Tracked - Ferrari 458 Italia

[pgilliam1]

I just got back from Las Vegas Motor Speedway where I tracked a brand new 458 Italia. What an impressive car! Easy to drive, very comfortable (I'm 6'2" and fit well even with helmet on) with very good feedback and easy to correct oversteer (much easier than the NSX) even in Track Mode (TCS and stability controls off). With 570 HP and instant paddle shifts this car is the best I've ever driven. But I guess the old saying, "you get what you pay for", applies here.

 

[TyraNSX]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

458

 

[pgilliam1]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

DOH! Typo or brain-fart, you be the judge?

 

[docjohn]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

what was the event? Was it one of those pay to play exotic car deals?

 

[pgilliam1]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

what was the event? Was it one of those pay to play exotic car deals?

Yep, exoticsracing.com. Don't know that I'd do it again, but it was probably the only chance of me getting a new Ferrari on the track. It's definitely worth doing once. We got 2 learn the track laps in a Cayenne and then 5 laps in the car of our choice (the instructor gave me a couple of bonus laps in track mode because I got stuck behind some slower Lambo's - er drivers). Las Vegas Motor Speedway is not a good high horsepower track due to the high frequency of turns, but you accellerate, brake and shift often. Just when you start to feel the limits of the car the run is over - that's the down side.

I can still feel the car in my blood - it was that good!

 

[docjohn]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

Many moons ago I did a 3 day Daly school at LVMS ....busy track. So you only get to drive one car?

 

[nsxotic911]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

Yep, exoticsracing.com. Don't know that I'd do it again, but it was probably the only chance of me getting a new Ferrari on the track. It's definitely worth doing once. We got 2 learn the track laps in a Cayenne and then 5 laps in the car of our choice (the instructor gave me a couple of bonus laps in track mode because I got stuck behind some slower Lambo's - er drivers). Las Vegas Motor Speedway is not a good high horsepower track due to the high frequency of turns, but you accellerate, brake and shift often. Just when you start to feel the limits of the car the run is over - that's the down side.

I can still feel the car in my blood - it was that good!

$300 / 5 laps, that's it??????????????????????????????????????????
OMG I'm signing up right now.

 

[BATMANs]

What tire sizes are u running with the NSX?

And what suspension upgrades do u have to the NSX?

 

[Spaz]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

$300 / 5 laps, that's it??????????????????????????????????????????
OMG I'm signing up right now.

No doubt. I've talked to a friend of mine several times about flying down to do stuff like this. It is definitely on my list to drive one of these amazing exotics!

So jealous!

 

[pgilliam1]

What tire sizes are u running with the NSX?

And what suspension upgrades do u have to the NSX?

Tire sizes:
275/40/18 rear
225/45/17 front
Goodyear F1's

My suspension is OEM from a 2002 w/15k miles.

From other cars I've tracked, the NSX seems to be the hardest to properly correct when the rear breaks loose deep into turns. This Ferrari was so intuitive that the correction seemed almost immediate. I'm sure it's steering, tires and suspension were why, and that is my point :smile:.

 

[pgilliam1]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

Many moons ago I did a 3 day Daly school at LVMS ....busy track. So you only get to drive one car?

You can drive as many as you want to pay for. Their selection is awesome. Anything from a 911, GTR, R8 and various Lambo's and Ferrari's. If I ever decide to spend the dough on a R8 (probably the only other car I'd like to own - realistically) I would go back there to test drive it first.

 

[CL65 Captain]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

There was a guy that brought a 458 to Putnam Park for our last track day. I spent all afternoon passing him and passing him and passing him. Really fast car down the straight, shame the driver couldn't drive it. :wink:

 

[BATMANs]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

Tire sizes:
275/40/18 rear
225/45/17 front
Goodyear F1's

My suspension is OEM from a 2002 w/15k miles.

From other cars I've tracked, the NSX seems to be the hardest to properly correct when the rear breaks loose deep into turns. This Ferrari was so intuitive that the correction seemed almost immediate. I'm sure it's steering, tires and suspension were why, and that is my point :smile:.

Why do you have so much sidewall height?

I'm running 235/40/17 and 275/35/18 (I'll be changing to 285/35/18 in the next run) and it's very planted. And that's with the KW V3.

 

[warrenw]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

there was a guy that brought a 458 to putnam park for our last track day. I spent all afternoon passing him and passing him and passing him. Really fast car down the straight, shame the driver couldn't drive it. :wink:

love it!

 

[pgilliam1]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

I was just thinking that too......





Why do you have so much sidewall height?

I'm running 235/40/17 and 275/35/18 (I'll be changing to 285/35/18 in the next run) and it's very planted. And that's with the KW V3.

