Ferrari 348 TS - Sophia

[pzgren]

the steering wheel suits perfect, nice addition.

[sameerrao]

Bump to say that Sophia celebrated her two year old birthday on Nov 22. Not too much to report - the odometer is close to 24000 miles. She is still running pretty nice. I did give her a small ding in the rear thanks to my clumsiness in the garage. Otherwise everything is A-OK. Got some new brake pads (the old ones were getting a bit worn after 6 track day events since I bought her.

Expenditure this year:
Engine oil: $114
Gearbox oil: $50
Windshield water, Coolant: $20
Brake pads: $180
360 Challenge Steering whee: $360

Next year will be the high water mark for expenditure ... got to perform the major service - will be around $7000 if I am lucky. 

[ARMAN]

damn it I am getting rid of my e30 and getting f348! my car need more money than Ferrari lol

Any partay is shedulled for bday? or did you buy some new goody's for her?

[pterps]

A friend of mine got the big one this year (incl. belts). He had to pay around 5400,- euro´s. Buying a Ferrari is 1 but keeping it on the road is so expensive!

Good to see she´s doing fine!

peter

[sameerrao]

damn it I am getting rid of my e30 and getting f348! my car need more money than Ferrari lol

Any partay is shedulled for bday? or did you buy some new goody's for her?

Read the last bit about 7 followed by many zeros

No gifts for the car. Maybe next year if the service proves to be within $7000, I might spring for high flow cats and/or custom exhaust. But I am not holding my breath on the price coming down much.

BTW the market for all cars seem to have crashed - I can now buy a car similar to mine now for $42K (or about 8k below the going price 2 years back)

[sentra_dude]

Thanks for the update, it's nice to hear the costs from a real owner, they seem not too bad, except for the service!  

[wackary]

Get yourself a set of tools and a factory service manual!  No way I would pay someone else that kind of money to do maintenence/service work!!!! Major work or rebuilds sure, but never that much for routine service I could easily do myself! For a one time expense of a few thousand bucks, you could have a fantastic set of tools! All it takes is the correct information, a little patience, the right tools and you can actually have a very rewarding experience.  I have been working on my own bikes and cars since I was 12 years old and to me it is as much a part of  the motorsport experience as the driving or riding itself. Try it mate, you will absolutley love it, nothing is more satisfying! Start out with something simple, just a routine service. Build up to it from there.

[sameerrao]

Get yourself a set of tools and a factory service manual!  No way I would pay someone else that kind of money to do maintenence/service work!!!! Major work or rebuilds sure, but never that much for routine service I could easily do myself! For a one time expense of a few thousand bucks, you could have a fantastic set of tools! All it takes is the correct information, a little patience, the right tools and you can actually have a very rewarding experience.  I have been working on my own bikes and cars since I was 12 years old and to me it is as much a part of  the motorsport experience as the driving or riding itself. Try it mate, you will absolutley love it, nothing is more satisfying! Start out with something simple, just a routine service. Build up to it from there.

This is a major service - 5 year interval with timing belt change, water pump, cam tuning, etc.  I have a set of factory service manuals. There are also some mechanically minded guys who have done a major service and provided some documentation.

I have been doing only minor work on the car - oil change etc. The previous owner of my car did some work (including the last major service) himself on the car - I can make out a couple places where some shortcuts were taken. Therefore, I want this to be done by a experienced hand - to do the major and fix other issues that may be obvious to him but oblivious to the others.

If I were to do it, I might be following a book of instructions but completely miss an important aspect that is not documented there.

[ARMAN]

Read the last bit about 7 followed by many zeros

who needs service? changing the oil is the most important thing the rest is optional

[MartinR]

I think spending the money to have a professional do the major service might pay off if you ever plan to sell the car.

[brembo]

I would have done it myself, it is a car even if it says Ferrari on it, no reason to pay out the ass to have some Ferrari approved guy doing the service...

A guy I know some, had the same car as you and had to change the clutch was quoted an insane amount for the job, so he bought the clutch and him and a few friends changed it saved him some serious money...

Then again I understand if you are worried to rip it apart if you have little experience working on cars...

[sameerrao]

I would have done it myself, it is a car even if it says Ferrari on it, no reason to pay out the ass to have some Ferrari approved guy doing the service...

A guy I know some, had the same car as you and had to change the clutch was quoted an insane amount for the job, so he bought the clutch and him and a few friends changed it saved him some serious money...

Then again I understand if you are worried to rip it apart if you have little experience working on cars...

