Track tires - slippery when cold - really

I read my share of automotive articles, mostly on line but at any given time I will probably have a Grassroots MotorSport sitting around the house or just finished a F1 magazine. One thing that struck me was articles about tires, specifically track tires. Most authors mentioned the tires needed to be warm before functioning well. Some went on to say the tires provide less grip than a good pair of road tires when cold. Honestly, this did not make a bunch of sense to me. If the tires are softer shouldn’t they grip better than regular tires when both are cold? I still don’t understand it but I now have firsthand knowledge that track tires, anyway the Advans now wrapped around my Porsche’s rims, provide about as much grip as an oiled pig tossed down a slip and slid. In other words not much.

I was driving to work last week. It was not a cold morning maybe 55 degrees. About ¼ mile from my house is a nice tight 15 mph turn. I went through it a bit faster than 15 mph, but not much, and executed a very smooth, totally unprompted four wheel slide. That woke me up. Mental note to self, warm tires up before even attempting to turn. When warm the tires are fantastic. Turning a car I described as a bathtub set atop a half filled waterbed mattress into something that still has too much body roll but sticks to the road like there is no tomorrow.

It still seems as if I am in some sort of Ferrari vacuum. I think I will pick a week and only drive the Ferrari – use it as a daily driver. On another note I am going to have the few paint chips repaired and polish out a small chip in the windshield. Should make the car perfect for the next owner.

I really like this car

I don’t want to sell this car. I really, really like it. I like it better than my Porsche, better than my truck, better than my house. I like it better than my race bike. I like it better than my iPhone. I like it better than my bamboo fly rod. If I had a pet I would like the Ferrari better than that too. I don’t want to sell it. The sound created by a 355 under full throttle with a bit of additional load is intoxicating. It steers perfectly, stops perfectly, and looks fantastic. It is relatively inexpensive and I have fixed everything that is wrong with it.

On another note the commotion created by parking a Ferrari in front of the bakery or grocery store is a bit embarrassing.

But I still really like it.

No more ignoring the Ferrari

As is my wont I have abandoned the Ferrari. I did not mean to but since I know I have to sell it soon I have been concentrating my efforts and time on its replacement and the Porsche. This is stupid, there is a Ferrari in my garage, it is summer, and I barely drive it. I know what I am trying to do, I am trying to distance myself from the car so my lust for it diminishes. I remember a saying I heard as a child, time and distance lend perspective. By putting some distance between myself and the car I am trying to lessen the blow of parting from it. I am also missing out on further experiences with the car and better, more fully understanding my Ferrari ownership experience. I’m going to start driving the car again and I am going to do some of the events that I have felt are antithetical to my view of Ferrari ownership.

No I am not going to cruise around downtown at 1:00AM and I am not going to race all the kids in imports who challenge me (the car really) when I drive it. I am going to take it to a car show. Seems like a small thing but it is not me.

I don’t think I will take the car to the track again but I am going to take it on another wine country drive and just enjoy it with the full understanding that I will not have the chance to push it. So no more track days no more road trips just fun drives with the car. I am also going to suspend my focus on replacing the car. I want to finish my book prior to engaging in purchasing another.

Ferrari has been valeted

The Ferrari survived its time with the valet. I figured it would and valet parking the car was a small but important step in my Ferrari ownership experience. Important in that it helped me understand the car as more than a fragile piece of mechanical art. The valets could not figure out how to open the door when we arrived but they drove, parked, and returned the car with, apparently, no issues. We arrived at dinner a bit late so there was no time to fret. I just got out of the car and let them deal with it. Did I worry about it at dinner? Maybe for about 10 seconds.

I have talked with other Ferrari owner and most are unwilling to let a valet park their cars. I understand why but all of us take greater risks on a daily basis with items more dear.

Let me clarify a bit

From a getting to push the car perspective the wine country drive was frustrating but also a nice chance to see how the Ferrari dealt with some less than perfect road surfaces. I left it in “comfort” mode for most of the drive. Comfort mode makes the car noticeable softer and seemingly better able to deal with the bumps and dips we encountered on the roads. On smoother roads I prefer the regular suspension mode.

