Hi Guys, First post on here, from the UK, so would like to say hello to everyone first of all, hope your all well Ok, so I bought myself a '95 F355 Berlinetta a couple of weeks ago with the M2.7 motor in it, I love it, the most satisfying car when driving (and Ive driven a lot of cars). Now, we come down to my quest, Im used to very high power machines, previous to the Ferrari I had a 650+hp Skyline and a 500+hp 300ZX before that (both self built), and while the Ferrari is extremely quick, it feels like it could do with a good dose of more. The chassis is SO capable that the 380hp doesnt do it justice, and it could more than deal with the brunt of 100hp more. Ive scoured the web & this forum for modification options, and bar the usual exhaust, carbon intake boxes and ECU chips there seems to be very little else, it seems that 355 owners are almost scared to experiment whilst the owners of 348s are more than happy to take the guts out, reorder them, hit with hammer and put back (to which I take off my hat and bow, being a fellow hobbyist shed mechanic myself) I dont want to go forced induction, been there, done that, spent 1000s and I like the urgency of the ferrari engine without the lag, so I want to keep N/A. Are there any serious modifications that anyone has done, that I can read up on in addition to the usual? Ive just finished reading Plugzits ITB conversion on his 348 and was eager to see the results of his openstacks, which didnt appear at the end (upset, Id made myself a cup of tea to read all that and everything), has anything like this been done on a 355? I imagine that it would free up a good dose of power with other mods and a good mapping of the ECU. My target for the 355 would be around the 450hp mark, weightloss is underway (which Im a big fan of) but getting information on achieving it, or anything close is sparse. Thanks for the read and any help that posted Dan
Now hold it right there. The cars that you mentioned above like the 300ZX and Skyline are both turbo charged cars. Unless what you are telling us is that you chose the N/A 300zx model and stroked the engine to produce 500+bhp, is that what you are saying? Now i am also UK based and had a 300zx TT for 4 years and had mine tuned up by the Zcenter in Nottingham. So just because we drive ferraris does not mean we are not used to supper high power Jap gear as well. So how can you then come here and say you want even more power from your 355 with out supercharging or turbos. And you are thinking outside the box of exhausts and air boxes. How does that work?? My response is due to the fact that you said the above quote that 355 owners are almost scared to experiment with the upping of power in our cars. Stop it and behave Let me tell you something mate, its all about the cost and development. If you are prepared to invest maybe £500,000 if not more into producing a tried and proven stroker kit for the 355 engine as an example,and get the final product cost down to an acceptable level the you will have a list of owners wanting to buy your goods. In the mean time while you are experimenting and blowing engines it will cost you about £30-40K for each engine. So how about throwing a few ideas as to how more power can be produced out side the conventional tuning parameters for the 355.
Appologies, I didnt mean to come accross sounding obnoxious, or that Ferrari owners arent used to very high power cars either, 380bhp in a 355 isnt to be sniffed at by any standards, just that the chassis screams more. Both cars were turbo charged yes, and I know all about the theory between N/A v's Turbo, however, when it comes to tuning N/A cars, my experience is limited compared to my turbo tuning knowledge, hence my ask for info, or advice. Ok, so maybe my impression of 355 owners is wrong, but, thats the impression I get, Ive read very few threads of 355 owners ripping the motor apart for headwork, or playing with cam timings and all that, yet the 348 owners seem to do it daily heh. I dont believe you need to spend massive ammounts of cash to get more usable power out of a 355, the bottom end is as good as your gunna get, stroker kit is a no go as then you will loose the ability to rev hard and high. Exhausts have been done to death on it, so for what its worth, I think the place that needs work is the intakes, ditch the MAFs and the intake track, open up the throttle trumpets to air, enlarge the throttles slightly and throw in a good map....you did ask for ideas
There is no doubt you could massage the bottom end (did I say that out loud?) of a 355 and get all kinds of power out. Certainly the sky is the limit assuming the budget is too. Realistically, puling the motor and porting the intake, porting aftermarket headers, running test straight pipes with a challenge exhaust, and remapping on the dyno will give you say 125 hp/ liter? That's going to get you into the 425-440 range. Not too shabby. Personally, I think it is a great chassis, but I do not think it is good for much more than that. And the reliability of the tranny is due in part to the standard torque output, especially in the F1 where the gearbox really gets thrashed. I think the porting and polishing will be very costly for the gains. If you add up the costs of airbox, headers, exhaust, and dyno time, you are quickly into 5 figures. Head work is really going to add up. I am hoping to skip the headers (my stockers are still intact) and get near to the 400 hp mark. But I like the car for the sound as much as anything else.
well if theres more to have with resonable money then fine, if not, I'll do the usual and still be happy. But more is always better
Sorry guys....Not to bust the bubble but the 355 SUCKS in the power department. It looks great, sounds great, and is great but it couldn't pull a sick whore off a greasy toilet......It to me is the most depressing part of this money eater..... I refuse to let the cat totally out of the bag but my 355 WILL have I'm told possibly 300hp more by this spring......Details later....."2 well known Ferrari shops are already working it as we speak" 'Weasel
But whos bubble do you think your bursting who has posted thus far??? No ones said so far that the 355 has great power....have they? The whole point of this thread is because the 355 lacks high end power....isnt it?
