0-60 in a 355?
Discussion
Several people say they feel the 355 is "slow" compared to their expectations...one says his 996 C2s is quicker. How can that be on a car with a quoted 0-60 of 4.7 for the 355 and 5.1 for the 911? It seems that depending on where you look the quoted 0-60 on a 355 varies from 4.7 to 5.5 secs....anyone know the truth?
Cars can often 'feel' faster/slower due to torque expectations. Old laggy turbo cars often felt faster than they were due to the big slab of torque giving you a shove in the back.
As far as the 0-60 times go it depends on how good the driver is at launching it. And the road surface/temperature. Manual or F1 trans. M2.7 or the later M5.2. Too many variables..
As far as the 0-60 times go it depends on how good the driver is at launching it. And the road surface/temperature. Manual or F1 trans. M2.7 or the later M5.2. Too many variables..
I think the design of a car can influence the way it feels. A friend of mine had a BMW E36 3.0 M3 which, accoding to official stats, does 0-60 in 6.0, and then had a Lotus Esprit GT3 which, according to official stats, does 0-60 in 5.1. The BMW felt much quicker even though it wasn't, so I suspect it was the fact that the Lotus, being lighter and having a lower centre of gravity, felt less like a lot of weight was being transfered under acceleraton.
A 355 is definitely quicker than a 996 if you have it on the boil. I have a 996 C2 and they "feel" faster simply because they are a lot lighter and they have a huge gob of low down torque which makes them launch and get out of corners faster - but - they run out of steam pretty fast whereas the 355 is completely different, all top end. Completely different animals. A 355 caught in the wrong gear can feel very slow compared to a 996. You can be very lazy when driving a 996 can't really do that in the V8 F's.
Am I rignt in thinking the early F355s (96-97) were more powerful 380bhp) than the later models.. (350bhp) with different induction / ECU etc. and that the later models were a bit smog-controlled.
I know that my '98 Ferrari didn't feel particularly fast, but then I had got out of a Skyline which had a different power delivery more low down grunt rather than linear across the range that the F355 had.
I know that my '98 Ferrari didn't feel particularly fast, but then I had got out of a Skyline which had a different power delivery more low down grunt rather than linear across the range that the F355 had.
GT2man-2 said:
Am I rignt in thinking the early F355s (96-97) were more powerful 380bhp) than the later models.. (350bhp) with different induction / ECU etc. and that the later models were a bit smog-controlled.
I know that my '98 Ferrari didn't feel particularly fast, but then I had got out of a Skyline which had a different power delivery more low down grunt rather than linear across the range that the F355 had.
I know that my '98 Ferrari didn't feel particularly fast, but then I had got out of a Skyline which had a different power delivery more low down grunt rather than linear across the range that the F355 had.
kind of - early cars 94-96 were OBD1 and had the dual airflow boxes. Power was up small -maybe 10hp- and the car's engine mngment is easier to "trick" when fitting straight pipes.
GT2man-2 said:
Am I rignt in thinking the early F355s (96-97) were more powerful 380bhp) than the later models.. (350bhp) with different induction / ECU etc. and that the later models were a bit smog-controlled.
I know that my '98 Ferrari didn't feel particularly fast, but then I had got out of a Skyline which had a different power delivery more low down grunt rather than linear across the range that the F355 had.
I know that my '98 Ferrari didn't feel particularly fast, but then I had got out of a Skyline which had a different power delivery more low down grunt rather than linear across the range that the F355 had.
early cars (94/95) were 380bhp; the later ones were 375bhp.
agree, I was suprised how quick the 996 C2 /felt/ after the F355 but the F355 left it
The torque and power come in gradual with the 355 so it doesn't shove you straight back in the seat in the same way. Plus it has the electronically controlled suspension so the back end of the car doesn't dip when you accelerate, so there's no visual aid to the feeling of acceleration.
In a normal road car you would suddenly be looking at the sky with anything like that sort of acceleration, but the 355 stays flat on the road at all times.
In a normal road car you would suddenly be looking at the sky with anything like that sort of acceleration, but the 355 stays flat on the road at all times.
The F355 has a very smooth and progressive power delivery so it can disguise its speed very easily.
I had a Focus RS which was very torquey and didn't need revving much which I compared to my previous Clio 182 which fealt much slower but was actually just as fast. You had the rev the nuts off it to get the performance.
The F355 uses a 180 Degree crank which makes the V8 work like 2 Four pot engines hence the reason to rev it to 8650 rpm !!!
I have always found that low mid engined cars never feel as fast as you think because they are very good at their intended job.
