Ferrari F430 Spider
Discussion
mwstewart said:
It's back!
Collection:
Drive back:
After reading this whole thread its refreshing to see that you aren't afraid to work on your car yourself - were you an engineer or mechanic at some point? Id never have the patience or practical know how to do what you've done. Collection:
Drive back:
Interesting point on Graypaul Notts - I was going to mention Shiltek in Loughborough - a friend was quoted £6.5k for repairs from Graypaul, Shilltek did the same work for £3.2K!!! And with much better piece of mind as the mechanics were happy to talk through everything that'd been done, suggestions for changes etc... Not the same at Graypaul though...
Love the tricolore stripe and the 16m front bumper - adding the light strip in the front lights will make a massive difference in the look of the car imo.
How do you think your car feels in comparison to when you first got her?
mattf93 said:
After reading this whole thread its refreshing to see that you aren't afraid to work on your car yourself - were you an engineer or mechanic at some point? Id never have the patience or practical know how to do what you've done.
Interesting point on Graypaul Notts - I was going to mention Shiltek in Loughborough - a friend was quoted £6.5k for repairs from Graypaul, Shilltek did the same work for £3.2K!!! And with much better piece of mind as the mechanics were happy to talk through everything that'd been done, suggestions for changes etc... Not the same at Graypaul though...
Love the tricolore stripe and the 16m front bumper - adding the light strip in the front lights will make a massive difference in the look of the car imo.
How do you think your car feels in comparison to when you first got her?
Cheers. No, I'm a Solutions Architect so nothing to do with mechanical engineering or automotive. I'm just a hobbyist Interesting point on Graypaul Notts - I was going to mention Shiltek in Loughborough - a friend was quoted £6.5k for repairs from Graypaul, Shilltek did the same work for £3.2K!!! And with much better piece of mind as the mechanics were happy to talk through everything that'd been done, suggestions for changes etc... Not the same at Graypaul though...
Love the tricolore stripe and the 16m front bumper - adding the light strip in the front lights will make a massive difference in the look of the car imo.
How do you think your car feels in comparison to when you first got her?
I’ve actually made the decision to break the full Ferrari history and use Shiltech for the 31k service. The car is booked in for next week. After giving it a lot of thought I’d much rather have a car that’s kept in optimal condition rather than one that isn’t, but is perceived to be worth more.
The car feels a little tighter than when I got it due to the worn track/tie rod end replacement, and the manifolds have made a huge difference to sound and also made a noticeable performance increase.
m3jappa said:
Just read through the whole thread. Excellent! Would love to see or hear a noise clip
Thanks! I'm taking a GoPro on the road trip so should have some footage online in a few weeks.A couple more modifications.
16M wheels. Cannot wait to get these on - hopefully next week!
The wheels are my first step towards a 16M/Scud brake conversion. The 16M and Scud wheels are required to clear the 398mm front CCM discs which are specific to those models; the 'regular' F430 CCM are 380mm to suit clearance of the standard wheels.
Both 16M and Scuderia wheels are lighter than regular F430 wheels, too. More so if using the Ti wheel bolts (not strictly required).
Scuderia/16m coolant reservoir lid to match the new airbox lids.
16M wheels. Cannot wait to get these on - hopefully next week!
The wheels are my first step towards a 16M/Scud brake conversion. The 16M and Scud wheels are required to clear the 398mm front CCM discs which are specific to those models; the 'regular' F430 CCM are 380mm to suit clearance of the standard wheels.
Both 16M and Scuderia wheels are lighter than regular F430 wheels, too. More so if using the Ti wheel bolts (not strictly required).
Scuderia/16m coolant reservoir lid to match the new airbox lids.
Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 11:13
mwstewart said:
A couple more modifications.
16M wheels. Cannot wait to get these on - hopefully next week
The wheels are my first step towards a 16M/Scud brake conversion. The 16M and Scud wheels are required to clear the 398mm front CCM discs which are specific to those models; the 'regular' F430 CCM are 380mm to suit clearance of the standard wheels.
Both 16M and Scuderia wheels are lighter than regular F430 wheels, too. More so if using the Ti wheel bolts (not strictly required).
Not sure you are correct, I have challenge 398mm CCM's on my 430 with Scud 'style' wheels.16M wheels. Cannot wait to get these on - hopefully next week
The wheels are my first step towards a 16M/Scud brake conversion. The 16M and Scud wheels are required to clear the 398mm front CCM discs which are specific to those models; the 'regular' F430 CCM are 380mm to suit clearance of the standard wheels.
Both 16M and Scuderia wheels are lighter than regular F430 wheels, too. More so if using the Ti wheel bolts (not strictly required).
No issues with clearance.
