Getting some real wheels and tires on a 412...

Well it's taken a bit of doing, but I have finally graduated from a set of MINT condition TWENTY FOUR year old TRX tires to some real modern rubber.

As we all know- our beloved 400s and 412s were factory equipped, for the most part, with metric 415 wheels and "state of the art" (for 1975) Michelin TRX tires. The distinctive look of the TRX tires is burned into the brain of every lover of these cars, but the performance characteristics of these tires are so "Jurassic" compared to modern rubber, a few brave souls have dared to lose the Metric wheels.

Now i was forced with a set of options-

1) Simply buy a set of four new TRX tires from Coker, an investment of around $2500, and I'd have decent performance, the great vintage-correct look, and get my car back to a reasonably good riding and handling car- you see, after 24 years (Yes my tires were the original 1987 factory tires on an 88 412) TRXs become rock hard, handling is slippery at best and the ride becomes hard and jittery.

2) Get somebody like Compomotive to make me a set of wheels with the correct backspacing to handle the ABS brakes of the 412- then put some good rubber on them.

3) Find a set of Ferrari factory wheels that will fit the car- like from a Testarossa or a 456 or 550??

Money was not important- I was going to be in for several thou no matter what. The general consensus here was that Testarossa FRONT wheels fit all four corners- they are 8Jx16- and would allow me to put some good rubber on the car, but of course good luck finding FOUR 1986 TR front wheels in good enough shape to do any thing with.

Compomotive would make me the wheels, but none of their wheels look "right" on the car, in my opinion.

Just to get the ball rolling I found a single Tr front wheel- bought it on ebay and did a test fit on the car- Fit like a glove! Then as luck would have it I found a pair at Ferrparts.com,,, OK three wheels in hand, only need one more. A few days later one more pops up on ebay- deal done... I've got a matched set.

I send all four off to be trued, blasted and resprayed. On my car the metric wheels were sprayed to match the car- it looks awesome and i wanted to retain that look- so four Argento Nurburgring wheels it is.

After a week they're done and look amazing... I go back and forth with my tire pro and we settle on 225/60 16 Goodyear Eagle GTs. I've run these on a few cars and they seemed tailor made for a big powerful GT like the 412, and with tape measure in hand- they matched the Metric TRX's almost exactly in treat width and diameter.

Couple of days later I go to pick up the four mounted tires and DISASTER- One of the wheels was somehow damaged at the tire shop- and now it is OVAL.... Not sure who did what, but off the Rimpro in Tewksbury MA- these guys can usually fix almost anything. When I arrive the tech takes one look at my wheel and seems doubtful that they can straighten a 26 year old Magnesium Wheel with a big flat spot- but I sign the waiver and we cross our fingers. Luckily once again they saved my bacon- and the wheel is perfect.

All four mounted the look is pretty good- I'm so used to the TRXs that the Goodyears in this tall a profile look a bit off, but not horrible. The fact that I have four wheels that say "Ferrari" on them is a major plus, and the wheels look really correct on the car.

So now we've got all four on the car- let's take a test drive. Now I have to say, my 412 with the old TRX's was pretty good, but I never liked to push it into a corner cause you could feel the car slipping, and the ride was a bit harsh. I was not sure if the harshness and "Choppy" quality was due to the tires or the suspension. My brain told me it was the tires but my deep inner "Ferrari Pessimist" feared many thousands of dollars of suspension work. So off we go to see how the new rubber works... WOW what a difference- night and Day is pretty accurate- it's a completely different car. Ride is buttery soft, handling is tight and grippy and fingertip accurate. You can throw this car into highway off ramps at 85 MPH and the car does not step out of line not even a bit... While it's not quite the canyon carver my 355 is- it's no slouch. Body roll is fairly low for such a long upright car, and you feel that you really can chuck the car into corners now- it's amazing.

Most impressive is the complete removal of road noise- TRX's with their big blocky footprint make a fairly serious thrumming on even glass-smooth asphalt- on hard surfaces like concrete it can get quite loud- but the Goodyears are SILENT. The most amazing transformation is in the wet- I drove through a brief shower and the car is unchanged in the wet- quiet, elegant and grips like hell.

So it ain't cheap- but converting to a good modern compound will wring performance out of your car that you never knew was in there. I have a set of BRAND NEW TRX's on my 400i so I'm not really in a position to do anything there- but I wonder how much better the car could be if I got rid of the TRX on that car as well?
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Well now I am PARTLY an 86 TR... But I've got the good folks at NADA adding our cars to the 88 and 89 model years- so all should be settled in January or thereabouts.

Honestly the 400i with TRX's is just brilliant- so i can't say there's that much difference in general driveability- But the Goodyears are far, far stickier- You can feel it when you hit big long sweeping curves- the TRX's have that little bit of nervous feeling and the car tends to understeer like crazy- with the Eagles you just stick and the car digs in- zero understeer with just the right amount of tire squeal.

Highway noise is certainly remarkably less with the Goodyears- Though the 412 in general is much quieter so i don't have a great frame of reference. The biggest difference is in the wet- no comparison.

