come out and admit you hate paddle shifters, whomever you are stand and be heard

I don't have a Ferrari but I love the paddles in my Maserati. Quick and smooth shifts. I feel just as "involved" because I am still selecting the gears. I think the biggest benefit it being able to drive aggressively with both hands on the wheel.

I suspect many, but certainly not all, of the people that do not like F1 type transmissions haven't driven a car with it for any significant number of miles.

 

They make both, so you only have to drive the one you want. I have a Mondial that I love to drive, with the 430 the experience is closer to driving an F-1 car. I get a thrill flooring the pedal and just paddling through the gears, you have to love that sound.
When I got the 430 I let a friend, who is a Corvette collector, drive it. It was quite amusing to see him lift his foot off the gas every time he shifted the paddel. Joe, you don't have to do that....the look on his face was priceless.

 

How old was the paddle shift you drove I can skip gears in my 05 maser both on upshift and downshift...you just double tap the paddle

 

Not a big fan of the paddles for DRIVING.

For commuting or the track I think they are the best option. The F1 box works well for each of these uses but for spirited driving on the open road nothing beats a clutch pedal and shift lever connected to the transmission.

There was a recent post about Ferrari selling out and becoming all about the numbers. Isn't the F1 tranny, stability control, traction control etc... part of this problem? It's easy to make a car fast these days (Hell, even Chevy can do it). What about the joy and reward of good driving? There really is a lot of joy in knowing that you have total control over everything that happens in a high performance car. Knowing that you can turn a mild corner into disaster with some throttle induced over-steer and being able to ride that line without computer intervention brings a grin to my face every time. As cars get “better” and “better” we get more and more removed from the true driving experience.

 

ive never cared for any of the paddle shift cars until i drove the 430...no offense intended to the people who own them but driving at speed on winding roads,the early 355's f-1 cars were crap IMO and the later 355's only slightly better.even the 360 i coupe i had for a bit really didnt change my opinion.especially on the roads i frequent as the f-1 cars just didnt allow me to make the most of the cars abilities and that hesitation and clunk only added to the frustration.not to mention that they eat clutches like i pound beers!!the only aspect i feel positive about is that in traffic its nice to let the car shift itself.

 

For those who prefer F1 I understand it makes more sense on track keeping your eye and both hands up but for me gaited shifting is more fun and involved.

Aestheticaly the gated shifter is better looking inside the cabin.

IMO

 

I'll publicly admit I'm completely old-school.

I don't like paddle shifters. I find them to be a gimmick. A car should either be a manual, or an automatic.

 

Paddles = Automatic!
"Paddles...Making those people who think they know how to drive, look like they know how to drive, without needing all the talent."
IMHO

 

I love paddels in one of my other cars, a 2008 Smart FourTwo. That's right my little smart has paddles that are exactly the same as the F-1. As for my F car 6 speed all the way. In my opinion paddels are just a disguised automatic transmission, yet I fear within 5-10 years we won't be able to get a manual transmissoin F car any more....

 

Charlie
those nissans are automatics with buttons...big difference between that and a true paddle shift F1 gearbox believe me.

Its like saying I dont like driving a miata and since it is considered a sports car I dont like driving a ferrari either. You see how rediculous that sounds?


Beast 360
I find that ABS, traction control and stability control contribute more to hamfisted people having thier cars make them look like pros then a paddle shift system ever will.

 

no, the GT-R is a DSG -- in general superior to the F1 design however on the GT-R it's not fully realized. dunno about the maxima.

 

There are different ways to automate a transmission with paddles...

In the C6 Vette they have a regular automatic with electronic shifting via the paddles.

In a F1 you have a manual gearbox with a clutch and shift mechanism actuated by computer

In a DSG (ala VW, Audi, Porsche, Nissan GT-R and Mitsu) box you have a manual gearbox with two clutch systems, actuated by a computer.

All of these boxes use paddles but if you are going for the best technology, I think the DSG wins. They all have different mechanical action even though they all employ paddles.

(I think the Maxima has a CVT with programmed "steps" in gearing that you can change with the paddles...)

 

Haters.......

 

....and there you have it. +100. When the bills come due for F1 tranny problems, we'll have told you so....

 

I am going to give this a shot, trust me, I am very new to the Ferrari world as far as the knowledge that you guys have. I still love the hell out of the cars though and am learning a lot from this site about them. Fro someone that has never driven a Ferrari or even had the chance to set in one I would say that the cars with the paddle shifters would be a lot more quicker than the ones with a manual transmission, I mean cant you pull a shifter on a steering wheel column quicker than a person who has to push in a clutch before he changes gears? It seams to me that you could.

Remember guys, I am very new to all of this so please don't dog me to much, ok?...lol...lol...

 

I have to admit that paddleshifters are superior for my particular anatomic anomally.....by balls are so big that pushing on the clutch too much cause a lot of painful chaffing....best if the left leg stays motionless.
Just thought I'd share....

 

Bravely stood up?? yeah, that's it.

 

Ok, let's tell all the Ferrari F1 drivers they are now required to use a gated shifter because that is what is considered "True Ferrari". Once they start losing a few races I'm sure the mood will change. I thought Ferrari was represented with pushing the envelope of form and technology. If this is true, I don't want a little chrome ball in my way of progress.

Paddle shift all the way, or get left behind in mediocrity!!!

 

I thought I'd chime in on this as I have been considering putting down a deposit on the next-gen 599 (and hopefully being one of the 1st kids on the block to take delivery!). Annoyingly, I would far prefer to get a manual, but now that paddles account for 97% of new Ferraris or maybe more, it seems like getting a stick will make it hard to offload when the next-next toy comes out. A quandary, to say the least. So I guess the smart money is on paddles. Paddle pros & cons (from the perspective of a guy who just moved from a 550 to a 575):

pros:
resale value (questionable for the 575, actually)
sounds cool when downshifting (double clutches better than I could, more consistently and especially when attacking a narrow, curvy mountain road)
frees up left hand to fiddle with stereo during upshifts

cons:
- left calf muscle not getting as much exercise these days
- doesn't look as cool
- a lot more head-jerking in 1st gear when tooling around town in traffic--maybe it's just me, but the stick seems easier to control at low speeds
- I am much more paranoid about my clutch now than I used to be in the manual 550--especially in reverse
- planned obsolescence: 575 gearbox is "agricultural" (I got that from someone else on F-chat) and is already grossly outdated vs. the 430 and 599. What does this mean for the status of the car 20 years from now--will the 250 m/s shifts be a source of amusement or actually be regarded as a significant technological step on the road to lightspeed gear shifts in the Ferraris of 2028?

BTW, I am all for other technological aids such as ASR...I learned the hard way. Never flicking that switch to "off" position again .