[KonaDog06]

FHP (Fiorano Handling Package)
This is just one persons impression, hopefully helpful in some way. For perspective, I have had performance cars most my life, don't track cars, enjoy sport oriented driving but don't push them real hard. Previous car, a 2006 Corvette Z06 that road firm. In my opinion the standard 575 rides too soft. The sport button is never turned off on the 575.

Finding a 575 in the used car market these days can be a challenge when looking for the combination you prefer. Locating the color combination, overall condition, maintenance history, and options you'd like is just short of impossible with so few cars available. Did my first ppi 03/2008 and finally purchased a car in 11/2010 when I finally realized life may not be long enough to find the perfect car.
A FHP or HGTC car was my goal but only in the right colors. Settled on a car (2002) that had everything short of model year and FHP. Model year is mentioned as some of the upgrades noted here are found on later cars.

Taz had provided advice that to improve the cars handling you could easily add a rear sway bar, FHP @ 21mm or HGTC @19.5mm, and the FHP shock and steering ecu's as you preferred. The last piece and the more expensive would be the FHP or HGTC springs. Did these upgrades and thought I'd comment.

The complaint by some with the 575 is that it tends to porpoise along between shifts, with aggressive acceleration and with hard braking. First upgrade was the steering and shock ecu, a relatively easy plug and play. It mellowed out the front end lifting and diving to some degree. The car now felt very good in the corners (normal driving) but still a had a soft ride while cruising along on straight roads. The HGTC sway bar was added only as the FHP bar was no longer available. Again nice in the corners, not much changing in a straight line. This install is fairly easy too and takes just slightly more time to install than it does to put your car up on stands in your garage.
Finally made the decision to complete the package and add the FHP springs. This last improvement was subtle, further firming the cars ride up just enough to make me happy. The porpoise effect is further muted, it gives you a feeling of a little more confidence if that makes any sense. The FHP springs also lower the car just slightly which improves the look IMO. The spring install is a little more complicated and was done by a Ferrari tech, taking about 8 hours.
From a reward for your dollar invested, the single largest improvement comes from the FHP shock ecu.
The p/n's used per Taz were, 201674 shock ecu, 175891 FHP steering ecu, and stabilizer bar 210888 (with respective bar buffers/bushings). FHP springs p/n front 175886, rear 175887.
Thanks to Taz for his advice.
Bill
FL

[tazandjan]

Bill- Great post and glad it made your car more enjoyable.

I still have not figured out why my replacement shock ECU, 197211/201674, was marked FHP, because it definitely was not fitted to original LHD FHP cars. Early FHP cars were fitted with the dreaded 183960, and mine was originally fitted with 201673, but 201674 definitely improved handling on my car and probably made a huge difference when you replaced your 183960 ECU.

Funny that a RHD only shock ECU works great on LHD cars, but that is part of the Ferrari mystery. Why were there separate LHD and RHD shock ECUs when either works great on both types? Who knows? At least we know they do work, though, through trial and error.

That reminds me, I need to pick up some 21 mm bushings before they run out like the anti-roll bars did.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[Granucci]

That is a great post.

What I read is mods made "improvement" but would like it a bit more: Correct?

[BarchettaGuy]

Bill,

I just wanted to share my experience with ride feel as well.

I have a 2001 Barchetta with FHP and a 2005 575M F1 with FHP and recently sold my 2007 Z06. The Z06 is the least favorable for ride feel.

My 550 and 575 are completely stock and have not been modified in any way.

In comparing the 2 F-cars, the ride in my Barchetta is the tightest and most firm.
The Barchetta has the 18" modulars and it's front spoiler sits 2.25 inches lower than my 575. It is as if the Barchetta feels track ready. It is more firmly planted and less body roll & as you say, porpoising than the 575.

Have you ever driven a 550 with FHP?
I love my 575 but there is a noticable ride difference between this car and the Barchetta.

I know that I have mentioned this before and I do not know the technical differences between the cars, but I enjoy both cars.

[tazandjan]

Domenic- Unlike the 575s, the 550/Barchetta FHP did have an FHP specific Shock Absorber ECU, part number 175949, for the Bilstein shocks. Having never driven a 550 with or without this ECU, I cannot comment on how much it affects handling, but apparently quite a bit.

