Lowered 458 rides so rough! Should I change to Novitec Sport Springs?

Novitec's rock! Do it.

 

if you drive the car alot id take it back to stock height, thats what i did on my 458. otherwise yes go aftermarket. aske caeruleus he has alot of experience with lowering the 458. actually last week we went for a ride and he said he was thinking about going back to stock after looking at my car and his side by side.

 

I suspect if the dealer used the stock springs thay actually back off the preload to lower the car. That reduces the bump travel quite a bit. So, what you are probably feeling is the harshness associated with bottoming the shocks against the rubber bumpers even over very small bumps. What you need is stiffer springs which will resist bottoming better given the same reduced travel. Or go back to stock.

 

My Italia has been lowered about 1" by just turning the spring perches. With just that being done, and all OE suspension remaining, I notice no reduction in ride quality. So perhaps something else is wrong with yours.....

 

I agree fully ... maybe there is something els wrong here ....

What was done on our 458: lowered it 2 centimeters down ... and of course alignment. Used 4 x extra washers (#10).

Best way to (simply) lower a car imo. And easy to go back on it without any difficult changes. All is still oem ...
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A stock height anything does not look as good as a lowered car. I also lowered my spider with stock components and when I drive my buddy's 458 with Novitec springs it seems his ride is just a bit better than mine. Mine feels a bit stiffer. I couldn't go as low as I wanted due to my lift system but went low enough to make it look good. If you do not have the lifting system then you prob went lower than me and your ride is a bit stiffer as well. Based on how I feel my buddy's 458 I would go with Novitec springs to get low and have a smooth ride. Hope this helps. The washer idea is very interesting and first I hear of it.


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Same here. Lowered on OEM suspension. ZERO ride quality issues.

 

Stock springs lowered on the factory coil-overs *should* ride better than aftermarket lowering springs placed in the stock coil-over perch locations, unless you've simply had it lowered to much and it's hitting the bump stops like maxvonauto said.

My Speciale is on Novitec's, it rides great, but the previous owner had them installed. If it were me, I'd have lowered it on the stock springs.
Got a pic?

 

Just a word of caution when lowering cars. Yes, it looks cool. If that's all you are after then lower away! However, even after an alignment where proper care is done to adjust the camber, caster and toe back to spec you can never regain the same scrub, bump steer or roll center characteristics of a stock car. In addition, the probability of bottoming the suspension either during bump or roll (or combo) is much higher. What does this mean? The car will not handle as designed. In some extreme cases you might experience snap oversteer (spin out) if the outside rear wheel suddenly bottoms during a fast turn. Not fun.

 

Yes there is simply no free lunch. When you make a change to one side of the equation, something else is going to also change.

My experience is if lowering on stock springs you really should only do it minimally. Others will say you can go an inch, but I would try to keep it to 10mm max (a little more than ⅓"). I doubt with this change you would feel much difference but it can make the car look a bit better without having to resort to other things as mentioned below. Even here I would align the car- frankly- you should have a new Ferrari aligned because it always slips out when shipping.

If you want to really lower the car then you have to look at an after market choice like Novitec. I think they do a good job of testing and developing their products. And NR does make an aftermarket lifter that you could use.

I also think the NR springs are progressive rate vs the constant rate of the factory springs. This tends to give you a more comfortable straight ahead ride and then a bit more stiffening as you load the spring. But you can't make crazy changes because you are using the stock dampers. I think they might make dampers also but the full suspension is very expensive.

Aesthetically one of the things that will occur when you lower the car is you will see the wheels will look too far inboard. That will lead you to look to spacers- or to different wheels. I like the look of the factory wheels the best.

Its another thing to consider and it often comes down to personal preference.

Ive had my 458 with NR springs and 15mm spacers and I have the ride height as high as NR will allow. It looks better than the stock setup. I was wondering if the wheels looked a little bit too far out, but compared to ttforcefed's - they look very similar at the front and I like the look better at the rear. I love how my car drives though. And it feels like it was designed to work with the factory dampening- because it was.

