advice needed 550 2001 vs 1999

[fatbillybob]

Originally Posted by bundas

connections for corrosion. not sure just how you would go about this check but there have been some nightmare stories here. my car spent 7 months at two dealers. stressful. the answer was simple.

Those problems are a thing of the past with SRI inovations gold connector kits. My car ran great before I did the conversion. Now it runs amazing! Even a good running car can benefit from this conversion. One cannot realize how poor the ferrari wiring is from the factory only to get worse with "time" more than miles. I always say miles means a car works. Way under the average number of miles means you don't know. There is no substitute for really learning about the model you think you want to buy.

[Chenrezi]

Originally Posted by fatbillybob

Those problems are a thing of the past with SRI inovations gold connector kits. My car ran great before I did the conversion. Now it runs amazing! Even a good running car can benefit from this conversion. One cannot realize how poor the ferrari wiring is from the factory only to get worse with "time" more than miles. I always say miles means a car works. Way under the average number of miles means you don't know. There is no substitute for really learning about the model you think you want to buy.

What??
OMG this just keeps getting better and better....
Should I check for this conversion?
And, exactly, what is it??

Thanks...

[RossoCorsaItaly]

Get the 2001.

Miles are irrelevant, history, ownership, and maintenancen are much more important.

Also, from what I understand these are asking prices.

I'm sure you can barter on the 2001 much better, it's a private individual so they have no overhead like a dealership (meaning they can sell cheaper), and it's a harder car to sell because of the miles. Come in at a lower offer on the 2001, you'll get the car that you can drive without worry.

[fatbillybob]

Originally Posted by Chenrezi

What??
OMG this just keeps getting better and better....
Should I check for this conversion?
And, exactly, what is it??

Thanks...

The 550 is the 328 of the 12 cylinder models. It seems to be the most bullet proof however many are having great luck with 575's but they are mostly F1 shifter cars and you can't fix those without the $20k dollar Sd2/3 at this time. The bottom line is the 550 is the most trouble free of the ferraris and you can still work on them yourself if you want. I happen to have a German euro 550 living in america. So the car you buy will most likely be just like mine or very close. In america we all know that a ferrari is a european car. But a "euro" car not federalized by the factory is a leper in america except that in my experience the euro's I have owned all worked better than the american versions from both a reliability and performance standpoint. Once you get past smog issues which are easy these days the difference is nil but stigma remains. That's great for me. My original intention after I crashed my last ferrari racecar was to make this euro 550 into a racecar gutted out to a tincan with 500hp. But that car ran better than expected and the PO took car of the car way better than expected and all the updates well done like 575 engine mounts and timing belts with near fresh date codes were discovered after i bought the car. It ran so well that I am still racing my corvette and the 550 is my daily driver. It needs a cup holder. The SRI gold kit is a series of mostly gold tipped connectors and tools to refresh each and every connector plug attached to the ECU. The results of which are nothing short of fantastic. Forget adding a tubi exhaust. Forget recovering a shrinking dash. Forget de-stickifying the cheap plastic. Get the SRI inovations gold kit first. It is that good...and that's from an advanced diy'er whose Ferraris have never seen a dealer or a shop ever! That's 30 years of Ferraring under my belt. When I see good products I spread the word and everything SRI is doing is top drawer. If you pull the plug on a 550 maf sensor you will see gold tip connectors from the factory but no where else. Why did ferrari cheapout? Put the gold everywhere and you will see a difference. Gold is used for high quality connections everywhere in industry. It is known technology.

[tazandjan]

Miguel- The odds are very high against a Euro 550 having a Scuderia Rampante connector kit. The kits have only been available for a short period of time for the Maranello. They do solve a lot of the poor connector problems.

http://www.plainsimplemarketing.com/...ons/index.html

Taz
Terry Phillips

[550JAB]

Taz, what sort of problems are solved by using the gold connector kit? And could a layman like myself fit it easily.
Thanks
Julian

[tazandjan]

On most Ferraris, the connectors can corrode internally and this changes the voltages ECUs and other components see from sensors, engine components, etc. Since voltages are what the ECUs use to run the injector ignition system, shock absorbers, A/C, fuel cooling, radiator fans, etc, you may see a decrease in performance and an increase in fault lights. Dave's gold connectors do not corrode.

The kits come with a complete set of instructions and tools for installation for the owner or his technician.

Taz
Terry Phillips

[Chenrezi]

Originally Posted by tazandjan

On most Ferraris, the connectors can corrode internally and this changes the voltages ECUs and other components see from sensors, engine components, etc. Since voltages are what the ECUs use to run the injector ignition system, shock absorbers, A/C, fuel cooling, radiator fans, etc, you may see a decrease in performance and an increase in fault lights. Dave's gold connectors do not corrode.

The kits come with a complete set of instructions and tools for installation for the owner or his technician.

Taz
Terry Phillips

"Meanwhile the 550’s only breakdown, caused by the failure of a £27 fuel cut-off solenoid, resulted in a bill showing a ridiculous £634 charge for labour." Evo Magazine

Would it help with something like this?

[tazandjan]

Miguel- Beats me. Depends on whether the solenoid actually failed or bad connections said it failed. Would have had to been there. The problem is when connections get shaky, components that may have been fine with good voltages may now show up as faults or fail earlier.

Numerous threads and posts saying how much better everything worked on 355s, etc, after the change was made.

Taz
Terry Phillips