Thinking of replacing the R8 with a 360.....

[Daniel1]

My R8 finance is due for renewel in march and im not being offered a very good price at the moment so im tempted into the world of Ferrari.

I've always liked the 360, in both coupe and spider form, but im worried that the 360 will feel a bit old fashioned compared to the R8. I dont want it to be a case of 'dont meet your heroes'. Should i be worried?

Are there any Ferrari owners clubs in the south east that have meets where i can start to meet 360 owners? Are they a money pit? Should i wait till another year so i have the funds for a good spec 430? Were there any revisions to the 360 that effect which age car i should be looking for? Any other advice is welcome too....

thanks

[bromers2]

I had a good drive of an R8 at the weekend and I would rather have that over a 360, IMO you'd be better off saving for a 430. The handling of the R8 is a lot more 'secure' than a 360 and with the traction control off a great car for drifting

Semi thinking of changing my CS for a V10 one, but there again had a drive of her today and back in love

[eccounts]

The 360 is nice bit of kit however test drive a Gallardo and you'll soon realise what Audi based the R8 on. R8's are great and can be driven pretty much at the limit most of the time however the Lambo is another offering altogether and you'll never get out of it without a silly grin. I've got both and so speak from experience.

[lambo_xx]

Daniel1 said:

My R8 finance is due for renewel in march and im not being offered a very good price at the moment so im tempted into the world of Ferrari.

I've always liked the 360, in both coupe and spider form, but im worried that the 360 will feel a bit old fashioned compared to the R8. I dont want it to be a case of 'dont meet your heroes'. Should i be worried?

Are there any Ferrari owners clubs in the south east that have meets where i can start to meet 360 owners? Are they a money pit? Should i wait till another year so i have the funds for a good spec 430? Were there any revisions to the 360 that effect which age car i should be looking for? Any other advice is welcome too....

thanks

I drove an R8 before buying my F430, but haven't ever driven a 360. Straight away though I can say the R8 will be a lot easier to drive than the 360. The 360 (if anything like the 430) can still be more of a handful in the wet, whereas the R8 has far more grip (4 wheel drive).

In terms of the car feeling old fashioned, well bear in mind it's a 11 year old car that didn't really change much during it's life time. It depends on how much little things bother you. Heated seats were never an option on the 360, Sat Nav was never an option although you can fit the one from the 430 which is terrible or buy an after market one. The 360 never had parking sensors and doesn't have a trip computer. As I said it depends on how much little things like heated seats will bother you.

As far as the updates the car got, from memory the only updates were:
F1 gearbox was updated to make it smoother and faster in 2003
Xenon Lights were made standard (not sure of the date)

Hope that helps

Edited by lambo_xx on Tuesday 16th November 23:05

[matc]

I think a lot of it depends on how you are planning on using the car, if it's for everyday or very frequent use then I don't think the 360 is the car to go for. I've just got rid of my Spider and it was awesome to drive on a nice sunny day with the roof down, but it just feels far too fragile to be using everyday, in all weather conditions.

Although mine was faultless in the 4k miles and 6 months I owned it, I was constantly looking out for warning lights, or something to break! I don't think it felt too old inside, I quite liked the bare-bones interior, and if anything I think it was finished better than the 430 I drove before-hand.

As has been said above, if you fancy something with a bit more presence than the R8 then I would try a Gallardo; proper 4wd, sat-nav, heated seats etc. but still an almighty soundtrack and that amazing V10 engine!

[Daniel1]

Thank you for the replies.

The car is only used for sunday morning runs, I rarely use it for anything else. I've never been smitten with the Lamborghini Gallardo, in either generation, but i will heed your advice and look in the classifieds after posting this.

With regards to feeling old fashioned, ill try and clarify that a bit. I can only liken it to buying a Escort cosworth after years of driving modern Evo's and Imprezas, and finding it to be a laggy, lardy and somewhat dissappointing.

With regard to the handling, i understand it will be much more of a 'focused' car then the R8 but i have heard the handling is twitchy. I'm not the best driver in the world but i am quite sensible, but i dont want to be breaking a bit late for a corner and find myself in a hedge. Or take it out when its wet and be thrown into a hedge for no apparant reason.

