550 Virtual Project (Any technical info is appreciated!)

You may have seen a thread on another Ferrari forum, but thought I should post in a few places to try and gather as much info as possible.

Basically I'm recreating the 550 Maranello AND the 550 GTS GT1 race car for the popular racing simulator Assetto Corsa, and with the help of people more knowledgeable than myself, I hope to make it as authentic as possible.

The priority at the moment is completing the GTS racecar, which is a group project and therefore I don't need any technical info on that front.

However, I am planning on releasing the Maranello road car, which I'm making on my own, and therefore would love any feedback or technical insights that will help make it as realistic as possible. But this is not subject to any sort of deadline, so I'm in no rush.

---

I'll list a few bits of info I'm missing regarding the road car, but as I said, I'm in no rush.

Colours - Anyone have a list (and examples if possible) of factory colours available from new?

Aero - Using the reference Cd figure of 0.33, x the frontal area (Just over 2m^2 in my measurements), I'm struggling to reach 200mph on level ground. Anyone have any idea really how fast these things can go, can they actually reach 199mph? I was topping out around 185-190mph I think using the correct power curve, which seems a little low.

Wheel diameter - Anyone know the actual outer rim diameter of the standard 5-spoke rims? I know they are 18inch, but the actual diameter should be larger and I'm not sure the size I've made them is correct.

Springs - Anyone have details regarding spring rates? I haven't got the details with me at the moment but I found some info in the owners manual but I'm unsure whether I have converted the units properly (NM required), as well as worked out the motion ratios/wheelrates. Any idea unsprung weight either?

---

Anyway, to reward you for getting this far, I thought I'd post some of the work in progress pics of the project so far! Right now its very much the road car, but I'm pretty much at the stage where I will branch off and focus on the racecar, making the necessary modifications (already made the wheels/tyres, brakes etc).

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Full progress album: 550 - Album on Imgur

Cheers!

 

Cheers, will look into the windows seals and see what I can do.
And thanks for the wheel measurement, this is always a mystery - 19.5inches for an 18 inch wheel, so it was too small to begin with but was corrected now.

I'm now happy that my suspension maths is correct (working from the values from the workshop manual), before I was worried I hadn't worked it out properly. Specifically I was getting a large amount of rear lift (not sure if that is the correct term, the opposite of squat) under braking which seemed wrong to me.

Gladly I've discovered this is correct and am happy its correct. Look at this comparison;

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Does anyone know whether there was ever the FHP for the 550, or was that just the 575. If so, I'd like to get the spring rates for that too, may as well add both.

Edit* Found the FHP spring rates for the 575, I assume they are the same for the 550? Anyway, added it so you can choose between them ingame.

 

Shields? You mean Ferrari branding? Yes, for the Maranello once I get back to the model I will be adding all the badges etc.

 

Yes, the Scuderia Shields will be added later.

I've compiled a list of factory colours I could find for the 550, can anyone confirm or deny whether this is correct or not or complete? Going to do some searches for good examples of each one now...

Bianco Avus
Rosso Fiorano Mts
Blu Pozzi
Azzurro California Metallic
Argento Nurburgring Metallic
Rosso Corsa
Blu Tour De France Metallic
Verde British Racing
Nero
Grigio Titanio Metallic
Blu Nart Metallic
Nero Daytona Metallic
Rosso Barchetta
Giallio Modena

Gridio Ingrid Metallic
Oro Chiaro Metallic
Azzurro Monaco Metallic
Verde Zeltweg Metallic

Argento Metallic
Rosso Fiorano
Grigio Alloy Mica

Also, whats does "Mts" and "Mica" mean (for Rosso Fiorano and Grigio Alloy respectively)?

 

Thanks! I don't have any plans for the 355, but I'm enjoying this 550 so much I could see myself wanting to do more in future. That being said, I do know someone who is thinking about doing the 355, so I'll let him know that you're able to provide some help regarding reference info etc, always a massive help.

If he's interested I'll put you in contact

 

Not sure if anyone is interested but progress of the GTS is coming on nicely, just started doing the million bonnet louvres!

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

Also been continuing progress on the suspension, specifically implementing the damper info from Ferrari;

Image Unavailable, Please Login

Always a pleasure to have this much info available, more than I've had for most projects I've worked on.
Very interesting damping characteristics though; quite low bump (compression) damping, which is often felt as a 'comfortable ride' without any harshness. But the rebound damping is really very high, which helps stop the car returning too quickly and compressing for a second time.

I was sceptical at first, thinking either Ferrari are crazy or I made a serious error in my maths (more likely), but after chatting to people who know a lot more about the subject than myself and trying it ingame, I'm quite satisfied with the result. I just have to tune bumpstops to ensure the car doesn't reach the end of its travel in compression too harshly, as I don't have any data on this.

Quick question; Has anyone got any experience of their 550 (or 575) on track? I ask because I expect the dynamics to feel significantly different on track where you push hard, compared to the road where even when moving briskly, you are really not pushing the car to the limit.
If so I'd love to hear what you think about how the 550 handles - does it feel quite soft, a bit lacking in support? I'd imagine so given its designed to be comfortable at much lower speeds.

 

Oh, one more thing I forgot to ask - Anyone know how toe angle is measured on these cars? The workshop manual gives figures in mm, but where is that measured? I need to translate that into degrees.

If anyone has any alignment setup sheets that show the toe, that would be superb!

 

Couldn't find out how to edit my previous post -

Anyway, Taz here reckons toe should equate to around 1 - 1.5 degs, which seems crazy to me. Never heard of any road car with toe angles that extreme.

This site reckons 0.2 front and 0.22 rear, which seems about right.

http://www.jltechno.com/en/alignment_specs.php?brand=FERRARI&ModelName=550%C2%A0MARANELLO&ModelID=611926

 

Thanks, thats good to know about the difference between the 550 and 575 (as I will likely do both at some point), I probably wouldn't have noticed that myself!

I added it to the GTS, when i go back to working on the Maranello it will be transferred over (it is in this pic but due to the shading its almost impossible to see!)

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Cheers, will check them out!

In other news, progress on the GTS is going well - most of the main areas are modelled both interior and exterior, just tuning into all the small details now! Loads of photos of the progress: https://imgur.com/a/bHTv5

Can't wait to get it finished and move onto the 575

Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That 575 manual I managed to find a few weeks back (following a tip on this website, webarchive!) - not necessarily that good for photo reference but its got some really fantastic details that will help our physics guy - aero, springs/dampers, setups etc. Really good find!