Let’s try this

It’s been a while between updates unfortunately. However, the news is that the issues I have been having with the F355 failing to start have continued to reoccur somewhat intermittently.

Basically what happens is that I turn the key and the lights on dash display but the car does not crank. Since the starter motor has been reconditioned, I can eventually get the car to start by turning the car off and on a couple of times. Sometimes, if I hold the key in the starting position for a few seconds the car does crank.

Having a car that is unreliable at starting is not something that I’m comfortable with, so the best recommendation was the change the whole starter motor for a new unit. The thinking is that the fault lies with the solenoid and unfortunately, there is no way to change just that.

So, the car now has a new starter motor and we’ll have to see if that does fix the issues. stay tuned for more updates.

Ready for a New Year

It’s been a few months since my last update, but life has been busy. However, here’s the latest.

In my last post I mentioned how the F355 wouldn’t crank and I initially thought it might have been something to do with the immobilizer. Being static, Sal DiMauro from Racing Red had to attend and troubleshoot the issues for me.

After some diagnostics, the fault was isolated to the starter motor. That meant that it needed to be removed for re-conditioning. There was some concern that this wouldn’t be easy given where the car was, but after removing enough parts, Sal was able to extract the starter motor and take it away for a service.

About two weeks later, Sal returned with the re-conditioned starter motor and re-installed it. The car then fired right up and I took it out for a long drive immediately as the battery was beginning to run down.

With the run complete, I tucked the car away in the hope that everything was now fixed.

Over the next few weekends the car started ok but I felt that there was still a delay upon turning the key before the car fired up. This was more likely my imagination than anything, but it wasn’t serious enough to warrant another visit from Sal. That could wait until the major service in December.

One of the things that freaks people out about the F355 is that every three years the engine needs to be dropped out of the car to change the timings belts. This is purely and simply because of the way the engine is mounted, these belts are effectively just behind the driver, hard up against the firewall. So the only way to change them is to drop the engine out.

The belts need to be changed every three years or so and this was to be the second time that I had it done. You can read about the first time here:

My car has no engine

There were a few other items that needed to be done at the same time including:

– Registration

– 2 x new back tyres

– Rear bumper repair

– Check the starter motor

– Check the oil pressure gauge

One of the things you notice very quickly in the F355 in the wet, is when there needs to be more tread on the tyres. A few weeks before the service I was driving along the freeway in the belting rain when the car decided to do some aquaplaning. No fun at those speeds. Thus, time for 2 new rear tyres. The front two where still in good nick luckily, with lots of tread.

About 3 years ago I carelessly reversed the car into a street sign and cracked the bumper:

Look before reversing

I’d attempted to fix the issue myself and had some initial success:

Final coat

However, over the years the paint that I had applied had changed colour and started to really stand out. I then decided to machine polish the area to remove/blend this disparity but that had revealed the initial scar. I left the scar knowing that I would deal with it at the next major service, however seeing the mark every time I drove the car really sent me bonkers I’ll tell you. I honestly couldn’t wait to get it fixed.

The oil pressure gauge had also been jumping around of late. One week it was high, the next low. So I added that to the list of things to get Sal to check for me.

So with the appointment booked I drove the car through suburban traffic in the middle of the day to Sal’s new location. No dramas ,but it is so frustrating to be seemly constantly stuck in traffic but I arrived in good order and handed over to the doctor.

Such a major service, combined with the other items was going to take about a week to complete and when I checked in with Sal he said all was going well but that ceramic lining of my catalytic converters was on the way out and would need to be replaced at some time in the near future. Not immediately, but somewhere down the track.

So, new “genuine” Ferrari catalytic converters would cost about $6,000 or the pair but “after market” high flow ones would not be more than $3,000. At this stage I’m leaning to the “after market” versions but I don;t need to make a decision just now, although I think I probably look at getting these changed at the next major service in 12 months.

I’ll know when the existing converters start to fail because pieces of the ceramic will break off and I’ll hear a rattling in the exhaust. Interestingly, the new converters are all metal, so once updated, this problem should disappear.

Above, you can see all the belts that need to be changed. Due to the orientation of the engine, these sit next to the firewall facing the front of the car. As you can appreciate, an engine out is really the only option to change these.

The F355 has been designed to facilitate an engine out so it isn’t really a huge drama. Having the engine out also make it much easier to work on and get an all around picture of what’s going on and find any issues that might be missed if it remained in the car permanently. So, there are lots of good reasons why an engine out on the F355 is a good thing but it is simply part of the servicing requirements of the car. Thus, if you are going to invest in a F355 keep this in mind. The people that get freaked out are those who but a F355 and don’t do their homework and get a nasty shock when they are told the engine needs to come out every three years during a major service.

