355 Rolling road test

[Smiley]

Hi

I've been trawling round the net all day and came accross this site and it appears there is a good crew of Ferrari owners/enthusiasts.

I just entered ito the world of Ferrari ownership with a 97 355 Spider. I had it put on a rolling road at the weekend, it showed 318 on the first run and 311 on the second, this is obviously less than the manufacture claims (I've heard others say that the manufactures claims are too high on 355's) Have any of you put your car on the rollers, if so what did it come out at?

Although the car runs fine it does 'pink' at low RPM and I'm wondering now if this is effecting the power at higher revs.

The car is standard as far as I know.

I'm thinking of maybe a sports exhause or some power enhancing modifications, What can I do and what sort of power gains/costs would i get (again I've heard those that say there is very little that can be done to improve the BHP dramatically apart from a Koenig twin turbo!)

Your comments would be most appreciated.

[ninja_eli]

Was that bhp at the wheels? I know the 355 losses a lot through the transmission and also that Ferrari aren't totally honest with the bhp claims. Newer cars are probably more realistic, the 360 is IMO about a second or so quicker to 100, make what you will of that. Performance figures say there's not much in it between the two, but 360 definitely has more punch from the off.

There's not much you can do to these cars without big expense, so probably not worth doing IMO. Decat and tubi probably the best way to get a "nice" result of clear breathing and fantastic sound. Its amazing how much better an already fantastic sounding car can become.

Still the 355 seems fast(ish) but more importantly it handles bloody well. It was definitely faster, but not hugely, than my Supra, which had circa 320BHP with similar torque ft/lb. I'd probably say your BHP should be circa 350/360 or so in reality.

Also bear in mind that there is a pretty big difference in individual cars too. Not just from the factory but also from how they are used. Very low mileage cars sometimes have problems with power and reliability. In need of an Italian tune up maybe?

[Smiley]

Thanks for your reply, yes that was at the engine, cant remember what it was at the wheels, I think about 240.
The reason for the rolling road was because I raced it against my old car a 944 turbo that has had the boost increased, it's overboosting really at about 1.1-1.2bar(last time that was on the rollers it was 280 at 1 bar) but the performance was practically identical, I could only make a slight gain in the slipstream...

I did have 155mph out of the 355 down my local by pass so it's still a quick car I guess I may have been expecting a bit more in a straight line, but anyway it's one hell of a car with the looks and sound to die for. Having read your comments ont the TUBI think I may have to think about one of them...

[ninja_eli]

Whereabouts are you, as you'll always be welcome to test it against my car if you wish.

I do think 311-320 is a little low, pretty sure I've heard of them being circa 360.

I'd be interested to hear other 355 owers views on this. I have driven some 355s that felt slower than others, quite noticeably so.

Maybe its a low mileage car and needs to have that infamous Italian tune up I keep hearing about, would that actually make a difference to BHP? Anyone?

[joust]

Given you are quoting "at the engine" that will be the rolling road operator has guessed at the losses from the wheels to the engine.

See www.pumaracing.co.uk/setup01.htm for a detailed descrption (and check out www.pumaracing.co.uk/mainmenu.htm for many more useful things about rolling roads).

J