Ferrari F430 Spider

[mwstewart]

That is really low! Hill Engineering sell the C spanner for £35ish, so you can adjust yourself.

It looks much better in the new colour combo.

[mwstewart]

Beedub said:

what a thread!! what a car!! building something truly special!

Cheers!

berksboy26 said:

Hi Mark,
Here you go and further to my first post a few pics of the gold wheels (well 2 of 4) now fitted to my F430.Excuse the low winter sun and strange colour temp from fluorescent lighting but I am quite pleased with the results - I just need to change the wheel centre caps to red as yellow with silver is fine but IMO looks awful with gold.Its a listed Ferrari paint and not so different from the more rose gold of the 458 Speciale option wheel.
Whilst off I have removed the handbrake calipers to spray and match to the main brakes and whilst the paint is listed as Ferrari Rosso Corsa caliper paint it doesn't quite match.
Would you know if the OEM is Rosso Corsa powdercoat,2 part or a caliper option of same? Once decals/stencils are applied are they then clear coat lacqued? What are your views on using low temp paint on the handbrake calipers given that they don't run at such high temps.
ATB
Alan

Hi Alan,
That didn't take you long. It looks to be a good finish on the wheels too.

The calipers are powder coated and I would be quite surprised if Ferrari had commissioned their own colour, but I suppose it's possible. I'm going to have my CCM calipers coated in a RAL colour that's as close to OEM as I can find http://www.bristolmotorcyclepowdercoating.co.uk/do... - I think either Traffic Red or Flame Red is closest.

Coated:


In the past I've painted brake calipers with basecoat and lacquer and never had a problem with cracking or even yellowing of the lacquer, so you will be fine panting the handbrake calipers. Did you lacquer them? The colour looks like it will darken slightly with a coat of lacquer and may match better, but as it is they look pretty close.

Thanks,
Mark

[mwstewart]

mikees said:

Great thread and car mark. Can you tell what the ground clearance is like? I'd love one of these but suspect it might not get on my drive!

If you ever get out to bucks give me a shout if you could help me try? :-)

Cheers
Mike

Ps currently have a vantage which can ground if at the wrong angle.

Thanks Mike. The suspension is adjustable with a £30 C spanner http://www.hillengineering.co.uk/catalog/lns02-p-2... - most people go lower but some raise the car for dealing with situations such as yours.

Mark

[mwstewart]

No problem, Alan.

[mwstewart]

I've decided to stick with the 16M wheels but repainted silver.

My stock wheels are now for sale: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/262158388381?

[mwstewart]

I've seen those, such a bargain. It's a shame that Ferrari never made them for the Spider.

[mwstewart]

16M/Scuderia Front Anti-Roll Bar
This has arrived. Previously I said:

mwstewart said:

The front bar is too thin to be hollow and retain strength - unlike the Scuderia specific rear bar - so like the Mk2 Scuderia springs I expect it to be made from titanium. I know what to expect with Ferrari prices now and placing economies of scale aside i.e. less Scuderia’s made hence more expensive parts, the price difference between the Scuderia bar and the regular front bar is too great for a change in diameter alone, but I will confirm material in due course.

I was wrong. It's a steel bar and at 18mm is 1mm smaller in diameter than the 19mm standard F430 bar. It's not titainium, it's just a rip-off Despite the cost I wouldn't think of leaving it out as it's part of the Scuderia handling package.

CCM Servo and Master Cylinder
HR Owen Ferrari were selling a new servo at a good price, so I bought it. From what I can tell it's a 23mm bore master cylinder.



Challenge Exhaust
I cleaned up the exhaust and compared it to the Scuderia rear bumper, and the challenge tailpipes are approx 100mm narrower. I'm going to send it away to be modified and ceramic coated.

[mwstewart]

Max_Torque said:

This might want to be your first mod:




;-)

Thanks, yes, the exhaust produces some serious heat I may get the cats done as well; are there any considerations/reasons not to?

[mwstewart]

thebraketester said:

Isnt heat wrap more effective than ceramic coat?

No, it isn't: http://www.zircotec.com/page/--performance-of-exha...

[mwstewart]

snobetter said:

Max_Torque said:

mwstewart said:

Challenge Exhaust
I'm going to send it away to be modified and ceramic coated.