So after about a week I made my way back to Sal’s workshop and picked up the car. They’d done such an amazing job on the rear bumper, fixing the crack, that I didn’t even notice it! There was no evidence of the abuse I had inflicted. I had two new rear tyres and the problem with the oil pressure gauge was a loose connection.

Rather than scything through suburbia, I took the long way home via the freeway to stretch the car’s legs. I gotta say that the car now feels really strong, really strong which is very pleasing.

I’ve now had the opportunity to drive the car on a few weekends and it was performed really, really well and I am ecstatic with how it performs. I’ve also taken the opportunity to fully wash, machine polish and details the car which takes quite a few hours to complete but is something I really enjoy.

With that, the car is home, fully serviced, fully detailed and ready for 2018! The next big trip will be in early February to the Bathurst 12 hour. Another happy year with the F355.

The five year anniversary

It’s been a while between now so it is time to do an update and share the latest news with the F355.

Let’s deal with the bad news first, which means there will probably be more regular updates now. After many months for running flawlessly the F355 now won’t start! The ignition comes on but the engine won’t crank. This problem started to develop over the past few weeks where I’d turn the key and nothing would happen. However, after a few moments the car would fire. Over time, the delays to it actually cranking were becoming longer and longer, until today when no matter what I tried the car wouldn’t fire up.

At first I thought that maybe it was the immobilizer but after a brief email chat with Sal DiMauro from Racing Red it seems it maybe the starter solenoid. Either way, not being able to fire the car up could be a real pain as where it is currently parked is not the most accessible location. However, as always, the situation could have been worse if I stop and think about it. Imagine if I had stopped for petrol somewhere and then the car refused to fire up there? So having it not fire up at home is a small mercy I suppose.

I’ll have to wait and see what Sal DiMauro from Racing Red suggest to get the car at least drivable so it can be looked at closer.

So with the bad news out of the way let’s turn the annual update.

The car recently passed its five year anniversary with me. If you want to review the previous anniversaries then check them out here:

One Year Anniversary

Two Year Anniversary

Three Year Anniversary

Four Year Anniversary

The fifth year anniversary is wood so they say.

Costs

The only major component that needed replacing this was another thermocouple ECU for around $440. The car had started to get the annoying 5-8 Slow Down light on a more regular basis, so after it became almost constant I replaced the ECU and the problem went away. I had replaced the actual thermocouple last year but clearly the ECU also needed to be changed. So now both the thermocouples and ECUs have been changed out and hopefully will be good for at leats another 20 years!

The biggest percentage cost increase for the year was for a green slip. This jumped a whopping 55%. I did some comparisons, and it turns out that I am still paying the average for these cars. I could however, get no acceptable answer from the insurance company as to why the costs had jumped so dramatically. Let’s hope it is a once off hike. Time will tell.

Travel

With a low incidence of repairs, I managed to lift the distance driven by the car this year to over 7,300 kilometres which was a 23% increase over last year which was about what I’ve averaged annual over the past five years. However, all that driving did take me across a major milestone. Around the 67,000 kilometre mark I crossed the point at which I have put more kilometres on the car than ALL the previous owners combined. Thus, in the last 5 years I have done more kilometres in the car than car did in its previous 16!.

Overall, total costs were down about 25% to around $7,500 from last year and probably the cheapest they have been since I have owned the car. Aside from the current non-starting issue I have at the moment, this year’s maintenance bill will be higher because it is once again time to have the major service done and get the belts changed. I’m also going to need some new tyres. While the engine is out for the belts I’m going to take the opportunity to have the rear bumper fixed after I cracked it a few years ago. All of that is probably going to add up to a fair investment. Hopefully I can roll all that together with getting the car running again in one hit. I’ll report back and let you know when I have more information about the current situation.

This year’s learnings

1. As always, you can’t continue to own, and more importantly enjoy, a car like this without good back up. As always Sal DiMauro from Racing Red has solved any problem or concern I had with the car. Even now, with the current issues, I’m 100% confident he’ll get this solved and car will be back on the road real soon. If you need help he’s your man.

2. Cheap double sided tape doesn’t last forever! I returned home after a drive and noticed something on ground in the car’s parking spot. Turned out to be the front number plate, which I must have flicked off when I removed the car’s cover. Upon examination I could see that it was in fact only held in place by some cheap double sided tape that was now well past its use by date. I therefore reinstated the number plate in position using screws and premium double sided take for extra insurance. Getting all those points to align during application was challenging but now the front plate is much more securely fastened.

Low points

Aside from the current non starting situation, I’ve been somewhat stressed by the oil pressure gauge remaining higher that it should be at times. Now Sal tells me it may just be a bad connection to the gauge but there have been drives when the gauge goes to the maximum of 10+ PSI and stays there for the whole trip, even at idle.

I did check the oil and water levels and they seemed good. Of late, the pressure gauge has stayed within normal operating limits but it still catch my eye when I’m driving.

