Every day tips for living with a 599

[cake eater]

cake eater said:

Stedman said:

Increase..?

Yeah, I question that too.

I contacted the FOC and they have replied that they will change the online briefing. I have quoted their recommendation for tyre pressure below:

"What we would recommend is actually putting tyres to recommended pressures initially, doing 2 relaxed laps to get them up to temp (more air = heat quicker) then dropping to about 26-28 psi once warm. It’s a tricky thing to do when you are running on your own.

Best advice would be to drop below your normal road pressures and monitor through the day."

Unfortunately weather is not looking so good. I'll run closer to road pressure while the circuit is damp. Hopefully it will dry out and I will look at reducing the tyre pressure as loads increase.

[cake eater]

Today I had a great day at Silverstone at the FOC trackday on the national circuit. It was nicely managed, relaxed and fun. I meet lots of like minded owners and gave a couple passenger rides as well as going in a 458.


I immediately fell for the 458, pointy, balanced and great on the track, I was straight to the classifieds
And so very different to the 599 where you're constantly managing the weight and front end.

Morning was soaking wet


The 599 performed really well in these conditions. Sport mode and manual, tyres at road pressure gave lots of grip and CST allowed just a little wiggle room.

By afternoon it was dry, the increased loads didn't help the soft GT nature or the car even with race selected. But damn the 599 is quick! Easily seeing 140 mph before braking for brooklands.

Unfortunately the increased loads sent the TPMS crazy, telling me I had 52 psi in the front tyres. I checked with my digital gauge and it was 42, so bled back and then the TPMS said 19 psi. On the last session I felt a vibration once over 120 mph. Checked the tyres and found a bulge.


I'm not sure if this is the result of a tyre defect and track driving or damage I hadn't seen before.

Other than that no faults all day. No electrical glitches. 599 was brilliant

However I did spend almost £300 of Gulf 99 at the Silverstone fuel station!! And I still don't like the feel of the CCM. It stops really well but you just have to trust, like the steering. It feels like the pads are glazed but I'm told that's just the way they are.

[cake eater]

Found something out about the 599 boot today. I've always wondered why there's no "clean" handle to close the boot.

Then I saw this




Only taken months to spot it!

[cake eater]

A few on track pictures from Silverstone. Photo credit to James Gaisford

This is my favourite photo, F12 I think behind me, obscured by spray with lights cutting through the gloom


Checkered flag, no race to win but every time I get in this car it makes me feel like I've won something special


I like this photo because it shows just how much the front outside tyre is loaded and how much you have to manage the weight transfer. Despite the wet conditions you really can push the 599 quite hard.

[cake eater]

willy wombat said:

I assume you’ve changed the tyre!

Yes, changed already

[cake eater]

cake eater said:

F355GTS said:

Sounds like the zircon may not be working, perhaps get somebody to listen to see if the compressor kicks in or not. The 599 has a pretty big windscreen and I always found the air con/ climate pretty poor on hot days

I was reading a thread on clubscuderia.co.uk and this was mentioned by another 599 owner. Apparently they don't make the original part but a newer model is available which just bolts straight in, is more efficient and capable of dealing with the heat generated by the glass area.

With the continued lack of performance of the aircon, the milder weather along with the large glass area in the car I called a local mobile service
https://www.mobaircon.co.uk/ to have the aircon regassed before my Germany trip.

There's a large plastic cowling that needs to be removed to access the aircon connections.




It's nice and easy to get to. The manual says that there is 750g of refrigerant in the system. 450g were recovered and vacuum test showed no leaks. 725g were put back into the system along with 25ml of oil and the engine run. It took a moment but cold air, properly cold air came out. So the compressor is working.

One very strange thing though. It's only blowing cold air out of the left 2 vents. I closed those vents to force flow through the right and still no cold air. Something else that will have to be looked at.

[cake eater]

While the front cowl was off I looked at the bonnet lever which is very hard to access as it sits almost flush the cowling.



Close inspection shows that the 'stopper' has worn a notch into the lever allowing it to drop


I've added a temporary rubber spacer to the stopper and now it's a lot easier to get my fingers below the lever

[cake eater]

FFinally said:

Really enjoying your thread. Was tempted by a trackday (am three months into first Ferrari ownership) - and glad to hear it was a fun day out. Will have a look at a future FOC event.

What car did you get? Is the FF in your username too obvious?

I'd recommend the FOC events. All the people were very friendly on and off track. Lots of people also had instructors.

You'll enjoy the day, even if you just go for the hospitality and grab a few passenger rides.

I'd also recommend RMA. I like their overtaking rule as you don't have to overtake by consent and can pass on the left and right. But you must overtake "gentlemanly" not force someone off line.

Only problem you might have is there's lots of racers, open pit lane format so you mix with a wide range of cars and driving ability.

[cake eater]

WCZ said:

you can't beat RMA days imo, I did them for many years

they are expensive and the standard of driving is high which at first was intimidating (I did my first ever track days on them) but well worth the money imo

I agree with everything you said. My preferred TDO.

[cake eater]

FFinally said:

Unfortunately the timing of the FOC trackday events clashes with existing commitments - was really tempted by Goodwood. Am aiming to head to the FOC event at Sywell in early June.

I'm also tempted by the Goodwood event but will depend on work commitments. I've never driven the circuit before. Looks very fast and fun.

