2013 Ferrari FF
Discussion
Megaflow said:
This latest development sort of confirms what I have long suspected ceramic discs are a marketing stunt to generate revenue. I suspected so because races cars go from steel to full carbon when allowed. I have never heard of a race car with ceramic, even when fitted to the road car. That always made me wonder if they were truly a performance item or a bling item.
They aren't cheap but the handling improvement from the (significant) reduction in unsprung weight is incredible. Unless I had experienced it I wouldn't have believed it- it's like the difference between wearing wellies and sports shoes.Ceramics aren't durable enough for a racing car or road cars used on track, otherwise they are as good as lifetime use.
Great thread Fonzey
Loved reading about your journey with the FF. I’ve just put a deposit down on one which I should hopefully collect next weekend. Reading through your story has certainly helped me go in with my eyes a bit more open, but not sure it’s settled my nerves any! I have it in for a PPI with Ferrari tomorrow which I’’m crossing everything it tells me it’s the car I hope it is - at which point I’ll pay for a Ferrari warranty so I can sleep at night!
Loved reading about your journey with the FF. I’ve just put a deposit down on one which I should hopefully collect next weekend. Reading through your story has certainly helped me go in with my eyes a bit more open, but not sure it’s settled my nerves any! I have it in for a PPI with Ferrari tomorrow which I’’m crossing everything it tells me it’s the car I hope it is - at which point I’ll pay for a Ferrari warranty so I can sleep at night!
Thanks all for the kind comments, I'm glad you're enjoying the journey.
Got some more miles on the car this weekend, in the guise of a single night getaway into the Yorkshire Dales which is turning into a bit of a tradition for me and the missus. Our venue for this time would be the Blue Lion Inn, cracking little historic inn with some cosy rooms and good food.
Through no real planning, we've managed to achieve a 100% record of snow when we make these trips, and it was solidly forecast for this weekend too. Normally a job for a V90 Volvo, but I also had a courtesy Macan to choose from this weekend in place of the stricken Taycan. Both Macan and V90 would have loved the conditions, so it only made sense to take the FF.
Getting into the Dales was pretty miserable on Saturday night. I'd had a very long day driving home from a work night out down in Reading, so adding another 50 miles or so of thick fog and barely visible roads once getting off the A1 into the Dales was rough. Still, got there in one piece and the snow was a mere scattering at this point.
The pub is in East Witton, a stunning little Dales' village but really not that deep into the Dales at all. Barely 15miles in off the A1, but still feels as isolated as anywhere.
After a cosy evening of food, and eagerly checking the weather - we hunkered down for the night pretty excited to see how things would look in the morning.
Remarkably the main road through the village was perfectly clear already at 8am, or whenever it was I surfaced. There was no visible evidence of grit being down, I suspect there was salt in addition to some sweeping/ploughing to get it as clean as it was.
After breakfast we set out on a small circular walking route just to explore the countryside a bit,
Was rather enjoyable, got a bit lost, found some footprints from somebody else who'd clearly got lost too - but eventually found our way back to the village.
Anyway, it's not a travel blog. On to car stuff.
I was a bit nervous about firing up the FF. They do struggle with battery life a bit, and though mine normally lives on a trickle charger - it still takes all the might of the battery to fire the car up when the temperature drops beneath zero. Spending a night at approx. -5 had me worried, but I needn't have been concerned, as the beat of a starter motor pushed through and got her fired up nicely.
Swept the bulk of the snow off, got the clomping walking boots off then it was time to see if "snow mode" on the manettino did as advertised.
When the FF launched there were lots of press photos/videos of it bombing around on ski resorts etc, but you always wonder how good it actually will be... especially on Pilot Sport 4S tyres.
I'd played with the snow mode on the steering wheel the night before on the icy, but ultimately just wet roads and it seemed to just hold onto gears longer than the wet mode did. I guess it's intended for slower progress on packed snow/ice and holding onto gears just to avoid any disruption to the drivetrain. Doing the NSL on an a-road didn't seem to be it's intended use.
In the carpark though, I had three challenges. One was a three point turn into pretty thick powder, the next was an uphill drive up cobblestones covered in packed ice, then the third was turning into a narrow stone archway barely wider than the car - always aware that my rear axle would be on ice right until we got straight in the tunnel, and the slightest yaw of oversteer would have me taking a chunk out of the 150+ year old stonework.
Creeping out of the parking spot was a little challenging at first, the ESP systems seem to take a moment to work out what was going on - then a bit more bravery with the throttle and it barked into life and did a tidy little four wheel slide out of the parking spot, almost perfectly spinning me towards my cobbled challenge next. No three point turn needed then!