The good ol’ 5-8 slow down warning and cut out is always a pain. The worse occurrence happened early in the morning on my way to the Bathurst 12 hour. It happened because I got caught in a traffic jam on the freeway at 6am! Go figure. I put up with the cut outs for a little while longer before I decided that they weren’t going away and replaced the part. The good thing is with the replacement is that if there is one things I’ve had a lot of experience with on this car, it is fixing thermocouple ECU issues!

I’ve also had the usual bangs and scrapes of the nose which is annoying. Speed bumps and steep driveways are generally the culprits, most of which you can’t spot readily from the drivers seat. It always sounds much worse than it is, but it is still like a dagger in the back when it happens.

Another annoying thing is that the screws that hold in the roof clips regularly work their way loose. This is no doubt because of all the bumps and jarring suffered by the car on the poor local roads. You just need to remember to tighten the screws regularly or else they drop out while you are driving along, which can be very distracting when you try and find where they have gone in the cabin.

High points

A largely maintenance free year, with lower ownership costs. That has mean I’ve got a lot of driving in for the year which is why I bought the car in the first place. There is nothing like taking the car out early on a Sunday, doing a complete drive, no stops and returning before most people are even awake. Makes a great way to kick off a week.

All in all a great year for driving the car. Although this is currently tainted somewhat with the current non-starting issues I will admit.

Value

I will admit that I haven’t kept an eye on prices that much in the last twelve months. Doing so takes a lot of time and effort, unfortunately I haven’t had a lot spare to devote to the tasks.

However, as I look at the market today I feel that the car at worst, has retained it’s value and at best has increased maybe 10 – 20%. I think once I sort out a few issues with my car, like the cracked bumper, I would expect the value to increase. There are still things that need to be done to the car to continue to improve its value but they aren’t that major. So all in all, once the belt service has been done, the cracked bumper fixed, new tyres and the current non starting issue solved the car would be at its current peak resale value I feel. Not that I’m contemplating selling, but at that point all the major issues have been taken car of.

Summary

So at the moment the car is as broken as it’s ever been unfortunately. In short, it won’t crank which is frustrating and in someway taints this trip down the memory lane. However, that aside, the last 12 months have been very enjoyable F355 motoring. Driving time was up and costs were down so I really can’t complain at all.

The next 12 months will see a major service with the belts being changed, new tyres and hopefully the cracked bumper finally properly repaired. With all that done and the car back on the road, I’ll be a happy camper.

There may also be another opportunity for a trip to the land of Ferrari coming in 2018 but I’ll share more details on that as it gets close.

Until then, thanks for following along and roll on year six of ownership.

It’s been a while

Yes, I know, but things have been rather busy, so now it’s time for an update.

The F355 went for it’s annual service. No issues detected but getting there and back through the peak hour traffic is to say, at the very the least, a disconcerting experience. The car performed flawlessly but you can feel that it doesn’t ‘like’ stop start traffic at all. It also becomes very tiring to drive, given it is a manual. However, the car arrived and returned without any issues. Next year’s service will bring with it the need to change the belts but I’ve been there and done that one before.

Now of course, right after being serviced, the 5-8 slow down light has started to appear. It does so about 30 minutes into a drive and then about 10 minutes later disappears, not to return for the remainder of the trip. Annoying.

My guess is that the 5-8 ECU needs changing as I have already changed the thermocouple on that side. The good thing is that when the light comes on it isn’t causing the engine to go into ‘limp’ mode. If and when it starts doing that, I’ll have to change out the ECU. Until then, I’ll live in the fantasy world of ‘it will go away’.

Apart from that, the car is running like a dream. At the high end, it is such a pleasure to experience. Makes every dollar I’ve spent on it totally worthwhile.

I also got the opportunity just before Christmas to give the car a really good clean and polish. I was finally able to attack the car with the dual action polisher I had bought a long while ago. I noticed that there was some paint transfer onto the polishing pad from the passengers door but not from any other panel. Interesting. Maybe that panel has been re-sprayed after the rest of the car? Anyway, it was the only panel that this happened on (phew).

I also decided to take the polisher to the rear bumper and clean up the ‘bodge’ job I had done after backing into a pole a few years ago. Even though I thought I’d done a good job of repair at the time, what had happened over time was that the touch up paint I had used had changed colour and was become quite noticeable. So I decided to take the most aggressive polishing pad I had and cut it away and see what I was left with.

In the end I was able to match most of the area, however I also burned through (as expected) the added top coat of paint, revealing the raw white fibreglass that I had sanded the crack back to. It felt better to have the whole area cleaned up but still annoying that it is there. My thinking is to maybe get some advice from an experienced detailer to see whether they can ‘bodge’ better than me. Alternatively, I was thinking about maybe using a vinyl wrap for just that small area? No sure yet. I’m going down the ‘get feedback from experienced detailer’ first route and I’ll report back.

