355 Dave Wins!

As in Dave rocks.... He has to spend countless energy ad nauseam touting the F1. Well I have just experienced my first Sport Mode, full throttle to the floor, first to second gear shift and it was BRUTAL!! Unbelievable even, the amount of force applied and accepted by the car. The clutch and transmission did their jobs flawlessly and rewarded me with something I have never experience in a Gated car. I am not sure how often it can be done, but it needs to be done regularly for my enjoyment - On dry known pavement!

Thank you Dave for being the keeper of the F1 Flame. It was a $10K option for a reason. Ferrari gave us something that has become the standard in Super cars today, maybe to the point of they have perfected it too much in the dual clutch cars. But in a F355, it is fun to drive a part of history as intended and when the traffic picks up, I am not afraid to push the "A" button. The Gated cars provide a different form of joy and we all can appreciate that as well. The F1 has converted me and thankfully I can experience both versions, albeit the Gated GTB will be only be for a few miles in between long slumber. Cheers Dave.

 

Ha!

Nothing like that brutal 1st to second shift at redline. I swear, I often think the car is going to break in half. Most times I chirp the tires - I've even chirped from 2nd to 3rd.

However, forget Auto. It's a total let down.

Cheers, Rob

BTW, I think a read you picked up a nero with roll cage?

What are you keeping and what are you selling?

 

I am glad you said it feels like it is going to break apart. A testament to build quality, as it just keeps on pulling!! Yeah, it chirped second and third a little to. But second gear was crazy hard. The hook up and the engagement and holding of the clutch was like nothing I had ever witnessed.

Yeah, I agonized over selling the Gated, sorted GTS and had several deals come and go. I said I was not going to do it again after people flaked and it was not really for sale. But I met a guy who would really enjoy it and my wife and kids said let it be his turn. I bought the 99 GTS F1 to have a driver and made an offer on the US spec Dubai car. Bill Orth bought the car in 2000 and said it was like nothing he had ever seen, as told to me through the grapevine. Offer was accepted. Actually sold me the car for less than I offered. Last major Jan 2016 400 miles ago. Eddie looked at it for me and said it belonged in a museum. I plan on driving to some local shows and may pursue Red Book Classiche certification in the next few years. I have the luggage, covers and books. Need to do a little key work with Gobble and he is waiting on me to mail my stuff next week.

For me, it is a once in a lifetime acquisition. My hope is an upside years from now. I do all this after the worst Feb sale in 15 years [emoji2957]

Will post pics when the car arrives. Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

So, you are keeping Red F1 and Nero with roll cage? BTW, to my knowledge, only one other exists in the US owned by Stan and I believe that was a Dubai car also.

 

The F1's sound amazing I'll say that....

 

Yes, keeping the two 1999’s. I made a decision to stick with 99’s only. Oh and I have a really nice 1998 F1 GTS, Rosso Corso Red Tan with red thread on dash and seats. 31k miles. Stunning car. 50% clutch. Needs to be driven. 5 years and 6k miles since last major. I have receipts for last 6 years. Was at Brian Crall’s shop last year. So you could just drive it a few more years and do the major then. Probably going to consign it in Dallas with a buddy. I would actually keep it, if it was a 99. Love the interior. But my 1999 has the uprated brakes, red calipers, spare tire option and factory free flow exhaust, so I am keeping it. Someone can PM me on the 1998. [emoji41]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

during those WOT shifts with the F1.. are you letting up on the pedal.. or just keep it down all the way through..

ive only been a passenger in a 355 f1 once.. on during the very short drive, it tried to pay attention closely to the shifts.. and it seemed more then fine..

 

oh ya Rob.. don't forget to experiment blipping the throttle on those downshifts.. with the f1.. apparently its another dimension of enjoyment..

 

I laugh at the F1 doubters. The F1 system was the ONLY reason I bought two 355s. If the F1 system was available in a Maranello in 1998 I never would have owned 355s for 21 years. YMMV

For WOT F1 takeoffs, I keep my foot on the floor. There is no reason to lift ever.

