So you're saying auto doesn't override sport mode? Doesn't feel like sport mode, or at least not that I recall. Been a LONG time since I've explored it. I can't stand the way auto shifts so I'll probably pass on playing with it again anytime soon.
Embrassing, but obviously I don't RTFM very often. I could rationalize that I change cars too much, but the truth is I don't think I've ever read one, not entirely anyway. Thanks for taking up my slack But I swear when I fooled around with it that auto didn't feel the same shifting as either normal or sport. I want to say it was like it would start to engage and just hesitate for a split second to make sure you weren't going to do something dumb before it was done shifting. Or maybe it was just my imagination.
In both my F430 and my 599 I always shifted them manually. I liked the way it felt. I was told by the dealer that manually shifting them was easier on the clutch. Niether car had very many miles so no acid test.
just to add on this one: auto and manual are doing pretty much the same to the clutch I would say. It depends much more where and how you drive the car. In traffic for instance the wear is much higher than on open roads, most wear is probably done when starting from a stand still and even there it makes a hell lot of a difference how you push the throttle. And here comes my question to Taz: I am right now on a tour through Tuscany with my 612, driving a few thousend miles and I have the feeling whenever I accelerate hard in second or third (from maybe 50-60 miles an hour) I can smell the clutch, which would mean that even when fully closed, the clutch seems to suffer from the power. Is that normal? Last reading gave me 68% remaining on the clutch, so condition should be ok. Smell disappears quikly but I am wondering because I thought a clutch fully closed should not get used, only from standing still into driving it slips and uses material. Am I wrong? Ciao, Stefan
Stefan- No, that is not normal. A clutch should not slip much on normal upshifts, and never during normal accelecation. I would not expect any clutch smell during normal driving, even in heavy traffic, unless there are a lot of steep hills during starts. Before you go on your trip, have your tech check, and possibly set, point of intitial slippage (PIS). Also have him use a borescope to look at the pin on the throwout bearing to make sure the clutch is not nearly fully worn, even though the SD3 says it is not. That pin is a good telltale for clutch wear on the 456- pre-OTO 612 V12 Ferraris. Not sure if that works on the twin plate clutch on the Sessanta, OTO and 599. Have to ask the pros on that one.
Terry, thanks - I agree. Have never had the 612 F1 clutch smell except when using on a hill in 1st when I should have used the special "start-off" mode. Clutch should not slip in normal use...
There is a hill start mode covered in the owners manual, but, if anything, it slips the clutch more than not using it to get you going. Prevents you from ever stalling, though. Personally, I would use the left foot on the brake and coordinate with the right to start up a hill.
That is exactly what I am doing, the F1s is to be used as any other manual car, only that the clutch is semi-automatic, semi because you still decide with your right foot, how and when to engage it. So on steep hills it is sometimes better to push a bit harder in order to let the clutch not slip too much. One can basically feel how it works. My ideal world during driving is to use Sport mode and let it do what it does, it just feels right for the system. In comfort mode I get the feeling that the clutch might suffer slightly more. Coming back to my Easter trip through Tuscany (3,500 km with wife and son, 10 days). Got to get to know my Scal much better. And it's true, Italian cars sometimes do what they want, just the little things... Starting from a recurring flash of the engine control sensor light (which after it stayed on I managed to delete it with turning off the battery switch for 15 seconds; no real issue since my Tech told me it is coming from rare ignition failure (fehlzündungen) on one cylinder bank, according to his SD3), to a radio which gets louder ever since in a while (I know its dependent on the noise, but still...), an auto wiper which sometimes gets a bit crazy, to a clutch that smells sometimes. The latter one is for me - after 5,000 km of driving - sort of understandable, it sometimes smells when I start from a standstill on steep hill, which unfortunately is the case from garage. It very rarely also smelled a bit when driving in low gear for a long time and then suddenly shifting two or three gears down under full throttle. Guess there is some initial slip from the pure engine power. Another thing what went loose during the trip is one