How do you operate an F1 transmission... REALLY!

This statement may give you gratification but it is hardly accurate.

This is like saying most Americans eat fastfood everyday.

While many do, it is not most.

John

 

Why would that statement gratify me? It isn't an athletically built, coy, yet secretly nasty brunette.
1. I agree that F1 is superior technology
2. I understand there are many reasons for its popularity
3. I don't begrudge Ferrari (or any company) putting whatever technology they like in their cars
4. I will never be an even semi-competent race car driver
5. I explicitly noted that my comments were not directed at hardcore enthusiasts such as the board members here or elsewhere
6. Do you really think that any car maker puts technology in its cars without regard to demand in its largest market simply because it is theoretically "better" (even granting that it is theoretically better)?

 

Let's see, hmm, you do not understand the phrase "blip the throttle"? Or something else? His explanation was that the computer does that for you, which seems logical.

 

Sorry I should have been more clear. I have no clue what "blip the throttle" means. Nor do I know what "double-clutching" is.

Dr"NotEvenCloseToaRaceCarDriver"S

 

just as you **disengage** the engine with the clutch, you add more throttle with a quick dip of the right foot and then release the clutch to match the speed of the engine to the the gearbox. its easier of parts, and sounds cool !

( manual trans, i would not own a sissy, expensive to fix F1 trans ... )

 

With an F1 gearbox, is it possible to skip a gear or two? That is, can you shift from, say, 5th to 3rd and skip 4th, or are all of these gearboxes sequential? In the on-board videos of the F1 cars, it appears that the gearboxes are all sequential and it is not possible to skip gears. When I braked my 510 Datsun into turn 11 at Sears Point, I always went from 5th to 2nd, then into 1st.

 

How long does it take before you stop looking at the screen to see what gear you are in? With my 6-speed, i can keep my eyes on the road and my right hand tells me which gear I am in. But when I test drove Audi and BMW paddle shift cars, I kept looking into the dashboard screen to double check myself. After awhile I got frustrated not knowing what gear I was in at all times. There must be learning curve....

 

Um statistically ... 50,01% would still be "most", and at that level he may be right. My daughter is the only person in her 1100 student Junior year that has a manual shift car. She learned to drive on one and AFAIK she is the only person in the 5000 student school who has done so.

 

Put your foot on the brake, turn the key to on, pull both handles back, car goes into "N"
Keep foot on the brake, turn the key to start, engine cranks, engine starts...
Keep foot on the brake, lift gently and pull the T-Handle back gently, car goes into "R".
Back up... Never back the car uphill, F1 Transmissions don't really fully engage into Reverse and it will burn your clutch.
Put your foot on the brake, pull both paddles back, car goes into "N", then pull the right paddle back, car goes into "1".
Now start going forward..... You can go directly from "R" to "1" if you want but I like to do "N" just as a habbit.
When you get to the RPM you want, keep the accelerator pedal where it is and give a quick pull to the right paddle. Keep doing this until you want to slow down or just want to cruise in a certain gear.
When coming to stop you have a choice, you can either downshift via the left paddle shift lever, just keep your foot in the same position on the accelerator pedal, the computer blips the throttle for you so you don't have to worry about that stuff. If you don't want to downshift yourself, just hit the brakes and as the car slows, it will downshift and blip the throttle during the downshift for you... A good practice is if you are stopped at a light for a while then go ahead and shift the car into neutral, otherwise just leave it in first and the car does the rest. Remember you can't shift into gear unless your foot is on the brake so make sure you practice a few times otherwise you really look like a fool if you are in neutral and can't get out of the light. I usually shift into Neutral, then after the left turn traffic starts I shift back into 1st and get ready to go. It's no big deal if you do or don't do neutral at the stop, it's your preference, either let the tranny be in neutral or let the throwout bearing do it's job...

As for skipping a gear or two, no big deal... Just the other day I was in 6th, doing 75 on the highway when a nut in a new charger SRT-8 pulled up along side me, gave his briggs and stratton a rev so I pulled the left paddle twice, brought my revs up to 5500 real quick and next thing I know after shifting at red line two times, the charger is a small spec in my rear view mirror....

 

A few other things you learn real quick in an F1 trans car. When stopped at a traffic light for instance--if you do not keep your foot on the brake or gas, it will go into neutral by itself.
If your rear hatch is open it will not go into gear.
If your door is open it will not go into gear.
Don't ask me how I know these things...