Ps
Love those 16M wheels! Where did you get them from?
Shadow R1 said:
Its a good day when I log in and one of your threads has been updated.
Craikeybaby said:
Good work!
AntiLag1 said:
I like the route this is taking, credit to you for taking most jobs on yourself!
Thanks all!chillo said:
Not sure you are correct, I have challenge 398mm CCM's on my 430 with Scud 'style' wheels.
No issues with clearance.
Ps
Love those 16M wheels! Where did you get them from?
Scud 'style' wheels have the same inner clearance as the actual Scud wheels, the only difference is reduced rim width to suit standard F430 tyre sizes.No issues with clearance.
Ps
Love those 16M wheels! Where did you get them from?
Cheers. They came up on eBay, but Eurospares have them in stock too.
mwstewart said:
The wheels are my first step towards a 16M/Scud brake conversion. The 16M and Scud wheels are required to clear the 398mm front CCM discs which are specific to those models; the 'regular' F430 CCM are 380mm to suit clearance of the standard wheels.
Those look lovely. Out of interest, Jaguar uses the same CCM system - they incorporate a seperate brake pressure accumulator on the CCM cars (accommodates for the poor cold performance and feel)...did ferrari do something similar?crosseyedlion said:
Those look lovely. Out of interest, Jaguar uses the same CCM system - they incorporate a seperate brake pressure accumulator on the CCM cars (accommodates for the poor cold performance and feel)...did ferrari do something similar?
The prefill is a calibration within the ABS. I think Ferrari use a similar solution.Edited by RacerMike on Tuesday 8th September 14:45
mwstewart said:
This was a particularly memorable drive in Dorset when mist started to descend along hillier sections of the route.
Bulbarrow? Some nice driving roads round that way- although I'm usually on my bike. Always have enjoyed your threads from way back in the fiestaturbo.com days! The Ferrari is lovely - great spec. Was going to say I doubt you'd be disappointed by Meridien Modena - I live just across the forest from them and their cars always look impeccable, and usually plenty of exotica at their workshop (seen several F40s and F50s over the years there too);
Having said that I doubt you will 'de-value' the car in too many people's eyes whoever you use as it's clear you've looked after it in the best way possible. Awaiting Go Pro vid clip!
Craivold said:
Bulbarrow? Some nice driving roads round that way- although I'm usually on my bike.
Always have enjoyed your threads from way back in the fiestaturbo.com days! The Ferrari is lovely - great spec. Was going to say I doubt you'd be disappointed by Meridien Modena - I live just across the forest from them and their cars always look impeccable, and usually plenty of exotica at their workshop (seen several F40s and F50s over the years there too);
Having said that I doubt you will 'de-value' the car in too many people's eyes whoever you use as it's clear you've looked after it in the best way possible. Awaiting Go Pro vid clip!
Thank you. It was near Tyneham.Always have enjoyed your threads from way back in the fiestaturbo.com days! The Ferrari is lovely - great spec. Was going to say I doubt you'd be disappointed by Meridien Modena - I live just across the forest from them and their cars always look impeccable, and usually plenty of exotica at their workshop (seen several F40s and F50s over the years there too);
Having said that I doubt you will 'de-value' the car in too many people's eyes whoever you use as it's clear you've looked after it in the best way possible. Awaiting Go Pro vid clip!
I haven't had chance to write up the trip yet, but here's a tunnel video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzMeK42nFoE
A quick write up of the recent road trip. In the end the route we took was as follows:
This had to be condensed into one week as my girlfriend's Dad was planning a surprise retirement holiday for the Mum, so we changed our plans to fit around that. It was quite an ambitious route for a week!
The first real stop was Switzerland, having already driven through France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. For a short while en route we were in convoy (and making good progress!) with a Nero F430 and a Silverstone 458, which was fun. I also came across a modified E90 335i, which kept up with me from 70 to 135 - really impressive - but when we hit some sweeping bends at that speed it really made me apprecite the gulf between it and a regular car. The saloon was not on the same playing field.
In Switzerland we stayed in a Hotel near to Lucerne; it is a beautiful place and to make things better the temperate was up towards 30 degrees (C).
Some nice jugs in Lucerne.
The Swiss are very law abiding and any kind of speeding is viewed even less favourably than elsewhere in Europe, hence there are many speed cameras.
Scenery around the lakes is stunning.
Next stop was the Gotthard Pass through the Alps, on our way to Italy, and to get there from Lucerne, we took the original Gotthardstrasse which avoids the new E35 motorway. This allowed us to drive through a few towns and villages on the way up. I passed, and drove with many Toyota GT86's on the way, and some of them gave me a run for my money in the twistier sections.
