F1 gets a bad rep...

the f1 is a more advanced system than a regular manual gearbox, but it is obviously outdated by now, I still love the feeling of blasting through gears with the F1, it feels "raw" versus modern dual clutch systems, of course the downside is the maintenance but the feeling is still there and I personally love it.

 

The 430 is I think awesome with the f1 box. It shifts fast and crisp with that really nice burble in the exhaust.

 

I get the impression that the f1 stigma is more related to the 360 than the 430. That was my takeaway from the Aldous Voice review.

 

Personally, I think most F1 issues are related to lack of maintenance. The F1 system should have the fluid changed, system bled, and a self-check run at least every three years, even though that did not make it into the maintenance recommendations until the 599.

 

I agree 100%. It is not the system itself, you have a very sensitive system so you need to pay attention, then take care of it. It is not a Honda Civic. I had the "Ignorance" when I had my Maserati Spyder, knew nothing about the F-1, then it made me learn a lot and helped me through Ferraris.

 

Lots of great thoughts in this thread so far. I think that it's a great system in the F430 and well suited to the car, for sure.

 

I disagree. 90% were F1 transmissions. Nothing wrong with the system at all. It can be more costly to repair than a manual but that's not earth shattering news to anyone here.

 

Funny thing is, on 360s at least, the three pedals tend to have more actual transaxle problems. That is probably because F1 does not screw up shifts.

I am more paranoid than most on F1 and we swap out half the F1 fluid every year and do the complete drain, bleed and self-check every three years. My techs have a dedicated turkey baster with hose for pulling out half the Tutela CS Speed.

 

I have to be honest and say I'm not entirely impressed by the F1 system. It doesn't hit the spot for me because it doesn't change fast enough.

My First F430 was a manual Spider. It was a joy to use but I did find there was a limit. The power the F430 has meant I had to really row the box on some more demanding roads, and although that is a good/enjoyable thing most of the time there were situations driving above 8/10ths where the ‘box began to get in the way.

My current F430 is a 2008 F1 so has the later ‘SoFast 3’ system (CFC301 TCU, updated Motronics, and different loom/sensors). It shifts in 120ms rather than 160ms, but it’s still not a million miles away from a good manual change. My old car for example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzMeK42nFoE

My thoughts are the manual is enjoyable than F1 for less spirited driving in the F430, but not ideal when driving hard (incidentally I think the manual ‘box is ideally suited to the 360 and makes a good package in that platform). The F1 comes into its own when really pushing on but isn’t really as good as it should be. The BMW’s SMG system in the >2002 M3 was a lot better (80ms).

I’m converting my car to the Scuderia Supefast 2 system as I believe that will provide a real modern alternative to the manual.

 

For me F1 is how Ferrari made the transition to auto from manual. It's a fascinating historic piece of engineering full of wonderful details and it won't be forgotton.

From a driving evaluation point of view - for me - it is hard to drive smoothly and because of that it lacks the satisfaction of a manual car especially when you're making comparison to a Ferrari manual when they do the whole metal gate thing sooooo well.

 

Hi Mark, I agree with a lot of what you're saying but I'd like to leave more about the generations of transmissions. Do you know the breakdown of which version is in what year (or serial number range) of F430?

 

You'll be happy with the scud gearbox. The shifts feel faster and harder than any other paddle system I've ever driven, including DCT.

 

Once you start getting into higher HP cars, a stick just becomes dangerous. With a F1, you won't get all of the loading/unloading of the tires and transfer of weight while coming on and off the throttle. Some folks like that, but I've had enough butt puckers in my day to not go down that route again.

 

Agree 100%. With the correct tools, procedures and maintenance, reliability can be very high.

 

Hi Bastuna, sure thing. I actually wrote a little about it in my project thread:

 

Can't wait I'd take it over DCT any day.

 

What do you mean by this please? I don't understand why you have cited the transmission type as a factor in weight transfer and cornering loads?

And without sounding contrarian I offer you my opinion which is that a manual high powered car is no more intrinsically dangerous than a semi automatic one. I believe that a driver doing the wrong things at the wrong time or not respecting personal or mechanical limitations correctly will get him or herself in to trouble just as easily in either.

 

Thank you. This is great info.

Can you go from So Fast II to So Fast III with software only or is there a necessary a hardware change with it?

 

Interested in this as well, never read anything that 2008-2009 models have different transmission software than 05-07...

 

Not a bad rep IMO.
I just prefer 3 pedal cars.
Enjoy your F1 430.
It sounds fantastic.

 

This is why I had to have an 08 - this and many other updates from the earlier models.

 

Talk about deja vu! F1 v stick!

The knock is F1 clutches don't last as long as a stick, and this is generally true. Having grown up with three pedals, I'd hide my head in a paper sack if I didn't get 50k out of a clutch, particularly a big Ferrari clutch. Simply put, if you know what you're doing, you don't slip very much in a manual, i.e., release quickly through the engagement point.

The problem, according to someone who should know, is the F1 clutch was designed for racing. You floor it and pop shifts without lifting. Kinda like how we used to do clutchless shifts on a motorcycle. To do this, F1 clutches are fast, really fast. But if you use a fast clutch on a street car, the result can be embarrassing. Jerk, blat, blat, jerk, blat blat jerk. To make it smoother, Ferrari slowed down the engagement, which makes the clutch slip, but it also wears faster.

This why Porsche and everybody else went with the DCT. The computer can shift scary fast with little wear. In my Cayman, I would roll on the throttle to pass at 70, and the car would shift from 7th to 3rd faster than you can say the words. It would then immediately start up shifting. No muss, no fuss, just lock and load.

Frankly, no one can beat a DCT at the track. Nobody is that fast. But I still prefer a stick on the street. I like to short shift at the point where I can feel the torque curve start to flatten out. Sometimes, for old times sake, I'll even do a heel and toe. Like Jimmy Buffett once sang - You never know when hard times are going to come again.

 

What are the "many" other updates?

I'm curious because I did a lot of research on the different years and in stark contrast to cars like the 360, for example, there were very few updates to the F430 that couldn't be updated during services and campaigns (the manifolds and exhaust mounts come to mind). The biggest change was going from the 30 amp F1 system to the 50 amp one from the 2005 to 2006 models. So I would love to know the "many" updates because clearly, despite my having the F430 technical service bulletins and one of the FNA F430 reference books, my research must have been flawed.