Im not too worried about satnav or heated seats and the such, as the car will be driven as a weekend car only.

Are there any owners clubs in the south east?

[lambo_xx]

Daniel1 said:

Thank you for the replies.

The car is only used for sunday morning runs, I rarely use it for anything else. I've never been smitten with the Lamborghini Gallardo, in either generation, but i will heed your advice and look in the classifieds after posting this.

With regards to feeling old fashioned, ill try and clarify that a bit. I can only liken it to buying a Escort cosworth after years of driving modern Evo's and Imprezas, and finding it to be a laggy, lardy and somewhat dissappointing.

With regard to the handling, i understand it will be much more of a 'focused' car then the R8 but i have heard the handling is twitchy. I'm not the best driver in the world but i am quite sensible, but i dont want to be breaking a bit late for a corner and find myself in a hedge. Or take it out when its wet and be thrown into a hedge for no apparant reason.

Im not too worried about satnav or heated seats and the such, as the car will be driven as a weekend car only.

Are there any owners clubs in the south east?

I think if you're looking at using it as a weekend toy then a 360 shouldn't be a problem. I don't think it should feel too dated in terms of driving. In reference to it being twitchy, I’ve heard that as well. As I said never driven one, but I'm sure as long as you're not being completely stupid you should be fine. If you decide to use it every day I have to echo the above and suggest a Gallardo. I have to say it's an absolutely fantastic car! Not as good a driver’s car as the 430, but honestly In my opinion an all round better car.

[355f]

matc said:

I think a lot of it depends on how you are planning on using the car, if it's for everyday or very frequent use then I don't think the 360 is the car to go for. I've just got rid of my Spider and it was awesome to drive on a nice sunny day with the roof down, but it just feels far too fragile to be using everyday, in all weather conditions.

Although mine was faultless in the 4k miles and 6 months I owned it, I was constantly looking out for warning lights, or something to break! I don't think it felt too old inside, I quite liked the bare-bones interior, and if anything I think it was finished better than the 430 I drove before-hand.

As has been said above, if you fancy something with a bit more presence than the R8 then I would try a Gallardo; proper 4wd, sat-nav, heated seats etc. but still an almighty soundtrack and that amazing V10 engine!

I can only hope the Gallardo was better then the one i had, 3 clutches after 5K miles 2 RMS oil leaks, shoddy interior, ridiculous gearing ( it was an 05 car) 3 faulty power steering pumps with failed shafts, clonking suspension ( no wonder they changed that for later cars) and melting rear lights. The most unreliable car i have owned with dreadful service from Lambo.

[matc]

355f said:

matc said:

I think a lot of it depends on how you are planning on using the car, if it's for everyday or very frequent use then I don't think the 360 is the car to go for. I've just got rid of my Spider and it was awesome to drive on a nice sunny day with the roof down, but it just feels far too fragile to be using everyday, in all weather conditions.

Although mine was faultless in the 4k miles and 6 months I owned it, I was constantly looking out for warning lights, or something to break! I don't think it felt too old inside, I quite liked the bare-bones interior, and if anything I think it was finished better than the 430 I drove before-hand.

As has been said above, if you fancy something with a bit more presence than the R8 then I would try a Gallardo; proper 4wd, sat-nav, heated seats etc. but still an almighty soundtrack and that amazing V10 engine!

I can only hope the Gallardo was better then the one i had, 3 clutches after 5K miles 2 RMS oil leaks, shoddy interior, ridiculous gearing ( it was an 05 car) 3 faulty power steering pumps with failed shafts, clonking suspension ( no wonder they changed that for later cars) and melting rear lights. The most unreliable car i have owned with dreadful service from Lambo.

Still make a lovely noise though don't they?!

OP - based on what you said you'd be using the car for I can whole heartedly recommend a 360; like I said above I loved mine and early morning blasts were what the car was designed for!

As for it being a bit twitchy, well I'm not going to profess to be the best driver in the world, but I never got mine out of shape in the dry and I liked to drive it pretty hard. It was a different story in the wet though, it seemed very twitchy, but I guess that's to bee expected of a 400bhp RWD car. It was markedly improved when I changed to some new rubber, but it would certainly keep you awake when pressing on in damp conditions!