The F355 is often compared to newer Supercars or Hot Hatches which i find unfair as it is now nearly 14 years old.
The figures mean nothing its the look of the 355 and more importantly the sound !!!
I had a Focus RS which was very torquey and didn't need revving much which I compared to my previous Clio 182 which fealt much slower but was actually just as fast. You had the rev the nuts off it to get the performance.
The F355 uses a 180 Degree crank which makes the V8 work like 2 Four pot engines hence the reason to rev it to 8650 rpm !!!
I have always found that low mid engined cars never feel as fast as you think because they are very good at their intended job.
The F355 is often compared to newer Supercars or Hot Hatches which i find unfair as it is now nearly 14 years old.
The figures mean nothing its the look of the 355 and more importantly the sound !!!
I totally agree with Chrisx666 my Esprit *feels* like a rocket ship - when the turbo kicks in you feel like you just been shoved in the back as it then launches itself for the horizon and the redline!
Yet its only a five and a half second car!
Bl00dy fun though! (Mind you... You do need to know where the turbo is at when cornering... or it will seriously catch you out and give you a good view of where you just came from!)
Yet its only a five and a half second car!
Bl00dy fun though! (Mind you... You do need to know where the turbo is at when cornering... or it will seriously catch you out and give you a good view of where you just came from!)
As others have said, it is torque that gives that feeling of being thumped into the seat. The 355 (relatively) lacks torque.
I was lent an F355 for a day and at first was pretty underwhelmed by the straightline performance.
However, with over 8,500rpm to play with it did have biblical reach. You could drop a cog and pull out to overtake with 4,500rpm on the clock and it would just pull harder and harder through the next 4k rpm which meant you just hung on and pointed it.
Once I had re-tuned my mind, I loved it. I had always suspected that Ferraris were a bit "all style, no substance" and it was a half hour thrill. I found the 355 to be the exact opposite. For the first 30 mins I was trying to pin it everywhere and was feeling pretty underwhelmed. 8 hours later it had got right under my skin and I loved it. It has real depth of character and soul.
I was lent an F355 for a day and at first was pretty underwhelmed by the straightline performance.
However, with over 8,500rpm to play with it did have biblical reach. You could drop a cog and pull out to overtake with 4,500rpm on the clock and it would just pull harder and harder through the next 4k rpm which meant you just hung on and pointed it.
Once I had re-tuned my mind, I loved it. I had always suspected that Ferraris were a bit "all style, no substance" and it was a half hour thrill. I found the 355 to be the exact opposite. For the first 30 mins I was trying to pin it everywhere and was feeling pretty underwhelmed. 8 hours later it had got right under my skin and I loved it. It has real depth of character and soul.
Not sure I agree with the "steady build up" comments on a 355's power delivery...
It has not much under 4k relative to that above 4k and up to 8.5k. Keep in this band and they fly. All figures believable. But get caught in the wrong gear and it's another story.
Many people driving these briefly do not rev them properly as they're simply not used to taking a car that far up the range. And they sound fearsome at the top end too which often makes people chicken out.
A few people I took out in mine insisted on changing up at 6k at first. It's barely going at that point. When ordered to hold onto gears, the grins became somewhat bigger!
Anyway, even if they weren't that quick, I wouldn't give you a thank you for any 996 in place of one. The 355 is soooooo much more than numbers. Guaranteed classic.
It has not much under 4k relative to that above 4k and up to 8.5k. Keep in this band and they fly. All figures believable. But get caught in the wrong gear and it's another story.
Many people driving these briefly do not rev them properly as they're simply not used to taking a car that far up the range. And they sound fearsome at the top end too which often makes people chicken out.
A few people I took out in mine insisted on changing up at 6k at first. It's barely going at that point. When ordered to hold onto gears, the grins became somewhat bigger!
Anyway, even if they weren't that quick, I wouldn't give you a thank you for any 996 in place of one. The 355 is soooooo much more than numbers. Guaranteed classic.
bakes said:
Several people say they feel the 355 is "slow" compared to their expectations...one says his 996 C2s is quicker. How can that be on a car with a quoted 0-60 of 4.7 for the 355 and 5.1 for the 911? It seems that depending on where you look the quoted 0-60 on a 355 varies from 4.7 to 5.5 secs....anyone know the truth?
The answer is, that there are so many variables, that driver skill will often be more important than which car COULD, theoretically, in ideal conditions, get to 60 from a start.Bear in mind also, that 0-60 is one of the most pointless statistics anyway.
far more important is driveability, 30-90, etc.
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