 

Yes, floored [emoji41]!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

In a manual gearbox, shifting while keeping your foot on the floor is called a power-shift. It can be satisfying but it is also a money shift.

 

Hard to practice. May not get many chances to improve. I can shift the gated car really well. I had someone online say it was an F1 with the way I shifted it in a video once. But I prefer not to drive the gated car that way.

The F1 one though, on the Floor, LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Shifting with the foot floored to the pedal might result in a fast shift time or immediate power delivery, but doesn't result in a smooth drivetrain. The car is momentarily unstable. So fast shift time, slow lap time.

In a manual, if your timing is proper, you can shift without depressing on the clutch pedal. You do have to let off the gas pedal a lil, but once mastered, results in a very smooth shift and drivetrain stability. Theoretically, for smooth and fast driving, you're not supposed to feel any shifts. The less you or your passenger feels, the more you have mastered it and the faster you will be on track.

 

Rob.....exactly. Its really incredible. A WOT shift above 5000 rpm with a 355 F1 is one of those moments that the difference is so awesome compared to the norm that you laugh out loud with childlike laughter. That shift is what that car is all about.

 

Give me more details i forgot about this.

 

???? You hold your foot down and upshift near the redline as needed??? I don't understand your question.

Are you busting my chops, Grant???

 

No no
I thought you were explain the drag start.
Someone told me before but dry clutches dont like drag racing but i forgot to try it once in its lfetime.

 

The clutch in the F1 is the same as the manual, why would it matter???

If I want to drag race, my 355 would be my LAST choice to bring. My truck is way faster. I'd go with my old Chevy I guess, it smokes a 355 every time.


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I dont think I said it was easier or harder on the clutch.
I just know from my experiences dry clutches do not like fast starts

 

I asked in another thread but there was no reply so I'll repeat the post here.

Having never driven and F1 car I have to ask what the difference is, other than a fraction of a second between gears, between a WOT shift in an F1 car and flat shifting (power shifting) a gated car. Also, not that it matters much unless you are drag racing, with a gated car you have control over engine RPM, drive train preloading and clutch engagement coming off the line. With an F1 what do you have but mashing the throttle?

The impression I get is that it's the novelty of doing it with the simple flick of a finger. I can imagine it seems more intense because you are less involved (distracted) by manually shifting and clutching the car.

It's an honest question. I'm not anti F1, just not for me. Aside from my 308 and gated 355 I have a Cayman S with PDK.

I remember back in the 70's street racing my Z28, flat shifting. Anything loose on the dash, like spare change, etc, ended up in the back seat. Today, I'm with Ken. I want smooth. That's one thing I like about the PDK.

 

John, don't you have an F1 P car now that you keep telling me the shifts blow your mind?

 

Last night I was reading my F355 book and I started from the back. Never noticed but, the last pages were dedicated to the F1. Ferrari had already developed it for the track and wanted to bring it to the street so people could experience the safety, the precision and the benefits of F1. They touted the no missed shifts, no over revving, the fact that the hands always stayed in the steering wheel. I will screen shot those sections later. The F355 was the first road going car to offer that technology. It is now the standard. All high performance exotic cars use that technology today period. Yes you can power shift a gated car, but if you miss or mess up, you can toast the engine or damage the drivetrain. Per Ferrari, that is not possible with the F1.

So there is that.....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

The shifts in the P car are nothing like flat shifting, and, I presume, nothing like an F1 at least in Normal and Sport mode. My car is not optioned with sport + which is really only suitable for the track. But in Sport/Manual mode, WOT shifts are pretty smooth, as are off throttle down shifts.

 

F355 definitely has historical significance when it comes to introduction of the paddle shift. Too bad more don’t acknowledge it. Another reason why F355 owners should be getting 5% royalties for every F1 Ferrari sold since. #neverforget

 

To try an answer your question, John - driving an F1 takes knowing the car. I don't make every shift at WOT and redline. Those can be violent and brutal. When you get the throttle and rpm just right (high, but lower than redline, perhaps 80% throttle), you can't even feel the shift - it's that smooth. I just do it by feel so I really can't put numbers to it. One of these days I'm going to get a GoPro and put all the Fake News about F1's to bed