Red Flash

Hi All

I am wondering, if any of our fellow 928 owners out there have had the opportunity to drive a Ferrari 348. If so, how does it compare to a later model 928 in terms of driving?

The 928 is about 200KG heavier. So, given the fact that it has only sligthly more power, I am thinking that the 348 is a little snappier once revved up. But also a little less refined. (No powersteering, less insulated.) All in all the dimensions are very similar.

Just to make things clear: I am not planning on selling my 928. I do like the 348 and am wondering what to expect, if I go drive one. Potentially it would be an add to the stable.

John

mark kibort

all i can say, is equally prepped, i had a pretty decent battle with the 430 challenge car, driven by the top 10 guy in that series championship. that was the Holbert car at 330rwhp with all stock stuff, but the headers , suspension and wheels and tires

docmirror

I have a Mondial QV, but I've got a bit of stick time in a 348, however I never owned one.

The 348 engine isn't much fun until you get it up where it starts to sing. Since it's a flat plane crank the grunt of the 928 isn't there, but it'll give you a push in the butt once the revs are up.

Not really good for in town driving because the clutch is fairly heavy and the steering is kind of tough. It's more of a touring car like the 928. Once underway, it's spritly maybe more than the 928, but it doesn't have the solid feel of the 928 at higher speeds.

The turn-in can be abrupt due to the lower polar moment of inertia of a mid-engine car. Much more go-kart like than the Porsche 928. The weight factor is also there, and you will notice the diff.

Inside noise, and chassis vibration are a little worse on the TS version than a 928 of course. Good car and the last of the DIY kind of Ferrari. Once you leave the 348 and move forward things get dicey for a DIY kind of guy. I don't care for the tail lights, but the rest of the car is a fine example of the Ferrari marque.

curt_928

This. The mid-engine layout makes it more willing to engage the turn at slower speeds compared to the 928. I found it to be actually very "go kart like". Steering because it has no power assist is tough to manage in the parking lot but becomes nicely balanced at speeds above 30 mph or so. IMHO at slow speeds (<80) my 928 waddles while the 348 zips. 928 has a ton of low end grunt as a big V8 can be expected to while the 348 does need to be pushed above 5k. It likes the RPMs.

High speeds the 928 is more centered and stable compared to the early 348's. The ones I drove didn't impress me with a sense of confidence the way my 360 does at speed. Its the suspension layout. If I get one in the future, I'm going to play with the suspension to eliminate the high speed "squirreliness".

I quite frankly don't think they compare at all. The 928 being a GT in the truest sense with the 348 as a sports car. When I was looking it was a 348 or a 360 and the 360 presented itself. 348's across the board have had a $20k bump in asking prices in the last 6 months. IMHO not sure it will last when an engine out belt service every 5 years is $5-7k. I still want one though....

hacker-pschorr

I spent quite a few years driving and maintaining my fathers 355GTS until he sold it earlier this year.

He drove a 348 and 355 back to back and wrote off the 348 mainly due to drivability. The brakes, steering, clutch etc.... are all greatly improved plus 60+ HP and that 8,500rpm 5-valve engine..... still one of the best sounding Ferrari's ever made (His had the tubi exhaust and I was going to eliminate the CATS until he decided to sell).

Driving characteristics compared to the 928? Not the same category, the 928 is a GT while the 355 is a sports car. That's not to say I would pass up a 355 for a cross country trip, I would much rather do it in a 928.
The 355 is a screaming go-cart and I can only assume the 348 is similar.
I see comments all the time about the lack of torque with the 355 engine making daily driving a chore. IMO that's complete nonsense and those people must not know how to drive a stick shift. So what if you are putzing through town in 2nd gear, that's why there are 6 forward speeds. I would have no problem using a 355 as a daily driver. Never came close to over heating on a 105 degree day with the A/C on (and the air worked fine too).

At 6'1" / 210lbs the 355 was "snug" but comfortable. I mostly drove his with the targa top removed and if I ever bought a 348/355 for myself it would have to be a targa.

Maintenance wise his car was as reliable as any 928. It never left him stranded, the only part that failed in 17k miles of ownership was the thermostat, temp sensor, and a CV boot. I did remove the interior to "un-stick" it. Very annoying issue with Ferrari's (wasn't a big deal to fix though) and they are plagued with the same dash warping issues as 928's.

Sure you yank out the motor every 3-5 years (his was going on 7 when he sold it, he felt the 3-5 was nonsense and had he kept the car had every intention of going to 10). Taking the engine out was really a piece of cake and working on the motor like that makes everything so easy to get to. Frankly, my time with the 355 has me tempted to pull the engine of my 928's for every TB job. Especially the 5-speeds and update the clutch master at the same time.......

Anyway. I plan to own a 348/355 some day unless their prices reach ludicrous levels, which they just might. The 355's have been creeping up and the stigma of the "worse Ferrari ever made" the 348 has been tagged with I feel is not well deserved. But then again, some model has to be the worst.......and being the worst Ferrari is still better than owning the best Camry I suppose.

I've always seen the 348/355 as the Ferrari version of the 964/993 from Porsche. People are quickly realizing they are the last "pure" cars of their marque......more analog if you will, compared to what came later.
On top of that production numbers (less than 9k 348's and 12k 355's) I don't see how they will not become future collector cars.

The 348/355 brotherhood on FerrariChat is very helpful. I did years of research on the 355 before I gave my father the blessing to buy one (since I maintain his cars) and without FerrariChat I wouldn't have wanted one.

bureau13

I've always read that the 348s "didn't handle like a Ferrari should," for whatever reason, but that the 355s fixed all of that. I would love to own either someday...I could listen to that Chris Mann 355 video on youtube (the acutal watching part is fine, but optional) all day...

This is one version, there are a couple around with different music in the background...

terry gt

My BFF bought a 348 new in 1993 . We have always been very competitive , doing auto x and DE together . hacker and curts assessments are right on . Small course he wins , big course the GT wins . High speed stability is not the Ferraris strong point ,however there are upgrades to the rear suspension that help some .

Mongo

The 348 was a less stable car than the 355. Rumors say the NSX is what woke Ferrari up into evolving the 348 into the 355.

That being said, if you are going to go for a 90's mid engine V8 Ferrari, the 355 should be the choice as you do not have solid lifters (cuts down on service labor) and by far the best sounding V8 in the history of man.

rnixon

That, and service intervals, sums-up my stereo-typical view. Both are expensive to maintain correctly, but the 348/355 is the more fragile of the two. Both will need a thorough PPI to avoid a money-pit.

Try Ferrari forums for the informed view on the 348/355. For me, they're very different cars. They're both slow by modern sports car standards, so you're really paying for character / sound / pedigree.

Red Flash

Thanks for all the input. Very useful. This post attracted more attention than I thought it would. :-) I was scared I might get booed out!

One remark: I asked here because I know the 928 well and I just wanted some comparisons to a car that I could understand in terms of driving.

Stereotypes about maintenance and pedigree are not so interesting for me. Also, the cost of maintenance is what it is. I accept this with a 928 too.

John