Let me clarify why I say the drive was frustrating. First, it was a great day, wonderful roads, beautiful scenery, and a few great wineries. I would happily go again tomorrow. I would happily take the Ferrari again. The whole trip was about 80 miles driven in four chunks a perfect distance for me in the 355. My frustration stems from having this wonderful tool and not being willing to use it. No one else on the trip was able to use their cars potential either so I bet I am not alone in feeling frustrated. If there were no legal consequences for going faster would I? No, the speeds I went were safe and appropriate for the roads we were one and the purpose of the trip.

My business partner and I often talk about building a country club race track, a place where we could drive fast for a few laps then go home. I think a narrow, technical track. One with several elevation changes and off chamber turns would be more exciting and interesting to drive than a large fast track.

Wine Country Tour

Went on a wine country drive with a few friends yesterday, it was frustrating. The roads in the Oregon wine country are nice curvy, hilly, country roads with little traffic and for the most part nicely maintained. The scenery is great and yesterday the weather was just about perfect. It was still frustrating. I am too risk averse to go fast on public roads. I went quickly once or twice but I never felt like I was going fast or even pushing the car to 50% in corners. I should have brought our Porsche. It would have felt fast in that car with the top down.

Speaking of the Porsche, the Advans are on. What a difference. That car is stuck to the road. When I get home from a drive parts of the road are stuck to the tires. I cannot image these tires are going to last very long but what a hoot.

To valet or not to valet...

that is the question. To be honest I feel like a bit of a loser even worrying about valet parking the car. Barb and I are going to dinner Thursday night and the restaurant we are going to is valet parking only. How fancy is that. I am sure I could park a few blocks away and walk to it but then I would be an even great loser. I am going to drive up, give the valet the keys and forget about the car. In the interim I am going to die a thousand deaths imagining all the ways the valet could beat up the car. To make matters worse my business partner told me about a Ferrari he saw being valet parked down town. The valet ran it in to the curb. It made a horrible sound.

So it turns out it is not so hard to order a new Ferrari. I had a goal of getting the car before I was 50. That time horizon is too long for this level of difficulty so I am going to shorter it. A new Ferrari, picked up at the factory, before 2010 seems a better goal. I stopped by Tonkin, talked with Steve and now have the brochure and price list to pick out a new 430.

On a totally other note I arrive home to find the new track tires for the Porsche in the garage. Looking forward to having them put on.

What's Next?

The moment I send out the email offering the car for sale is approaching. As I mentioned earlier I am going to offer it for sale near the end of the summer with the hope it sells more quickly and for a better price than if I sold it in December. If it fails to sell I will probably keep it until next spring unless I get a reasonable offer for it over the winter. To make myself feel better as I more frequently contemplate this process I have been mulling over what I will get next. In order of most likely here are my choices in the 0 to two year horizon.

Number One. Nothing. I will sell the Ferrari and not replace it with another exotic. After a few days of mourning its place in the garage will be occupied by Barb’s minivan. On one level I am looking forward to having fewer things to occupy my time, to simplifying my life a bit. I will have more time to focus on writing my book, riding my bike, and doing yard work.

Number Two. A 355 Challenge. This car might not arrive right away but if we, my business partner and I, end up buying a building for our company there might be enough extra space to store the Challenge car. They seem like such a bargain and I think they may be a good investment.

Number Three. A Radical R3. As with the Challenge acquiring this car depends on space to store it, maybe a bit less so as they are so small. I really enjoyed driving on the track and having a car that will perform well on the track, not take up too much space or too much money is appealing.

Number Four. An older Ferrari. I do not see myself buying a 360, 456, or 430 next. I can envision an older car.

Number Five. A 575 or 612. Probably not but I really like both cars and with the 612 I could take the girls to school.

Number Six. A Lamborghini Gallardo. I will own one of these someday but not right after the Ferrari. I would feel like a bit of a traitor.

Number Seven. A 911 TT. Same answer as the Lambo, although the 911 TT would make a great daily driver.