Edited by cake eater on Tuesday 12th April 13:42

[cake eater]

FFinally said:

I bought a one year old F8. I need to work on my username! Lovely thing to drive but not driven it in anger yet.

Congratulations! What an awesome car! What did you have before? I had a GT86 and a Caterham.

Can I recommend Colin at https://catdrivertraining.co.uk/
He is IMHO the best car skills instructor and of the different places I have tried, the best school of them all.
You can spend a day with him at Millbrook, away from any perceived trackday pressure, you'll be the only car on 'circuit' and try the car in anger covering a wide range of scenarios from high speed lane change in different Manetino settings, over grip limit on the steering pad, threshold braking etc.

He'll also go with you on circuit but I'd actually recommend Andrew Bentley http://andrewbentley.co.uk/
For the circuit driving skills.

Anyway, I'm sure you have this all covered and I wish you all the best with the F8 (I'm only a little jealous)

[cake eater]

FFinally said:

Thank you for the tips! My prior car was an Alfa Giulia Q so this is a bit of a step up… i decided that life is too short and that I’d spent enough time looking at them and should fulfill a dream that started with a Testarossa poster about 37 years ago…

I was the same. A few major life changes. If not now then never. But now I want a V8 to go with the V12. An expensive donkey needs a stable partner!

[cake eater]

Spent the afternoon washing then polishing the 599. It's really nice how the sunlight picks out the metallic silver in the paint.


Flat light to show the difference

[cake eater]

When the cottage you booked for the Easter weekend is down a half mile of gravel track and your expensive donkey does more off road than the average Chelsea Tractor

[cake eater]

Not so random millage pic

[cake eater]

So today I took the 599 to MDL Specialist Cars http://mdlferrari.co.uk/ to have a check over prior to going to Germany for a WWII tour as well as car control training with Gedlich-Racing https://gedlich-racing.com/ at Sachsensing and Nordschleife





I also wanted to get new pads installed as well as GTO spec ARBs

The GTO spec ARBs are quite a bit thicker than the standard GTB and have made an immediate improvement to the body control without any discernible reduction in ride quality.


I had a search on the internet for pads as I have never been happy with the standard pad feel. A chat with Leo at Madeno Racing http://www.madenoracing.com/ recommended both Endless and the GTO spec ARBs. After at chat with Mel at R53 engineering http://www.r53engineering.com/ she recommended two pads and I chose the more road oriented pad MX72

"MX72 - €352 (EIP184) / €545 (EIP185)

MX72 is the ultimate street ceramic-carbon-metallic compound developed for extreme speeds and power. MX72 is developed with lots of technology and effort in it to cope with the demands of an extreme street compound. It is suited for use in a power brake system with or without ABS and EPS. The MX72 is a high heat resistance compound which can also be used for circuit racing, like a sports car club race day, so there is no need to change pads for such an event. The initial

bite and response is excellent even at very high speed like 250-300 km/h and so also the pedal feel and brake balance.

Friction: 0,37-0,47?

Heat levels: 50-700°C"



Side by side Endless vs OEM


Old pad, in terrible condition and not picked up at the previous service


CCM and calliper with old pads


CCM and calliper with new pads


Immediate impression has been very favourable with much more feel. I am not sure if a new OEM pad would have had the same improvement as the old pads were in very bad shape and probably contributed to my poor impression of the OEM.

Edited by cake eater on Thursday 21st April 00:52

Edited by cake eater on Thursday 21st April 00:55

[cake eater]

Some general pics of the car from below


With the undertray / floor removed (front)


With the undertray / floor removed (rear)


These are the cleaned up bolts securing just the rear undertray


Front undertray


Rear undertray was full of gravel so was powerwashed

[cake eater]

Rear CCM, calliper and pads were in good shape




tyres were interesting as they showed very little wear however the outside edge / shoulders were badly worn


this picture shows the size of the fronts compared to the rear and perhaps one reason why understeer is a problem (along with managing the weight transfer)

[cake eater]

Fluid levels were checked and decision made to change the gearbox oil. From the look of the oil it has never been done before and the sump plug was thick with gunge (sorry, no pic of this)

Coolant, power steering and brake fluid were all good

however when the engine oil was checked it was over filled. What was also concerning was the aeration evident on the dipstick
|https://thumbsnap.com/HJ5bkjru[/url]

I had complained to GreyPaul before but was told I probably didn't use the correct procedure however Lee at MDL was also concerned and 250ml of oil was syphoned out. You can see clearly that the oil is in very bad shape, not just discoloured but very foamy.
[url]

The oil check procedure in the manual is detailed and a little in depth. I had followed this as well as checked this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgTyhEocHSU


Air filters were also checked and found to be contaminated with oil



This contamination is probably a result of the previous over filling of oil. When the repair was carried out the air filters were not changed at the time. They are also dated 2018 so 4 years old and well due replacement

I have contacted GreyPaul and will see what they say. If they don't give me a satisfactory response I will contact Ferrari Europe. If anyone has a contact there it would be much appreciated.

[cake eater]

An Englishman, Irishman and West Indian when to Germany in a German, Italian and British for a WWII tour.

Morning photo op


On the train


Stopped for fuel - this has happened a lot!!


A couple things of note.
The McLaren get the most attention. The 599 uses the most fuel. Almost double the McLaren and about 50% more than the GT-R