Up the cobbles I just kept a constant throttle and though you could hear the car scrabbling away - it tracked true and just worked its way up nicely. I definitely woke anybody up that may have been sleeping in till' checkout time, but soon enough I was at the arch. This went without drama at all, as soon as the front tyres got to the dry stone beneath the archway the car effectively turned into FWD to pull me through.
Onto the roads, we had a couple of back roads to navigate, which were fun.
But ultimately we were soon onto the wet, but not particularly slippery main road carving through the Dales.
The car was excellent here, the front grip I continue to celebrate was unflappable and really built confidence when pushing on a bit, despite the banks of snow at each side of the road being continuous reminders that it might be quite skiddy in places. I switched out of snow mode, and into wet mode - and the car just carved through the countryside. Rarely (if ever) troubling the top half of the RPM range, but enjoying the effortless grunt at the lower end of the range to scoot me along with the occasional hint of slip at the rear just to remind me where I was.
All too soon it was back onto the A1, where the fog once again descended and I didn't have much to report for the rest of the trip. Somehow managed to avoid gritters once again, the salt down on the roads doesn't bother me too much as the car, arches and suspension is easily hosed down afterwards - but my nightmare is running into one on the road and peppering the car from front to back! Maybe it's time to quit whilst I'm ahead and retire the car for the Winter.... or not?
Got some more miles on the car this weekend, in the guise of a single night getaway into the Yorkshire Dales which is turning into a bit of a tradition for me and the missus. Our venue for this time would be the Blue Lion Inn, cracking little historic inn with some cosy rooms and good food.
Through no real planning, we've managed to achieve a 100% record of snow when we make these trips, and it was solidly forecast for this weekend too. Normally a job for a V90 Volvo, but I also had a courtesy Macan to choose from this weekend in place of the stricken Taycan. Both Macan and V90 would have loved the conditions, so it only made sense to take the FF.
Getting into the Dales was pretty miserable on Saturday night. I'd had a very long day driving home from a work night out down in Reading, so adding another 50 miles or so of thick fog and barely visible roads once getting off the A1 into the Dales was rough. Still, got there in one piece and the snow was a mere scattering at this point.
The pub is in East Witton, a stunning little Dales' village but really not that deep into the Dales at all. Barely 15miles in off the A1, but still feels as isolated as anywhere.
After a cosy evening of food, and eagerly checking the weather - we hunkered down for the night pretty excited to see how things would look in the morning.
Remarkably the main road through the village was perfectly clear already at 8am, or whenever it was I surfaced. There was no visible evidence of grit being down, I suspect there was salt in addition to some sweeping/ploughing to get it as clean as it was.
After breakfast we set out on a small circular walking route just to explore the countryside a bit,
Was rather enjoyable, got a bit lost, found some footprints from somebody else who'd clearly got lost too - but eventually found our way back to the village.
Anyway, it's not a travel blog. On to car stuff.
I was a bit nervous about firing up the FF. They do struggle with battery life a bit, and though mine normally lives on a trickle charger - it still takes all the might of the battery to fire the car up when the temperature drops beneath zero. Spending a night at approx. -5 had me worried, but I needn't have been concerned, as the beat of a starter motor pushed through and got her fired up nicely.
Swept the bulk of the snow off, got the clomping walking boots off then it was time to see if "snow mode" on the manettino did as advertised.
When the FF launched there were lots of press photos/videos of it bombing around on ski resorts etc, but you always wonder how good it actually will be... especially on Pilot Sport 4S tyres.
I'd played with the snow mode on the steering wheel the night before on the icy, but ultimately just wet roads and it seemed to just hold onto gears longer than the wet mode did. I guess it's intended for slower progress on packed snow/ice and holding onto gears just to avoid any disruption to the drivetrain. Doing the NSL on an a-road didn't seem to be it's intended use.
In the carpark though, I had three challenges. One was a three point turn into pretty thick powder, the next was an uphill drive up cobblestones covered in packed ice, then the third was turning into a narrow stone archway barely wider than the car - always aware that my rear axle would be on ice right until we got straight in the tunnel, and the slightest yaw of oversteer would have me taking a chunk out of the 150+ year old stonework.
Creeping out of the parking spot was a little challenging at first, the ESP systems seem to take a moment to work out what was going on - then a bit more bravery with the throttle and it barked into life and did a tidy little four wheel slide out of the parking spot, almost perfectly spinning me towards my cobbled challenge next. No three point turn needed then!
