"enhancing" the 3200, your thoughts ?

[craigw]

Ok, so saturday, i went & drove a 4200 Cambiocorsa.

The 05 model seems to get the gransport front& rear spoilers as standard. the weird thing was that all the new 4200's seemed to have massive gaps between the top of the tyres & the wheelarches. Made them look very high up.

I loved the 4200 & the CC gearshift, it was a bit comfier than mine but didnt feel much faster, I'm sure that just perception because of the different power delivery. It is undoubtably a better car.. however,

for me & my needs, I'm not sure whether I want to spend an extra 10-20 grand to get one on top of the cost of mine (would rather get another toy ),

so....... I'm thinking that I'll keep my 3200GTA & subtley enhance it & I want you good chaps advice/thoughts..

I am thinking....

- have brake calipers sprayed red
- add the 4200 oval maserati badge on the bonnet (what do you think ??)
- Side lower guigaro design badges (as per 4200)
- Possibly spray grill silver ?
- get a 4200 centre console (armrest bit, hoping this will fit!!)

lastly, 420bhp chip from Verdi.

whaddayathink kiddos!?

[mr_tony]

:scan: reading my mind mate!

I looked at a spyder the other week but I've been put off by the talk of the scuttle shake and frankly the 3200 is so darn good unless I upgrade to a Gransport I don't think I'd appreciate the 4200 that much.. (even thoguh it is undoubtedly a 'better' car I like the 'raw' character of the 3200 - the turbo thump in the back at 3k still makes me laugh like a loony!

At the risk of chavving my car I rather like the tiny chrome vents (classic pack I think they call it) on the 4200....) Wonder if they can retro fit to the 3200?

Like the idea of the oval badge - the grill respray is something I want to do before Le Mans too.

The centre console would be great (love the gransport one - all in carbon please!!) but I think the cost would put me off here as it's ok as it is really...

Only other thing I'd like is some slightly more supportive seats - I love the daytona style ones from the F550, wonder if they'd just slot in or not....

As for chips etc, mail me - the saga continues...

BTW if you don't ahve a tubi yet I'm pretty confident it's changed the feel of the car to drive, not jsut the exhaust note....


>> Edited by mr_tony on Wednesday 11th May 13:25

[craigw]

cool, thx dude, will do. What do you mean by the vents on the 4200 ?

By the way, if anyone is anygood on photoshop & can "make" me a silver grill from the photo below then that would be great!

[pic]http://image2.sina.com.cn/qc/FIAT/MASERATI/MASERATI3200GT/photo/1_33-87-656-649_2003102618234.jpg[pic]

>> Edited by craigw on Wednesday 11th May 13:29

[craigw]

cant seem to post picture to lps follow link!

[mr_tony]

basically the same as the front wing vents on the Quatroportte - done in chrome. Look rather err tasteful I thought. Think they'd look great on the 3200

[craigw]

blimey, yeah I love those.

[mr_tony]

surely easiest way to get a 'chrome' grill at the front is to whip the current one out, spray it silver and pop it back in again? Thats my current thinking - any reason this would be a bad idea?

[craigw]

mr_tony said:

surely easiest way to get a 'chrome' grill at the front is to whip the current one out, spray it silver and pop it back in again? Thats my current thinking - any reason this would be a bad idea?

thats what I was thinking.

[mr_tony]

well looks like my project for the weekend.
I'll get y'all photos on Monday

Other thing I'm contemplating is trying to get some (for want of a better desriptions) 'deep' alloy wheels - ones where the spokes are set inside the rim (prevents kerbing) as the cost of constantly refinishing my alloys is soon going to end up costing me as much as a brand new set!!

[sco]

Of those options I would probably only go for the calipers as I am more into keeping cars original or with original options.

What about a new set of wheels - do you like the latest style?

But if you are really going to push the boat out is there a gransport body kit available?

[mr_tony]

Personally I rather like the 3200 shape and style - I'm up for a little bit of 'detailing' eg vents / chroming / wheels / grille perhaps if can be done tastefully and not cost the earth.

In terms of performance you're looking at a 420bhp chip, a tubi (or similar) sports zorst. Beyond that you're probably looking at enhancing/upgrading the stock intercoolers and tweaking the engine management even further and entering a world of serious costs! (Not to mention issues with downforce I suspect!)

IMHO whacking a bodykit on the 3200 would certainly not add value, probably add weight and probably destroy any residuals!

Better off waiting a year and getting a Gransport s/h I guess.




>> Edited by mr_tony on Wednesday 11th May 14:08

[craigw]

sco said:

Of those options I would probably only go for the calipers as I am more into keeping cars original or with original options. What about a new set of wheels - do you like the latest style? But if you are really going to push the boat out is there a gransport body kit available?

yeah, I have the later 4200 wheels. Not into bodykits.

[mr_tony]

I rather like these

www.kahndesign.com/collection/rsv2/index.html

not sure if 19" wheels will work on the 3200 thoguh, whether it would require any other work (suspension / dampers / springs / remoulding wheelarches etc...)

Would like to get mine lowered a touch thoguh as it still seems to sit a bit 'high'. Hmmm more things to talk to the engineers about!!

[craigw]

I seem to remember alex hancock had the rear anti roll bar stiffened also.

[maserati3200.com]

I have the 4200 wheels on mine too. Much better I think, to get an idea on how better it looks stroll over to:
www.maserati3200.com/ and look at the pics.

I am also thinking of improving on the cosmetics; change the colour of the wooden bit surrounding the stereo. At the moment it is plain woody looking which I don't like. Perhaps I will take it out this weekend, spray it a colour similar to my car, laqure it and put it back.

Then there is the grill, not sure what to do yest as it looks tricky to remove. Perhaps the same steps, remove it, spray it silver and laqure it, put it back.