in 6th indicated constant cruising speed is about the optimum noise level.
- Above 60mph with the hood down, any water that has gathered on the engine lid is fired into the cabin compartment through the gap in the roll over bars. I will look for the optional wind deflector: http://www.crazyhorsebooks.com/upload/a/d4/ad4a074...
Practicality
- The size of the luggage compartment - being sufficient for a couple going away for two weeks - is extremely impressive.
- There is a surprising amount of room behind the seats for additional belongings, and a few cubby holes to store things.
- The the door pockets are very handy and quite large.
- The Bi-Xenons are excellent.
Reliability
- It failed its MOT last Friday for handbrake efficiency. Thankfully the garage is owned a friend of the family and they let me fix it there and then for a retest! I observed that the actuating arm position at rest on each rear caliper was different and this was unbalancing the force applied to each caliper. To rectify I moved the actuating arms on each caliper until the cable was distributed evenly across each when the handbrake was off.
- I had a 'slow down' warning once which turned out to be a defective thermocouple in the bank 1 manifold.
- I had a CEL for P2196, the root cause being an overfilled petrol tank which resulted in the vapour management system being overwhelmed. No work required to fix other than clearing the code and being careful not to brim the tank next time.
Ride
- Really very surprisingly good and in Race mode is less harsh than the M3 CSL suspension in my full weight M3.
- When dealing with poor road surfaces with raised or sunken ironworks I tend to use the low grip mode for its softest suspension setting in order to ease jarring loads on the suspension joints.
- The way the car moves along the road is incredible - it dances over the road. The double A arm suspension works fantastically well.
Steering
- Fantastically weighted. Just right. Think slightly heavier Ford Puma.
What's next?
Despite disliking at first I now really like the 16m tricolore stripe, so I'm going to swap mine.
I have also tracked down some 16m skirts and front bumper.
This was a particularly memorable drive in Dorset when mist started to descend along hillier sections of the route.
The first Ferrari I've found out in the 'wild': a California. I was parked next to it in Corfe last Sunday.
The car gets a lot of attention from young children. I've let quite a few sit in it and had one family follow me to ask if their son could look around it. I always oblige where possible.
A few musings about the car now that I have used it for a few thousand miles and some trips away.
Braking
- Given the opposed piston design of the calipers pedal feel is never going to be as sharp as a regular car, but it's not bad. I have found the car to be under-braked for high speed driving: a couple of stops from 150+ and the brakes are very much impaired until they cool. I will upgrade the brakes in due course.
Engine/performance
- The engine is a masterpiece and with the replacement manifolds I have all of the performance I really need for the road. There is always enough torque even at low RPM.
Gear change
- Superb. A joy to use. The best part for me is that the mix of lightweight flywheel/clutch, and high revving cross-plane crank engine dictates skill is requited to drive smoothly and reduce any undue wear on the clutch. This is especially the case when slowing in second gear; I have come to understand why the F1 system wears the clutch prematurely.
Handling
- The balance between ride comfort, steering response, and body roll is what really separates this car from anything else I have driven. The suspension and layout of the car really shine through and it is simply awesome how the car responds to steering input.
- The front tyres are ‘only’ 225 section so steering never feels dull, and grip levels – whilst high – are not ridiculously out of reach as to make the car feel too aloof.
- Standard geo settings are very conservative and will be changed. This however is just fine tuning.
- The front end gets light at high speed. This looks to be addressed on the 16m by the revised front bumper.
Noise/comfort
- The seats are great. Very comfy and very supportive.
- Pedals are offset to the left which would be fine in the LHD car, but in a RHD without cruise control I find my right (accelerator) leg starts to ache a bit after two hours driving.
- Wind noise isolation is better at high speed than the '06 CLK55 I had. There is minimal wind buffeting inside the cabin at road speeds - very impressive. It helps that you sit down low inside the car.
- The replacement manifolds have made the car significantly louder than stock; a standard F430 Spider drove past me at the weekend and made me realise just how much difference there is - it didn't sound like a Supercar at all. My car sounds incredible. I now find 75 mph in 6th indicated constant cruising speed is about the optimum noise level.
