How to operate F1 gearbox

Hi

At a stop I always switch to N.

Best

 

Technically you should be ok to stop in 1st with your foot on the brake. The ECU recognizes what's going on and disengages the clutch so it's not slipping. Personally I leave it in 1st for expected short stops, maybe 5-10 seconds. If it looks like I'll be stopped longer I go to 'N'. It does take a second to engage 1 from N and I worry about drivers behind hitting the gas based on the light and not when I move, so always try to be in 1 when the light turns green.

Slow crawling and reverse is what really kills the clutch; it was torture sitting in stop and go traffic going to Miller Motorcars last week. In that case I try to leave as much gap in front as possible then take off so I'm in 1st and not slipping.

 

Manually shift into "N" whenever you can, but especially when you see that you are coasting to a stop (don't wait until you are stopped, shift into "N" in advance).

Here's why:

F1 transmissions are *NOT* true automatics.

Let that fact sink in for a moment.

With a true automatic transmission, you have a torque converter.

Not with an F1.

The F1 gets more power to the ground because there is no power-robbing torque converter. Thus, an F1 can have the same top speed as a manual gear-shift for the same car model.

But...you still need the torque converter's functionality in an F1 to avoid stalling the motor.

So Ferrari cleverly (I am sincere when I say this) designed the F1 computer to *emulate* a torque converter by slipping the clutch.

This is a fascinating and effective solution, but it means that if you just stop your F1 car with your brake pedal while tranny is in gear that your clutch is being slipped by the computer to keep your motor from stalling.

The solution is to think of your F1 car as a manual transmission, and treat gear-shifts accordingly. Would you leave your manual gear-shift car in gear at a stop light, but with your clutch down...or would you put your car into Neutral as you coasted to a stop at a red light?

Which would wear the clutch less on a manual gear shift tranny?

Well, that answer will likewise apply to F1 trannies.

 

Makes sense, I noticed at a light if you leave it in first it just sits there and grunts. And if you don't put it in neutral coming up to a light it gives a hell of a thump when it engages 1st.

 

There seems to be a fair bit of debate on this topic. I believe that feathering the throttle is what cooks the clutch on these cars. When at a stop sign the hydraulics engage the F1 clutch just like you having your foot depress it in a 3 peddle manual. I would suggest most people drop their 3 peddle cars into neutral when they pull up to a stop sign simply to not have to hold the clutch in while they wait. When the clutch is fully engaged there is no "slipping" of the clutch as it is disengaged otherwise the car would want to move. Slipping occurs while you transition from disengaged to fully engaged and only happens while you are feathering the throttle in an F1 car.

 

Slipping (the clutch) happens in an F1 car at precisely the same time that a torque converter is active in an automatic transmission car.

 

I thought you operate an F1 transmission on a 355 by pulling it out of the car and replacing it with a 6 spd?

 

Your english is fine. You may downshift using the paddles into 2d. Let the car shift into 1st on it's own. If it is a long light, shift into neutral and wait. Otherwise, in first, proceed. You will not hurt anything.

 

There are only two requirements for doing that.
1. Dumb.
2. Big bucks.
Oops, I forgot. Failure to watch the first scene of "Forest Gump."

 

I don't know about that, I think the F1 will chew your 6 speed a new one.

 

I don't have a F1 but have read a lot about them from postings here.
Netural when stopped or be prepared to have to pay for premature clutch wear. This was true for gen F1's. Programming is/was supposed to addressed
the problem.
Personaly I would go to netrual when stopped.

stephen

 

#25 08-05-2004, 02:48 PM
Rifledriver
F1 Veteran
Consultant Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: No. Ca.
Full Name: Brian Crall
Posts: 7,396

Quote:
Originally Posted by 720
just for clarification this explanation is applicable to 360's right and not the 355? i *think* the 355 behaves just the opposite of the 360 in that if you put the 355 F1 in "N" it does save the throw out bearing, right?


You are correct. I just checked a 355 F1 a few minutes ago and it does allow the clutch to go to the at rest position when in N with motor running.

In case it was missed in an earlier post, the 360 mechanical brake light sw is what the TCU is watching not a hyd sw., so changing brake fluid or pressing harder on the brake pedal would have no effect unless the sw is incorrectly adjusted.

Quoted from Rifledriver...I miss his expertise

 

I have a '98 355 F1. I too sit at lights or stops in neutral, so as to reduce wear on the throw out bearing and pressure plate (vs. just leaving it in first gear) if it's going to be a long wait. This does not affect wear on the clutch disc itself as it only wears when slipping, as noted above and in past posts. You should absolutely shift to neutral, however, when approaching a stop in a higher gear, because if you leave it in gear, as you slow, the ecu will start downshifting sequentially for you as your revs dip below some set point (around 1500 rpm). This sounds cool at first, but when you later stop and think about it, you realize it is simply unneccessary gearchanging (and clutch use). After all, you wouldn't drive a traditional 6 speed car that way, so why drive an F1 that way. Lastly, you may have noticed by now that the 355 does not have a "throttle by wire" system, but in fact a mechanical linkage (at least my '98 does) so it is unable to "blip" the throttle on spirited downshifts, so you still must do this yourself...

Congrats & enjoy your new car!

John

 

Ah, yes. The sage Rifledriver. I venerate him. As he has done many times and, I as well. Before leaving the dealer's lot, and with proper pad and pen, sit down with the chief technician and go over absolutely everything you need to know about THAT particular car, even if it is your 9th Ferrari. Make sure no single foible eludes your attention. Go home and read the manual. Repeat this process if needs be. Start a file wherein your notes, copies of the bill of sale, and all maintenance records, now and forever, shall be kept. NOW, go out and have a really great time!