However, there is no better feeling than being able to spend a lot of time on the car to get it the way you want it, at least on the outside. I’ve still go to do the inside yet!

So what’s the plan for 2017? Well, the next planned event is the Bathurst 8 hour in early February. I’ve been to the race for the past two years and stayed over night the first year, which was an experience to say the least. I managed to get myself horribly sunburnt and then overfill the fuel tank on my return. Ah, them’s the days.

This year, I’ll be taking part in the Meguiar’s Cars and Coffee event on the Saturday which I’m looking forward to. Hopefully it won’t be too hot as it is always a fun day. If you are around come say ‘hi’. Hopefully, we’ll also get a ‘parade’ lap around the circuit, which I have done before but would certainly be cool to do again. Mt Panorama is an truly amazing circuit.

Next up, at the end of March, I’ll be heading down to the Australian Gran Prix in Melbourne. My destination is the International Suite on the start / finish straight above the pits. Cool! I’ll be going down in convoy with members of the Club who will be taking their cars. Why would you wanna take your Ferrari all that way? Well, if you do you’ll get to take part in the Ferrari cavalcade. This is basically 2 – 3 ‘parade’ style laps around the circuit.

So here’s my dilemma. I am still in two minds about taking the F355. Sure, the track time sounds brilliant but getting the car to and from the event is what concerns me, with the major worry being traffic in and out of Melbourne. Maybe I’m just being a whimp about it? Hmm…Still thinking about what I’ll do but at this stage, I’m leaning to taking the F355 for its longest run yet!

I’ll hopefully be able to provide full details of the event here, with picture, videos and experiences. So stay tuned.

Then, two weeks after that I’m off again with Club members to the Shanghai Formula 1 Grand Prix. That will be a week of sight seeing and watching the race which I’m really looking forward to as I have never been to Shanghai.

I’ll start detailing more about that trip as we get closer to the dates in early April but it should be good.

So hopefully I’ll get some more time to dedicate to the blog and I’ll try and post up experiences from all the upcoming events, so stay tuned.

The four year anniversary

Another twelve months have shot past and it is once again time to pause and reflect on a further year’s ownership of a Ferrari F355. You can review the previous anniversaries here:

One Year Anniversary

Two Year Anniversary

Three Year Anniversary

So with the fourth anniversary done with a celebration of fruit and flowers, let’s review.

Costs

The major costs this year where the replacement of the high tension leads that were causing stuttering (after initially thinking it was the angular sensors). Half the leads were replaced early in the year and half later in the year when the spluttering reoccurred. I also replaced the thermocouple on the 5-8 side of the engine (passenger side) because that warning light was starting to appear.

This resulted in a lower kilometres travelled this year (only about 6,000 which is a about a 33% drop compared to last year). This also resulted in a 33% drop in the annual fuel bill. There was also a handy 12% drop in annual insurance. The repairs costs were also about 24% lower compared to last year but remember that I had the engine out for a major service that year.

Thus, the total costs were around $10,000 for the year which is about a 20% drop over last year. The car also pass the 60,000 total kilometres travelled mark which averages out now to about 3,000 kilometres per year over its 20 year life span. The next major milestone is passing the 66,000 kilometres mark. At that point, I will have driven the car further than all previous owners combined! Hopefully, I should pass that mark before we reconvene for the next annual update.

So, some unexpected repairs this year but necessary given the age of the components (high tension leads, 20 years plus). That resulted in lower overall travel when compared to previous years.

Travel

The car has now done about 27,000 kilometres since purchase, completing around 6,000 kilometres this year which was a 33% drop compared to last year (mainly due to time off the road for repairs). That averages out to 116 kilometres per week versus 170 last year.

This year’s learning’s

1. As always, a car like this is only as good and enjoyable as the person who maintains it. For that, there no one better than Sal DiMauro from Racing Red. He was good enough to come out when the initial spluttering started and perform some onsite diagnosis. When the issue proved not to be the angular sensors, he squeezed me in to get the car fixed. Once again, I can’t stress how important it is to have someone knowledgeable and experienced to look after the car and for my money that is Sal DiMauro from Racing Red and I recommend him unreservedly.

2. I learned how to drive my car onto a tilt tray. Never done that in any vehicle before. I had to do this to get the car across the Sal twice this year. You read more about one of those experiences here:

I knew this day would come

Luckily, I now also have a good contact in case I need further vehicle towing. Again, I highly recommend Carlingford Towing who responded very quickly, were easy to deal with and whose rates were also very reasonable. Another important contact to have.

3. Most importantly, I learned that you MUST wear long pants when you visit the Ferrari factory for a tour, even in the blazing heat of an Italian summer!

Low points

The biggest frustration this year was troubleshooting the stuttering issues. It started out as something very small but became quite a major during a drive day. Having the car conked out on the freeway on the way back after cutting the day short. Then having to limp it home was quite stressful. That was the worst the car has really been to drive. It really felt that it was going to cut out at any point and that is not a good feeling in traffic.

