I have 4 questions about the Ferrari 360 spider 2002 to 2004: 1. Which is the less expensive clutch to change: the manual or the F1? 2. What is the cost of each? 3. Afer how many miles do they need to be changed? 4. Does the F1 have more problems with it's clutch than the manual? Any recomendations and advice are highly appreciated. I am shopping for the Ferrari 360 spider 2002 to 2004 Thank you!
1. Same 2. Price locally. I have heard prices all over the place but do not use low bidder. 3. Depends on you. I have a customer who gets 60,000 miles or so out of an F1 clutch (and he lives in the hills) and some only get 15,000. 4. F1 cars have more problems with their drivers than stick shift cars. 5. Pay lots of money to buy a good car. False economy to do otherwise.
Hi Rifledriver, Did you mean to write [drivers] in your reply to item 4?!! 4. F1 cars have more problems with their drivers than stick shift cars. Thank you for your response, very helpful.
Here we go again I want to know why this is the case!.... More "problematic" drivers buy F1's than shifters? In what way are "we" problematic? A "good" manual shift causes less wear than an F1 shift? [I know I never "miss a shift" with the F1, I couldn't honestly say that with the 348.....] However, I guess I'm one of those 15k drivers.... I even offered myself up as the "sacrificial lamb" of F1 clutch wear in the hope we could all learn something. I've done about 1K since Brian installed the clutch (etc) - I guess it needs to get back into Brian's "wizened view" and the SD2 for an update..... Cheers, Ian
Ian all I need to do is look at your history with brakes to know that neither the clutch nor any other system on the car has an easy life. What we should be celebrating in your case is how you can drive it so fast at track days and similar events and how well it has done with that usage. Any lesser car would be in shambles but a 360 in that usage is like the Energizer Bunny. Its just hard on consumables. Throwing brakes, tires and clutches at it have kept it a great driver. Car looks and drives great.
Thanks for that - You know I *love* this car! Note again that I'm not "complaining", I know I drive it pretty hard - I like to think Enzo would be pleased..... I know I wear out brakes in a hurry - I use 'em, and accept that they're a wear item. However, there's an "undercurrent" - you mentioned it - That F1 drivers are inherently "problematic" - I'm trying to educate myself (and others) as to why this "feeling" exists, and therefore what "we" can do (if anything) to improve the situation. With the clutch, it appears that running the car hard (flat-out, no lift, shifts) results in clutch wear going thru' the roof. Which I accept, but do nevertheless find surprising - We know the clutch is small for the power its handling, but 60k miles "in the hills" versus 15K of which maybe 25% are "hard" miles does seem like a lot of difference to me..... I guess the question then becomes, does a shifter cars clutch exhibit the "same" wear characteristics if driven in a similar fashion? - We know it doesn't "slam" the car into gear the way the F1 does, but at least the F1 has matched revs etc perfectly before engaging - I know I didn't always do that with the 348.... BTW, I'm convinced the car "comes alive" (like the bunny) when it gets to the track - I can hear it saying "cool, this is why I was built" - It's a happy car! Cheers, Ian
It is interesting to see how different the wear is in different markets. In the UK, 3,000 to 6,000 miles would be 'normal' for an F1 clutch. Mine has done 20,000 and I am reliably assured that this must be the second unit because they NEVER last more than 12,000 miles over here! Perhaps the 3 year cam belt change requirement here v's 5 year in the US isn't just the Brits being ripped off, because conditions are so different?