The problem is the tiny motor is already pretty high strung. There's just not that much room for improvement. How much more can you get out of 3.5 liters while retaining any semblance of street manners? Nitrous would work but I don't think that's what you're going for. I'm sure you'll have a captive audience if you do make any modifications, be sure to post them here.
That motor has a lot more room for power. These cars were detuned to meet the epa standards. Remapping the main brains in the 2.7 will get you the power it was built to have. The guys I have heard that do it best are in Italy and they worked for Ferrari on these motronics. I have a spare set of these and may be sending them out this winter to be done. The cost is around $2000.
Whats needed for the 355 owner from the factory. Are the same high lift cams that were put into Michael schumacher's 1996 TDF Blue 355. Along with the ECU mods that allowed it to rev out at 10,000RPM with power estimated at 440bhp Now that would keep me happy So the know how out there.
How much extra power is this supposed to produce? I'd be surprised if it was more than 10hp over the 385 rating. Are you going to dyno yours to find out? Any references for this info? I'd like to know what the changes were.
What about Imola racing They have these four steps for the 355 I would really like to know what the 355 engine sounds like at 9500 RPM! Here is the link to their online catalogs: http://dimex-group.com/en/home/catalog.html Step 1 - 309 KW / 420 HP - 380 Nm max rpm 9300 Sports exhaust made of stainless steel, modification of ECU, optimized intake air flow, sports air filters Step 2 - 316 KW / 430 HP - 380 Nm rpm 9300 Sports exhaust made of stainless steel, modification of ECU, optimized intake air flow, sports air filters, 200 cells sport catalysts Step 3 - 327 KW / 445 HP - 384 Nm rpm 9500 Sports exhaust made of stainless steel, modification of ECU, optimized intake air flow, sports air filters, 200 cells sport catalysts, patented fuel cooling system Step 4 - 331 KW / 450 HP - 385 Nm rpm 9500 Sports exhaust made of stainless steel, modification of ECU, optimized intake air flow, 200 cells sport catalysts, patented fuel cooling system, kevlar carbon airbox with sports air filter system
Its been well documented and was even featured in an edition of Forza magazine. We all would like to know more about the factory mods made. Especially the cams.
I'm sure you guys are going to think I'm ******, but I don't believe these claims for 2 seconds. I'm not in here to be a "hater" either, I love 355s and plan on buying one.
Weight saving plans thus far are as follows.. Lighter exhaust, some titanium item, not decided on what exactly yet. CF seats Perspex glass where safe Remove popup lights and have some static items made General stuff where possible, depending how heavy and radical I want to go, Ive a friend with a company that does lots of cosmetic stuff for the ferrari race teams, doors etc If I can drop 50kg or so I'll be happy for now
Don't take my post too personal........ I posted that because the last time I posted a comment making fun of the power output (again just poking fun) the purists living in *fantasy land* came out of the woodwork telling me how great this thing was...... The car is just not that great IMO...It is very high maintenance and really doesn't provide much in the way of performance. It's more about style, grace, and pedigree which is fine and I accept that...To me if you could add the one missing element you'd really have a serious machine then.....So that is what I am doing. I also understood fully what the first post was about....I just want him along with everyone else to know that this thing can come alive, we've already increased one car (ask enginefxr about his flow increases)...
If you want to get that and keep it naturally aspirated you are going to have to open up the engine and have some extensive head work done. I would say at least £10,000+ worth of porting polishing, new valve springs rated to 10,000+rpm, titanium retainers, new valves, valve seat, valve guides (especially the valve guides), 3 angle valve job, reconfigured combustion chambers, port matching, etcetera. And if you really wanna get crazy custom cams, and get the throttle bodies ported. Then you will want to contact Dimex Group and have them rechip your ecu, they are not cheap either about £2k. Higher flow injectors, and a adjustable fuel pressure regulator, custom headers probably a good 4-1 set paying special attention to the merge collectors, free flow 100 or 200 cell catalytic converters, free flow exhaust, free flow air intake, free flow air filters. It can be done, but its not gonna be cheap.
Huh!! do you realy think that? Why would i? I was just pointing out there are no bubbles to burst on this thread.
.......... doesn't anyone post b4 & after dyno sheets anymore ........ ??? .................. I am always up for processing more air/fuel in the least amount of time ........ !!!
If and when I do mine I will definitly dyno before and after. The guys where I take my car did this to a customers 456 and the difference was unbelievable. The guys in Italy say that when you plug it back in "its a different animal".