of the covers of the head lamp washers in the front bumper. It's still on but much looser than the other side. maybe one of the clips has broken? Does anyone has the diagram of that part from the working manual and know what it costs? Maybe I can even repair it myself but I am a bit scared to grab the mechanism when pushing up in order to get there. Although it seems to be hydraulic as even without power it pulls back in its position. Would rather fix the existing than buying a new one because new paint (rubino miccalizato) might look a bit different. Besides that? A lot of fun on the roads, and even my wife said the 612 is more comfortable than my Audi A6, both in the front as in the back (Ok, she is only 144 cm tall). Had some good fun with a few other drivers, even drove in a corso of Italian old timers from San Gimignano to Florence and the nice thing with the Italians is that they really like Ferraris and not pulling the stupid "green card" or showing jealousy as it happens sometimes in a few other neighboring European countries. So now its cleaning and servicing the old grandma, having spent the last 8 hours/1.000 km on the freeway. Cheers, Stefan
Stefan- Wow, your wife is tiny, that is only 4' 9" in English measurements. Is she Spanish? See if this helps on the headlight washer. Not much in my early 612 WSM, but this was. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Taz, thanks a lot! Absolutely perfect, and spot on what I need, specially the last picture shows exactly what is broken: a little peace of the left side of the cover ( where it is clipped to the nozzle ). Not sure how to fix it, but ideas usually come with thinking, maybe simple hot plastic together with a metal clip, or...... Anyway, thanks for the information, you're like a research lexicon on Ferraris! Stefan PS. My wife is ( of course ) from Italy, exactly from Naples. PPS. Note that my 2004 Scal was upgraded with CCM brakes in 2009, guess that's why the front rims are also 19 inch as the rear instead of the original 18". Got the bill from Ferrari over 25k Euro, previous owner didn't had a problem with that, just liked the feel from his son's F430 CCM brakes, so he wen't for them... PPPS. And before anyone start mentioning the glorious challenge wheels again, as much as I like them, I do prefer the original five spokes, maybe because of the better visibility of the brakes Image Unavailable, Please Login
Wow Stefan, we may have crossed paths. When you wrote your first post on the 20th, my wife and I had just driven from Nice to a small town south of Parma. Unfortunately I was driving a leased Renault and not my 612. Like you I always wanted the 5 spoke wheels, but my car came with the ball polished challenge wheels. I love them, but I would have loved the wheels you have as well. BTW, gorgeous car!
There were some 5 spoke Sessanta specific wheels that I really liked. Have to see if I can find a photo. Stefan- You are correct, those 380 mm front brakes will not fit 18" wheels, but there were a couple of different 19" wheel designs. Yours look like the HGTC wheels. All the late model Ferrari wheels (5x114.3 mm/4.5") are pretty much interchangeable. Here is John's 612 with 20" HGTE wheels that look really nice. I think he tried the base 458 wheels on her, too, and they worked fine. All the offsets on the late wheels are pretty close. Found some photos of the Sessanta wheels. Not sure if they are 19s or 20s, but look like 20s. Very pretty design. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The ONLY color in which I feel the Scaglietti looks best, great, with the stock five spokes is rossa fiorano or perhaps rubino metalizzato. That car is absolutely stunning, my dream 612. Impossible to find in that color here, nearly anyway. Let one get by me two years ago. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
Thanks Piper, agree, took me some time to find the right one, finally I bought it in Italy, btw. the color is "rubino micalizzato, not metalizzato. Taz, problem in many European countries is that you are not allowed to fit 20" wheels on a Scal without a official written confirmation from Ferrari which they do not provide. So its illegal and if you have an accident, the insurance will not pay. Anyway, 19" works well for me.
Stefan- 20" wheels were optional on the 612, so you should not need anything. You can put this in your owners manual and save these pages from the 612 Factory Accessories Brochure. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Right Taz, unfortunately only from Chassis No. 155101, mine is older. So even though technically the 20" rims fit the older models as well, you get trouble with the European bodies like e.g. the German TÜV. Checked already, also confirmed by my local Ferrari dealer. In the US this might be different.
