458 Spider vibration issue (Part II)

Well that's the nature of the 458. It wobbles and shakes its way down the road. The flex in the 458 Spider is BAD, there's no way around it. The 488 can still flex, but it is much improved over the 458.

I know some reviews stated that the Spider and Italia were almost the same, but they were LYING!

The only way to get it a bit better and keep the engine, is to get a 458 SA. It is not as stiff as a 488 Spider, but much improved.

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Mine only shakes top down on bumpy roads. Driving on a smooth surface at all speeds, and whether twisty or straight makes no difference. Even under spirited driving. Cowl shake is limited to high frequency inputs (bumps).

Get your alignment checked. Could be a problem that is more noticeable with top down. Also check your engine and transmission mounts and drive train components. I’ll bet that’s where the issue lies.

Comments about less shake in the 488 are anecdotal and not supported by fact. That is, still an aluminum tub with near identical suspension components.

 

Not supported by fact. Lol.
Have you driven a 488 Spider? The difference is significant to say the least.

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Fact would be tangible modification made to the chassis, frame or body - either in design, materials or reinforcement.

I’m not aware of any. I’m happy to be proven wrong as I’ve never had a 488.

 

i have had many 911 convertibles and other convertibles - i too bought a 458 last fall (covid present) - this is a 2015 - 5k miles. I drive open top most times living in so cal but when i put my top on on uneven roads the closure makes a loud click cause the frame is flexed - on flat surface it doesnt.

Jay leno said when he drives over his driveway curve in the mclaren spider he notice one of the wheels actually is elevated cause the frame is so rigid. my f car is the opposite of this. having said this....I DONT CARE - i love my fcar! creeky and flexing and all. i have my 911 gt3 touring for precision.

 

The first improvement was made to the 458 SA. That consisted of a bracing structure in the rear wall. This helped a bit.
Then with the 488, it was revised with the front towers, the front firewall, the rear wall and rear frame structure.

But again, have you driven a 488 Spider?

 

No I haven’t (when I stated 488 above I meant the Spider). I’ve demo’d the F8 Spider and have one on order. Didn’t get a real opportunity to see how it stacks up to the 458, but that’ll come soon enough.

Thanks for the info - I don’t recall reading about these improvements and whether further refinements were made to the F8.

All other things being equal, in FL I’d always take a Spider over a coupe - except the inbound STO, which I’m hoping to track.

 

That’s because your roof tolerances are a bit too tight.

There are micro switches up in the closing mechanism which are adjustable and will prevent the cracking (mine had that problem when opening). Don’t try it yourself unless you know what you’re doing. My man Bruce at Maranello Autosport took great care of me.

 

When you get your F8, you will see a very significant difference. It's slightly better than the 488 still. You will enjoy it a lot, so good things to look forward to,

I'm very much a drop top guy myself, and on the F8 Spider bandwagon as well. A great car for sure.

When are you expecting yours to be delivered?

 

Best guess is late this year. I’ve been telling folks it’ll arrive the same day as the SYO, I just know it. Gonna be like buying a house that day, lol…….

 

I had 2 coupes and 2 spiders and 488 spider, the latter was a huge improvement in rigidity.

The 458 spider had very, very bad flex. Enough that I got rid of them twice, despite loving the sounds and open top experience.

Top up was certainly better but still noticeable shimmy thru the wheel.

 

It’s bad… one of the reasons for me to sell mine. On the market for a F8 Spider.

 

I've been following this thread and I don't get it. My 2013 spider doesn't vibrate or shake with top down. Driving on a busy, rough interstate at 70mph. ... it's solid. Over bumps, no shakes or rattles. Maybe I just got a good one.

 

Same here: never at all felt this dramatic flexing, shaking or vibrations on my 2014 Spider.
I can understand the feeling of flexing may depend on how hard one drives, how feeling one is, and mostly is relative to other cars one has driven, but vibrations... there must be something obvious wrong there. Very hard to put vibrations in relation with the open chassis construction of a convertible car, and never heard of.
My opinion, as usual.

 

Well if you drive slow it’s awful but it you drive fast you barely notice it, so drive fast.

 

You should definitely get it aligned. Ferraris are notoriously poorly aligned from the factory, and over time they get knocked out of alignment. Any shop with a Hunter alignment table can do it, and the 458, 488 and F8 are super easy to adjust. Nothing needs to be removed or taken apart. The adjustment points are accessible from underneath withoutvremoving any covers or the like. Let me know if you want the alignment specs.

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My 458 (coupe) had some vibration around 65 MPH when I first bought it. I ended up doing a static balance on the wheels and also lowering the front of the car 15mm. The transformation was amazing. I think lowering the car helped the aerodynamics and perhaps helped to prevent as much air getting under the car at speed. The static balance on the wheels definitely smoothed things up and helped to eliminate 90% of the vibration around 65 MPH.

Keep in mind that those tire balancing machines usually are only within an ounce or so, while with a static balance you can get to within 2-3 grams typically. I'd also check your tire pressures and maybe play around with the pressure. That can sometimes have quite an impact on things as well. What pressures are you running currently?

Ray

 

I had one 458s that was fine, and one that had the same vibrations at speed as you noted. They checked everything, was just the car and couldn’t be sorted. Didnt last in my stable very long. None of my coupes had that issue. The 488s was solid. I haven’t been in the F8s.

 

Have you checked to see if any of the wheels are out of round - using a dial indicator - when mounted on the car itself? This can sometimes disclose issues which are causing the wheels to not sit flush and can cause the wheels to be every so slightly out of plane with regard to the axle/hub plane.

Usually a good static balance to a couple grams will help.

I'd also do the normal wheel bearing checks at all four corners.

Ray

 

People that went from 458 spider to F8 spider please chime in. How is the vibration? Something like 50% less? More less? And no shaking in the steering wheel?
Thanks guys!

 

Hard to put into a percentage. It's a big difference, very big. The only thing I have noticed was once going over a very steep and odd kerb at an angle which really twisted the car. There was a bit of a squeak from the roof as it was up. When you drive an F8 or 488 for that matter you don't get the shakes and wobbles of the 458, they are totally different. IF you want to put it into a percentage, I'd say over 80% of the wobbles and shakes are gone compared to the 458, the difference is that big.