This might want to be your first mod:




;-)

Like what you did there.

Ahh, there's an image! It's blocked at work so I didn't see it. Will check later

[mwstewart]

Max_Torque said:

This might want to be your first mod:




;-)

Nicely done

[mwstewart]

It's paint time. Looking forward to the results!

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 12:28

[mwstewart]

Much better for my grey car!

I chose a high metal flake content silver. The standard F430 wheels hardly have any flake and can - in my opinion - look a little flat.

I paid £140 for the four - decent price, decent job. I recently paid ~£540 at Lepsons to have my CSL wheels refinished (no damage, just dull paint!). I won't be doing that again.

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 12:29

[mwstewart]

Thanks guys.

Max, I used http://www.alloywheel-refurbishment.net/

Wheels seem to be like weddings; anything to do with them is more often than not overpriced. It's refreshing to find someone who does a good job and doesn't rip you off

[mwstewart]

I've purchased some Rosso Corsa paint and replacement decals to refurbish the Challenge calipers with.


Parking Sensors for 16M/Scuderia Rear Bumper
The 16M and Scuderia to my knowledge never had a parking sensor option, but after driving my car around Europe this year in typical day-to-day situations I wanted them. I have drilled the rear bumper with four 26mm holes to suit the OEM Bosch sensors.


I have a Bosch URF7 kit lying around which is the current generation of sensors, and the brackets in this kit have a lip which sits proud of the bumper. I don't like it.


These are the older sensors and were OEM fitment on the F430. I will use them.


Scuderia MAF Sensors
The Scuderia MAF sensors arrived and which gave me a chance to examine them; it turned out that the Scuderia uses a completely different type of sensor to the F430, and both the element and electrical connector are different. I draw the line on the F430 project at modifying the wiring loom, so I began to research an alternative.

Here are the F430 MAFs. They are common-or-garden Bosch used on a variety of cars. They are 85mm ID and have grilles to promote laminar airflow over the sensor.


Here's a Scuderia MAF. 90mm ID and without a grille. Completely different sensor type and plug to the F430.



After some research I found a 90mm ID Bosch sensor with the same sensor mount as the F430, the same body length, an integral grille, and same lug positions to mount the Scuderia airboxes. Matching the OEM sensor as closely as possible makes more simple the process of modifying MAF scaling & remapping the ECUs to suit.

[mwstewart]

SuperVM said:

Looks like a B5 RS4 MAF.

Same manufacturer. The B5 RS4 MAF is 83mm. This one is 90mm.

[mwstewart]

Wheels fitted, and the first of my weight savings calculated.

Part	Fitted quantity	Original part (kg)	Replacement part (kg)	Saving (kg)	Saving (%)	Unsprung?	Notes
Wheel - front	2	12.9	10.5	4.8	18.6	Y	16M (optional wheels)
Wheel - rear	2	13.7	12.3	2.8	10.22	Y	16M (optional wheels)

Total unsprung weight saved: 7.6kg
Total weight saved: 7.6kg

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 12:30

[mwstewart]

sealtt said:

Good updates, wheels look nice

Cheers

BuzzBravado said:

Is it possible to work out what effect modifying will have on its value. I'm firmly in the "your car do what you want" camp, but its a F430!!

Remember this:

mwstewart said:

This thread won't be updated frequently like my others as I'm not planning to modify it in any way

Famous last words..

Not with ease! If I was searching again for a F430 Spider I would pay over the odds for one with 16M parts, but on the other hand many like their Ferrari's completely standard, so obviously it will put off those buyers. I'm not really fussed about the value aspect though - it's worth what it's worth. I bought it to drive and enjoy my way

I guess I'll have to retract my earlier statement

[mwstewart]

Nunga said:

The build is coming along very well, Mark. Winter is a great time to sort this stuff out! I take it both this and the M3 are garaged until Spring?

Thanks. Yes, both tucked away, although I will use them if the weather is decent. The main thing is I don't want salt near them.

[mwstewart]

OEM Ferrari titanium wheel bolts. These will complement the lightweight 16M wheels by further reducing unsprung weight.



Weight comparison to follow once they arrive.

Edited by mwstewart on Tuesday 15th March 12:31