RE: Ferrari F355 - Interior
Friday 20th August 2010
Although sometimes criticised previously, Ferrari quality was much improved by the time the 355 went on sale, but that doesn't mean there aren't problems to look out for. The driver's seat bolster can wear, but this is usually easy to deal with by reconnolising the leather.
A rare optional extra is Ferrari's carbon fibre sports seats. Now highly sought after, they're very comfortable and ideal for any owner considering track work in his or her 355. Other carbon add-ons for the 355 included interior trims pieces for the centre console, door inserts and dash, but few buyers specified these. Owners were more likely to order Scuderia Ferrari shields for the front wings, a Challenge black mesh grille or a spare wheel with jack to replace the standard space saver spare wheel.
Ferrari F355 Buying Guide - Interior
More of a problem is the rubber-effect material peeling from the centre console. It looks messy and there's no easy or cheap fix other than complete replacement. Cars that spend a lot of time in hot climates can experience dashboard tops that shrivel in the sun, but this is straightforward to cure by recovering the dash in leather or Alcantara.
Searc for Ferrari 355s here
A limited run of five F355s was made called the Asprey edition to mark the famous jeweller sponsoring Ferrari's race cars. All five cars were finished in Grigio Titanio silver with dark purple leather interiors. Some small changes were made to the switch layout and chrome trim was also added. Each car had fitted luggage supplied as standard, which was an option for buyers of the standard F355 models.
Buying Guide Section Menu:
Ferrari F355 - Introduction
Ferrari F355 - Powertrain
Ferrari F355 - Rolling chassis
Ferrari F355 - Body
Ferrari F355 - Interior (viewing now)
Ferrari F355 - General experiences
Searc for Ferrari 355s here
Discussion
1) "but this is usually easy to deal with by reconnolising the leather..." And caused by people not getting into the car carefully. To be fair, any car with seats with fat bolsters can suffer IME.
2) "More of a problem is the rubber-effect material peeling from the centre console. It looks messy and there's no easy or cheap fix other than complete replacement." You can get half decent carbon replacements now. And some have had success using spray paint (I *think* Plastikote is the product).
3) "Cars that spend a lot of time in hot climates can experience dashboard tops that shrivel in the sun" Doesn't have to be too hot - mine did this (London).
4) "A rare optional extra is Ferrari's carbon fibre sports seats" Probably worth mentioning that these are "sized" (small/medium/large). Some drivers won't fit some seats
5) "Other carbon add-ons for the 355 included interior trims pieces for the centre console, door inserts and dash, but few buyers specified these." Were these definitely factory options? I don't believe they were, and that carbon trinkets were first offered on the 360....
6) "Owners were more likely to order Scuderia Ferrari shields for the front wings" Again, I think this became an option on the 360, not the 355. Serie Fiorano cars had them I think, and Challenge cars, but no others. Many people added them later (self included - aftermarket).
7) Possibly also worth noting...
Storage space is at a bit of a premium, especially if the central cubby box between the seats wasn't specified, but parcel shelf space is quite useful.
Switch layouts changed between early and late car, with the former having an ABS cancel button (and one other I think, that I cannot for the life of me recall (mine was a later car!).
Seemingly dodgy colour combos were available, and whilst the odd one or two were properly hideous, the 355 interior managed to carry off an impression of elegant simplicity. It's a very nice place to sit.
2) "More of a problem is the rubber-effect material peeling from the centre console. It looks messy and there's no easy or cheap fix other than complete replacement." You can get half decent carbon replacements now. And some have had success using spray paint (I *think* Plastikote is the product).
3) "Cars that spend a lot of time in hot climates can experience dashboard tops that shrivel in the sun" Doesn't have to be too hot - mine did this (London).
4) "A rare optional extra is Ferrari's carbon fibre sports seats" Probably worth mentioning that these are "sized" (small/medium/large). Some drivers won't fit some seats
5) "Other carbon add-ons for the 355 included interior trims pieces for the centre console, door inserts and dash, but few buyers specified these." Were these definitely factory options? I don't believe they were, and that carbon trinkets were first offered on the 360....