On your 575M and FHP, note that there are two different ride heights specified for FHP, one for US/Can and one for Europe. The US/Can ride height is the same as non-FHP cars and the Euro is ~ 10 mm lower in the front and 7 mm lower in the rear. This difference, I believe, was due to US headlight height restrictions. If you want to further tighten up handling on the 575M, those shorter, stiffer springs were actually designed for a lower ride height and will work better with the Euro setting rather than being overly stretched like they are on the US/Can settings. Next time mine is aligned, I will have mine set up to the Euro ride height.

I do not remember what your Assembly Number was and whether or not you had the steering angle sensor in your 575M. Bill's did not and mine did not, and it is impossible to realistically retrofit the sensor. They started installing the sensor at Assembly Number 52556, around Serial Number 1353XX, and the lead into turn the sensor provided also affected handling. All 456/M and 550/Barchettas came with a steering angle sensor, so that affects handling feel difference between early 575Ms and 550s.

Here are the alignment specs for the FHP, and I think the ride height difference makes a pretty good difference in feel and handling.

Here is also the alignment specs for the 550 without FHP and note they are generally lower than on the 575M. Different shocks and springs, so no telling why. There was probably a bulletin on FHP for the 550 that I do not have.

Note that ride height is measured from the center of the center two flanblock bolts in both the 550 and 575. The front and rear flanblock bolts on each A/H arm differ because of anti-dive and anti-squat geometry.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[BarchettaGuy]

Terry, surprisingly there is a big difference in handling; not that I am complaining about my 575's suspension.

My 2005 575 is serial # 139487 and Assembly # 57041, so my car should have the steering angle sensor.

I did not know that you could adjust your ride height and will look into doing this as well the next time I replace tires and do an alignment.

The ride height definitely makes a difference in feel and handling. A friend of mine (FBI on here) had his 348 suspension raised 10mm and stated that it felt like driving his truck after he got it back.

Like I said before, when comparing the 550 to the 575 there is a noticable difference but the 575 with FHP can hold it's own (and then some) against 360's and it's brothers.

Thanks for the great information Terry!

[henryr]

i took the reverse route...

after determing the HGTC springs were stiffer, i added them with the rear bar (only because the FHP bar is no longer available)

had it lowered and aligned to european racing specs.

made a world of difference.

[BarchettaGuy]

Originally Posted by henryr

i took the reverse route...

after determing the HGTC springs were stiffer, i added them with the rear bar (only because the FHP bar is no longer available)

had it lowered and aligned to european racing specs.

made a world of difference.

Henry, do you notice the difference also from having it in and out of Sport Mode, or not really?
It sounds like you have a pretty nice suspension set up.
You must have noticed a huge difference after doing the modifications?

[tazandjan]

Henry- Unfortunately, we do not know which springs are stiffer, FHP or HGTC because we do not have a compressed spring strength on the HGTC springs. Just the spring strength while extended can be misleading. If you used only the F430 and Scuderia extended spring length strengths, you would think the F430 springs were stiffer. But comparing the difference between the lengths extended and compressed shows the Scud springs to be much stiffer.

Here is a chart put together by Stef in Germany after I told him how to calculate force/mm that shows you what I mean. The force per mm is the actual stiffness measurement that is important, and we are missing one of the numbers for the HGTC springs to be able to calculate that number. Based on the fact the FHP springs are shorter than the HGTC springs, I would estimate they are in fact stiffer than the HGTC springs, which would match up well with the smaller rear anti-roll bar.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[RGM35]

Bill,

I know we discussed replacing the original shock ecu on the other forum last year. When I found the UK RHD shock ECU in my car and replaced it I found there to be a fairly significant difference in ride quality and porpoising. Several months later a technician that works on my car made some type of clutch adjustment commenting that he believed the adjustment would eliminate the remaining porpoising. I believe he called it PIS?? That adjustment he made had the single biggest impact on eliminating porpoising from my car. I think even more so than the shock ecu change.

Question: Do you think the improvement in the car's handling/ride you received from installing the FHP springs was worth the cost?? Particularly on those straight and smooth Florida roads.

Something of note. Very early on in the 575's life (AN 48712 - thanks Terry) new rear shocks were fitted to the car. I have a feeling the rear shock change was, in addition to the shock ecu change, an effort on Ferrari's part to firm/improve the cars ride and handling and quell bad press. Does anyone have any experience with the rear shock change and it's impact on the car?

