chrome

well; as a passenger
and ....

whats all the fuss about?
That car sounds a bit pants for a V8 doesn't it?
i wasnt impressed as much as I expected to be.

I'm pretty certain my car (yes it has a few choice mods ) *feels* quicker and certainly sounds a whole lot better.. altho his car does look far nicer
He says it has just under 400bhp, but I thought it felt a bit gutless...
he even tired to impress me with a few pops and bangs on overrun after our high speed run, and tbh- sounded like a nova LOL

i know damn well he bought it as a vanity/ego thing, but he doesnt give a ****.. offered him a spin in mine for comparison, he declined (didnt want to lower himself? LOL ) will try again anther day and show him how to do the 'twisties'

355- I like the idea of fit and the looks, not so keen on the reality of the engine and performance and shocking running costs - 2.8K on a cambelt service IIRC !!!

Dazza01

Pity i didn't see ya mate, having a few choice bits done to mine at scoobyclinic be chasing u soon

Nathan L

Would agree about the performance.

But I think they sound awesome. 360 better though.

DavidBrown

The standard exhaust is pants, because it has to pass drive-by regulations. As such it has a flap/valve which redirects the exhaust until the car hits 3500rpm. Below those revs it's pretty "fluffy" sounding, not nice.

Get a nice Tubi or straight-through fitted, and it'll send shivers down your spine.

Early cars (pre '97) had an estimated 380bhp, later cars had tighter emissions and only put out 350bhp.

Is there any other reason to buy one ? It's a decision of the heart, not the head.

Modern Jap cars will walk over a F355 A-to-B, but comparing cars on a purely performance basis would be missing the point entirely.

I can tell you which one gets the women more interested..

Chris L

David is so right about the exhaust. Hear a Ferrari with a Tubi system on it and you'll never ever think that it sounds a "bit pants".

Plus the 355 is a thing of beauty - one of the best looking Ferrari's of all time. I wouldn't say no to one.

Chris

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

i wonder how quick the ferrari would get if he decided to get his wallet out and pay for some mods to that im sure it will be over 100 mph where you will really tell the difference

chrome

well we hit 140+ .. on his private road
8200rpm in 5th was the limit of the space there was.. (didnt get into 6th- not enough room)

Nat- well call me mad, but the flat 4 rumble or the deep throb of a 'proper V8' floats my boat.. I like porshes' sound too.. ferarri? tbh- heard a 360 and 355 and 348 now and the ones I heard weren't that impressive. imo.

I'm not into the F1 cars' sound either, can admire their ability- but would rather listen with MUTE on
if I want to hear hig revving metal on metal I'll listen to a nice bike

Maybe I stand corrected on the zorst- I did ask him if was going to get a 'sports' exhaust?- he laughed and said it had one already- aw bless

David: without wanting to be rude; I think its the prospect of £££££ and plenty of shoe shopping allowance that the ladies go for
(you can tell I have a lady cant you!)

oh- and under some right foot provocation it felt a bit skittish through some fast bends.
but then Im **** and notice things like that

Scooby Roo

It's the way you sit.

Trust me, being in the scoob foot down woooooooooosh push back into the chair. That's acceleration.

Get in me mates 7, low down, slung back seats, foot down. Ha ha ha ha my scoob is quicker. Look in rear view (mate drivin and not bad) nooooooooooooooo no feel of pull in the necke etc. etc. Scoob (my scoob, full decat, just got creamed).

Even if it is slow it's a prancer and comes with a little respect.


IMHO

See ya

SiDHEaD

I think if i won the lottery i'd buy a wicked Porsche TBH.

Dave T-S

I went out on my bro-in-law's 98 7000 mile GTS a few weeks ago. I was also seriously under impressed. I've always wanted one (and could have one if I want so its not a jealousy thing) but not now. 911 GT3 methinks.......

Chris L

GT3 - you will not be disappointed Dave - another fine car. Mk1s seem to have the edge over Mk2s but I guess we're really splitting hairs. 50K will get you a very nice Mk1.

Chris

Sith

I want a 360 SC without tacky stripe. It sounds awesome.

Chris L

I think the stripe looks fab

Leslie

My sister has got a 355, and it is a very good looking car as well as having good performance, all with that lovely exhaust note. It costs an awful lot of money for what you get though.

The Scooby feels very impressive when it comes onto boost with that surge but it does not last so long as a car like an M3 or a 355 which can hold a constant acceleration for a longer time. The overall acceleration time is not so different as you might think.

Les

BOB.T

You don't like the sound of a fizzer Maybe you should get your ears tested

I assume you some 848,000,000,000 litre American thing, wittled from a lump of lead by monkees, a long time ago?

Leslie

RichB

>I want a 360 SC without tacky stripe. It sounds awesome.
What's that then?
Prefer the Challenge Stradale myself......

Gav

Stradale every day of the week

it's just sex in a car IMHO

Goochie

Hmmmmm........ did this private road have any corners? I'm sure the 355's awesome grip would have impressed you. As for the noise - I cant see how a scoob could possibly sound nicer than the 355, the scoob may be noiser/louder but does that mean it's nicer?

zippyblue111s

Think the problem is you were the passenger and not the driver. I felt the same when I first had a ride in a mates 355 and comparing it to my STi5. But if you drive 355 you'd understand why its such an amazing car. I later sold the STi and bought a '96 355 which I owned for 2 years. Got to drive my old scoob car a year into ferrari ownership and it felt like a toy car in comparison. Yes, you get a quick shove in the back that lasts a couple of seconds but the 355 acceleration just keeps going and going and going...which is why it's so deceptive, you dont feel the kick so much because it doesnt end suddenly...feels more like the engine would explode at 9000rpm before running out of steam ! Maybe the sports exhaust on your pals far was the Ferrari option (challenge) which is what mine had, it is quite a bit quiter than a Tubi, which is just plane mad.