The clutch I would do myself with the help of my friend. But major service is where I draw the line

[brembo]

The clutch I would do myself with the help of my friend. But major service is where I draw the line

I guess you need to draw it somewhere...

[pterps]

Biggest problem is that the engine has to get out of the car for belt change. That's why it's so hard to do the service yourself.

[danidmas]

You guys forget something. When it's time to re-sell the car... you just cannot say you've done it yourself. Well, you can if the car is a E30 325i... but not in an F car, where a difference between a well-documented car with bills and officially-mainatined, and a car where you've done the job yourself can be HUGE

I mean... some people, when they have to chose a car where the job has been done by a specialist, and a car that has not, they'll pick the first... even if there're some €€€ of difference. For me it doesn't mean nothing if the job has been carried be a specialist though... but people tend to think so

Still, owning a 348 (big service apart) doesn't seem as expensive as I thought it would be...

[Guyon]

You guys forget something. When it's time to re-sell the car... you just cannot say you've done it yourself. Well, you can if the car is a E30 325i... but not in an F car, where a difference between a well-documented car with bills and officially-mainatined, and a car where you've done the job yourself can be HUGE

I mean... some people, when they have to chose a car where the job has been done by a specialist, and a car that has not, they'll pick the first... even if there're some €€€ of difference. For me it doesn't mean nothing if the job has been carried be a specialist though... but people tend to think so

Still, owning a 348 (big service apart) doesn't seem as expensive as I thought it would be...

If you can sell it more if it was professionally maintenanced, would it make up the money that you spent on the professional maintenance?

[sameerrao]

Biggest problem is that the engine has to get out of the car for belt change. That's why it's so hard to do the service yourself.

Agree.

To me the following are the issues :
1. Lack of garage space to keep the engine once it is out of the car
2. Cant get a 2 post / 4 post lift inside the garage
3. Minimal mechanical ability
4. Worried that it may turn out to be a 4-5 month project given that I travel a lot on work and can attend to it on the weekends only
5. Wife will kill me (read long absences due to #4)
6. Might miss something critical

[sameerrao]

If you can sell it more if it was professionally maintenanced, would it make up the money that you spent on the professional maintenance?

Yes. Documented Service from a well known shop will definitely make the car easier to sell. A DIYer job may make it tough to sell unless you document every step with photographs and can convince them that all the important steps were taken.

Anyway this is the first major service under my stewardship - I will make sure that it is done perfectly. Maybe 5 years later, my mechanical know how would have increased and I would be brave enough to do it myself.

[spanky]

I agree... I could do all the services on my own cars but I rarely get the time and so we get it done professionally.


Very cool wheel too dude!!!! 

[sameerrao]

Last week just before my flight to Europe, I drove my car to Norwoods Performance in Dallas for its 30k service. I picked Norwoods primarily because of its fantastic name and reputation across the US.

My car had its last major in 2005 - a DIY job by one of the previous owners. It has been about 4 years and 11,000 miles since then - time for a comprehensive service! Remember that the major is a function of time and not just miles. Typical service intervals are 5 years but as my car was last worked on by a DIYer who made some changes along the way, I wanted to give it in a little earlier and get it done properly.

I have looked through the various threads on ferrarichat and have incorporated all the good stuff in my service:
- New (not re-built) water pump
- Hill Engg tensioner bearings
- Inspection of fuel lines
- Cam leak on the right side
- Inspection of lower drive pulleys and bearings
- Fix brake squeal
- Four wheel alignment
- Investigate tapping sound on left bank
- Normal 30k service items

The clutch while a bit heavy is operating fine and so is not being replaced/serviced.

Working with Norwoods is a pleasure. They love to talk about what they are doing and answer my numerous questions along the way. It is more like dealing with a trusted friend than with someone who you don't trust and need to constantly audit what they are doing.

Fortunately no major issues have come up as yet.

On the lift for the initial dis-assembly
Some of the initial dis-connects are done, wheels removed.



Drivetrain removal
Remove all the connects, drain the fluids including the a/c. Engine and sub-frame comes out as one unit. This was the first 3X8 Ferrari where engine out service was required - was a outcome of their racing development - they wanted the whole unit for quick replacement.
 

The engine and gearbox come out together (it is the bright silver object towards the rear end of the engine). The exhaust muffler/tips was removed separately but the cats remain with the engine unit.



Engine bay
See the fans for the radiators and fuel pumps (twin silver cylinders) and the coolant overflow tank (black tank on right side). The size of the fans and the immense oil and water capacity is what makes this car impervious to overheating on the road or track.