488 Pista Spider stiffness compared with 458 and 488 Spider?

The chassis of the 488 Spider and the Pista Spider are identical, so there shouldn't be any difference regarding structural rigidity.

 

The 488 spider IS essentially the 458 Speciale A from a structural standpoint. For the Speciale A they added a reinforcement that is unseen in the front under the dash for lack of a better description. In the rear they added a brace across the rear chassis that actually has to be removed to change the oil in the Speciale A/488 spider.
I was told this years ago. This is per FOA, my dealer, who a Classiche center that was recently honored with the SpA award for best service in the world. In other words unlikely to be bad info.
Best

 

Yes, that is/was my point: there is really only a marginal, if any, difference between a 458 and a 458 SA/488 spider. Go too Autocar.co.uk and read the June 5th review of the Pista spider. He loves it with some caveats. Those referring to structure/sound.
I believe you saw one of my posts where I talked about the wheel vs structure issue. I almost sold my spider in the first month of ownership because of the wheel not the "structural" issues. (9 year old daughter and my wife thought the car too pretty to sell!)
Suffice it to say I have learned where/how to minimize the issue. Plus, believe it not, there are times that that little bit of wheel "chatter" in certain circumstances is actually not just random movement but actually imparting a little road feel I never felt with my Italia. Still pisses me off though. This is not a track car so ultimate loss in rigidity not an issue to me. Driving pleasure and sense of occasion is all I want from a 3400 (?) lb car. Pista spider should be viewed the same IMO: is the car worth the $ based on pleasure vs frustration it imparts.
EVERY car has a compromise. Meaning to get "this" you give up "that" that another car has. Or something you want that isn't there.
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Compromising the driving dynamics of a hard core driver's car seems silly to me though...

 

Only if the driver is/can/knows how to push it to that point.
If they derive pleasure from the sound, style, sharpened responses of the Pista -or any of Ferrari’s harder core models- then for them a success. Your point is of course correct-at the limit you lose some of the secret sauce in the model we are discussing. Ultimately each driver’s satisfaction with each car remains primary IMO.

 

Owned both and the 458 spider is a lot more wobbly than 488 spider. Night and day actually.

But, 458 is far more engaging with the revs, sounds, throttle...I think 458 is the better experience as a whole. 488 is too mclaren.

 

Some people like to show off, some people like to drive - different solutions for different people

 

Some prefer the relative anonymity of the coupe. Some prefer one last look at the engine bay through the glass bonnet after getting home from work. Others value the visceral experience of open-top motoring. I've valued all 3 at different times.

Sometimes it's different strokes for the same folks

 

I’ve had both the 458 and 488 spiders and the 488 feels more secure on uneven pavement but this may have more to do with the optimization of the suspension settings in the 488. Would be interesting to hear from someone who has also driven the Pista spider


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From experience with both the 458 and 488 Spider, I think Dustman is right. We might not see eye to eye on the turbo vs. NA, but as far as chassis flex goes and chasing the steering column? The 458 Spider and 488 Spider are miles apart.
Where you can even feel the 458 wobble and shake going straight on the motorway at 130 kph, the 488 feels completely solid by comparison.
As has been mentioned in the past by others as well as myself, it is interesting to note that the 458 Spider had to be set up with much softer suspension compared to the Italia, due to the soft chassis. However, thev488 Spider shares the exact same stiff suspension setup of the 488GTB, and the 488 Spider feels as solid as I recall the Italia feeling.

Not sure how people can say they feel alike. The difference is pretty massive.