I sold the car last year though mainly because of the potential for an older fezza to start costing mega$ to fix, and my constant worries about spending all my dosh on cars, especially the insurance and rip off service costs which make a nightmare !

Now have a Elise 111s which is somewhere between the two, not quite as fast as the scoob in a straight line, but then it feels like the 355 handling round the twisties, and has plenty enough poke up the hills. I think it's a good compromise, and is my daily drive.

I know I shouldnt say this on a scoobynet forum (but I will anyway, hehe), but I think these Jap turbo spec cars have had their day in the sun, I had both an Sti4 and 5 but felt it was time to move on. Each new version is pretty much the same as the old one, just fettled slightly, and for me the boredom factor started to kick in.

mynickers

TIs a nice sounds to a petrol-heads ears, but I think the M3CSL sounds pretty awesome too and that's less likely to fall apart and need constant (expensive) TLC!

Someone doesn't lke the sound of F1? *rolls eyes* when you see them in real life, and they come past you so darn fast, and the noise rattles and vabrates through your body and you can't talk... Awesome machines..

I quite like bike engine noises, the westfield megabusa makes an awesome noice, 424bhp per tonne held together with sticky tap, would lick that 355 tooo...

davyboy

Scoob faster than Ferrari huh?

I don't doubt some are - most aren't though.

66 Blue

LOL awesome car!! was this the car that went round the top gear test track second quickest??

Tractor

'Proper V8'..... *sigh*

What I don't understand, is that you like big bike noises, but not F1 and flat-plane crank Ferarri V8s??!! To my ear, aside from pitch (which depends on the rpm generally), they are all very much in the same ballpark, especially when you consider them in the context of standard V8s, flat 4 and V6s. Its that high revving 'inline' engine sound.

Having owned various Impreza Stis, an M3 Evo, Lancer Evo and others, and driven my father's old 355, I agree with what's been said -you don't notice the speed so much, especially by comparison with the thump of a turbo motor. I also reckon that my old Type R would be the equal of the 355 up to, say, 70mp. After that? No chance.

Does anybody remember the old David Yu 355 vs Scooby CD? The only car quicker than Yu's 355 spider over the 1/4 mile, was a modded 22B if memory serves, and then only just....

chrome

hehe funny to see Ive stirred some debate

goochie: maybe he just wasnt pushing the car hard enough- (a few corners, and a very tight roundabout thrown in) .. ?

Zippy'- Some good and fair points.

Mynickers- imo, F1 engines these days have NO soul.. they are bland and refined as their drivers. just does NOTHING for me. Would rather watch WSB etc to see super high rev 'screamers'..

Tractor- when I mean V8, I mean BIG yank muscle cars- my friend has a V8 plymouth barracuda- now THAT is a V8 or a hemi or similar..
you'd be right in your understanding of what i like sound wise too
I think my problem is that Im attracted to engines that sound like they have 'character'
or 'soul' ... it's really hard to define, but there it is..

the fezza I went in, felt and sounded souless/gutless.
I WOULD NOT have spent 70k+ in that way.. I just dont 'get it' I guess..

If I ever had 70k+ to spend on a car, a V8 Ultima GTR or 993 911 Turbo , or something- anything that *doesnt* sound like a bee in can would be on my drive.
His 355 didnt measure up for me.
Not dissing people who have them- great - you obviously earned it and you love it no problem with that.. Im as much of a petrol head as the next guy on here.. but after years of imagining what it would be like I was dissapointed with the reality comapred to other high end cars I had been in..
I also objected to him being blind to the possibility of other cars having more character that his... now an OLD ferarri or GT40 THATS the way to spend serious money on cars
I also remember mr yu (EVO).. got to admit- I preferred his 'experiments' with godzilla

Maybe if someone wants to lend me a ferrari to aid me in assesing it fully, then I will gladly concede if it floats my boat by the end

MooseRacer

I spent 2 weeks 'tootling' around in a 355 a couple of years back. They are a proper car. In no way do they feel or sound gutless

As for the noise, well big yank tanks that manage a whopping 3.25bhp/litre do nothing for me - at full chat the 355 is music to my ears.

Turbo_Steve

I think it depends whether or not your like "Italian Flair" to be honest. They both do the same thing, but the Italian does it with seductive flair, a little subtlety, and goes on for ages, smiling and flirting the whole time, the Japanese is small, compact, and for all it's looks and flashyness somehow lacks style, but gets straight to the point, then stops, with a big grin and the vague idea that somehow it's missed the joke, whilst the German is so wildly focussed on being the absolute best, that it sometimes gets a bit soulless along the way, and completely fails to even notice there is a joke there.

Tractor

Bit of a dull video, but great for comparing the noise of some supercars at full chat... including the 355 of course!

http://www.pistonheads.tv/video.asp?id=73

zippyblue111s

I cant think of *any* car that sounds more like an F1 car than a 355/360 with a Tubi....it even does that thbumthbumthumpbmbbumb noise when you back off part throttle, just like an F1 car braking hard into approaching a corner.

I was once a passenger in my mates 355, with a two other 355's along side us going though a 3 lane tunnel. You can guess what happened next The only cars in front were near the end of the tunnel, approx 1km ahead of us. The noise behind evidently scared the crap out of the drivers as a series of red brake lights all flashed on in tandem, oops !.

Ahh boys toys