6) "Owners were more likely to order Scuderia Ferrari shields for the front wings" Again, I think this became an option on the 360, not the 355. Serie Fiorano cars had them I think, and Challenge cars, but no others. Many people added them later (self included - aftermarket).
7) Possibly also worth noting...
Storage space is at a bit of a premium, especially if the central cubby box between the seats wasn't specified, but parcel shelf space is quite useful.
Switch layouts changed between early and late car, with the former having an ABS cancel button (and one other I think, that I cannot for the life of me recall (mine was a later car!).
Seemingly dodgy colour combos were available, and whilst the odd one or two were properly hideous, the 355 interior managed to carry off an impression of elegant simplicity. It's a very nice place to sit.
I don't recall seeing a single car that has a space saver (let alone a full size) spare wheel for sale. I've seen some space savers floating around on ebay occasionally, but that's it.
The driving positinon is generally OK, albeit with the classic offset pedals and slightly elongated driving arm position. The later airbad steering wheel is often criticised for being enormous and akin to steering the Queen Mary. Many people replace it with a small Momo wheel and a spacer to bring the wheel closer to you. I find it OK, however you ahve to be hard on the brakes in order to heel and toe, otherwise you bang your legs on the wheel.
Fit and finish is generally good, leather shrinkage and sticky dash items aside. There is a company which recons the dash to solve this (sticknomore - oddly enough). The factory stereo is woeful, so most cars have aftermarket head units fitted. The addition of a small powered subfoofer makes a world of difference.
The driving positinon is generally OK, albeit with the classic offset pedals and slightly elongated driving arm position. The later airbad steering wheel is often criticised for being enormous and akin to steering the Queen Mary. Many people replace it with a small Momo wheel and a spacer to bring the wheel closer to you. I find it OK, however you ahve to be hard on the brakes in order to heel and toe, otherwise you bang your legs on the wheel.
Fit and finish is generally good, leather shrinkage and sticky dash items aside. There is a company which recons the dash to solve this (sticknomore - oddly enough). The factory stereo is woeful, so most cars have aftermarket head units fitted. The addition of a small powered subfoofer makes a world of difference.
Cactussed said:
...Many people replace it with a small Momo wheel and a spacer to bring the wheel closer to you. ...
You do lose the airbag doing this though, and may need to remove a warning lamp bulb. Plus, I'm not convinced the boss that has to be used is a thing of beauty either.Rumours abound that the 360 airbag wheel can be made to fit, but never seen it myself. Strongly suspect it's not possible...
Cactussed said:
Ahaaaaaa Looks great - not sure about the yellow airbag boss on the ricambi link though
That'd be the options I'd take if I still had the car.
The 355 interior is pretty good. The seats bolsters can get damaged with people carelessly getting in and out of it but if you take a little care with it then they should be fine. Or you can just get them Refurbished/reconolised.
The plastic interior components can get a bit gooey. They can be refurbished by a company called http://www.stickynomore.com/, or new parts bought from Ferrari (won't be cheap though).
If the car is often left in the sun ((doesn't have to be hugely hot climates, as already said it can happened in London) then the dash leather can start to peel away. Apparently Ferrari changed their glue supplier for a couple of years and this is why it's caused. You can just get it retrimmed though.
I'm not sure if carbon fibre trim pieces were an option when the car was new, but I know some people have fitted after market kits to their cars. The only time carbon fibre was used on the 355's interior was on the "Serie Fiorano" which were a final run of 104 cars. They had Carbon fibre: centre console, door sills and paddle shifters.
The plastic interior components can get a bit gooey. They can be refurbished by a company called http://www.stickynomore.com/, or new parts bought from Ferrari (won't be cheap though).
If the car is often left in the sun ((doesn't have to be hugely hot climates, as already said it can happened in London) then the dash leather can start to peel away. Apparently Ferrari changed their glue supplier for a couple of years and this is why it's caused. You can just get it retrimmed though.
I'm not sure if carbon fibre trim pieces were an option when the car was new, but I know some people have fitted after market kits to their cars. The only time carbon fibre was used on the 355's interior was on the "Serie Fiorano" which were a final run of 104 cars. They had Carbon fibre: centre console, door sills and paddle shifters.
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