Here is the kicker, the big finale. Before I am 50 I am going to buy a new Ferrari. I am going to get on the list, pick out exactly what I want, order it, wait, pick it up in Italy and visit the factory. Here is something more. In between now and then I am going to get an F40, F50, or 430 Scuderia, or 360 Challenge Stradale.

King of Arizona

I have become spoiled by the performance of the Ferrari. To ennoble and justify my decision to purchase the Ferrari I couched what I was doing in the “pursuit of the sublime”. I lost track of this vision shortly after buying the car. Once you have bought the sublime can you pursue it further? I was reminded of the car’s grace and the beautiful way it goes down the road yesterday. Why you ask? Because I drove my Porsche. Really drove it. I have not had a chance to really hustle the Porsche down any good roads in many months and have learned quite a bit about driving in that time. Please keep in mind that I love our 911, it is a great car, but it handles like a porcelain bath tub filled with pudding set atop a half filled waterbed mattress. Well, maybe it is not that bad but for the first time I was dissatisfied with the handling of the car.

I ordered a set of track tires and talked the guys at Rothsport into installing a set of RS swaybars. Hopefully these changes plus the work I have already done to the suspension settle the car down a bit. I think I will also replace all the bushings and rubber parts in the steering assembly.

That is the stuff I set out to write about but part way through my day I began to think about the, seemingly, interconnected and affirming nature of things. Today I witnessed several people being rude, stupid, and vulgar to other people. There was no apparent reason for their actions. I wondered what effect their rudeness would have on the recipients of this poor behavior. Would the driver of the car who was flipped off by the person riding the tiny motorcycle go on to fight with their spouse or treat their children badly? Will the kids in the BMW who were tailgated by the guy in the big truck drink too much tonight and crash their car? If these events did not happen would those people’s lives be any better?

I thought about this until I was offered sovereignty in Arizona, Scottsdale to be exact.

One week with no Ferrari

While I find it hard to believe no one, no despot, no leader of a military junta, no one has agreed to take me up on my offer to trade the Ferrari for sovereignty. I can only assume their internet access must be down at this point. Perhaps there are better ways to get in touch with world leaders.

It took me one week to get back into the car. At first I was avoiding it because we had just completed about 700 miles of road trip. Later because, having decided to sell it, I wanted to separate myself from the car. By Sunday evening I was missing driving it enough to take it on a drive with my daughter. We went to the grocery store to get pork chops. The information that we took it to the grocery store and bought pork chops is possibly totally and completely superficial to this story. What is important is that I took my daughter. I realized during most of my drives in the Ferrari I am alone. Taking Christina along, it was the second or third time she had been in the car, made the drive exponentially more enjoyable. I think it was fun for the people who saw us. How often do you see children riding in Ferraris?

I will trade the Ferrari for...

It has been almost a week since we returned from Walla Walla and almost a week since I have driven the Ferrari. I thought about driving it this week but my truck proved too comfortable. I am not a person who does well in transitional stages. If something is about to end, I want it to end, I don’t want to wait. I annoyed Barb a bit Sunday morning in Walla Walla. She had envisioned a relaxing morning, reading the paper and drinking coffee. I was ready to go. The Walla Walla trip was over, on to the next thing. I am feeling that way about the car. I will miss it, I have had fun owning it, met some nice people, some dorky people, and got to drive a Ferrari on a race track. But, that phase is over, on to the next thing.

I was thinking about stuff I would trade the Ferrari for. There obvious and mundane, other cars, but I thought of something better. Sovereignty. That’s right, I am willing to trade my 1998 F355, resplendent in Grigio Titano for sovereignty. I have a few conditions. I would like a bit of land, preferably with a beach, a nice supply of peasants, and recognition by the United Nations. I plan on building a private racetrack around the border of my nation and will allow the royal or governing family of the nation with the vision and courage to grant me sovereignty the rights to drive fast on the track.

Random thoughts mostly about Ferraris

If you are writing a book and interacting with people who are participating in the experiences that will make up the book is it disingenuous not to tell them? I have found I approach situations differently when I think they may end up in the book. I tend to observe more, participate less, and be more critical than usual.

In increasing order of weirdness here are some Ferrari related thoughts I have had in the past few days.

