355 in rain

Author
Discussion

Edin430

940 posts

203 months

Wednesday 2nd August 2017
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This can't be a serious question.... It just can't be hehe

360 is my daily driver. In every condition other than ice or snow and that's only because my drive is a horrible angle and it would never make it out!

MDL111

6,895 posts

176 months

Wednesday 2nd August 2017
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Edin430 said:
This can't be a serious question.... It just can't be hehe

360 is my daily driver. In every condition other than ice or snow and that's only because my drive is a horrible angle and it would never make it out!
Good job
I think ferraris should be daily drivers if one can do it - life is short and the car makes me (and probably most other owners) happy, so use it as much as possible - also makes most other people, esp children happy which is an added benefit
Although I do understand why not everybody does it that way

bordseye

1,975 posts

191 months

Thursday 17th August 2017
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carspath said:
Also I cannot understand the idea that driving in the (at least the southern ) UK after 6.30 am is any fun at all-----the roads are just too congested with other cars , and cameras , for that to be the case
Most of the cars in this particular section of PH , only come alive past a certain rev and speed point , and are as dull as ditch-water before that.
What i think I need for a really good drive , is not a supercar , but clear roads, and you can now get a decent series1 mx5 for £3k and a cheap alarm clock for £0.50
Got to agree with that. Congestion, crap roads, scameras and stupid speed limits all take the fun away.

As for the OP, whats wrong with one of those cheepo Lidl waterproof car covers? It would be a shame to miss the opportunity of the roads in mid wales , which are the complete opposite of the ant heap south east

Flashman65

144 posts

188 months

Monday 27th November 2017
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I did 14000 miles over one year in my gts through sun rain and even snow , never had any issues.

onlogbook.com

1,828 posts

153 months

Monday 27th November 2017
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I just found out that a friend is facing a pretty enormous bill on his 355 service thanks to water ingress from (we suspect) rain. Not sure I’d be too happy letting all water run through the vents and into the oily areas.

355fiorano

430 posts

241 months

Tuesday 28th November 2017
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My own experience would say that there was something wrong with that specific car to have such a problem. Over the last 14 years of owning my 355 I have been driving it in all weather conditions including track days with pouring rain and many European trips, I have never had such an issue or concern. Also given there are thousands of these cars that have been driven as well as Ferrari's own publicity event in 1997 that was the "Ferrari F355 World tour" where they took a 355 and drove it the circumference of the planet to show how reliable this car is ... if it is driven!

jonny finance

926 posts

205 months

Tuesday 28th November 2017
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jonny finance

926 posts

205 months

Tuesday 28th November 2017
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Damp and wet - remember the faster you go the safer and more secure the 355 feels.

tomtom

4,223 posts

229 months

Tuesday 28th November 2017
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onlogbook.com said:
I just found out that a friend is facing a pretty enormous bill on his 355 service thanks to water ingress from (we suspect) rain. Not sure I’d be too happy letting all water run through the vents and into the oily areas.
wtf. Where'd the water go?!

MDL111

6,895 posts

176 months

Tuesday 28th November 2017
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jonny finance said:


Damp and wet - remember the faster you go the safer and more secure the 355 feels.
I managed 300 kph on the speedo a couple of times - felt quite stable at those speeds / took a while to get there though

Jex

837 posts

127 months

Tuesday 28th November 2017
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I was lucky enough to win a day out with Reg Local in a 'Win on Wednesday' draw (see www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1653995 my comment afterwards is on p9). It rained a lot, but as Reg taught me, if you drive appropriately there should be no problem. The only problem I had was water dripping onto my right arm when it rained heavily (mine is a GTS). Reg remained dry. Never had that problem before, nor when it is standing in heavy rain.

blueSL

611 posts

225 months

Wednesday 29th November 2017
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I wouldn’t hesitate to take my 95 Berlinetta out in the wet though of course you do have to be careful of standing water. The car will spin like a top if you aquaplane. Been there, done that. Standing water aside, the car is fine on damp roads, just don’t overcook it.

As the cars age, the electrical connectors on top of the engine become brittle because of the heat and are no longer weathertight. Specifically, the sleeve through which the wires pass can break away from the connector body and let water in. Inexpensive to fix if you get there before corrosion sets in.

My car had starting issues (rough idling until the engine heat dried out the moisture) and replacing a couple of connector shells fixed the problem. You do not need a new wiring loom but you do need somebody with the correct tool for removing the wires from the old connector shell which are then inserted into the new shell. The shells are standard automotive stuff of the period.

It’s worth having the connectors checked - or taking a close look yourself - and have them replaced before they cause trouble.

The early speedo sensors were prone to water ingress, replacements are fine.

F1Sean

207 posts

181 months

Wednesday 29th November 2017
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blueSL said:
The early speedo sensors were prone to water ingress, replacements are fine.
Interesting comment.....last year I had to leave my 355F1GTS outside for a number of weeks due to house building work. It tanked down during this time....more than once!

Then it became apparent I had a problem with my speedo sensor as the car would randomly throw an error meaning I couldn't change above second and the speedo read zero. Stopping and turning off the engine for a while temporarily cured the fault, but I later replaced the sensor and all was well after that.