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How to replace the VALVE COVER GASKETS on a Ferrari F430

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Right Hand Valve Cover Gasket – 198927: https://bit.ly/2HQ2rDF
Left Hand Valve Cover Gasket – 198928: https://bit.ly/2HUGiEi
Spark Plug Gaskets – 223982: https://bit.ly/2HRnNR4

The valve cover gaskets on the Ferrari F430 are prone to having some leaking after a while. You can try to tighten down the valve cover bolts and sometimes that will solve the problem, but frequently the gaskets simply need to be replaced.

Replacing the gaskets requires removing the valve covers. To remove the valve covers you have to disconnect the wiring harness, pull the ignition coils, disconnect the cam position sensors, and disconnect the valve timing actuators. Once all these components are out of the way, you can remove the valve cover bolts and pop off the valve cover.

I was not able to fully remove the valve cover so I pulled off the old gasket and installed the new gasket while the valve cover was still in the engine compartment. I also replaced the ignition coil gaskets while I was in there.

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Ferrari Sunday Funday – Screwing around with Ferrari Friends

We rallied the troops and decided to show up at the Pistons at the Park (https://www.pistonsatthepark.com) car show at Austin’s Park N’ Pizza. Loeper, Richard, Scot, Jeremy, and Stu all came out. We had 3 Ferrari 458’s, 1 360 Spider, 1 355 Spider, and Scot’s incredible Beetle.

At the show we meet up with some of the guys from Elite and then head out to the Supercars ATX brunch hosted by Lamborghini of Austin. All in all, it made for a perfect Sunday of messing around and doing car stuff in the Ferraris.

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Loeper bought new wheels for the Ferrari 458 and his wife HATES THEM!

Loeper is all butthurt because “everyone keeps buying 458s” and so he thinks he needs to step up his A-game. In light of this, he decided to drop some serious coin on some new custom HRE wheels.

Josh arrived at Loeper’s house before me and was already half way done by the time I arrived, but we ended up putting on the new wheels, the taking his 458 out for a spin to make sure the new wheels and tires do not rub the fenders.

After the test drive, Chris’s wife came out to see the wheels and proclaimed that she indeed, does not like them. It broke Loeper’s heart.

After the wheels, we install some more carbon fiber parts, the high pressure fuel pump caps.

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The Police Get Involved! Ferrari 458 Poker Run Rally to South Padre | Part 2

We pick up from where we left the Poker Run Rally to South Padre Part 1: https://youtu.be/JPWIdRS5CJQ

Now we hit some high speeds (in Mexico of course) and really get to stretch our legs. Triple digit speeds may or may not have happened.

After some exciting stretches of perfectly flat and straight roads we meet up and get a police escort across the bridge to South Padre Island. There we had security look over the cars while we got to party! I’m pretty sure just about everyone got drunk and had fun!

A HUGE thanks to Lion Gate Racing for organizing such an awesome event. I am definitely going to your next one. Can’t wait!

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First Poker Run Rally in the Ferrari 458 to SOUTH PADRE! Part 1

I join up with Lion Gate Racing for the Poker Run Rally to South Padre! We had about 30 car in the rally and it was an absolute blast!

First I drove down to San Antonio to pick up Adam from Porsche of San Antonio. We then head all the way to McAllen, Texas right by the Mexico border. Once there, we met up with the other rally participants and got to check out their awesome rides. Lots of Corvettes, Mustangs, and a few other exotics like a McLaren and Aston Martin.

The next day we head out on the rally and the shenanigans begin!

Lion Gate Racing’s Facebook Page

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Installing an Escort Max 360ci Radar Detector and Laser Jammer on my Ferrari 458

The Ferrari 458 needed some sort of Radar Detector, especially since I would like to avoid getting speeding tickets and plan to participate in quite a few rallies and road trips this year. So I purchased an Escort Max 360ci Radar Detector, Laser Receiver and Shifter (Jammer).

For some reason Escort doesn’t want people installing these units themselves which I find silly. I of course, rejected that and decided to install the unit myself. Installation of the front portion of the setup took about 5 hours and wasn’t too difficult.

Now the Ferrari 458 has some protection against radar and laser speed measuring devices. I’ve only had it on the car a little while and can already tell you this is by far the best option I’ve seen in person. I would highly recommend you consider something like this if you’re planning on driving “spirited”.

Laws vary dramatically between states and certainly between countries, so you need to look up what is allowed in your locale.

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Ferrari 458 BlackVue 900S 2CH Front and Rear Dashcam Installation

BlackVue sent me a new 900S-2CH Dashcam and B-124 Battery for my Ferrari 458 Italia. I am a strong believer in dash cams for your own protection.

USE THE CODE ngs10 ON BlackVue’s website to get 10% OFF!!

I have BlackVue Dash Cameras in all of my cars as they have proven to be very valuable when something happens. Whether it’s vandalism, an accident, or even just something that happened that you want to relive the moment. The 900S-2CH combined with the B-124 battery is the ultimate setup to protect your car.

Installation in the Ferrari 458 is not too difficult, although you will have to remove a significant amount of the trim around the top of the interior. You will also have to find a suitable mounting spot for the battery. I installed the battery in the front of the car between the frunk and firewall.

Installing the BlackVue 900S-2CH is fairly straight forward and can be accomplished in most cars easily. With the B-124 battery your camera can run even once you’ve turned the car off for about 20 hours! By using a 128GB microSD card, you can have hours and hours of video stored.

BlackVue published a blog post about this! Check it out HERE

Pulling the interior trim is in this video:

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Ferrari 458 Italia SAGGING HEADLINER repair by Just Like New Interior

Jay with Just Like New Interior (512-644-4476) once again fixes my Ferrari to be as good as new. This time the 458 Italia had to have a sagging headliner repaired.

This is extremely common in Ferraris and it’s caused by 2 things. The first is frequently the glue that Ferrari uses from the factory doesn’t seem to stick well in very hot and humid climates such as Texas. The second is that the foam insulation seems to degrade over time and then separate from the headliner and the tar paper.

Jay shows us his impressive talent and experience and is able to replace the degraded foam, and reattach the headliner so that it looks as good as new! To accomplish this we had to remove all of the upper trim around the top of the interior.

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Meg BROKE the Ferrari 458, but it’s an easy fix!

458 Mirror Control Switch for folding mirrors: https://bit.ly/2DGHXcT
458 Mirror Control Switch for regular mirrors: https://bit.ly/2DHLHee

Ricambi America hooked me up again, this time with a mirror switch.

Meg wanted to try driving the 458 after dinner a few weeks ago, and when she went to turn on the headlights, she grabbed the mirror switch instead. I’m not sure how, but when she turned the switch, it simply snapped right off in her hand! She felt terrible about breaking the car but it was kinda funny. I’m guessing the switch was already broken or probably on it’s way out.

The fix is fairly easy as the panel with the window switch is designed to pop out for access to some fuses.

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How the Pros Install Window Tint on my Ferrari 458 Italia

Authentic Details hooked me up with some new window tint on my Ferrari 458 Italia. Jonathan did an incredible job installing the tint perfectly. He also shared some tips to install better and faster.

Initially Authentic Details wanted to use a computer printed tint template but unfortunately the template was slightly off. Thankfully Jonathan is highly trained and well experienced and was able to free hand cut the window tint to perfection. I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.

If you need tint, ppf, ceramic coating, or paint correction you need to contact Authentic Details. They are outstanding.
https://www.authenticdetails.com
(512)296-0183