[henryr]

i bought both sets, FHP and HGTC. virtually identical to the naked i.

i took them to goldcrest motorsports which runs a porsche ALMS team. told them the story and that i wanted the stiffer set. week later, the came back with the HGTC versions.

according to the tech at FOA, he described the end results as FHP plus.

[KonaDog06]

Granucci, we or I always want more. Actually after several drives, the ride seems just about right for the car. I would prefer less body roll into a corner but perhaps that would compromise something else. Given the opportunity, I would install the 21mm FHP bar.

Domenic, have not driven or had the opportunity to ride in a 550 or any other 575.
The Z06 does not have the finesse of a Maranello. However, I miss the Z's brakes in the standard Maranello and more so the power.

Bill
FL

[drabe]

Originally Posted by henryr

i took the reverse route...

after determing the HGTC springs were stiffer, i added them with the rear bar (only because the FHP bar is no longer available)

had it lowered and aligned to european racing specs.

made a world of difference.

Here is my build number and VIN: VIN ZFFBV55A520130059
Assembly No 47236

Not sure which shock ECU I have....Taz?

[KonaDog06]

Rick, re the PIS adjustment. This is great to hear and thank you for this comment.
Taz would you have any further thoughts regarding this? Have seen comments posted re this subject and curious what the tech is shooting for when adjusting. This is something I'd like to do.

>Question: Do you think the improvement in the car's handling/ride you received from installing the FHP springs was worth the cost?? Particularly on those straight and smooth Florida roads.<

Rick I'm glad I did it. If you are reasonably content with your existing ride it's probably expensive relative to the return. Between cost of springs (some nice used recently on EBay @ $1500) and the installation cost of 800 to $1000 it's a big decision.
My heart was set on FHP or the like from the beginning, justified it as part of the purchase cost of the car. Also, upon resale whenever that day comes, it seemed to me that presenting the car with a complete install of FHP would add more value than perhaps a couple of installed components. This may be an arguable comment in several ways.
I'll add again that the slightly lower ride height is pretty cool, it's subjective however, and hard to put a price on.


Bill
FL

[tazandjan]

Abe- You have 182991, which was not updated until Assembly Number 48711. Those shocks have not been a big concern of mine because they are bulletproof and we do not know why they changed them. Sets of later shocks have shown up on E-Bay for surprisingly low prices. A set of rear HGTC shocks was sold for $2000 for the pair. In general, though, the shocks are expensive and I am not sure what an upgrade buys you.

Like Rick said, we need someone who has made the swap to report. I know one owner swapped his early rear shocks for the HGTC shocks after I tild him what they were, but have not heard what the result was. There are two upgrades possible for the rear shocks, because the HGTC rear shocks were made standard at Assembly Number 55769, and two for the fronts at 55769 and HGTC, which were different shocks.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[tazandjan]

If someone does want new rear shocks, this is the best deal I have seen going.

FERRARI 575 M REAR SHOCK NEW OE PAIR 190996 - eBay (item 360367391452 end time Sep-13-11 16:05:13 PDT)

Taz
Terry Phillips

[BarchettaGuy]

"Domenic, have not driven or had the opportunity to ride in a 550 or any other 575.
The Z06 does not have the finesse of a Maranello. However, I miss the Z's brakes in the standard Maranello and more so the power."

Bill, I can tell you that my Barchetta has a lot firmer suspension/ride/steering in Non Sport Mode than my 575 does in Sport Mode. My 575 has a late Assembly #57041 and Terry has educated me that my 575 came with all the latest suspension upgrades.

You should really drive a 550 with FHP and I think you will be surprised.It feels like a track car setup to me.

True about the Z06, but I feel like a calm, cool, stable and refined driver when in the 575.....
As far as the brakes on the 575, I also agree and would look at upgrading mine.

[drabe]

SHOCK ABSORBERS ELECTRONIC CONTROL STATION -Valid till Ass. Nr. 47497 for GD -Not as spare part -Replaced by 205618




This item is used in the following applications:
Vehicle Quantity * Table Location Where Used
246 Dino 1 119 15 HEATING SYSTEM
575M 1 134 40 FRONT PASSENGERS COMPARTMENT CONTROL STATIONS
Contact us about use in cars not listed above .





anybody know anything about the replacement ECU?

[tazandjan]

Abe- Costs about twice as much as 201673 or 201674. Read all about it here.

I also reread your earlier post and the odds are your shock absorber ECU is 183960, the problem child of 575M shock absorber ECUs.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[drabe]

Does 205618 requiring the steering wheel position sensor?