- Above 60mph with the hood down, any water that has gathered on the engine lid is fired into the cabin compartment through the gap in the roll over bars. I will look for the optional wind deflector: http://www.crazyhorsebooks.com/upload/a/d4/ad4a074...
Practicality
- The size of the luggage compartment - being sufficient for a couple going away for two weeks - is extremely impressive.
- There is a surprising amount of room behind the seats for additional belongings, and a few cubby holes to store things.
- The the door pockets are very handy and quite large.
- The Bi-Xenons are excellent.
Reliability
- It failed its MOT last Friday for handbrake efficiency. Thankfully the garage is owned a friend of the family and they let me fix it there and then for a retest! I observed that the actuating arm position at rest on each rear caliper was different and this was unbalancing the force applied to each caliper. To rectify I moved the actuating arms on each caliper until the cable was distributed evenly across each when the handbrake was off.
- I had a 'slow down' warning once which turned out to be a defective thermocouple in the bank 1 manifold.
- I had a CEL for P2196, the root cause being an overfilled petrol tank which resulted in the vapour management system being overwhelmed. No work required to fix other than clearing the code and being careful not to brim the tank next time.
Ride
- Really very surprisingly good and in Race mode is less harsh than the M3 CSL suspension in my full weight M3.
- When dealing with poor road surfaces with raised or sunken ironworks I tend to use the low grip mode for its softest suspension setting in order to ease jarring loads on the suspension joints.
- The way the car moves along the road is incredible - it dances over the road. The double A arm suspension works fantastically well.
Steering
- Fantastically weighted. Just right. Think slightly heavier Ford Puma.
What's next?
Despite disliking at first I now really like the 16m tricolore stripe, so I'm going to swap mine.
I have also tracked down some 16m skirts and front bumper.
Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 13:28
Beedub said:
oh man i love seeing updates on this thread.. is it sad that sometimes ill pause the sky box, grab a cuppa and like a kid read all the details that most never show us on a car like this!
Cheers - I love car details confucuis said:
The 430 really is a beautiful car, classified time!!
Agreed.Another mod: I've picked up some genuine Ferrari carbon airbox lids. These are marginally lighter and supposedly add 10bhp at speed due to an improved transition from airbox to MAF.
Genuine lids are 1x1 weave and feature a black painted alloy flange to secure each MAF.
The stock lids are thin wall aluminium and incorporate a resonator tube before each MAF; it can be seen underneath the outlet tube.
The resonator is deleted on the carbon lids so I am looking forward to hearing if they change the intake sound for the better.
Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 11:34
Got back from my euro trip with no issues. You must do Stelvio. It's just such an awesome road. You can't do it fast as there is a decent amount of traffic. It's still just amazing though, views are incredible.
Shout if you want any places to stay. We were in Trafoi. Nice hotel. Found a really good one in Garda too.
Shout if you want any places to stay. We were in Trafoi. Nice hotel. Found a really good one in Garda too.
S3_Graham said:
Got back from my euro trip with no issues. You must do Stelvio. It's just such an awesome road. You can't do it fast as there is a decent amount of traffic. It's still just amazing though, views are incredible.
Shout if you want any places to stay. We were in Trafoi. Nice hotel. Found a really good one in Garda too.
Cheers Graham - please do PM me some hotel suggestions.Shout if you want any places to stay. We were in Trafoi. Nice hotel. Found a really good one in Garda too.
HI Mstewart
did you have the manifolds coated recently I think you said. Who did the coating? I assume the coating doesn't effect the noise production at all ? just effects the heat generated?
sorry I think Im covering old ground here!
another f430 owner on here has just fitted new manifolds -AP manifolds and is complaining about them being ridiculously loud!
Im curious how you are fairing with yours? How loud are they? I have a sports exhaust on my 360 which is significantly louder at idle and revs than the standard 360 exhaust so its not a problem but it does concern me if I buy a 430 if it ends up being "too " loud...
did you have the manifolds coated recently I think you said. Who did the coating? I assume the coating doesn't effect the noise production at all ? just effects the heat generated?
sorry I think Im covering old ground here!
another f430 owner on here has just fitted new manifolds -AP manifolds and is complaining about them being ridiculously loud!