First, I have been exposed to so many questions about Ferrari maintenance, specifically 355 maintenance, that I felt compelled to write something about the subject. With nothing but my own experiences to call upon here we go. 355s and their predecessor the 348 are very attractive first Ferraris. They are fairly modern cars and have depreciated to a point where they appear affordable for a wide range of potential buyers. This group of buyers has probably had Porsches, Corvettes, or other sports cars in the past but decided they want to experience Ferrari ownership and buy a 348 or 355. The cars now have 20,000 to 30,000 miles on them and are starting to have parts wear out. Depending on the diligence of the previous owner there may be significant delayed maintenance. So a car that cost $70,000 may have between $0 and $20,000 worth of maintenance expense in the first year, or even first mile. A bunch to spend but not out of line with any other Ferraris. An engine overhaul on an Enzo or 250GTO will be more than the price of the 355.

I expect the maintenance gripes are primarily due to the financial situation of mot 348 and 355 owners and the cost of repairs as a percentage of the cars overall value. Spending $20,000 to overhaul the engine on a $70,000 car seems excessive. $70,000 to overhaul the engine on a $1.4Million Enzo, a relative bargain.

As the prices of 360s slide below $100,000 I believe they will attract the same crowd as the 348s and 355s and people will start griping about the maintenance costs of those cars as well. I think this is a continuum where the mainstream Ferrari model which is one or two models old attracts the attention of the first Ferrari owners who then are shocked the maintenance is as high as they heard it would be.

That said, no one I know who owns a Ferrari complains about the maintenance all the complainers are use the internet as their bullhorn.

Second, and I was unable to convince my wife this was a good idea, my neighbors are selling their house and I thought it would be a good idea to buy it turn it into a garage and build a tunnel between the two houses. In addition to the garage and tunnel I could build a mad scientist laboratory.

Third, since I cannot buy the neighbors house turn it into a garage with a tunnel connecting the two houses why not find a method to store the Ferrari in the future or the past. If I could store the car one second in front of my current time or one second behind my current time it would be very handy.

Getting ready to sell the Ferrari

Today, with several reservations I started the sad process of selling the car. Really, I am just dipping my toe in the water, trying to determine the price. I looked on FerrariAds to check asking prices. There are probably 25 355s for sale ranging between $82,000 and $110,000. Interestingly, the coupes seem to be slightly higher priced than the sypders. I had been thinking of asking around $75,000 for the car. It is hard to tell the condition of some of the cars on FerrariAds as the pictures are too small to provide the necessary detail. As far as I can tell there is only one other 355 for sale in Oregon. It is yellow, has fewer miles than mine. The owner is asking $95,000.

I had a chance to look at a few other 355s during the Walla Walla trip. My car is in as nice if not nicer shape than all but one of the cars there. The nicest car was a red 355 with a factory carbon interior. Really nicely optioned, well kept car.

With the maintenance history, condition, and recent interior upgrades I have made I think the car will be easy to sell. I may be wrong but I think the color combo will make it easier to sell rather than harder. There are lots of red, yellow, and black Ferraris.

I plan to send out an email, I will include a copy on the blog, to a group of people who have expressed interest in the car or may know of prospective buyers. I am not quite ready to send it yet.

Walla Walla Day 3

We left Walla Walla around 9:00 on Sunday morning. Again it was already hot. We spent most of the trip to Walla Walla on Interstate 84. At a steady 75 or 80MPH the motor is pretty loud, droning not screaming, and there is enough road noise to make conversation uncomfortable. For the trip back we decided to take 14, the two lane freeway on the Washington side. Traffic was sparse leaving Walla Walla. We saw no other Ferraris. I very seldom pass a car on a two lane road. Usually, I am driving my truck which is best driven cautiously and I try not to hurry when driving. Just after leaving Walla Walla we caught up to a pickup. It is amazing how fast this car will accelerate from 60 to much more than 60. Even with the air conditioner on and the windows up it was absolutely a hoot. Drop down to fourth, punch it, shift to fifth just after passing the car and then let off because you are going way too fast. I did this a bunch of times on the way home.
Highway 14 turned out to be a much nicer road than 84. Smoother pavement, more turns, and elevation changes. We went about 10 MPH slower so conversation was easier. At the B&B I had read about a full size replica of Stonehenge build above the Columbia River as a monument to those who died in World War 1. We decided to stop there.