It was frustrating changing the angular sensors and then finding that the problem was not in fact that.

Having to send the car via a tilt tray for the first time was also not the greatest feeling. However, it made to Sal without issues (which was much better than having to nurse it across town in the traffic honestly).

Of course, it was also frustrating for the same stuttering problem to resurface about 6 months later with the remaining leads. However, this time it was clear what the problem was so the fix was much quicker but the car, once again, had to be loaded onto a tilt tray (this time in the rain) which is never the most pleasant experience for any car owner.

However, all in all, I don’t have anything to complain about here. Twenty year old cars have issues with their 20 year old parts (i.e. the leads) and these parts have perform well over the years and will always need to be changed at some point. Again, I have nothing to complain about, honestly.

High points

The major high point this year was of course travelling to Italy, attending the Coso Pilota and visit Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. You can read all about my adventures in great detail here:

Touch Down Modena

Pilgrimage – doing the Ferrari ‘stuff’

Alien Territory – doing the non-Ferrari ‘stuff’ like visiting Lamborghini

Corso Pilota Day 1 – Part 1 – experiences on the Ferrari test track

Corso Pilota Day 1 – Part 2 – experiences on the Ferrari test track

Corso Pilota Day 2 – experiences on the Ferrari test track

Reflections – recommendations and reflections

What I learned doing Corso Pilota – improving my driving skills

This was by no means a cheap exercise but I’d certainly do it again and am in fact already planning to return and do it all over again. If you are planning on doing the Corso Pilota or simply just visit all the Ferrari and other car sites in the region I suggest you have a read through all my articles because there is huge amount of information there that is pretty helpful.

I didn’t get to go on as many drives with the Ferrari Club this year due to the car being out of order for longer than expected. However, I thoroughly enjoyed those that I did go on (where the car didn’t have issues obviously).

Value

All of this again is totally subjective but I think it is still a good indicator. Part of the rationale for purchasing the F355 specifically was the belief that it’s value would increase over time as it became a ‘future classic’. Not the main reason for purchase but certainly a justification for the capital investment. That capital investment requires maintenance (such as the belts being changed) to retain its resale value, like any capital investment.

The average asking price for a F355 last year = $154,000

The average asking price for a F355 this year = $200,267

that’s an increase of 30% from last year. Not a bad ROI eh? Add to that a 20% increase from the year prior and I’d estimate that my car’s value is at least 50% above what I purchased it for.

That could of course change tomorrow as prices readily fluctuate I agree. However, over time you can see a general trend of the F355 asking price being on the rise.

I reckon the price is going to keep rising over the foreseeable future. Fingers crossed.

Again, for me it is about the emotion side rather than the pure financial numbers, but hey, healthy dollar values don’t hurt any do they now?

Summary

Overall it has been a frustrating year sorting out the stutter issue with the car. However, it has also been a unbelievably memorable year after visiting Italy, the Ferrari factory and doing the Corso Pilota. The importance of this is the fact that owning an F355 isn’t just about the car itself I believe, it is about being part of the Ferrari family and taking advantage of everything that has to offer.

I hope regular readers enjoyed the information I posted last year. Things have been busy so I haven’t posted as much as I’d have liked to but I do try and get my weekly price updates out regularly. Don’t forget to visit my YouTube Channel where you’ll find all the videos from my time at Fiorano posted.

I’m looking forward to another year of ownership and unique experiences that bring and I thank you for reading along with my journey.

The F355 passes the 60K mark

My F355 has recently just passed the 60,000 kms mark. Now many people believe that lots of kilometres are not good for a supercar. All my research indicates that it is not in fact the amount of kilometres the car has done, it’s more down to it being serviced regularly.

Cars that are ‘garage queens’ (i.e. never driven) always experience more issues than cars that are driven regularly. You also know what? Car are designed to be driven, not tucked away unseen under a cover. They are deigned to be enjoyed in their native environment, the road!

Sure, cars that are used more experience wear and tear but they have far less issues than cars that deteriorate away unseen and then massively fail when they are finally driven somewhere.

That’s why I have no hesitation in taking my car out regularly, not only for enjoyment but also for its own health!

A while back I started getting the same spluttering I was getting previously. Not quite as bad as before but it was still noticeable. Once again, the issue was more prevalent when the car was warm.

Normally, I take the the car out early in the morning and in the cool at this time the problem really didn’t surface. However, a while back I went on a club run during the day and I got the stuttering plus the 1-4 Slow Down light. This now meant the car needed to go in for a check up.

I packed it up onto the flat bed and sent it off to Racing Red for some tender loving care.

The diagnosis was that one of the leads not changed last time, which tested ok still, was failing under heat. This was failing to operate the spark plug causing it to become all charred. This explained why everything had started out ok and was gradually getting worse over time. It also explained why, under speed, the car was fine while at low speeds it was stuttery.

