Front Lifter - Get it or skip it?

FWIW my attitude is I would rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

Your buying/spec-ing a $300k new car- who gives a rats ass about $10k. As far as resale I know of people who have decided NOT to buy a pre-owned car because it didn't have the lift system but never heard of anyone not buying a car because it did have it.

I have it on my 458 Spider and my 911 GT3 Touring. I do use it but sometimes forget- never scraped either way because I just go slow and take things at an angle. So no you don't need it but you might get in a weird situation where it would come in handy so why not have it?

Plus the AFS headlights are badass.

If you are used to having and using it on your McLarens then just get it on the 296.

My .02

 

Definitely get it.
I have it on my F8 Spider and use it all the time going in and out of parking decks, driveways, restaurants, etc. Might not need to be using it for all of these, but it sure eases my mind.


Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat

 

And just as a different point of view, only get if if you live in an area where there are steep driveways, speed bumps, etc. Personally, never had it on any of my Ferraris and never missed it. I do live in the flat MidWest, and i'm always careful with driveways and inclines. But do it based on your driving environment and driving patterns, not because someone told you you need it when you might not.

 

I would absolutely order the lifter, I do think it helps with resale. I know in my case I would not buy a car without it ,as my driveway is steep and I would not be able to get the car in my garage. At the end of the day 10K for the option seems perhaps excessive but when you are spending this much money on a car who cares, you just have to rationalize it, after all ,the car is expensive right. I will be ordering it on my GTS for sure.

 

Ferrari price list is full of pills you unfortunately must swallow

Like you I struggled with ticking that box several times, but it’s unfortunately a very important feature. Think about the cost of repair which won’t be covered under insurance and the frustration you will feel every time you hear that scraping..

What color are you getting btw?

 

I have read that Ferrari never puts the lift on its press cars because they do not think it is necessary. That being said, they also know where most of the people are going to take their cars. My salesman suggested it if you have a steep driveway, or go into a lot of parking garages with steep inclines.

 

the price for suspension lifter (ELEV) for 296GTB is 5,737. Not sure why 10K is throwing around.

 

Because you are required to get the adaptive headlight package also.

 

Correct

 

they should just put them together. now my specs just became $3,375 more expensive.

 

Many builds in the USA have them packaged together so once you click lifter option ELEV it automatically ticks the AFS2 option.

 

I added suspension lifter to my first ferrari order (f8s). I will find out if i do not need it soon… will reflect that on my next f-car.

This is like any other life style choices. You will be happy with either choice since human brain is wired to justify our past actions.

 

My 991.2 GT3 absolutely needed a lifter. If I ever forgot to use it, even when I was angling the car into my driveway - scrrrrrape. My 458 Spider had no lifter and, in stark contrast to the GT3, it was never a problem at all! It was honestly no more prone to scraping than my Tesla Model 3 Performance. My dealer told me that this is common of Ferraris. The 296 is a different car, of course, so who knows if that'll hold or not.

Anyone have a side schematic of the 296 to compare against the 458? I can't find one with a Google image search. My gut tells me the 296's front overhang is a little longer, and less upswept, so front clearance may be more of an issue?

That having been said, I'm spec'ing it on mine regardless - mostly for resale (I want the AFS anyhow, so the cost is $5.7k).

 

I found one side "schematic" of the 296 that doesn't look official, but ROUGHLY comparing the 296 (blue color image) to the 458 (line drawing) confirms what my gut was telling me about the longer overhang and lack of an upswept underside of the nose. Scale might not be correct between these two, so take the comparison for what it's worth.

Still, I'm feeling like we can't take for granted that the 296 will be as driveway-friendly as its predecessors, and a lifter seems like it may be a prudent decision...

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I use it often with my cars that have it

 

its an option on the new corvette too. $1500 i think. comes with memory so when you encounter the same obstacle, it automatically lifts.

 

I’m interested in all the support for AFS. What’s it do? I always thought of it as purely something that was legally required in US for the lifter. But is it beneficial in itself?

For what it’s worth, I have a 458 in San Francisco with tons of hills and a driveway where I can easily scrape. I do not have a lifter. I wish I did in my case, and I have ordered it on my 296. BUT I can get by without it just about everywhere. I just pick and choose my hills and zig zag blocks taking things at an angle. I installed a plastic skid plate that has been brushed slightly a couple of times. I’d rather destroy this $1500 plate than my bumper. Just saying if it’s a significant cost burden to you, OR you want the AF pack which doesn’t support it, you’ll probably be just fine for your own use.

The way I interpret the resale argument is that given two cars with and without, most will obviously pick the one with it. I’m not convinced outside of this current funny market that you fully recoup the full $10k, but it can be the difference between someone buying your car vs another and having yours sit much longer on consignment. Easy to see that having it sit for another month or two before selling can easily make up the option cost difference as well in cash flow. Just my $0.02.

 

I would pick it for all the good reasons given above. I also think the AF cars will clearly be lacking it, thus, a non AF car missing the lifter will likely not compare well if the time comes to move along.

 

Another person on this forum has driven the 296 and said this

“Another thing I was able to try, was to see how the car worked when it came to driveways and what we call here speed bumps, raised sections of road designed to apparently calm traffic. I'd say unless one has a very steep driveway the front lift may not be needed at all, the genius here is that the front overhang is very short so grounding is likely to be less of an issue.”

 

On a side note, one of the things I loved about the new lifting mechanism in the 296GTB during my test drive was how quite and smooth it felt while going up and down. I’m comparing to F8 as latest Ferrari in same size - weight category, and the difference is very noticeable. 296 lifter is faster, quieter and the control button is located in a visible higher location.

 

Excellent feedback

 

Does anyone have the options/price list for the 296 GTB?

Can you please post if you have it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/speed-bump-damage.658998/