Stay away from Gated 599 GTB.... walk away...

How many miles were on the car when the OP purchased it?

How many miles when the OP sold it?

Did the OP smell a burning clutch? (you can't burn up a clutch and flywheel ... even over some period of time ... without smelling it)

Just trying to understand how much damage may have been done before the OP purchased the car ...

 

The trick on a hill is to use the handbrake. Keep the car on the handbrake and slowly release the clutch while you press the throttle a bit (2000-2500rpm or so). When you feel the clutch engaging release the handbrake, keep your foot on the throttle and release the clutch completely.

When level do the same thing but without the handbrake.

It needs a bit of practice, but after a while you get a "feel" for the clutch.

 

sounds like a potential class action lawsuit against the city of san fran. they need to flatten out all those hills......

 

"I wish Ferrari would do there home work a little better."

hear your frustration but did you do your homework?

i.e. drive it before you bought it and if you live where there is nothing but hills...drive it up some hills/start etc.

 

To the extent that you are making a point that we -- and me in some cases -- need to be more civil on F Chat, it is well taken.

 

as a side note... $155 from a dealer is not bad..... not like these cars have lines of buyers.

 

No they don't. Modern Ferraris are flavor of the day. It's not fun to have a toy you don't like. I am glad he sold it if he didn't like it. My F1 599 is a great car. It continues to depreciate. Oh well.

 

True ... sort of, but if the 599 6 speed as a racing type clutch you can't do what you are suggesting. Now I do not know as I've never driven one but my last club race car had a carbon ceramic twin plate clutch that you could not slip.

Now I never went shopping in this car but the trick is either to do a full race start OR you blip the throttle and as the even dies you ease the clutch out and the grab some revs before it stalls. If you hold revs while letting the clutch out you will burn the clutch out or cause the car to shudder massively in protest, ie. you cannot slip at all.
Pete

 

I never drove a gated 599, but it works great on the 612. I use it exactly the same way as the BMW. The clutch has 45k km, and no significant signs of wear yet. My dealer told me he thinks it will last 70k km. I think that is good on a 540 hp Ferrari.

If the 599 has a race clutch that is different indeed. In that case it is difficult to drive away on a hill. They are on or off, nothing in-between. I once drove a Porsche 964 RS with a race clutch in heavy traffic. Holy smack!
There is a gated 599 at my dealer. I will ask him to let me drive it to compare. You have made me curious. I have been driving different kind of manual shifting cars in the last 27 years, so I think I have some experience. But the 599 sounds like a new challenge.

 

The 599 clutch is not an on/off mechanism. It may tend to feel that way, because the engine revs so effortless at the smallest blip of the throttle, and the engagement point on the clutch pedal is relatively high.

I drove mine yesterday. With some finesse, i could "slide" the clutch on small hills without using the handbrake. On one larger hill (no mountains in central texas, but we do have hills in Austin), the handbrake technique worked fine. No burning clutch smell after maybe a 30 minute drive, and didn't stall once.

 

Thus I think we can safely say this clutch issue is a driver issue, either current driver or previous.

Even with normal manual cars some people abuse clutches by unnecessary slipping ... like my brother-inlaw .
Pete

 

I think we can all agree on this. The gated 599 is an amazing car when driven PROPERLY. When driven by a troll, it is obviously somewhat less adequate.

 

automatics were made for a reason. They have taken over the consumer market for a reason too.

 

I'd really like to try driving a 599 manual myself. I've heard bad things from those who have driven them, along with good things here. I've also heard that it's nothing like a 456 or 612 manual.

A very free revving engine, lots of torque, and a really short first gear doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me, though... just my opinion.

 

that's why there's a taller second gear

 

Do you think the issue was made worse by the fact the handbrake on the 599 is far from the most effective device?

 

Hey F1 Monza,
I cannot answer your PM because of your user settings. Apparently you can send PM's, but not receive them.

T

 

The OP did not say he did not like 3 pedal cars he said its worthless in the 599 in his opinion.
There was a reason so few 599s were made with the 6 sp.manual and he is proof..The 599 was never ment to have a gated shifter it was designed around the F1 tranny. Why Ferrari made some gated cars is anyones guess but it was a flop engineering wise and the numbers made prove that.Just because 1 person can drive it doesnt make the op a half-wit either ..
If anyone REALLY has to have a 599 gated car great but there are other Ferraris models out there that will probably be more satisfiyng to drive with a gated gearbox..
I think the op is doing some people a favor by telling of his woes,if you are so inclined not to listen so be it.

 

I have read all the 3 pedal posts. Some advise starting in 2nd gear that 1 st gear is granny low as the used to say. What kind of crap is that in a modern sports car? If you have to have one buy one but it doesn't sound like it works very well. I think all of us have become frustrated with a toy we didn't like, just like the OP here. I bet most of the people commenting here have never driven a 599 much less a rare 3 pedal one. My dealer says the same thing the OP does.

 

There's nothing "wrong" or "flawed" with the three-pedal 599. The reason there's so few of them, is that everyone wants the latest technology ... which is found in the F1 transmission. Similarly, the reason Ferrari no longer makes cars with manual transmissions is not because they don't know how, or because Ferrari drivetrains with manuals are poorly designed ... no, the reason why manuals are no longer offered is because the customer base, by and large, doesn't want them. It's a demand-side decision, not a supply-side inadequacy.

There's been plenty of reports here on Fchat with drivers/owners who are very satisfied with manual 599's

 

I suspect it a lot of "I just spent 200K on a toy and how can it suck". To each their own.

 

Where do you get off calling the OP a troll?

He has a ton of Ferrari experience as an owner. Have you ever been in one?

 

I bought an 07 599 GTB with an F1 tranny and absolutely loved it. The F1 was specifically engineered for the 599GTB. Refined for the Scuderia and now replaced by the dual clutch. The factory never recommended the gated version. Although there have been a couple of posts from owners who enjoy rowing the oars on a 599. The majority of gated owners turned them over almost as fast as they got them. To each their own. But more often than not. Most manual owners were very unhappy with them and quickly moved on.

 

I'm sorry but this is rather insulting.

So, the people who own 599's with F1's bought them because they don't know a good car from a bad one and just buy "the latest technology" because it's cool?

You can argue it's a better driving experience one way or the other but to say that 90% of those who bought them with F1's don't know diddly about how to order a car is rather over the top.