FF Transmission in AUTO Question

It's the same mechanism to shift in either mode. Driver input vs. electronic sensing to activate the mechanism is no matter to the DCT. Still a race car build quality, she can't hurt it by auto driving. Yet I would have her drive it for a bit and make sure she likes it.

The one weird moment in the Auto is sometimes slow creeping from Stop sign to Stop sign in a tight area, in Sport mode, from 2nd to 1st can give a little kick on downshift. If not in Auto the DCT will downshift for you as you stop, and it's smoother for some reason.

Not a problem, but you will notice if you drive it.

The best mode for her is Comfort, or Rain in the rain.
The best for you is Sport with the Bumpy Road button on. It's like another car.

Tire pressures at factory pressure settings are pretty soft, I would add 4 lbs a tire cold, still very comfy yet will accentuate the difference between Comfort and Sport, and in theory save a little fuel. Car is not a gas hog unless you step on it. And you will She can get 12 city to 17 highway.

 

It's a very composed car. I've been on the track in Rain mode, and it's very, very hard to get it loose, the rears grab. Many systems in favor of control. It's equally hard to get loose in Comfort or Sport on dry land. She will be safe as can be and probably love it.

Most women don't REALLY punch it, they are happy with the power avail under 4k. But you never know. Either way, it's incredibly stable doing anything you want to do under 120 mph, and very stable from 120-208.

 

you must hang around with boring women.

My wife is the primary driver of our FF.

4-5 years ago, she was a typical "I don't care about cars", was an average driver with a typical level of road rage.

Since then, she has become a very skilled driver and has actually come to love and appreciate performance cars, ranging from our FF to F12 to Speciale over time. I can ASSURE you she enjoys the upper limits of the rev range and uses every bit of the brakes and grip.

She will be attending her 5th FDE Advanced program in a couple weeks - which she loves, plus it has built her driving skills and confidence up superbly. She's typically among the quicker and smoother drivers in the schools, makes me very proud.

All kidding aside, she drove herself out of a near-certain bad accident (while driving our Cayenne) due to her car control skills recently.

As for the FF, it's a very safe car....the brakes/grip and software, plus the 4RM, are great at helping avoid trouble in the first place.

Last, when we first got the cars, she did tend to use AUTO, but once she understood and appreciated the hows/whys of shifting, she's definitely 100% manual mode now.

 

Was a personal insult necessary?

Hardly boring. She drives both cars very well.

I clearly said "most", my opinion only.

 

You essentially accuse women of being timid with horsepower, and then get sensitive?

My comment was not an insult, just my opinion.

Back to the thread

 

I'm simply replying to your personal swipe. I was here on topic, thank for the advice.

Let's be real about this, MOST women in the FF are not paddle shifting and hitting 7000 RPM in 2nd and 3rd.

 

My wife loves driving her FF at the upper limits and just like Entropy she went from not really caring much about cars to an absolute love for the Ferrari V12 and has become quite skilled on the road and track.

Not sure who Brian is hanging with but most of those women are boring.

 

To answer your question, no it will not.
if anything it will be less " abusive " than hard shifts near redline.

The DCT in unlike the previous generations where clutch wear was a concern.

DCT is an entirely new system with a clutch pack , that to date, I have not experienced a replacement due to wear ( or any other reason for that matter )

Enjoy in advance, but you can admit it, the FF is really for you... LOL

S

 

That's fantastic. Most women who are daily driving the car their husband bought are not gunning them to the redline like we drive.

Not hardly boring. She prefers the 911 GTS with the top down.

 

You get better fuel economy in auto-- for whoever cares about it.

 

lol. Right !


The only known issue with the FF is related to the transmission, but it's a random failure, at a very low percentage. Same Getrag as the 458 and Cali for Dual Clutch Transmission/DCT, can burn a wire in the rear end that requires a big fix, or the PTO in the front can fail. Again, these are very rare, and I want to reassure you of that. But to be honest, no spin, they do happen. Has nothing to do with mileage or driving style from what my service mgr says. Just pay to be safe and extend your warranty each year, or self insure and likely save a bunch of money if you're in for the longer haul.