The Hotel Stern Und Post is on the Swiss Historic Hotels list and is like a time warp inside. Their vegetable soup is worthy of a mention - it's exceptional!
Having been distracted by some nice food we got to the top of the pass around 6pm, the bonus being traffic was very light and I had most of it to myself!
I met a friendly Dutch guy at the top of the pass; he'd driven over in his 350z to spend a few days on the various passes (Gotthard, Furka, and more), so we had a chat and took photos of each other with our cars.
Part of the pass.
The descent highlighted even more one of the limitations of my F430: the steel brakes are utter crap. 150 in 5th down to a 2nd gear hairpin and they are toast, literally. They are a real limiting factor and limit me utilising the performance of the car to its fullest, so are near the top of my list of things to address!
We set off from the pass at 7pm and were supposed to be checking into our next accommodation that evening, only it was 480 km away in Tuscany! I can say that the F430 is able to cover ground at an impressive rate and is a joy to use at high speed for hours at a time.
We hired farmhouse in Tuscany for a few nights, and it was a beautiful respite.
The temperature was great, however there was a problem...
Despite being advertised as 'accommodation with the best access road in the area', one has to appreciate what constitutes a bad road in Tuscany: it is something only suitable for a 4x4 with big ground clearance. I braved the 2km access road but it was not something I would ever want to try again in the F430! We only got so far before abandoning the car and walking!
The farm owners were typically Italian and very helpful, and leant us an old Fiat Panda so we could park the F430 in a village close to an actual real road.
I fell in love with the Panda. There are 4x4 versions and I'd love to buy one.
It wasn't all bad - the farm produced wine (and cheese).
Eagle eyed readers will notice that I am missing the front number plate; well, the rear also fell off in the 42 degree heat. I put them in the luggage compartment whilst we parked in the hillside town of Fiesole, planning to buy some new double sided tape whilst we were in Florence for the day. We arrived back at the car to find a group of locals and Carabinieri! It turns out everyone thought the car was stolen, so after an explanation to the Carabinieri we reaffixed the plates and were on our way.
Florence was great.
We had a few days driving around the Tuscan countryside and visiting villages and towns. Siena was particularly beautiful but for actual driving I wouldn't take the F430 back here: I am really glad I experienced it but the road surface quality is just too poor.
The packing tape we used to reattach the number plate can be seen here
After Tuscany we made our way over to Manosque in France, via Pisa.
I've been to Pisa before and wouldn't come back if it wasn't en route. It's not great. Next was Genoa on the northern Italian coast, and again I can't recommend it - it's a bit of a dirty port town compared to other places we'd seen.
Back in France I could have my fill of a particular favourite: baked goods and patisseries!
We had a day trip to the Gorges du Verdon, touted as one of the most beautiful gorges in Europe, and I can attest it's worthy of the accolade.
It is well worth donning your walking footwear and spending an afternoon 'rambling' through the gorge. There are miles of walking routes in the area. We also made it down to the water and hired a boat to navigate some of it - breath-taking scenery.
More importantly there are some great roads in the area, and I found many of the locals really like to push their cars! It's great to see.
I took this to show how much luggage space the F430 has. It's impressive, but if making use of it be careful with the steel brakes!
From Manosque we headed north via the Route Napolean.
More great scenery abounds.
We detoured off of the Route Napolean to have lunch on the shore of Lac de Serre-Ponçon, which is one of the largest artificial lakes in western Europe. In doing so we missed the gilded French Imperial Eagle outside Gap, but the roads around the lake were much better anyway
I was pleased to spot another RN landmark, though I forget now where this was.
Our final stop before the Ferry and drive to London, was Dijon. It's a beautiful, clean city that is well worth a visit. We stopped at http://hotel-lacloche.com/ which I can wholeheartedly recommend. Valet parking in a secure car park.
A few points about the car:
This had to be condensed into one week as my girlfriend's Dad was planning a surprise retirement holiday for the Mum, so we changed our plans to fit around that. It was quite an ambitious route for a week!
The first real stop was Switzerland, having already driven through France, Belgium, and Luxembourg. For a short while en route we were in convoy (and making good progress!) with a Nero F430 and a Silverstone 458, which was fun. I also came across a modified E90 335i, which kept up with me from 70 to 135 - really impressive - but when we hit some sweeping bends at that speed it really made me apprecite the gulf between it and a regular car. The saloon was not on the same playing field.
In Switzerland we stayed in a Hotel near to Lucerne; it is a beautiful place and to make things better the temperate was up towards 30 degrees (C).
Some nice jugs in Lucerne.
The Swiss are very law abiding and any kind of speeding is viewed even less favourably than elsewhere in Europe, hence there are many speed cameras.