Up the cobbles I just kept a constant throttle and though you could hear the car scrabbling away - it tracked true and just worked its way up nicely. I definitely woke anybody up that may have been sleeping in till' checkout time, but soon enough I was at the arch. This went without drama at all, as soon as the front tyres got to the dry stone beneath the archway the car effectively turned into FWD to pull me through.
Onto the roads, we had a couple of back roads to navigate, which were fun.
But ultimately we were soon onto the wet, but not particularly slippery main road carving through the Dales.
The car was excellent here, the front grip I continue to celebrate was unflappable and really built confidence when pushing on a bit, despite the banks of snow at each side of the road being continuous reminders that it might be quite skiddy in places. I switched out of snow mode, and into wet mode - and the car just carved through the countryside. Rarely (if ever) troubling the top half of the RPM range, but enjoying the effortless grunt at the lower end of the range to scoot me along with the occasional hint of slip at the rear just to remind me where I was.
All too soon it was back onto the A1, where the fog once again descended and I didn't have much to report for the rest of the trip. Somehow managed to avoid gritters once again, the salt down on the roads doesn't bother me too much as the car, arches and suspension is easily hosed down afterwards - but my nightmare is running into one on the road and peppering the car from front to back! Maybe it's time to quit whilst I'm ahead and retire the car for the Winter.... or not?
Fonzey said:
the third was turning into a narrow stone archway barely wider than the car - always aware that my rear axle would be on ice right until we got straight in the tunnel, and the slightest yaw of oversteer would have me taking a chunk out of the 150+ year old stonework
Was thinking that would be a bit of a squeeze…Lincsls1 said:
I seem to remember on Top Gear that it was said these FFs disengage 4wd once into 5th and beyond? Is this right?
Yep that's correct, and in hindsight probably explains why it was holding onto fourth for so long when on the main roads.It also has a speed cutoff too. 50mph maybe?
Fonzey said:
Yep that's correct, and in hindsight probably explains why it was holding onto fourth for so long when on the main roads.
It also has a speed cutoff too. 50mph maybe?
I just seem to remember the Stig stuffing the car because apparently nobody told him the 4wd disengaged once into 5th.It also has a speed cutoff too. 50mph maybe?
No idea about the speed side of things.
Certainly worth remembering if hooning about in the snow!
Lovely cars either way
Thanks for sharing, I'm really glad that a car like this has an owner like you who's happy to use it to the full and share the experience
The Lusso V12 and Purosangue have the same system, which I assume is why the PS is V12 only, as Ferrari don't currently have a 4WD system that works with any other engine.
Lincsls1 said:
I seem to remember on Top Gear that it was said these FFs disengage 4wd once into 5th and beyond? Is this right?
The engine sits behind the front wheels and too low for a driveshaft to run underneath. Therefore the front wheels are driven directly off the nose of the crank, via a separate front gearbox (PTU). This only has two forward ratios; the low gear works with 1st and 2nd in the main gearbox, slipping a clutch as needed, and high covers 3rd and 4th similarly. Above 4th gear the front drive disengages as you say. It's a relatively lightweight system as it only takes up to 20% of the total torque to the front tyres.The Lusso V12 and Purosangue have the same system, which I assume is why the PS is V12 only, as Ferrari don't currently have a 4WD system that works with any other engine.
Update and wee photodump to prove I still have the car.
Thread has had no content because the car just... works. Probably jinxing it now!
Found a nice balance of using the car often enough to enjoy it, but not so often that I resent the obscene fuel consumption. Got a nice routine of finishing up my last call on a Friday, and in the two hours I get for my wife to collect daughter from in-laws I go escape and take a very long way around to buy some beers and collect a takeaway for the night.
Also been using it for the odd weekend duty, local-ish city breaks and weekends away etc.
..and the odd tip run
Garage has had a lot of work (detailed in my 2-Eleven thread) for which the FF was a keen observer. If I switch to a four post ramp the FF may even get an overnight slot in the garage.
I took the FF over to SeriouslyLotus with some 2-Eleven forged wheels in the back to get shod in some new A052 tyres for the new trackday season. Also used it as an opportunity to connect the car to SL's clever scan tool who told me that my recurring parking sensor error was coming from the rear left unit. It's the only current glitch with the car, and is annoying when it happens as it disables all sensors across the car, even the fronts!
It's a job on the list to sort.
Washed it a few times
Filled it up a few times more
Which brings us to today, MOT day! I booked in with the Motorist as there's plenty of space to setup and get some work done with a coffee.
Car passed with flying colours, no advisories but the tech did spot a broken oetiker clip on one of the intake banks.
He replaced with a cabletie which got me home, the long way
Then raided the massive box of oetiker clamps I've got and got it replaced along with another which looked questionable.
