F1 Vs. 6 Speed Manual

one thing ive always wondered about the 355 F1 transmission.. how does it overcome the stiff 2nd gear shift, that many manuals experience until the car is fully warmed..

I guess this is because there is no shift rod.. and the actuator directly inputs the gear etc..

so this would be a nice advantage for the F1..

 

When I'm still stopped and my foot is still on the brake? I dont like that its so sensitive. I didnt take my foot off the brake maybe just let off a little pressure and beep!! nuetral. Ugh push harder let it do its computer thing and then it let me select 1st.

It's also just a point that it can happen for those unfamiliar with this system, its called passing knowledge once you learn it happens its easily preventable.

Just as you learned in your test drive I also learned pretty fast that this happens.

I just don't dig the F1 system. I tried it and I don't like it that much.

 

More than likely the brake pedal switch needs adjustment.

 

Agree to disagree. Being unfamiliar with the system or not knowing how to drive can't be blamed on the car brother.
Every Ferrari with paddles goes into neutral if you take your foot off the brake when stopped.

 

Or the driver is "light in the loafers" Dave.

 

You didnt know when you first test drove and neither did I.

meh I just make sure not to be light in my loafers now.

 

It only took one "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep" to get my learn on. I still have my 575M F1 and it has never been an issue.
Going to neutral is a necessary evil in cars with paddles.

I test drove a 458 Speciale about 18 months ago and the salesman commented that I was the first person he ever took for a test drive that the car didn't drop into neutral. I told him experience pays off.
I agreed to buy the car, but it turned out it was purchased by a friend of mine while I was on a 15-minute test drive. I am waiting for him to be finished with the car so I can buy it from him.

 

Solution - put it back in first. Problem solved.

 

Or better yet put it In neutral while stopped, grab first when. Light changes to green

 

So glad I own a 3 pedal. Other than Ferrari, is there any other car with semi-automatic (F1 or dual clutch) or automatic trans that drops into neutral without operator action? All the ones I've driven will stay in gear and move forward if you take your foot off the brake, whether you give it gas or not.

 

It's a safety feature, John and no big deal. Like Marc said, most of us learned this on the first drive and are long over it

 

Tooling along. Steering wheel in one hand. 44 oz. Dr. Pepper in the other. Suddenly! DEER! Slam on brakes. F1 instantly triple downshifts. BAM - BAM - BAM. Screech to a stop. Whew! Both deer and Ferrari unscathed Engine still running - tranny still in gear - all's well and ready to go. Car didn't kill. Drink didn't spill. Quick toot to scram deer. Swig of Dr. P and we're off. Love that F1.

 

Tom - beautiful post!!

 

Like I said, I'm glad I own a 3 pedal. Though, according to the WSM, I do have to suffer those boring and hard features of controlling the clutch and shifter manually.

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Pull up to a stop light. A young kid pulls up next to me in a Honda, looks over and smiles. I take my foot off the brake and pop the throttle a few time. Kid smiles in approval. Light turns green and I dump the clutch and rock and roll! Gotta love a 3 pedal.

 

JohnK..... The guy whose most recent purchase was an F1 coupe. What does that tell you my friends?

 

Says the man with 95 F355 couple, 3 pedal that you are doing full restoration on. Yea Dave, we know the truth.

 

Yes Vettle's F1 car

 

My mother in law is 87, her AMG is F1
Said shes too frail to shift anymore I assume thats the reason for the F1 in all cars




xo
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My mother in law is 78. She drives a 91 Miata manual, base car without power steering even. And an orange Subaru CrossTrek XV, also a manual transmission.

 

Very good point. Not a grind yet. Loved the F1 ever since I dropped a shift at WOT above 5500 RPM. If you haven't done this, you just will not understand. I am gated at heart but love the F1 for the benefits it affords above what a gated can deliver.

 

She looks familiar, did she ever take a tire back to Discount Tire?

 

haha Why do you think it took me more than once to learn what was going on with the brake and this system?

Again My post was just adding something to those that Don't know. Jesus I'm done bitching about this, we are not in disagreement on this function just that you think that I believe its an issue.

I know its a safety feature I get it, its ok and I'm glad you were able to drive a 458 without going into N, its like riding a bike.

 

This will depend 100% on you. If you are a high level amateur or pro driver and can shift very competently, there will be very little to no difference. If you aren't, the f1 will be faster.

As to dealing with data - a Ferrari is a monumentally poor purchase by any data driven metric - the 355 is not appreciating as fast in value as it will cost to maintain and the numbers produced are high enough that appreciation won't eclipse maintenance costs for a long time - so if you are dealing with data and not emotion, go buy something else. A Ferrari is an emotional purchase, trying to distill it into numbers is an exercise in futility (or a poorly conceived effort to convince your spouse it's a good idea - it's not, at least financially).

 

Thanks guys! I really enjoyed that drive, great day. It was as John said, over half a day. We drove an hour and a half to the mountains, had a lunch, then went for a nice spirited drive (of which I recorded a few minutes), then drove back, probably 5 hours of driving in total. We actually didn't get to do the whole drive we had planned as time was running out.

No need, as of this year they've moved them to the bottom left, so that's taken care of! If only we could get them to ditch front plates...

I hadn't read the whole thread when I replied above and see it's turned into an f1 vs. gated discussion. I was a die hard manual guy, but as I've experienced more/better automatics (which I lump f1/dct etc. into), man they are just getting so good that I don't know if it makes any sense if you care about the performance to get a manual, and the 355 f1 was one of the first where the f1 was as fast/faster than the manual. I've tracked my 355 and with good tires and brakes you scrub speed fast and really have to have your footwork in order. I think I'm pretty good with a manual but I'm pretty sure an f1 would be faster and you'd have more control under braking using 2 feet. Check that, I know you have more control using 2 feet. That's one of the bigger gains in having an f1 transmission imo, being able to left foot brake as it allows quicker transition gas to brake and allows you to tap the throttle to settle the rear if it gets out of shape, stuff that's really tough to do with half of your foot in a braking zone. I know, I try. I can set the same ultimate lap time right foot vs left foot, but left foot is so much more consistent and allows you recover easier if you get out of shape. Rowing your own is a lot of fun, though.

I digress, I'd take an F1 GTS (it's the rarest of them all, and just seems suited to each other) or a gated hard top (challenge baby!) and, well, I wouldn't get a spider, but that's just me loving the roofline of the 355. Looks like it's missing something with the top down, but I'd probably go gated in a spider. Not sure why. Maybe just to hear those heel/toe downshifts at full volume.