The tires came on the car when I bought it, and they're just about gone. I have a set of Advan AD08's in my garage. The car is very "planted" on the track but most of my driving is daily stuff so the sidewalls stay. But just to put to rest all your beliefs that the NSX is the best track car ever built, I suggest you go drive the 458. The same driver in both cars would prove the 458 superior in every way. The NSX is the best all around car I've ever owned, but not the best at everything, and correcting an oversteer situation at speed in the NSX has proven more challenging than other cars I've tracked.

 

[docjohn]

indeed your tires are too tall,the reason you can get away with it is the stock ride height...I think with propper sidewall ratio and optimal pressure and better tires your on track oversteer will be reduced

 

[pgilliam1]

indeed your tires are too tall,the reason you can get away with it is the stock ride height...I think with propper sidewall ratio and optimal pressure and better tires your on track oversteer will be reduced

I'm not unhappy with my oversteer. But as you know, if you're at the limit of adhesion, sh*t happens. Actually, the car has a tendency to understeer, which is fine. All I'm saying is that when I'm hard out of a corner and the rear breaks loose it is harder to correct than the Ferrari was.
I guess it all boils down to the fact that I was so impressed with the 458 that when I compared it to my NSX it seemed far better suited to tracking. I think that would be a fair assessment by any experienced driver that had tracked both cars. When talking with the instructors at the track, the 458 was by far the favorite in the garage. If you ever get a chance to drive one, don't hesitate!

 

[pgilliam1]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

There was a guy that brought a 458 to Putnam Park for our last track day. I spent all afternoon passing him and passing him and passing him. Really fast car down the straight, shame the driver couldn't drive it. :wink:

If I had laid out all that cabbage for a 458, I don't think I'd push it either. Even when I first got my NSX, I wouldn't push it as far as my M3 because I just couldn't stand the thought of wrecking it. It would still break my heart to wrap it into a wall. This one's a keeper! And after seeing some of your videos, that oversteer correction gets a little ticklish at times - doesn't it.

 

[docjohn]

I hear ya...btw I have never driven a car with carbon brakes...what was your experience with the italia under braking?

 

[pgilliam1]

I hear ya...btw I have never driven a car with carbon brakes...what was your experience with the italia under braking?

I don't think I got the brakes that hot (outside temp was 80F) but I never felt fade. That said, the brakes were the best I've ever felt, bar none. Getting on and off these brakes felt as smooth as silk. This car blew me away from accelleration to breaking. To have both hands on the wheel at all times and be able to shift instantly is a real confidence booster in the twisties. I could have danced all night with this one, and I'm not likely to forget her either.

 

[BATMANs]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

The tires came on the car when I bought it, and they're just about gone. I have a set of Advan AD08's in my garage. The car is very "planted" on the track but most of my driving is daily stuff so the sidewalls stay. But just to put to rest all your beliefs that the NSX is the best track car ever built, I suggest you go drive the 458. The same driver in both cars would prove the 458 superior in every way. The NSX is the best all around car I've ever owned, but not the best at everything, and correcting an oversteer situation at speed in the NSX has proven more challenging than other cars I've tracked.

I like to see a similar horse power NSX stack up to the 458.

Stock NSX just don't seem to have enough power to push itself outta turns when i drove it hard.

With my SOS SC it feels like it handles that much better.

 

[Nero Tenebre]

Tire sizes:
275/40/18 rear
225/45/17 front
Goodyear F1's

From other cars I've tracked, the NSX seems to be the hardest to properly correct when the rear breaks loose deep into turns.

Sounds like somebody needs chassis reinforcement, clamps, and non compliance bushings.

 

[Sandro]

I love NSX but guys be real,don't compare this two cars(also if they are whit simmilar HP).
I repeat love my car.

 

[RYU]

Re: Tracked - Ferrari 456 Italia

I don't think I got the brakes that hot (outside temp was 80F) but I never felt fade. That said, the brakes were the best I've ever felt, bar none. Getting on and off these brakes felt as smooth as silk. This car blew me away from accelleration to breaking. To have both hands on the wheel at all times and be able to shift instantly is a real confidence booster in the twisties. I could have danced all night with this one, and I'm not likely to forget her either.

I absolutely get what message you're trying to tell us. I haven't driven an Italia yet but the difference in feel, sensitivity, comfort at the limits, and driver communication you get from these more modern cars FAR surpasses what you get in the NSX even if the NSX is only marginally slower "by the numbers". It's the awesome feeling of invincibility while driving it is why I'd pony up a gazillion dollars one day to buy one.

I understand some of the comments in here in that the NSX can be built to outrun/outcorner a modern day car...heck, I can build a 72 Nova to do 9 secs in the quarter mile but I don't think it's the same comparison you're trying to make.

 

[pgilliam1]

All any car guy would have to do, to understand this post, would be to drive the 458. Any car guy that didn't think the 458 was almost absolutely perfect and unforgettable, especially when comparing it to their car, would have to admit that they were slightly biased towards "their" car simply because it was "their" car. We all do it to some degree. I did it with my NSX - until I drove the 458. Now I know.