 

FWIW

In 5 years, I've only seen 1 PTO failure.

But I would still suggest / request you extend your warranty ;-)

S

 

One in 5 years from what scope of source Steve?

 

Do more recent model year cars have this fixed?

 

Let's defer again to Steve since he sees these cars a lot, but we've had 2 FF's (2013, 2015) and I know a lot of people with these cars....and I hang around the service dept a lot.

Have not heard of 1 FF DCT issue nor a PTU issue, aside from some cases cited here on Fchat. Most of the "systemic" DCT issues were in the Cali and early 458, but I would imagine you are statistically more likely to have an issue with the seatbelt handover mechanism getting "confused" than a gearbox or PTU problem.

I think only "known issues" with the FF are the depreciation and the fact that most critics have never driven or lived with one.

Having said that, I'd second the motion on an extended warranty on any current gen car....Ferrari or otherwise.

 

I'm the Service Director for Boardwalk Ferrari.

Over the past 5 years ,without giving actual VIN's out, 36-ish FF's, combined mileages in excess of 100k miles.

I personally have over 7,000 miles of seat time , in conditions ranging from highway driving long distances, short local drives, leading numerous local spirited Ferrari drives, to week long mountain road owners rallies.

S

 

Don't argue with the world's leading expert on all things FF.. it's fruitless.

Our FF just started having a seat belt issue, it falls off the handle before reaching the driver.

We also had the depreciation issue It's right about 10K / month for the first 1.5 years of ownership.. That is one heck of a feature for sure.

Totally agree with the critic statement.. I've had countless F owners drive the FF and get out with an open jaw.

 

Great, that's what I assumed but wanted to confirm.

So that's good data. And in talking with the service directors at three other dealers, one near you, there is a wire that burns up and requires a rear end rebuild, and then the PTO can fail ... as I said these are OCCASIONALLY ... but a major costs. The Getrag has this known burned wire issue since 2011, as I'm sure you would agree ... although maybe not in public

Have you found a cheaper fix for the rear end issue? It's not mechanical, it's a minor electrical.




Of course the seat belt thing Jasone, most people have that. No need to be rude.

 

It will be nice to have a preventive electrical fix before it turns into a rear end rebuild. Even with warranty, who wants to have car sitting at services for weeks or even months during the rebuild.
BTW, what is PTO?

 

The Getrag wiring issue goes back to 2008-2009 in the original California, and some 458's (and 458 Challenge) cars enjoyed it.

I don't know the actual numbers, it was enough to be noticed but far from catastrophic. It was addressed starting in 2011 with some redesign work.

Some of the Getrag DCT's have had failures; often it's electrical/solenoid related. Best I can tell, the mechanicals are robust. At first, since the units were not field serviceable, the only fix was a gearbox swap. (most, I believe, under warranty, within the 3 years). Now many/most dealers have techs trained in the several levels of gearbox repairs and repair parts/kits are available. I've known a few of the race cars that needed repair, I think it was $3-6K.

Not sure what a "rear end" failure is, as the gearbox/e-Diff are sort of housed together. I've seen a few pure mechanical failures (diffs eating themselves up, likely a one-off defect). One was due to somehow being low on fluids. (but no leak).

PTU is the Power Transfer Unit - essentially the "front gearbox and diff" in the AWD system in the FF. It's a mini gearbox/diff mounted off the front end of the FF's engine. This piece of metal, along with the software, is astonishingly cool and some serious breakthrough design and engineering. Obviously less economical than a classic AWD setup (eg. Quattro, 4Matic, et al) but clever and performs well.

As always will defer to Steve for any corrections on my techno-babble

 

I don't know about cheaper, but I can say less expensive. Initally it was in the $30k+ range, now , depending on the actual component failure it's MUCH less now.

Though I still push New Power Warranty and Warranty extensions all day long... < Health insurance for your Ferrari ya know >

I have the parts on my credenza in my office, for when a client asks, just exactly what is a DCT SSP or CCP ? ( see photo below )

Thank you sir, I think you pretty much covered it all, accurately!

S
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