Scenery around the lakes is stunning.
Next stop was the Gotthard Pass through the Alps, on our way to Italy, and to get there from Lucerne, we took the original Gotthardstrasse which avoids the new E35 motorway. This allowed us to drive through a few towns and villages on the way up. I passed, and drove with many Toyota GT86's on the way, and some of them gave me a run for my money in the twistier sections.
The Hotel Stern Und Post is on the Swiss Historic Hotels list and is like a time warp inside. Their vegetable soup is worthy of a mention - it's exceptional!
Having been distracted by some nice food we got to the top of the pass around 6pm, the bonus being traffic was very light and I had most of it to myself!
I met a friendly Dutch guy at the top of the pass; he'd driven over in his 350z to spend a few days on the various passes (Gotthard, Furka, and more), so we had a chat and took photos of each other with our cars.
Part of the pass.
The descent highlighted even more one of the limitations of my F430: the steel brakes are utter crap. 150 in 5th down to a 2nd gear hairpin and they are toast, literally. They are a real limiting factor and limit me utilising the performance of the car to its fullest, so are near the top of my list of things to address!
We set off from the pass at 7pm and were supposed to be checking into our next accommodation that evening, only it was 480 km away in Tuscany! I can say that the F430 is able to cover ground at an impressive rate and is a joy to use at high speed for hours at a time.
We hired farmhouse in Tuscany for a few nights, and it was a beautiful respite.
The temperature was great, however there was a problem...
Despite being advertised as 'accommodation with the best access road in the area', one has to appreciate what constitutes a bad road in Tuscany: it is something only suitable for a 4x4 with big ground clearance. I braved the 2km access road but it was not something I would ever want to try again in the F430! We only got so far before abandoning the car and walking!
The farm owners were typically Italian and very helpful, and leant us an old Fiat Panda so we could park the F430 in a village close to an actual real road.
I fell in love with the Panda. There are 4x4 versions and I'd love to buy one.
It wasn't all bad - the farm produced wine (and cheese).
Eagle eyed readers will notice that I am missing the front number plate; well, the rear also fell off in the 42 degree heat. I put them in the luggage compartment whilst we parked in the hillside town of Fiesole, planning to buy some new double sided tape whilst we were in Florence for the day. We arrived back at the car to find a group of locals and Carabinieri! It turns out everyone thought the car was stolen, so after an explanation to the Carabinieri we reaffixed the plates and were on our way.
Florence was great.
We had a few days driving around the Tuscan countryside and visiting villages and towns. Siena was particularly beautiful but for actual driving I wouldn't take the F430 back here: I am really glad I experienced it but the road surface quality is just too poor.
The packing tape we used to reattach the number plate can be seen here
After Tuscany we made our way over to Manosque in France, via Pisa.
I've been to Pisa before and wouldn't come back if it wasn't en route. It's not great. Next was Genoa on the northern Italian coast, and again I can't recommend it - it's a bit of a dirty port town compared to other places we'd seen.
Back in France I could have my fill of a particular favourite: baked goods and patisseries!
We had a day trip to the Gorges du Verdon, touted as one of the most beautiful gorges in Europe, and I can attest it's worthy of the accolade.
It is well worth donning your walking footwear and spending an afternoon 'rambling' through the gorge. There are miles of walking routes in the area. We also made it down to the water and hired a boat to navigate some of it - breath-taking scenery.
More importantly there are some great roads in the area, and I found many of the locals really like to push their cars! It's great to see.
I took this to show how much luggage space the F430 has. It's impressive, but if making use of it be careful with the steel brakes!
From Manosque we headed north via the Route Napolean.
More great scenery abounds.
We detoured off of the Route Napolean to have lunch on the shore of Lac de Serre-Ponçon, which is one of the largest artificial lakes in western Europe. In doing so we missed the gilded French Imperial Eagle outside Gap, but the roads around the lake were much better anyway
I was pleased to spot another RN landmark, though I forget now where this was.
Our final stop before the Ferry and drive to London, was Dijon. It's a beautiful, clean city that is well worth a visit. We stopped at http://hotel-lacloche.com/ which I can wholeheartedly recommend. Valet parking in a secure car park.
A few points about the car:
- It's an absolute pleasure to drive;
- It does understeer in some situations. Maybe I need to work on my driving a bit, but regardless I think the stock geo is way too safe;
- The steel brakes are awful;
- 8.5k in a tunnel with the roof down hurts our ears
- It holds its own with lighter cars on very twisty roads but I sometimes found the steering ratio a bit too low;
- The steel brakes are awful.
- The throttle response is incredible as is the torque/response from idle; the car will idle in 1st gear up the ferry loading ramp, which must be a 10% gradient!
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