 

Is when the transmission starts to over heat in heavy traffic and then the hatch light comes on even though it's not open and it won't go into gear until after you do a quick reset via turning the car on and off... Software/firmware upgrade fixed that but I can remember it well! : - )

 

Technically speaking, you shouldn't be driving with your hand resting on the gear shift anyway. When you take some high performance driving courses you are always told to keep both hands on the wheel..... and not have one planted on the top in the 12 o'clock position.

A basic concept that all kids are taught first thing, but a lot of adults tend to slack off in this department.

I think the best indicator for knowing what gear you are in is by turning the damn radio down and listening to the engine's speed.

 

UPDATE: Several folks have given some pretty good step-by-steps on how to operate the F1, however I hadn't seen this vid (of a 355) that is very much what I was after: a video demonstration!

For all you F1 noobs out there, check this out; it's very good -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDEeoYwt3Qc

 

For all of you that say if you have to ask the price of something, you probably can't afford it, keep reading.

I have the perfect wife, truly. She's a car freak like me. Not only does she love Ferraris', Maserati's and Austin Martin's, she also loves to drive fast too. I know you want to eat your own arm but let me tell you more if you don't mind me adding a littlle salt n pepper to that arm. Combined, we have owned 50+ cars and counting. Her current car is a '02 Maserati Sypder and it too has the F1 shifters. She leaves it in "sport mode" and whenever she allows me to drive it I can tell you that leaving it in sport mode is the answer to a better drive. Clearly, this is the best way to take in the unbelievable driving of these machines. My last comment about her machine is, while the F1 shifers are very cool to use, beware of the hidden and immediate cost to replacing the clutch within 8 to 12k is $3500 for a Maserati and $5500 to $6k for Ferraris' (quoted by Ferrari of San Francisco, only factory owned dealership in the U.S.). I know this because we just replaced the clutch once the clock hit 13k. We drive all of our cars & unfortunately for me/us we will now have to factor that into the overall cost of our passion. Oh well, gots to leave for another drive.

Cheers!

 

Many people don't realize that the Paddle Shifters are attatched to the steering column, and do not turn along with the steering wheel.

 

What does it mean to "blip the throttle" and when would you want to use the "Sport Mode" in a 360? What are the advantages/disadvantages exactly? Thanks!

 

In a car with an F1 gearbox, the box blips the throttle for you. Essentially, the car is matching the rev of the engine to exactly where it should be in the next lowest gear. In 13 weeks, and 13,000 miles, I destroyed the transmission of my Saturn trying to perfect this maneuver with a manual transmission. Needless to say, it comes as second nature now.

Sport Mode, in some cases, will make the shift times quicker, and will stiffen the suspension. The advantages of quicker shift times speak for themselves.

As for the original thread, I don't think it's a stupid question, and I asked it myself a few years ago. I was so enmeshed with the idea of an "F1 gearbox" before I actually drove one, that I used to think about it all the time. On my way home from work each night, I would flick the stalks on the either side of the steering wheel. By the time I got home, I'd flashed my brights at half a dozen people, and my windshield was soaked with wiper fluid.

Oh, and it is possible to stall an F1; I did it in a 360 once going up a hilly driveway.

 

Oh, and it is possible to stall an F1; I did it in a 360 once going up a hilly driveway.[/QUOTE]

How/why did that happen exactly? I imagine that you were in 1st gear going up the driveway and then....?

 

I don't remember the exact sequence of details. I was sitting in the car with its owner when I pulled in. We were talking, I stopped so we could continue talking. After a minute, I went to continue up the hill and it stalled. I just recall going very slowly up the hill - very, very slowly - and then it stalled. It was new to the owner and never happened before; and as far as I know, it hasn't happened since. Just a freak of nature thing that comes with being me.

 

I wonder if you may have taken your foot off the gas and had it automatically shift in to Neutral (which the 360 F1 will do). I don't think that would cut the engine off, but I did have my engine turn off at a traffic light the day I took possession of my car! It took me about 10 minutes to get it started again with the immobilizer sequence and who knows what else was going on with it. That sucked to say the very least. It's been in the shop for nearly a month and after replacing the clutch, flywheel and a few other pieces it seems pretty good now! Just got it back today.

 

I'm sorry to hear that, that would definitely suck. There's nothing quite like sitting at a traffic light, stuck, momentarily unbeknownst to the people behind you - especially on the first day of owning your new car...!

It's certainly possible that the car went into neutral - we were talking for a few minutes. But there was no problem starting it back; I didn't even have to use the fob. Just turned the key off and on and she fired right back up.