Taking delivery of a 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB - Some Questions! | FerrariChat
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Taking delivery of a 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB - Some Questions!

Discussion in '458 Italia/488/F8' started by Boogie21, Apr 3, 2025.

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  1. Boogie21

    Boogie21 Rookie

    Mar 17, 2025
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    Sandy S
    #1 Boogie21, Apr 3, 2025
    Ferrari Chat Family,

    I am taking delivery of a 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB with 14k miles tomorrow. I have owned various luxury cars (Porsche, AMG, M over the year) but this is my first Ferrari. PPI was done via an independent shop and came back 98% clean and the dealer is taking care of the small things before delivery. Super excited about this purchase because I also feel like I got a strong deal on the car (well before the market wiped 4% in a day but that is life).

    1. I am going to drive the car stock for a bit to get used to it all and make sure there are no issues. In early summer would like close the wheel gap with Novitec springs and get wider wheels/tires. I am going to go with a 20/21 setup. I have seen some offsets flowing around here but HRE has told me to go less aggressive.

    Option 1 - 20x9 ET30 21x13 ET40 with 245/35/20 and 355/25/21

    Option 2 (HRE suggestion) - 20x9 ET38 21x13 ET 45 with the same tire sizes.

    I usually drive with aggressive offsets but I think for a Ferrari i should play it a bit safer because I do not want rubbing. If anyone has gone down this path, would love your feedback/pics.

    2. I am looking for a used Novitec Exhaust. I will scour the forums for this but was wondering if anyone knew if valved is a must for daily driving. I do take calls in the car from time to time but also have a Ford Raptor for days I have a lot of calls in the car. If you have any input here that would be great and also if anyone has a used Novitec exhaust they are getting rid of when upgrading cars, please let me know.

    3. Service has been completed, PPI clean, turbos are clean, service records are perfect - is it worth to extend the warranty? disclaimer this car will not be tuned, enough power for me and I think my tuning days are over.

    Thank you all for the help and input.
     

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  2. mdrums

    mdrums F1 Rookie

    Jun 11, 2006
    3,197
    Tampa FL
    #2 mdrums, Apr 3, 2025
    Congrats on the car. I had a 488GTB and loved it. Had it 4 years and did HRE wheels with Novitec springs. No issues at all.

    If you are in the USA I suggest getting with a high end performance minded wheel shop. A forum sponsor like @TAGMotorsports has been around a long time with lots of knowledge about set up. Also now that a certain guy at @Wheelb is gone I can recommend them again. I did my HRE wheels back in 2020 with Wheels Boutique.

    Here is a few photos of my 488 on 20" front and rear with a touch of offset with Michelin Sport Cup 2 all dialed in and corner balanced on Novitec springs. FYI Noivitec spring are very high quality as they are actually KW Springs.


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  3. Boogie21

    Boogie21 Rookie

    Mar 17, 2025
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    #3 Boogie21, Apr 3, 2025
    car looks phenomenal. How wide was your rear wheel? 13? Any reasons you skipped the 20/21 setup?

    I am working with a vendor right now but wanted to also get real world user feedback on the offset. I feel like all the diff dealers have different suggestions on that.
     
  4. blkdiablo33

    blkdiablo33 F1 Rookie

    Jul 12, 2004
    4,429
    #4 blkdiablo33, Apr 3, 2025
    Congrats on then488 I had one was a great car and exhaust sounds good,I saw a 488 with bbs wheels and it looked amazing
     
  5. Snewton94024

    Snewton94024 Formula Junior

    Apr 24, 2015
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    Steve Newton
    #5 Snewton94024, Apr 3, 2025
    Congrats! I had a 2017 488 Spider that I loved. Fantastic car.
    I think your plan to drive and wait a bit is a good one. After two or three months I think you will love the car as it sits now and may be tempted to sit tight with it further. I think the car as it rolled from Maranello was one of Ferrari’s major home runs.
     