The monument is built on a bluff overlooking the river and gorge. When we arrived there were four or five people wandering through the pillars and a fellow in the middle playing a didgeridoo. No kidding.

It was a moving and surreal experience wandering through the stone columns reading the plaques with the name, date of birth and date of death of soldiers affixed so some of the columns being serenaded by a didgeridoo.

It was not until we got to a big multi lane freeway that I began to feel tortured by the Ferrari. Tennis players get tennis elbow. I am getting Ferrari knee. Even though it tortured me for the last twenty or so miles the first thing I did when we got home was wash the car. The number of bugs sacrificed for this trip was truly amazing. For several miles we had the world’s fasted weevil hanging on to the back of one windshield wiper. It took advantage of a stop we made to take off. If weevils could dine out on stories it would have several good dinners coming.

Sitting at home that evening I realized I felt a bit let down by the trip. The car ran flawlessly for about 650 miles. No drama, no warning lights, nothing. I was prepared to have it towed back from the middle of Washington but it ran perfectly. Aside from being noisy and hot, I have yet to master the AC, it ran perfectly.

As far as I know my next big thing with the Ferrari is selling it. We have no more trips planned. I doubt I will do another track day. My time with the car is almost up. I will be sad to see it go but that’s ok.

Walla Walla Day 2

Today was hot in Walla Walla. Barb and I woke up early and had the deck at the B&B to ourselves for several hours. The days Ferrari centric events did not start until 10:45 so there was plenty of time for sitting around, thinking and writing the paragraphs I wrote prior to this one. As I mentioned earlier we were headed to Woodward Canyon Winery for lunch. Rick Small, owner of Woodward Canyon and a Ferrari owner was hosting a lunch.

If someone offered me the opportunity to make a living by driving an exotic car to a winery and having great wine and food I would probably take them up on it. This was a nice way to spend the afternoon. On the drive from Walla Walla to the winery there was some spirited driving, possibly in preparation for the afternoon’s tour. We left the winery in a group lead by Rick Small in what I think was a 250. Nice looking car. After just a few miles a black 355 suddenly pulled over, the Dino in front of me honked and pulled over as well. There was a yellow 330 and red 430 in front of them so I slowed down and waited to see what would happen. Several cars pulled over, several kept going. I am not really sure what happened. I think someone might have missed a turn, but Barb and I saw some cars go back to the hotel and some stop by the side of the road.

We decided to do our own driving tour. We went past the B&B and up into the hills outside of Walla Walla. We found some great roads. We also decided to skip the evening’s event, the cars show, awards ceremony and dinner at a bistro downtown. I could have predicted we would skip it. Group gatherings are not my thing. Barb and I got a nice bottle of wine, loaf of bread, some cheese and went back to the B&B. We sat quietly by a pool overlooking a vineyard and the hills covered with wheat and listened to the birds. It was many dimensions away from parking our car in the middle of downtown, being social, mingling, and making small talk.

This is the type of decision is helping define my Ferrari ownership experience. A choice to do my own thing, to appreciate the car on more personal, intimate terms. I have no problem nerding out about the car with a fellow enthusiast. Provided their appreciation of the car is rooted in the same ethic as mine. I appreciate the introverted characteristics of the car. The feel on the road, the responsiveness, the way it reacts. I appreciate sharing it with others. I understand the extroverted characteristics of the car but don’t really care about them. They are not central to my experience. I am willing to bet there is a breed of well balanced Ferrari owners of feel equally comfortable with the extroverted and introverted components of a Ferrari. I am not one of them.

In my Ferrari ownership experience joy and value are derived from driving the car, tinkering with it, exploring it on the track, and sharing it with others. I am interested in taking the car to the track and learning its and my limits. I suppose I am being selfish. I am not interested in spending my time with people if all we have in common is an appreciation for Ferraris. Feel free to substitute the word Ferrari for any other. Wine, music, skiing, fly fishing. I am not willing to invest the time to determine if there is more to this other person.