Anyway, I now have a full set of replacement high tension leads in place and new spark plug on the cylinder that was a problem. Fingers crossed that this solves the remainder of the issues and I can get back to putting another 60,000 kms on the car!

Fixed by filthy

Got the news that the replacement leads had been attached and F355 was ready. So made my way over to Racing Red to pick up the car.

I was in two minds as to whether to have it return via a tilt tray or if I would drive it back across town. In the end I opted for the drive and hoped that all would be good and I wouldn’t breakdown somewhere ‘inconvenient’ like the Harbour tunnel!

Turns out that 3 of the leads on the left bank (5-8 cylinders) were faulty and needed to be replaced. The others were tested and came up all good. Interesting that 3 leads on just one side were bad, given that they were all the original leads (i.e. 20+ years old). It may be a good idea to get the reaming leads at the next major service just to sure. We’ll see.

Sal assured me that everything was fine so I rolled out onto Sydney roads for the 45 minute or so drive home. Now, typically the problem started to occur about 30 minutes into a drive. At this point I had just cleared the tunnel and was heading onto the expressway. So far so good.

The car arrived home in good order and with no signs of the stuttering problems previously experienced.

The only problem was that the car was filthy and badly needed a wash. So I took it out for a normal run early in the morning to test it further and did a few minor things. Interestingly, in some situations off the mark the car still seems a little stuttery. Not every time mind you but I could certainly notice when it happened. When it did, the exhaust didn’t ‘cackle’ like it used to, which seemed to indicate that here was unburnt fuel was travelling through the exhaust. No, this felt like the car didn’t have enough revs to get off the mark.

This of course could be something as simple as my paranoia and memory loss as to how the car ‘used’ to drive. It could also have to do with the fact that car is tuned slightly differently after the leads being changed. Again, nothing major or totally unexpected, but I’ll need to drive it some more before I can really make a judgement.

The only other issue that surfaced was the 5-8 Slow Down warning light on the dash did come on momentarily. Now this could have simply been because of a bump in the road or perhaps even that the ECU or probe are failing (as again these are the original 20 year old items). At least if it starts happening more regularly I’ll know what’s going on given my previous experienced with the 1-4 Slow Down warning!

Aside from these two minor issues the car drives really well at speed. It feels somewhat different from before but feels very strong at speed which is reassuring. This kinda re-inforces my belief that car is tuned for for this end of the spectrum which is fine with me!

I spent the rest of the morning giving the car a good wash and returning it home. Again, no issues on the trip back. Given that tomorrow is a holiday here, I think I’ll take the car for a freeway blast and see if I can notice any of the ‘coughing’ that I did before at high speed. I don’t think I will but hey, it’s a great excuse for another drive given I have been deprived of late.

So there you have. Finally, I have the car back and it is clean. Fingers crossed that those minor gremlins I experienced today don’t resurface and I can enjoy an uninterrupted period of drivability!

The three year anniversary

Indications would seem to be that this relationship is starting to get serious now that it has passed its third year! As the special date rolls around again, of when it all started, it’s time to stop and reflect on the magic (good and bad) that has transpired in 12 months.

To be totally up to date you should read my musing from previous years here:

One Year Anniversary

Two Year Anniversary

They tell me that the third anniversary is supposed to be leather, so let’s crack on with it!

Costs

Every three or so years the belts on the F355 need to be replaced. This means that the engine has to come out. Yes, that’s right the whole engine has to be removed from the car to do this. The reason is that the belts are next to firewall just behind the seats and the only way to service them is to drop the engine out.

Unsurprisingly, the car has been engineered to do this. So at the car’s annual maintenance it was time to drop the engine out and change those belts, amongst other things. You can read and see the full details here:

My car has no engine

I also took the opportunity, whilst the engine was out, to have the shock absorbers re-conditioned as they were starting to leak. I knew this at purchase but had been delaying doing them until now.

My road usage of the F355 increased to almost 9,000 kms travelled in 12 months! That is about a 20% increase over the past year. My odometer is fast approaching 55,000 kms travelled in total. The road usage of the F335 is fast approaching that of my daily drive as I use public transport when I need to these days as much as I can, so the road usage of both cars is pretty much on par.

Obviously the engine out and the reconditioned shocks are a major expense (more than $5,500 alone) but an important part of the car’s maintenance regime. The cost of the engine out should be spread over the three year life of the belts to be fair, however it certainly made a big dent in the budget this year and escalated maintenance costs way above the daily drive.

However, if you remove this once off cost then the maintenance was only a little more expensive than the daily drive.

The other killer expense is always insurance which continues its slow march north like all insurance. Again, that is an expected cost and in line with expectations.

The totals costs for the year where up to over $12,000 which is about a 40% increase over last year but that main reason for that is the engine out service, otherwise they would have been similar to last year.

