[johns930]

my scud, 2 years and 5,500 bat out of hell miles later.........
im happy to report its still here !
apart from an oil change and some expensive corsas the scud didnt require any extra service.
it did fail to start once when i left it playing the 458 for 2 months, but nothing that got me stranded.
i start to develop a loose steering column thing that some has talked about here, but havnt went back to tighten it.

It was the BEST handling and most fun car i have to attack my favorite mountain roads BEFORE my 458 arrived.
90% of my driving is all out without ending up in the ditch style. i dont commute or go eat in this thing and no track where i live, so.

After, the 458 arrived initially, i still think the scud is more appealing, the sound, the raw feel of the steering, the boy racer cabin atmosphere, all that carbon fiber, the imperfections of a ferrari....
but as i learned to really kick the 458 after break-in, i found the 458 to be better at charging the mountains. the faster i go the better and amazed i become.... scud starts to stay home more, and eventually i treat it as a garage queen.

some say the scud might be faster on the track,.... i dont know.
i know its slower, trickier, and harder on my a$$ and front bottoming out suspension makes it more cautious on my "track". While my 458 can just go and go and go, theres no hairpin too tight or corners too deep for the 458. The 458 is my battle ride, and i baby the scud now.
but the 458 isnt as reliable as the scud, but thats for my 458 short story later.

forgot to mention the biggest annoyance of the scud is the front shocks rattle or noise.
it even happens on perfectly paved glass smooth surfaces!
dealer tried to fix mine by changing the shock bushings, hats, and eventually the shock itself but the rattle comes back in a month. Most scud owners have this issue, but if u dont have it, u never will. Some of us local scud owners have gone back to fix this annoying rattle 10 times!!
dealer thinks all 430s have this issue, but they dont hear it because 430s have carpets and sound proofing which we dont.

i will never buy a scud/CS version anything after my scud and 458 experience.
Enzo got it right the first time, he said hes favorite ferrari is always the next one, which makes perfect sense and its in fact true when it comes to fcars and the latest technology.
theres enough discussion and argument on which is better, but please spare me out of it and my post, and just enjoy my scud pics when its all new :

my scud..... - Rennlist Discussion Forums


my 458, almost ONE year and 4,200 miles later..........
95% of my driving in the 458 are banzai apexing, braking, and fast hard miles. i dont go to the stores but its never been to a track either, but i would agree my weekly hill climbs are almost track like.
my 458 is the best handling fcar in endless tight or fast hairpins driving, bar none. actually its the best and most rewarding ever! when it starts to feel boring, i go faster,..... problem solved!!
because of the compliant suspension and all the electronic wizardry i can do anything to it and it would be fine (fingers crossed) leaving me feeling like superman.

But maybe because my 458 is a 1st production year model, it has problems...
1st, theres the battery circuit board fuse, which left me stranded. I was lucky that it failed parking in my garage, imagine if i was in the middle of no where!! seeing a new car towed and out of service for a week wasnt fun.

Then my transmission lost reverse, 2nd, and 6th gears on 2 occasions in the last 2 months. One of which when i was backing into a space but cant find reverse, extremely freaked out if i cant get outta there. Both times the transmission fixed itself after it was parked for 5 to 10 minutes after restarting. Not fun. I still have yet to go in and do a detailed check, but some say they experienced this and replaced transmissions but i hope mine problems arent that extreme.

Windshield fluid gets doused all over the hood during fast cornering and there is a plastic filter on top of the reservior, dealer cant just suck the solution out. So for the first few months i had to live with soapy water across the hood on my drives till the washer fluid finally ran low enough not to spill out. Now i have to tell dealer NOT to add that which is an annoyance really.

One of my Exhaust valves stuck open, so its always LOUD. this is an equivalent to the "golf tee" mod people do to their valves. I hated it at first, but now have grown to love it. But i do notice that i lost some "pick up and go" from standing starts. Dealer however was great in getting me a new exhaust in couple weeks, but now im just postponing the change because i like the obtrusive noise.

Center vents has developed a buzz humming noise when cruising with throttle input, its not that annoying or loud but its a sign that fcars still can get rattley down the road but it fairs much better than my 430s so far.

Throttle response is twichy like most have observed, but i dont drive slow enough to experience much of that. Just keep it floored and no problems.

and after visiting the factory this year, i learn to ease off the options on the next one. because overpaying for their logistics doesnt seem right, but then again i will make sure my next will be extravagant......., which means more options, .......sigh............

I cant possibly imagine the awesomeness of the 2012 458 and spiders with the improved ECU mapping for throttle and suspenion settings, it will keep mclaren and GT whatevers at bay for quite some time. because my ***** really feels perfect when attacking any mountain.

heres some pictures of the mighty 458, mine is the white one :

matt 458 - Rennlist Discussion Forums

[a1exander]

Thank you for an honest write up.

Explaining the Scuds behaviour I almost felt as though I was sitting next to you on one of your Banzai runs.
Drive them in good health and like they are stolen

[JazzyO]

Very interesting read. It's strange that these little problems seem to crop up with the 458 - windwasher fluid - really? Don't the Ferrari test drivers corner hard enough???

Personally, I'm happy that my 458 is going to be another 6 months away. They have put in various improvements over time, and I'm hoping for more of these niggles to be sorted. Thankfully, though, the problems seem mostly small irritating things rather than showstoppers.

