,
Onto my thoughts about that 458 Italia….wow, what a car! When you watch the videos, you can hear the exhaust on this steed and it’s something else. Exotics Racing also uncorked the exhaust, adding a bit more volume. If you recall from my experience driving the GT-R, that car was very quiet which actually made it a bit difficult to drive as it was harder to determine the shift points. Yes, the instructor does tell you when to shift, but the audible feedback from the engine itself gives a bit of warning. So did I beat my time from the GT-R with the 458? Yes… but just barely due to a combination of factors. Weather was far from ideal on this day versus when I drove the GT-R.
The ambient temperature was a brisk 55F reducing tire grip, but the bigger issue was the wind. There were sustained winds of 30-35mph with gusts of 65mph. I kid you not, it was hard walking in the wind and I have been through a couple hurricanes having grown up in Florida. You can see in this picture and the previous how the palm trees were getting tested as to their strength. On the drive to the track on Interstate 10, traffic slowed down to a crawl as a section was dusted out by sand limiting visibility. Unfortunately for me, the wind was blowing straight down the longest and fastest straight on the track limiting top speed and lap time.
Fortunately for everyone at the track this day, it appears the Exotics Racing tents are hurricane rated. There were a lot of bad noises from the canvas blowing around, but the structures stood firm. On one particular strong gust of wind lasting about ten seconds, a large box went flying towards one of the parked Lamborghinis which fortunately someone was able to grab. In the same gust of wind, someone had just parked the Lamborghini Huracan and gotten out of the car; but I guess the car was in neutral as the wind caused the car to start rolling towards one of the parked Ferraris. Luckily, the driver was able to get back into the car and hit the brake.
Exotics Racing does modify the cars as necessary to handle the repeated beating the cars absorb each day. The Ferrari 458 Italia was wearing aftermarket 2-piece brake rotors which look to be from AP Racing. The tires are Bridgestone Potenza S001 max performance summer tires.
The rear of the car was similarly equipped as the front.One nitpick with the 458 was the top of the steering wheel blocked the top of the tach for me. The other was the monster sized brake pedal. Otherwise, holy f*!@#!$!@!#$ what a car! When I drove the GT-R, I was pretty much instantly comfortable as it was basically like driving my old 2005 Evo 8 but with a lot more power. The GT-R also basically just understeered making for a not-so-entertaining ride. The Ferrari 458 Italia however is a completely different animal and it took a bit of getting used to. I should have taken my own advice and gone for ten laps, but I only signed up for 7. The only other mid-engine car I’ve driven quickly was an old naturally aspirated MR2 on slicks at an auto-x. I have driven a base Porsche Cayman and Lotus Elise on the street, but you can’t probe the limits and balance of the car using the throttle on the street.
From the very first right hand turn getting onto the track, three things stood out: wow the steering is fast and that throttle response and engine sound! Oh, fourth thing would be how awesome the transmission shifts. The 458 does have a very quick steering rack ratio and that combined with the mid-engine layout allows the car to rotate faster than anything else I’ve ever been in. There is no understeer, period. In fact, you’ll see I throttle oversteer a bit on the very first left hand turn I took right after getting onto the track. I partially blame the cold weather and cold tires, but on the flipside, it shows the traction control system will let you have a bit of fun even in the base setting.
I was definitely too gentle with the throttle. I should have trusted the weight transfer on acceleration would provide more traction. Another interesting thing with the 458 Italia is it seems to limit power based on steering angle. Too much steering angle will cause the car to restrict power output. I think I noticed this in the right hander heading onto the fastest straight a couple times. It almost felt like VTEC kicking in when the steering angle was reduced enough. My instructor, Mike Kang (you SoCal track day junkies know him from the S2000 and FR-S communities and CounterSpace Garage), mentioned this phenomenon at the end of the session.
I was also killing too much speed in all of the corners, especially the higher speed sweepers. The bit of oversteer in the very first corner eroded my confidence a bit; I was driving a car worth more than many homes and I really didn’t want to mess up too badly. I think due to the cold weather, it took a few laps to get some heat into the pads (they felt a bit wooden at first) along with me getting better acclimated to the brake feel. Anyway, I give myself a C grading.
So did I beat my time of 1:02.73 in the GT-R? Watch the vid with Mike Kang instructing.
Here are the videos of the last laps from Joel and Clint. Remember that Joel had the 458 in full auto mode on the tranny. Also of note, the Ferrari was really loud inside so Joel had a difficult time hearing the instructor. At the end of Clint’s drive, the instructor provided some additional useful feedback.