  6. ktc9

    ktc9 Rookie

    Jun 25, 2022
    23
    #6 ktc9, Apr 4, 2025
    Congrats on your ride!
    This is Ryft R5Y 21/22, stock suspension.
    Absolutely agree w/ @Snewton94024 would see how you like it first. Esp after seeing if your area has bumps/ramps that would not do well lowered.
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  7. mdrums

    mdrums F1 Rookie

    Jun 11, 2006
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    #7 mdrums, Apr 4, 2025
    I did not do 20/21 and 21/22 because I am more about performance 1st and these were sort of going to be track wheels but I never ended up getting back into tracking with the 488. I did take it on some laps at Sebring to feel it out though. Also I personally do not like the big wheel skinny tire look and performance either. I understand the look of the big wheels but my style is all about performance and driving 1st. I like the more muscular look also of the 20" set up. Front was 9x20 and rear was 11x20 with stock 245/305 sizes. I went with a monblock lightweight but strong wheel design, slightly concave and with the Ferrari 5 spoke look.
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  8. Trev450

    Trev450 Formula Junior

    Mar 11, 2024
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    #8 Trev450, Apr 4, 2025
    Congrats on your new ride. Looks great.
     
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  9. hirohawa

    hirohawa Karting
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    Mar 13, 2004
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    #9 hirohawa, Apr 4, 2025
    Beautiful car. Congrats.
     
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  10. 3POINT8

    3POINT8 F1 Veteran
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    #10 3POINT8, Apr 4, 2025
    nice looking ride. enjoy
     
  11. Tweaky

    Tweaky Rookie

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    #11 Tweaky, Apr 5, 2025
    Congrats on the purchase. I have just had Novitek springs and full decat exhaust put on my 488 spider. The exhaust i have is valved so you can make it very quiet if you need to. The springs make the car look great and it feels really planted, but here in the UK our roads are so bad that I am going to have to have it raised up 10mm as I am constantly bottoming out the air ducts underneath the car. Hopefully it will still look good after that is done.
     
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  12. Boogie21

    Boogie21 Rookie

    Mar 17, 2025
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    #12 Boogie21, Apr 5, 2025

    Thanks for the info. I live in Austin, Texas. Where I am the roads are all brand new and there is no snow. I think I am probably going to order the Novitec springs.

    The setup I'm thinking for wheels will be:

    20x9 ET35 21x13 ET45 with 245/35/20 and 355/25/21
     
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  13. skilly

    skilly Karting
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    #13 skilly, Apr 6, 2025
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  14. Boogie21

    Boogie21 Rookie

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    #14 Boogie21, Apr 6, 2025

    What were your wheel specs and tires? And noticeable change in ride quality or performance over stock?
     
  15. skilly

    skilly Karting
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    #15 skilly, Apr 6, 2025
    Funny typo - my springs are Novitech.

    As for the spec, it's the same as what you referred to with your opening post - sourced them from Hector at Wheels Boutique.

    The compliance of the springs is very good. They are definitely better than the stock springs. In mine because of the significant drop I get more road feel, but it's still good. If you want a factory feel, I would do the springs when doing the wheel swap to wash out the lower profile tire by dropping less than mine...
     
  16. Boogie21

    Boogie21 Rookie

    Mar 17, 2025
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    #16 Boogie21, Apr 6, 2025
    Looks stellar. Getting worried about ride quality post comments - you felt like it didn't sacrifice the drive?
     
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  17. skilly

    skilly Karting
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    #17 skilly, Apr 6, 2025
    I would NOT play with ride height and the factory spring. They don't have give if you drop them at all and I suspect the ride quality with a lower profile tire would be compromised without considering the spring upgrade too. Others would have to comment though - I did both at the same time.

    I have driven a 488 with stock wheels and lowered on factory springs and it drove like a pick up truck. It completely ruined the ride and the car had rattles and squeaks as a result.
     
  18. Boogie21

    Boogie21 Rookie

    Mar 17, 2025
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    #18 Boogie21, Apr 6, 2025
    oh yeah 100%, I have the Novitec springs already in my house. Wheels will take 8-10 weeks. I'll drive on stock everything until the wheels come and then do both new setup of wheels plus novitec springs around June time frame.

    Just trying to gauge with folks like yourself with the aftermarket setup if they felt it was worse to drive or it rubbed.
     
  19. lucasines

    lucasines Karting

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    #19 lucasines, Apr 6, 2025
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  20. mdrums

    mdrums F1 Rookie

    Jun 11, 2006
    3,197
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    #20 mdrums, Apr 7, 2025
    My 488 on Novitec springs never rubbed. If you lower correctly and shim camber correctly you will not have issues. The Novi springs are a little stiffer but are progressive springs. I loved the ride, slightly stiffer helped control body roll, not bouncy or jarring. Bumpy road mode still works great too.
     
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