[Cactussed]

Talk to Bebs. He used his 360 for years as a daily hack.
It's still running fine, so far as I'm aware?

[Bebs]

Cactussed said:

Talk to Bebs. He used his 360 for years as a daily hack.
It's still running fine, so far as I'm aware?

Thanks Drew, yes still running fine
143,000 kilometers and counting.
Used it for 3 years as the daily hack through London. Never let me down once. Absolutely fine as a daily run around

[Dr G]

Bebs; sorry if this is a daft question but have you ever written much about your car's life on here? For some reason (and I'm sure I'm not alone) I am strangely fascinated by exotica that really, really gets driven

[christer]

Dr G said:

Bebs; sorry if this is a daft question but have you ever written much about your car's life on here? For some reason (and I'm sure I'm not alone) I am strangely fascinated by exotica that really, really gets driven

+1

[Daniel1]

Agai thanks for the replies, i went around to my 4year olds nephews tonight and pinched his 1:18 scale models of the 360 and 430 to lul over and im going to pop to the lamborghini dealership tomorrow and try and organise getting to an independant that has each model of Ferrari in stock.

thanks

[K17LER]

Come along to the next PN Ace cafe night and have a chat with Harsh who organises it. He usually has his 360 spyder there which sees a LOT of use(it's the red one in my Viking tour videos).

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Peter101]

355f said:

matc said:

I think a lot of it depends on how you are planning on using the car, if it's for everyday or very frequent use then I don't think the 360 is the car to go for. I've just got rid of my Spider and it was awesome to drive on a nice sunny day with the roof down, but it just feels far too fragile to be using everyday, in all weather conditions.

Although mine was faultless in the 4k miles and 6 months I owned it, I was constantly looking out for warning lights, or something to break! I don't think it felt too old inside, I quite liked the bare-bones interior, and if anything I think it was finished better than the 430 I drove before-hand.

As has been said above, if you fancy something with a bit more presence than the R8 then I would try a Gallardo; proper 4wd, sat-nav, heated seats etc. but still an almighty soundtrack and that amazing V10 engine!

I can only hope the Gallardo was better then the one i had, 3 clutches after 5K miles 2 RMS oil leaks, shoddy interior, ridiculous gearing ( it was an 05 car) 3 faulty power steering pumps with failed shafts, clonking suspension ( no wonder they changed that for later cars) and melting rear lights. The most unreliable car i have owned with dreadful service from Lambo.

The clutch's must have been your driving style. My 05 gallardo has been really solid. But def agree that service from Lambo is the absolute worst. Cowboys that rely on the rich boys not to know jack about whats meant to be done at a service and dont question their ridiculouly high made up bills.

[Nish]

Where in the south east are you?

Bebs, another and I meet up now and then for a drive, we all have 360s which get used a fair bit and all 3 cars have various sports exhausts for a comparison.

Give me a shout and you can meet us next time and have a look round

[Daniel1]

Nish said:

Where in the south east are you?

Bebs, another and I meet up now and then for a drive, we all have 360s which get used a fair bit and all 3 cars have various sports exhausts for a comparison.

Give me a shout and you can meet us next time and have a look round

in a little village about 20 miles down the a21 from Tumbridge wells, be great if i could

[Haliatus]

Nish said:

Where in the south east are you?

Bebs, another and I meet up now and then for a drive, we all have 360s which get used a fair bit and all 3 cars have various sports exhausts for a comparison.

Give me a shout and you can meet us next time and have a look round

Bit random i know but you weren't driving near westfield last friday night? Was behind a red 360 with personalised plate which i swear was nish or similar?

Edited by Haliatus on Friday 26th November 21:33

[Nish]

Haliatus said:

Nish said:

Where in the south east are you?

Bebs, another and I meet up now and then for a drive, we all have 360s which get used a fair bit and all 3 cars have various sports exhausts for a comparison.

Give me a shout and you can meet us next time and have a look round

Bit random i know but you weren't driving near westfield last friday night? Was behind a red 360 with personalised plate which i swear was nish or similar?

Edited by Haliatus on Friday 26th November 21:33

Yep was me, think this is my first spot!

@Daniel - Will let you know when we're getting together. Would be interesting to look around the R8. Considered one previously for the drive to work, seems a very useable car.