Im curious how you are fairing with yours? How loud are they? I have a sports exhaust on my 360 which is significantly louder at idle and revs than the standard 360 exhaust so its not a problem but it does concern me if I buy a 430 if it ends up being "too " loud...
f1ten said:
HI Mstewart
did you have the manifolds coated recently I think you said. Who did the coating? I assume the coating doesn't effect the noise production at all ? just effects the heat generated?
sorry I think Im covering old ground here!
another f430 owner on here has just fitted new manifolds -AP manifolds and is complaining about them being ridiculously loud!
Im curious how you are fairing with yours? How loud are they? I have a sports exhaust on my 360 which is significantly louder at idle and revs than the standard 360 exhaust so its not a problem but it does concern me if I buy a 430 if it ends up being "too " loud...
Hello there, did you have the manifolds coated recently I think you said. Who did the coating? I assume the coating doesn't effect the noise production at all ? just effects the heat generated?
sorry I think Im covering old ground here!
another f430 owner on here has just fitted new manifolds -AP manifolds and is complaining about them being ridiculously loud!
Im curious how you are fairing with yours? How loud are they? I have a sports exhaust on my 360 which is significantly louder at idle and revs than the standard 360 exhaust so its not a problem but it does concern me if I buy a 430 if it ends up being "too " loud...
http://www.camcoat.com/main/coatings2.html applied the triple layer external coating, which cost around £320. Ceramic coating doesn't affect noise in any way; the extra noise is liberated by removal of the pre-cats in aftermarket manifolds.
The replacement manifolds are significantly louder than stock and make the car sound like it always should - the stock manifolds are way too quiet for a supercar. The noise mine makes on full chat is incredible.
thanks for replying!
any vids of yours for audible interest? DVB on here was saying his manifolds were just way to loud... I personally quite like loud - there are vids on my website of my 360 for example!
my 360 is basically too loud for track use with my nouvalari exhaust. therefore was thinking next car choice, that being able to meet the decibel test at least for the first few months of ownership might be a good thing to do.
any vids of yours for audible interest? DVB on here was saying his manifolds were just way to loud... I personally quite like loud - there are vids on my website of my 360 for example!
my 360 is basically too loud for track use with my nouvalari exhaust. therefore was thinking next car choice, that being able to meet the decibel test at least for the first few months of ownership might be a good thing to do.
f1ten said:
thanks for replying!
any vids of yours for audible interest? DVB on here was saying his manifolds were just way to loud... I personally quite like loud - there are vids on my website of my 360 for example!
my 360 is basically too loud for track use with my nouvalari exhaust. therefore was thinking next car choice, that being able to meet the decibel test at least for the first few months of ownership might be a good thing to do.
I've never been ona track day so I've no idea about noise limits etc. I will get a video at some point.any vids of yours for audible interest? DVB on here was saying his manifolds were just way to loud... I personally quite like loud - there are vids on my website of my 360 for example!
my 360 is basically too loud for track use with my nouvalari exhaust. therefore was thinking next car choice, that being able to meet the decibel test at least for the first few months of ownership might be a good thing to do.
For context, when driving in urban areas the car isn't so loud that pedestrians turn around if they haven't already seen the car, and if I'm on the motorway it's quite civilised too. When the valves open however it's a different story, though the noise is easily controlled with either ones right foot or the Manettino.
The Tricolore stripe looks great against the Grigio Titainio Exterior to make the car look special.
As Far as Meridien Modena in Lyndhurst goes I think they're great. My dad is looking at a Maserati next year and if we do they'll be the dealer to use- even if Dick Lovett is closer. It does help that there are some great roads around the area too!
As Far as Meridien Modena in Lyndhurst goes I think they're great. My dad is looking at a Maserati next year and if we do they'll be the dealer to use- even if Dick Lovett is closer. It does help that there are some great roads around the area too!
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