Walla Walla Ferrari Trip

It is 12:08 AM as I write this. We drove to Walla Walla yesterday. Barb drove the last leg of the trip and went considerably faster than I did. I shift better but she went faster.

Certainly, there are tortures more painful, more able to extract a confession from the strongman than a long drive in a Ferrari. But a long drive in a Ferrari, on a hot day, when the driver cannot figure out the air conditioning. I had forgotten you push “STOP” to turn the AC off not on. For the first 50 miles of the trip we drove in a sauna. Finally, out of desperation I rolled the window down, thinking it must be several hundred degrees outside. I was not greeted an inferno, it was cooler outside. Well I will just turn the AC off and go with the windows down. At least we will make it to our lunch stop and I can decide if I want to continue. I don’t do well in hot weather. Turning the AC off was really turning the AC on. After that the trip was much more pleasant.
We left Portland and headed east on Highway 84. 84 follows the Columbia river, through the Columbia gorge. After a few hours we turned to follow the river on smaller roads which led us to Walla Walla. Aside from being loud, hard riding, hot (initially) and cramped the car performed well. We even averaged a bit over 22 mpg. Not bad at all. I used less gas to drive 230 miles than to drive 60 on the track.

The 355 does not have cruise control. I understand why and applaud Ferrari’s decision to leave it out. Unfortunately, I fear my right foot will not recover from being held in one position for 2.5 hours. I tried driving with my left foot for a while. It was a bit of a relief but very awkward as there is now place to put my right foot and leg.

Barb drove the last leg and parked the car at the Marcus Whitman in downtown Walla Walla. There was an impressive display of Ferraris on hand. Several 355s. If you are not into wine you would reasonably question the decision to spend our first trip away from our kids in Walla Walla, Washington. Sure, it would be easier to go to the Oregon wine country. We did not know what to expect from Walla Walla. We knew we liked the wines but that was about it. This place is great. Imagine Kansas with rolling hills, more color, wine, beautiful roads, and a cosmopolitan flair. Both the town and the area feel like a bit of the mid west parked in eastern Washington. The best bits of the Midwest, the big landscapes, friendly people, a connection with the earth, and a more interesting approach to life.

Our dinner reservations were at a restaurant in downtown where several other club members were also planning dinner. The downtown is a nice combination of new and old. The new being wine bars, trendy restaurants, and boutiques. The old being the unusual, hard to put a finger on why it works but it does supply stores you find in small, farming towns.

We are not staying downtown the host hotel being booked by the time I signed up for the trip but at a combo yoga studio and bed and breakfast about seven miles outside of town. The whole thing is built in an old farm house and surrounded by wheat and grapes.

This place is perfect for us. Not only are there no Ferrari club members there are only about 10 other people. It is quiet and as near as I can tell totally lacking homogenized corporate touches. After dinner we and back at the hotel we sat outside, drank wine made by the fellow who tends the vineyards on the grounds and looked at the stars. We talked for several hours about wine, cities we had lived in, food, and wine again. We never talked about Ferraris. Odd to go on a Ferrari club trip and organize your time to avoid other Ferrari owners and conversations about cars.

It strikes me, as I sit here, now seven hours and twelve minutes later that staying in this place is consistent with my pursuit of the sublime. You cannot pursue the sublime in a corporate hotel. Sorry. Today we are meeting at Woodward Canyon for lunch. I am looking forward to this. I am a big fan of Woodward Canyon’s wines. After that we are off for a drive in the country lead by two wine makers.

I made an on purpose decision not to bring a book, magazine, or other distraction on this trip. I have my laptop, a camera, and a change of clothes. I am very easily distracted, without books, magazines, yard work, etc, I should feel more free to write. I am distracted by the landscape. I want to go exploring. I want to wander off, alone, through the fields of wheat and peas to see what lies over the little rise behind the B&B and if the tiny valley between the hills continues or disappears. When I get old I will be one of those old people you read about. People who just wander off. Sometimes found, sometimes not. I understand why they wander.