Just saw 7 of those new ferrari californias all sitting at traffic lights*, 5 of them were at the front while 2 were stuck behind other cars, theres a hard shoulder (its a turning off the number 3 highway in sindian) and one of the ferraris punched it and undertook the car in front to get back to the group.
It backfired quite noticeably and seemed to die out of power for about 1 second… i thought maybe this was the traction control but then it came onto full song and it still really wasnt pulling that hard, almost as if its not running right or on all 12 cylinders (judging by the sound).
This got me thinking, i have seen a fair few lambos and ferraris in taipei that all sound a little… odd, if i was to put it into laymans terms… f**ked.
I remember a car dealer telling me that in order to pass the tight taiwanese vehicle tests, serious modifications must be carried out to the internals of the engine, all of which is done by a binglang 3rd party.
So is this true or is it just a simple case of nobody is looking after these cars properly?.
what is it with taiwanese and group driving/riding, do they have a confidence issue or low self esteem?
I have seen these clubs and its the most boring thing in the world, they dont really do anything but go to a car park, take pictures, ponce about in traffic and maybe go to a buffet BBQ… then upload to wretch
Ever seen those shops that have a sign that says they can service Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche, Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Lamborghini, Skoda, Hyundai, Ford, Fiat, Ferrari, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroen, Alfa Romeo, Buick, GMC, Suzuki and Rolls Royce?..The guys are Jacks of all trades and masters of none…with lots of shops of this caliber, you can see how anything that requires any complex technical knowledge beyond a blue truck will be utterly f*cked once the ‘master mechanic’ of one of these shops lays a finger on it.
As for the groups driving/riding together…they are referred to as ‘teams’ around here…it’s more of a get along gang for owners of any machine to find new bum chums…pretty lame stuff.
sorry they were 599’s not californias
i cant even get a scooter serviced properly, how they can service a high end car which requires special tools and training i dont know.
So does anyone have any info on the mods required to pass the tests, are they as drastic as i was told?
Every time I see one of those I think to myself: you know, if I ever have a car in Taiwan, I’d be something like that. Totally unpractical, just for show, and definetively something I couldn’t have back home. I think I saw the price tag on one used and it was not as staggering as I supposed. Yep, they all sound kind of weird, except around midnight on the Zhongxin strech, where they stage “races” -menaing revving up souped up motors but not really accelerating as teh cops are all around.
Seriously, remember the guy with the brand new Ferrari that busted into flames in Keelung road? Heaven knows what they are doing to those beauties.
[quote=“smellybumlove”]* what is it with taiwanese and group driving/riding, do they have a confidence issue or low self esteem?
I have seen these clubs and its the most boring thing in the world, they dont really do anything but go to a car park, take pictures, ponce about in traffic and maybe go to a buffet BBQ… then upload to wretch [/quote]
Not only in taiwan, other countries like the states or Japan, etc got this too and I think it’s cool to see the same car makers convoy together. Heck, in some countries even iphone users got a club and meet up every month :loco:
Should the usual A-Huang’s ChaBuDuoism issues still be true for a Ferrari here? The Ferrari dealer has (or at least had) foreign guys involved in running the show and servicing the cars too.
I guess after having spent a gazillion NT on a car some of the owners will still take it to the local 567 brands and master of none all in one service place maybe…
[quote=“StreetSpec”][quote=“smellybumlove”]* what is it with taiwanese and group driving/riding, do they have a confidence issue or low self esteem?
I have seen these clubs and its the most boring thing in the world, they dont really do anything but go to a car park, take pictures, ponce about in traffic and maybe go to a buffet BBQ… then upload to wretch [/quote]
Not only in taiwan, other countries like the states or Japan, etc got this too and I think it’s cool to see the same car makers convoy together. Heck, in some countries even iphone users got a club and meet up every month :loco:[/quote]
I think in Taiwan most people are pretty weak on the social (too much bushiban and being told what to do during formative years, not enough time being ‘one of the boys’) so like minded people often find each other on the internet and these groups go from there.
It isn’t just local hipsters into high end Italian sports cars or rice rockets either, I have seen gaggles of Mitsubishi Lancers and Nissan Marches rolling in the mountains en masse, or parked at some rest area talking about how good those Mild Seven taste or how awesome the new orange highlights in the hair look.
There’s nothing wrong with the gas in Taiwan as delivered from the refineries. I’ve seen test reports from labs in Germany which show it to be of high quality.