I'm really not unhappy with the TRX tires on the 400i- i drove them back to back and can't say that i was unhappy with the road feel of the 400i... and of course with it's fresh new marker lights it looks the business!
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Peter-

I did have the car aligned after installing the tires- I drove the 12 miles to the shop and back- honestly I could feel ZERO difference in the handling. I can't imagine it could be much better than it is now- it really feels brand new and everything- power, comfort, ride harshness, road feel and handling are superb. My only issue is I'm sure that dark window tint is illegal here- so I'm waiting for my first ticket- I dig it though- makes the car look quite mean!

 

Oh I forgot to add- THANKS... if it wasn't for your recommendation I never would have even thought about TR front wheels!

 

OK Aidan- Write me a note that I can show to the officer who notices I have no front license plate, no side markers and Snoop Dogg's tinted windows!!

Actually- cops are afraid of Ferraris.... I always get pulled over in the Porsches- never in the Fcars.

 

Thanks for the uninvited opinion. You've been a font of wisdom ever since I started visiting this forum.

It's a CAR- not a museum piece... I'm gonna drive the wheels off of it. Luckily it belongs to ME, not you.

 

Here's the protocol...shocking that I have to explain this to a grown man.

If someone comes on a forum and asks, "Hey guys- What do you think of my new wheels?"... express your opinion- but don't do it in such a desultory manner.

When someone comes on to provide valuable real-world information- DO NOT pipe in with your halfassed ill-informed opinions-

You've now insulted me twice on this forum- and where I live- men like to settle their differences face to face- not on an internet forum.

I purchased my 412 with the wheels sprayed to the body color- and the car was ordered from the factory with the wheels matched to the car- I have paperwork from the early 90's showing a work order to paint the spare to "Match the OEM color of the four main wheels"- You could order a 412 with practically any level of customization in the 80s- You yourself commented upon viewing the images with the color-matched wheels upon my purchase of the vehicle-

"Jings that looks imaculate. Congratulations. I really like the colour combo too.
Regards
Alastair "

So now "the 412 now looks like a Nissan GTR pimp mobile" with Testarossa OEM wheels matched to the original FACTORY FINISH?? I VASTLY prefer the look of the 412- as do all who view the two cars together in person... (I know you're quite an expert at viewing internet pictures however) but value both cars almost equally.

The 400/412 section is a lonely place- there are not many of us here and not much activity- since I own two and am knee deep in both of them- I am intending to share my experiences with the forum- to help the next guy who comes on and is looking for this kind of info.

 

I honestly feel you're embarrassing yourself here.

Take a look through Fchat- Go into EACH AND EVERY forum and start looking at threads- go back a few years- go back to 2004 if you wish.

Find me ONE SINGLE instructional thread where someone is sharing real world knowledge with the forum- not asking for opinions or showing off his new $300K ride- but relaying a real world opinion- and find me ONE SINGLE jackass like yourself who has insulted the poster or his vehicle. find me ONE.

It does not happen because this is a place filled with nice, generous folks- folks who gladly share their experiences and opinions with each other. Not folks who attack each other, not folks who make ill-informed derogatory comments with no provocation. It's not done.

Your comments have nothing to do with the wheels on my car- because in earlier posts you piped in with kudos- I guess you're just ******.

By posting these kinds of unprovoked comments- you will force other owners into rethinking sharing their experiences with the forum- lest the great Alastair condemn them for installing a non-original sunvisor clip or, god forbid- a set of Scuderia Shields!! Oh the Humanity!

 

Max-

I wound up with four wheels for right around $2100. I spent another $700 to true them and soda blast them and have them resprayed to match the OEM wheels- Tires were $400 with an $80 rebate!! (Take THAT TRX!!)

I'm into it for about $3200 total- so definitely NOT the way to go if you want to save the price of a single set of TRX. I could have gone with Compomotives and they would have run approx $1600 for a set of four machined to fit the car exactly- but I did not care for that look.

As expensive as it was- I don't think you could find four good quality TR fronts for any less.

Peter-

Well- Thanks to you I have the best handling 412 on the planet! Every country has one really good wheel specialist- My guys- www.rimpro.com can do anything- They did some old Alfa wheels for me that were junk and they came back looking better than new. They did work miracles on these somewhat worn TR wheels- But the best part of having a wheels specialist true the wheels is that the car now goes down the road like it's cushioned by air- Highway road noise and steering wheel wobble is basically non existent - It's really almost Jaguar S-type peace and serenity- and of course put your foot down and you get that 12 Cylinder BWAAAAAAAAAH that just ROCKETS you past traffic. Before you know it you're at 120 MPH and those cars on the horizon are coming up FAST.

Went out to Dinner with the 412 last night and coming out of the restaurant at night with the car lit by a couple of streetlights- WOW it just looked spectacular! Stuck under my windshield was a traffic Ticket... I thought Damnit, This is legal parking. I opened it up and it was a Dry Cleaners receipt with a scrawled- "NICE CAR!" written in pencil. Sweet!

 

Yeah thanks- I still think this design looks fantastic- I don't think there's a bad angle on a 412....
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