As for options - I think you should only buy a new Ferrari if you're really in love with the model, and if you do, then you should try and make the car exactly the way you want it.

I'm not one of these guys that has to have the latest model and then flips it on. If that is your philosophy (nothing wrong with that), then I agree that keeping the option list short makes sense.


Onno

[bretm]

Great write up, indeed. It's cool to read as lately I seem to think more and more about which one I would buy if/when I have the means - Scud or 458.

I really love the 458, but per the post(s) above, there seem to be quite a few nagging issues with it so far. Electrical failures, transmission failures and faults, etc. It's odd in light of how far Ferrari has come in the past 5-10 years. The Scud, on the other hand, seems to be pretty bullet proof by most accounts.

Something to think about as either one would be a used purchase in my case down the road... We'll see. Thanks for the post!

[360 Modena]

great post, thanks for sharing.

Have you considered painting the wheels white?

I think it would look (more) spectacular if the car was monochromatic

[StefVan]

Excellent write-up! I know what you mean with mountains roads. I live very close to them and it is my favorite track. Some of these roads are really tricky and need a lot of attention and not too much optimism as the ravines are never very far. Some climbs really get the engine hot but I keep it always in Race mode to avoid overheating the E-Diff.

Sorry to hear that you have to go through all these frustrating issues with your new 458. I hope the headers at least will not be an issue again on the 458 but I start hearing already of some cases. As all previous models, it looks like the 458 has also to go through it's issues before it becomes a reliable car. It's really the owners who test out these first delivered 458's and not Ferrari. You should be paid for that

[brettgagnon]

Nice honest write ups, thank you for sharing

[tazandjan]

John- Great write-ups and, as you discovered, early owners do the OT&E for Ferrari. That wiper fluid problem sounds like it is ready made for a Rube Goldberg solution. Should be easy to fix.

[Barry]

Great write up on 2 magnificent Ferrari's. Thanks for sharing...

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by a1exander

Thank you for an honest write up.

Explaining the Scuds behaviour I almost felt as though I was sitting next to you on one of your Banzai runs.
Drive them in good health and like they are stolen

+1, these sorts of owners reports are invaluable.

Many thanks.

[Boxer]

Very much liked the pictures. Where were they taken?

[johns930]

no brainer, mine scud is made after a 4 year 430 design and my 458 is at its first. which do u think has more issues.

my 05' 430 has interior material and leather issues that my 07' 430 doesnt.
my 612OTO was basically a last year production model before the FF and it has ONE power seat issue, but i still love it. Problems is an annoyance yes, but definitely not a deal breaker for my ferraris.

u can always buy the last model year if u dont like problems.
but im a mofo who loves to be first not last, and i have to say the price to pay is not that bad. im not that busy to a point that i cant go to the dealer for a problem, i actually enjoy going there and get free pana aquas. thats the least they can do for me, since fcar dealers dont service their customers anyway.

Originally Posted by bretm

..... The Scud, on the other hand, seems to be pretty bullet proof by most accounts.

[johns930]

Mr. Chang, my pro photographer who can make outings into mini shoots in 10 seconds took them.
Taiwan baby!

Originally Posted by Boxer

Very much liked the pictures. Where were they taken?

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by johns930

Mr. Chang, my pro photographer who can make outings into mini shoots in 10 seconds took them.
Taiwan baby!

I thought I recognized the tower in the background. Isn't it still the worlds tallest building.

[johns930]

i think it still is. but some from shanghai and abu dhabi are under construction and might be taller later.
its really not a big deal here, i live in front of it and really dont know why other countries need to build these things. It takes u a good 15 minutes from the lobby to ur office.

Originally Posted by Boxer

I thought I recognized the tower in the background. Isn't it still the worlds tallest building.

[Boxer]

What is the attitude towards Ferraris in Taiwan? Given the hilly terrain, I would imagine you have plenty of great roads for long weekend drives.

[johns930]

lived in the states most of my life and organized drives in ortega, angeles crest, and palomar for years, i have to say taiwan drives are much better and exciting.
It might not have the grand scenery but it wins in the tight twisty stuff and the lack of po-po problems hands down.
u dont wanna leave ur fcar unattended, afterall there are way too many scooters around, otherwise its great and better than owning one in the states. that said, its much more dangerous driving around due to traffic and lack of respect for other road users.

we do this all weekend long :

weekend drive pictures..... - Rennlist Discussion Forums

Originally Posted by Boxer

What is the attitude towards Ferraris in Taiwan? Given the hilly terrain, I would imagine you have plenty of great roads for long weekend drives.

[Boxer]

Originally Posted by johns930

lived in the states most of my life and organized drives in ortega, angeles crest, and palomar for years, i have to say taiwan drives are much better and exciting.
It might not have the grand scenery but it wins in the tight twisty stuff and the lack of po-po problems hands down.
u dont wanna leave ur fcar unattended, afterall there are way too many scooters around, otherwise its great and better than owning one in the states. that said, its much more dangerous driving around due to traffic and lack of respect for other road users.

we do this all weekend long :

weekend drive pictures..... - Rennlist Discussion Forums

Sounds a lot like the situation and drives we used to do down in Portugal.

Some great twisty roads up though the hills.