True, some of the older filling stations have leaky tanks and if you fill up as the tanks are running low you stand a chance of getting some water and other crap in your tank.
To the OP’s original question, I’ve only ever seen one or two mechanics here who could balance even two carburetors, let alone sync 12 throttle bodies. Ferrari’s are also notoriously intolerant of sedate driving, coking up and fouling plugs easily. They need to be thrashed every time they go out. Those wanting to use a supercar in traffic or to go buy groceries should be looking at a Porsche of some sort or a GT-R. They don’t mind at all. Italians have no patience for traffic.
all this time i figured they would have service available at a dealership or maybe 1 or two shops that are specialty service for these…guess i could be wrong.
There’s nothing wrong with the gas in Taiwan as delivered from the refineries. I’ve seen test reports from labs in Germany which show it to be of high quality.
True, some of the older filling stations have leaky tanks and if you fill up as the tanks are running low you stand a chance of getting some water and other crap in your tank.
To the OP’s original question, I’ve only ever seen one or two mechanics here who could balance even two carburetors, let alone sync 12 throttle bodies. Ferrari’s are also notoriously intolerant of sedate driving, coking up and fouling plugs easily. They need to be thrashed every time they go out. Those wanting to use a supercar in traffic or to go buy groceries should be looking at a Porsche of some sort or a GT-R. They don’t mind at all. Italians have no patience for traffic.[/quote]
did that report state taiwan’s 98 octane is a 98 or something lower?
i live in taichung and i also see ferrari here and there is no problems with these cars. no sputters or bogging while driving normal and punching it. as for taipei it’s crazy stop and go traffic and i can see that happen (even though i did see some in taipei and they all sounded normal putting it and nailing it). heck even happens on suped up subaru and other cars that run those needle tip spark plugs. not daily friendly needs to be thrashed!
if i got a audi a4 (for example) and loved this car but didn’t know anyone else who got one. 1st thing i would do is check out the audi forum. as usual they got people meet up to grab a bite or PLC (parking lot cruizer) in there city if got enough people.
honestly it’s a great way to meet new people who has the same interest u have.
another method is i take my audi to a popular audi shop. some times u meet people there and find out about popular spots they hang out. for example got spots for car stereo, drifting and street racing ect. these spots change often and u need to know the right people to find out where is the current one located at.
Note that gas in Taiwan is rated as RON. In the US they rate as MON. 98RON is equivalent to 93MON.
As to the Ferraris, they will run ok until they need work done that requires special tools and training. Ah Huang has neither and promptly falls on his face. This might not happen for a few years, but sooner or later…
I’m sure there is noone in Taiwan with (for example) 12 vacuum gauges and the chops to balance as many throttle bodies. Similarly, there are very few shops with the skills to properly tune even a simple car like a Subaru, and I’ve seen a bunch who were all supposed to be the best in Taiwan.
Honestly I think they get treated about the same as they do in the west. With cars costing over NT$10m you will always get a mix of people who adore them and people with money who barely drive them. There was a very nice guy who ran a market stall near our old house, he looked like the stereotypical hardworking farmer except when he got into his Ferrari F430. I asked him about it and he was so passionate about the whole thing, he said that he was not particularly rich but had a frugal lifestyle and put most of his life savings into his dream car. He bought it used from some local B-rate TV star with less than 1,000 miles on it and says he is dedicated to keeping it running well until his grandson is old enough to drive it. He gets all his servicing done through Maserati in Taipei. No, he didn’t let me have a go but I did get a spin as passenger and let me tell you there was absolutely nothing wrong with that thing :discodance:
I can tell you that I saw the results from a lab in Germany that ran the tests for BMW Taiwan while they were trying to diagnose misfires on certain models. They were sure the cars were perfect and the gas was bad.
The results were not just a pass, they indicated the samples (collected at random) were of very high quality.
BMW ended up creating Taiwan-specific maps for some models to make them run right in this climate.
[quote=“redwagon”]I can tell you that I saw the results from a lab in Germany that ran the tests for BMW Taiwan while they were trying to diagnose misfires on certain models. They were sure the cars were perfect and the gas was bad.
The results were not just a pass, they indicated the samples (collected at random) were of very high quality.
BMW ended up creating Taiwan-specific maps for some models to make them run right in this climate.[/quote]