Travel

The car has now done about 22,000 kilometres since purchase, completing almost 9,000 this year alone which is about a 20% increase over last year. That averages out to about 170 kilometres per week versus 142 last year.

This year’s learning’s

1. As always, a car like this is only as good and enjoyable as the person who maintains it. For that, there no one better than Sal DiMauro from Racing Red. He was good enough to let me hang around and watch while my engine was taken out and maintained. Best of all, he put it all back together and made it better! Without doubt, the best investment I undertake for the car is to take it Sal. I recommended plenty of frustrated Ferrari owners do the same this year to get their problems sorted. Those that followed my advice, like me, are very, very happy.

2. Some things on these cars are not made with great practicality applied. Case in point, the ashtray. I wrote about it here:

Broken Ashtray

and spent the better part of the year buying a new one, breaking that, putting the original back, fixing the old one, breaking it again, pulling out the original, fixing it using metal reinforcing and finally putting it back. Phew.

Why the hell they made it so flimsy I’ll never know but best point is that it is now sorted and better than it was before. There is always a solution, just might take a while to get to it with these cars.

3. When fuel pump clicks out, that’s it, walk away. See below for the story.

Low Points

Only one major one to speak of and regular readers can probably guess where it transpired. Yes, at a petrol station. Here’s that tale.

I’d taken the F355 to the Bathurst 12 hour with a group of supercar friends. Being February the weather was scorching hot, and I mean really hot. Stupidly (as I am known to be regularly) i failed to protect myself against the blazing sun and managed to get badly burnt. Even the top of ears and back of my hands were smarting from sun damage.

Combine that with a lack of sleep due to a rabid snorer in our shared accommodation over the weekend and I was very much below par. On the return trip home (again in the blazing sun and now with massive sunburn to boot make it 200% worse) I pulled in to get fuel.

In my daily drive, you fill the car until the pump clicks. Then you top it up to the nearest full dollar. I agree it is rather OCD but I’ve always done it that way.

I repeated the same process withe the F355 but perhaps due to the heat, I overfilled the tank. That meant when I removed the nozzle from the car I could see fuel rising up and about to spill out. Damm. I therefore rushed to screw the cap on thinking that would contain the overflow.

After paying inside the establishment I returned to find a puddle of fuel underneath the car, below the filler cap. Turns out that there is an overflow tube at the top of the fuel hose, just near the cap. Thus, all the excess I had tried to force into the car by not stopping at the click was now in a puddle underneath the car.

My biggest concern was FIRE! given the heat of the day and my engine nearby. What to do? What to do? Trying to siphon fuel out wasn’t an option so the best plan seemed to be to ‘drive like I stole it’ to burn off the excess.

Of course, the ONE time you want the road to be clear and the lights to be green they are not. I had to wait to pull onto the road. Then I got caught at every set of lights from the service station to home. The stress didn’t help the sunburn either as I fully expected the car to burst into flames.

However, the good thing was that the car actually didn’t burst into flames or leave a fire trail from the service station, so I parked it with a new lesson learnt – when it clicks, walk away!

High Points

1. No matter what dramas transpire, it is still a joy to drive the F355. Each year there seems to be less and less dramas (although that could be me acclimatising I suppose).

2. Getting to do a lap of the Mount Panorama Circuit at Bathurst while I was at the Bathurst 12 hour with other supercar owners. Here’s the video.

The funny thing was that thanks to following someone who didn’t know the way, I ended up at the end of the pack. This meant the track was pretty empty when I finally entered. We’d been told that our lap was to be a parade lap which meant slow and steady driving. When I emerged onto the track I wasn’t sure whether the marshals were:

A. Waving at me to catch up with everyone else so they could get these cars off the track for the next event.

B. Waving at me to go slower because it was a parade lap or

C. Waving at me because I was driving a Ferrari and they are friendly country folk.

I decided that I’d go with option A unless advised otherwise. That allowed me to travel a ‘tad’ faster than parade speed around the circuit. Simply magic. Achievement unlocked.

3. I’ve been on so many drives and events with the Ferrari Club this year it has been great. Here is a small sample:

but probably the highlight was attending the 488 launch which I posted about here:

The night of the prancing horse

Value

All of this is totally subjective but I think it is still a good indicator. Part of the rationale for purchasing the F355 specifically was the belief that it’s value would increase over time as it became a ‘future classic’. Not the main reason for purchase but certainly a justification for the capital investment. That capital investment requires maintenance (such as the belts being changed) to retain its resale value, like any capital investment.

So the numbers:

The average asking price for a F355 = $ 154,000

That is about a 20% increase since the same time last year. I reckon I could get more for mine if I decided to sell since it has more desirable features (colour, manual gearbox, Australian delivered, new belts, etc). Conservatively, I estimate my car’s value is now 40% above what I purchased it for. Again, I’m biased I agree, but I do try and apply some science to this.

