Aftermarket Parts

There are various aftermarket parts available for the F355. Here is a list of the most popular.

Challenge Rear Grille

 

Some cars were delivered with this option but it is still available from Ferrari and is relatively easy to install. It replaces the body panel that surrounds the rear lights with a matt black grille. Some people still prefer the body colour, but the grille does look nice. Your engine bay may run slightly cooler with the challenge grille fitted, but it isn't anything you'd notice on the temperature gauge and is certainly not a necessity in that sense.

 

Aftermarket Exhausts

 

There is a whole section dedicated to this. Jump back to the previous page.

Air Filters

There are a number of manufacturers that make replacement air filters for the F355; one of which is K&N. These filters directly replace the existing Ferrari filters giving better breathing for the engine. TUBI can also provide a set of performance filters as part of their 'Sport Pack' exhaust / filter / bypass pipe pack.  Power is increased slightly and noise changes a little. The power increase is not something you will notice through your seat.

There are also replacements for the air boxes themselves (which the filters sit inside). These give additional performance increases and are usually made from carbon fibre. The whole point is to reduce the restrictions on airflow further. Gruppe M are one manufacturer that produce these.

Gear Knobs

 

This has been mentioned elsewhere on the site but for around £50 you can get a beautiful bright chrome replacement gear knob and banish away that original one which will probably have flaked and gone a bit nasty. Hill Engineering are the best source for these (again!).

 

Skid Plates

 

The F355 has only around four inches of ground clearance, and this can often result in catching the underside of the front bumper on things like extreme road cambers (eg when leaving the petrol station). Ferrari have moulded some skid areas into the underside of the bumper, but this is painted and each time you catch the underside you are effectively wearing away your bumper. Some manufacturers have therefore produce sacrificial skid plates in various materials that can be installed on the underside of the bumper. Hill Engineering for example manufacture skid plates in Polyethylene, Aluminium, and Titanium.

 

Wing Badges

 

There was a factory option to have recessed scuderia shields installed on the front wings. This was fairly expensive at around £750, and thus many buyers did not bother. Having seen the original item, it looks very nice but maybe not £750 nice. As a result there are several options available to those that don't have the factory item:

 

  • Stick-on plastic variety. These are a few mm thick and stick straight on to the wing. Cost is about £2.50 each from Ferrari. They look fine from a distance, but close up are clearly not 'original' (despite being an actual Ferrari item if you see what I mean). If you have a Ferrari dealer nearby, go visit to get them. Don't spend £10 on ebay for them - you're just getting ripped off.
  • Stick on Enamel Variety. There are two types of enamel shields - regular and "thin" versions. The thin version exists to try and match the profile of the recessed item, which is thicker but due to the recess does not protrude very far above the line of the panel. Be careful how much you pay for the pair as some sellers are asking an awful lot. Reckon on around £250 for the pair (aftermarket ones). Here is one example
  • You can, if you want, have the original items recessed into your wings. This is probably the most expensive option, and the most cost effective way of doing it is probably to buy new wings, rather than have the existing wings beaten out.
If you buy enamel badges make sure you buy ones specifically for 355, as the curvature of the wing is different in comparison to say a 360.

 

ECU Upgrades

 

There are one or two companies out there offering ECU upgrades at very high prices. It is difficult to know whether the claims these people make are real or not. Here's the dilemma: People who fork out the money for these ECU upgrades always say how much better the car is - but they would, wouldn't they - they wouldn't want to look stupid!  To date no-one has ever done any blind tests on these sorts of upgrades. My advice would be don't bother - invest some money in a driver training course instead - you'll gain a *lot* more time that way.