But there is no doubt that I might not have to be quite so sensitive to road elevation changes etc if I were to put it back to factory and I am thinking about doing it. I don't scrub the bottom often at all, but I am very aware the car is lower and I think the factory has figured out the exact right everything. I do agree in the end most of this is about looks.

To come back to your situation, I would have them put it back to factory specs and live with it for a while and see what you think. Then go step by step to see what works for you. If you don't like it, try to imagine the car like 10 or even 15mm lower on the factory springs and if you think that would be good enough, I would leave it there. Otherwise the aftermarket beckons!

 

Agreed! Do it!!

 

Agree 100% ^^^someone who knows what they are talking about.

You can do anything to your car. Heck you can add race seats and a racing harness like Carlo and then since you have no hans device and your shoulders are pinned back you have a much greater increase in snapping your neck if you get in an accident. Same with lowering your car. You can do it to look cool but your ride and handling will suffer unless you do it right.

To do it right you need the correct shorter springs and then you need much more than an alignment you need to change the camber, caster, toe, rebound, compression, and have someone who knows what they are doing to get the geometry of the suspension corrected. Once you lower the car it throws off all those other factors which dramatically affect the way the car grips the road. It is the number one thing a race team will focus on to get a car fast-- suspension set-up and the entire suspension set-up has to all be re-adjusted with any ride height change.

If you just lower your springs by compressing the perch settings you are dramatically reducing the handling of your car because the set-up will be all off and much worse than stock. If you are just a Sunset Strip cruiser who wants to look good and rev your engine and dont take your car to the limit it doesnt matter.

 

I tend to agree with the above but I take issue with the word "dramatically". It really depends. Yes, you should do this with the help of someone who really knows suspensions. I did. I'm happy.

 

I agree with you.

I used the word dramatically in reference to someone who takes their car to the limit. For regular driving it wont be dramatically different. Note: even if you dont take your car to the limit, there may be a time (evasive action) where you need everything the car is capable of and if you dont readjust all those other settings you wont have the grip that the car should have.

 

I'm getting Novitech springs and spacers on my 13 spider. To me the car sits way too high. Hell, my workhorse, 2012 Audi A6 prestige Sport sits lower than the Ferrari.

 

I agree with both of you. It sits too high and if you are going to make changes you have to respect what I said above- theres no free lunch. So you have to work with someone who really understands and respects suspension setup.

 

+1000000

Yeah, because the factory has no idea what they are doing...so they mistakenly left the car too high. Your local shop, of course, knows much more about the car than then engineers who designed it.....

Because, you know, its not like Ferrari knows anything about suspension geometry...

 

.... Uuummm, after watching the F1 race today, I think this statement holds more truth than you originally intended it to...

 

Actually, its not second guessing the factory's knowledge. It's that the factory has a wider remit than what one individual might like. Why is the standard 458 set so high on its suspension. Answer- its practicality concerns. I spent part of the day looking at all kinds of cars and I looked at a bone stock 458 Italia- such beautiful car- but my goodness- the front end sits pretty high.

You can look at this as the factory is just perfect and don't mess with success. Or you can look at it as the factory is giving you a starting point.

 

Completely agree. They need to build a car that suits a very wide range of customer usage and applications - including people who regularly drive over speed bumps, for example. With my car being approximately 1" lower than stock, there are many speed bumps I don't dare try to cross - even with the front skid plate installed. Some would also scrape by rocker panels.

 

To each his own does apply to stock vs. after market modifications. Many on this forum prefer authentic, unmodified Ferrari vehicles. I selected to modify my 2013 458 Spider with, among other things, Novitec Rosso Sport Spring Set adjusted to a high setting to compensate for road quality (potholes) but suspension is still lower than stock. Front lift is helpful dealing with steep driveways, parking lot entrances, speed bumps, etc. Along with installing HRE P101s (255/30/21 fronts, 335/25/22 rears), ride height and gap are resolved with no sacrifice to ride quality. Looks good, rides good and Novitec & HRE provide high quality & precision products.

 

That's exactly what it is imo