Now if you divide the average price of recent models by the number of cars available for sale you get a rough ‘value index’ for each model as I have detailed previously. The results in order are:

1. F355 = $ 38,5000

2. 458 = $ 19,230.53

3. F430 = $ 13,152.13

4. 360 = $ 9,171.30

Once again the F355 comes out on top by a ratio of 2:1.

Summary

Owning a F355 is special and will always continue to be a ‘different’ experience from a daily drive. However, as our experience together grows we are settling into a relationship that is far more comfortable than it used to be in the early days.

This equates to their being far fewer low points and much greater enjoyment of the F355 and the Ferrari community in general. There is still nothing better than waking early on a Sunday, taking the roof off and going for a blast on an empty road and being back before most people have had their first coffee.

2016 looks like a big year in more ways the one which the potential for a huge bucket list item to get checked off. Mum’s the word until it is all confirmed, but you’ll certainly get the full details if you stay tuned here.

I thank all those who take the time to read my ramblings and I’ll try and be a bit more regular with these posts in the coming year. When you are out driving the F355 as much as I do now you just don’t seem to find the time to sit at a computer and type. However, I do appreciate readers of this blog and followers of my YouTube channel.

Roll on year four.

A change of tyres

With all the driving I have been undertaking with car of late the condition of the rear tyres had started to get to the point where they needed to be replaced as the tread was quite worn. Not a huge issue but you could certainly notice the loss of traction in the wet in certain circumstances. Given the relentless ‘dampness’ here of late, replacing them was becoming more of a priority, especially with some upcoming trips I have planned.

The excuse to get the tyres changed arose recently when I was out on a run early one morning. While driving through temperatures close enough to zero degrees Celsius the car seemed to lack power and was crackling and popping out of the tail pipes somewhat. Luckily, once clear of the fog the car returned to normal performance.

Without hesitation I contacted Sal from Racing Red and he felt that it was that the fuel filters needed replacing. Given we had no record of them ever being changed he recommended they be replaced. Here was just the excuse I needed to get the car checked over, get a new set of rear tyres as well as a few other niggly problems resolved.

As you can see, there are two fuel filters for a 2.7 Motronic F355 like mine, located towards the front of the engine (i.e. near the belts and the seats).

The old part number is 186922 and the new one is 152212.

They aren’t very expensive so it makes sense to have them changed.

Apart from the tyres (the same ones as I got previously) I also had the follow items completed:

– Inserted the repaired ashtray after breaking the replacement. This is a whole post on its own but what I managed to get done was to run two metal reinforcing strips down either side of the length of the original ashtray to ensure has much greater strength and should now never span again! More on that coming soon.

– Air conditioning seemed a bit weak but checked fine.

– Hissing sound coming from rear of engine on cool down a while back. Most likely cause was venting from fuel tank. Probably due to ambient heat.

– Exhaust bypass valve wasn’t working because, as it turns out, there was a split in one of the tubes running from vacuum tank at the rear.

This prevented the tank holding a vacuum. Thus, there was no vacuum to open the bypass valve when required. Easily fixed.

Picked up the car the following week and drove it home through city traffic, in the wet. This was almost as much fun as driving to Racing Red in city traffic, in the rain with somewhat less grip and older rear tyres a week earlier! At least I have significantly more traction now.

Gotta say that the car feel stronger and a little more powerful, maybe because the exhaust bypass valve is working or it may simply be my imagination playing games to justify the repairs? Who knows? Who cares? All I know is the car ‘feels’ better and that is all that matters.

I am now ready for more winter adventures which I’ll update you on soon.

50,000 and still going

After the next trip in the F355 it will have clocked over 50,000 kms. That means I’ve done about 17,000 of those since I bought it about two and half years ago. That equates to about 130 kms per week and in most cases, given that I only normally go for a drive once a week, that is per drive.

As with all cars, there seems to be bias against those with higher kilometres, especially when it comes to supercars. However, one of the things that I learnt when I was on a Ferrari Drive day way back before I owned my car was that it is the service history that far more important than the kilometres travelled. In fact, supercars with low kilometres are more of a worry because they have not been used regularly enough. That leads to lots of problems with tubing, seals, and so on.

Thus, of primary concern when you purchase any time of supercar, is to examine the service logs and ensure that it has been serviced by a reputable mechanic on a regular basis to the specifications of the manufacturer. In my case, this means doing things like having the engine out to change the belts.

So remember, if you are in the market for any car I would suggest these days, don’t worry so much about the kilometres travelled. Concern yourself with confirming the that the car has been serviced regularly and to the manufactures specifications. Also remember that supercars that don’t get driven much and sit in garage tend to have more problems than those that get drive regularly. To me a car that is driven often is generally more loved and cared for than one that sits in a garage. I know that applies to my F355!