And that's us up to date. It's going back to the Motorist in a week or so to get some paintwork remedied from the original job last summer. More on that later. Aside from that I'll find time to get the rear sensor inspected/replaced, but also need to get the rear pads done sooner than later.
I've got a "booking", lad from the village bravely popped round when I was cleaning it and asked me to take him to Prom in it. Could hardly say no to that, so that means I've got to keep the damn thing until July at least
Thread has had no content because the car just... works. Probably jinxing it now!
Found a nice balance of using the car often enough to enjoy it, but not so often that I resent the obscene fuel consumption. Got a nice routine of finishing up my last call on a Friday, and in the two hours I get for my wife to collect daughter from in-laws I go escape and take a very long way around to buy some beers and collect a takeaway for the night.
Also been using it for the odd weekend duty, local-ish city breaks and weekends away etc.
..and the odd tip run
Garage has had a lot of work (detailed in my 2-Eleven thread) for which the FF was a keen observer. If I switch to a four post ramp the FF may even get an overnight slot in the garage.
I took the FF over to SeriouslyLotus with some 2-Eleven forged wheels in the back to get shod in some new A052 tyres for the new trackday season. Also used it as an opportunity to connect the car to SL's clever scan tool who told me that my recurring parking sensor error was coming from the rear left unit. It's the only current glitch with the car, and is annoying when it happens as it disables all sensors across the car, even the fronts!
It's a job on the list to sort.
Washed it a few times
Filled it up a few times more
Which brings us to today, MOT day! I booked in with the Motorist as there's plenty of space to setup and get some work done with a coffee.
Car passed with flying colours, no advisories but the tech did spot a broken oetiker clip on one of the intake banks.
He replaced with a cabletie which got me home, the long way
Then raided the massive box of oetiker clamps I've got and got it replaced along with another which looked questionable.
And that's us up to date. It's going back to the Motorist in a week or so to get some paintwork remedied from the original job last summer. More on that later. Aside from that I'll find time to get the rear sensor inspected/replaced, but also need to get the rear pads done sooner than later.
I've got a "booking", lad from the village bravely popped round when I was cleaning it and asked me to take him to Prom in it. Could hardly say no to that, so that means I've got to keep the damn thing until July at least
Great update.
I was on the M40 on Sunday thinking of your car actually, had a Dads & Lads weekend away with my 9yo, was thinking of what car I would love to be in for it, the FF is still on my dream list!
To bring me down to earth, what sort of MPG are you seeing out of it on average?
I was on the M40 on Sunday thinking of your car actually, had a Dads & Lads weekend away with my 9yo, was thinking of what car I would love to be in for it, the FF is still on my dream list!
To bring me down to earth, what sort of MPG are you seeing out of it on average?
PurpleTurtle said:
Great update.
I was on the M40 on Sunday thinking of your car actually, had a Dads & Lads weekend away with my 9yo, was thinking of what car I would love to be in for it, the FF is still on my dream list!
To bring me down to earth, what sort of MPG are you seeing out of it on average?
Solid single figures I was on the M40 on Sunday thinking of your car actually, had a Dads & Lads weekend away with my 9yo, was thinking of what car I would love to be in for it, the FF is still on my dream list!
To bring me down to earth, what sort of MPG are you seeing out of it on average?
It really is fantastic for going out with my daughter (4yo), she loves the car (because of all the embroidered 'Horsey's') and it gives me that bit of 'Dad' fun for the most mundane of weekend activities. That said, it does mean that I more often than not am not exploiting the full performance of it, so when I do get a rare drive out by myself it never fails to shock me. Now that it's getting lighter and drier, long may that continue!
Fonzey said:
PurpleTurtle said:
Great update.
I was on the M40 on Sunday thinking of your car actually, had a Dads & Lads weekend away with my 9yo, was thinking of what car I would love to be in for it, the FF is still on my dream list!
To bring me down to earth, what sort of MPG are you seeing out of it on average?
Solid single figuresI was on the M40 on Sunday thinking of your car actually, had a Dads & Lads weekend away with my 9yo, was thinking of what car I would love to be in for it, the FF is still on my dream list!
To bring me down to earth, what sort of MPG are you seeing out of it on average?
It really is fantastic for going out with my daughter (4yo), she loves the car (because of all the embroidered 'Horsey's') and it gives me that bit of 'Dad' fun for the most mundane of weekend activities. That said, it does mean that I more often than not am not exploiting the full performance of it, so when I do get a rare drive out by myself it never fails to shock me. Now that it's getting lighter and drier, long may that continue!
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