How to properly drive F1 transmission

Hi all! I just got my first Ferrari last week! Bought an F430 Thanks for everyone's help in answering all my questions before purchasing! It's been so amazing to drive. Now that I have it, I'm wondering what the best way to drive the F1 transmission is. Few questions:

1. What RPM is the best to upshift at?
2. What RPM is the best to cruise on the highway at?

Thanks in advance!

 

9,000...and 6,000.[emoji16]

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Driving it in manual mode is best just drive it like a manual transmission bring it up to 5000 or more RPM before shifting but remember these cars love to rev and the more RPMs the more torque and power. IF you are looking to accelerate fast then bring it up to 7000 RPM or more to shift ...really just do what feels good to you
when driving on the highway. I like to keep the RPMs up while just cruising cause I like the sound ....
bottom line is Ferraris like to REV....

 

I do find that you have to cruise on the highway based on rpm’s - some bands don’t sound good on my car, too droning. The best cruising rpm bands are usually way over the speed limit! [emoji51]


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PS... CONGRATULATIONS!!![emoji16][emoji16][emoji16][emoji16]

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Ditto...and pictures please!!


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Welcome FerrariGirl22. Good questions and the F1 does take some getting used to. I agree with LarryH that you should probably rev it up to 5000 before shifting. The car works best at the higher RPM range and that is a typical shift point for me. Also dont let off on the gas when shifting, just keep your foot in it. Of course that would be considered “normal” driving. If you want to get into it, you can easily go up to the redline. In terms of highway cruising I always cruise in top gear. It is very easy to downshift when needed.

 

There are many thoughts on this, unfortunately trying to do most of them is not always easy. I am going to assume you know how to drive a stick well (if I am incorrect this might not make as much sense to you), and every car has a sweet spot (sometimes that spot varies a bit between gears). The F1 (now this will also vary a bit depending on the PIS), makes it bit harder since you do not have a clutch pedal to control gear changes. You might find that pushing the car in everyday driving is not as easy it may seem. You may have to shift at lower RPM's at times. I have owned every just about every paddle shifter (including 360, 430, 575) car from a Maserati CC to Lamborghini Egear. They all take some getting used to. I have found that there is a balance to how hard to push down on the gas pedal (or not), and at what RPM you are at when you pull that paddle. The car will tell you when you get it wrong, so be mindful of when it does and learn from there Congrats, and good luck

 

Congrats it’s a great car. Be sure to warm it up before reving to much. Once warm have at it and have fun.

 

Thanks everyone! So helpful as always! So it wouldn't hurt the car to keep pushing it to 7000 RPM in every gear if I want to drive it hard? And it's not harmful to cruise at higher RMP like 5-6,000 RPM? Here's some pics of my car!
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It wouldn’t hurt to redline in every gear up to about 4th. Beyond that you are going to need to be at the track!

 

By the way, nice car! I see the new California paper plates. Welcome to a fellow Californian. You may want to think about getting a radar detector/jammer. I will often run through the gears in my 612 and you can easily get into trouble without one. In 4 years of driving my 612 I have never had a ticket with my detector/jammer. (Now i need to immediately go and find some wood to touch—hope this doesnt come back to bite me)!

 

Thanks Ron! I'm actually in Texas...this is my temporary plate until I get my real one...haha. Oh I totally need a radar detector/jammer!!! Which one do you use and recommend?

 

It DEFINITELY wouldn't hurt ...in fact it might be the most pleasurable experience youve had behind the wheel!
I was actually being kind of serious with my 1st response...9000/6000. Drive that baby hard- Safely too(obviously)...but don't be afraid to make some of that beautiful howling song heard.

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Sorry, my mistake on the location! You will definitely have some places to open it up in Texas.

In terms of the radar detector/jammer, I have a K40 that is about 10 years old and works great. You should goggle it as there are a lot of choices out there and they have improved a lot in 10 years. My recommendation is to have one hard wired installed that is hidden. Makes for a much cleaner appearance and not noticeable if you happen to get stopped (the jammers are illegal in a lot of states). To have it hard wired installed you probably should expect $2000-$3000 for a good system.

 

Keep in mind the original F1 system was designed for racing. You put your foot into it and start pulling the shift paddle as fast as you can without lifting your foot. Downshifting was trickier, because F1 drivers use left foot braking, but the idea is the same. For racing, Ferrari programmed the system to shift as fast as possible.

Lightening fast shifts, however, don't work as well on the street. When pulling away from a stoplight, extremely fast shifts will make the car jerky and prone to bogging down because you can't keep your foot to the floor. To accommodate us mortals, Ferrari slowed the shifts down. They're still very fast, but not as all out as a race car. But, slower shifts mean more clutch wear. The Ferrari F1 system is a computer operated clutch. You still have big pie plates coming together as the transmission shifts gears. This is why F1 transmissions tend to wear out clutches faster than a standard transmission.

Bottom line is how do you drive a standard transmission? Me, on the street, I short shift. I don't hammer it. I run through the gears at a decent pace and up shift way before the redline. The comparison is "laying rubber." Personally, I can't stand to smoke tires, not on the streets anyway. But as has been pointed out, Ferraris love to rev. Staying within the speed limit is work. When I had my Maranello, I'd be hitting 90 up ****ting to third. So have fun. Find empty roads and enjoy. Just be aware it will cost you, but then again, you did buy a Ferrari!

 

Valentine 1.

 

haha good to know! Yeah I love taking it to the higher RPMs. It sounds so good, and it's so fun!

 

Yeah I'll definitely have to look up some places here to take it for a spin! I'm sure California has plenty of amazing places for you. Good idea! I'll look into getting it hidden. That's one of the reasons why I don't like radar detectors...because I don't want it to be visible. But now that I know that it could be hidden, I'll definitely want that!

 

Thanks for the tips Texas Forever! Looks like I found a fellow Texan! I'll look into the Valentine 1 too!

 

Best driving roads in the Houston area are north of Montgomery Texas. Look for FM 149.

 

Aw I used to live in Houston too! Sad I didn't get a chance to take advantage of that.

 

Always shift at redline

 

Seriously?

 

Thinking about this some more. I came of age on motorcycles where you learn to shift by ear. Too much going on to look at a tach, plus on the old bikes, the tach was worthless. Because they where sequential gearboxes, I soon learned how to do clutchless upshifts. You ease the throttle to create some slack and then pop the gear with your toe when it felt right. After a while, I could even do clutchless downshifts. A motorcycle or a car is a machine. The key is developing the feel for making the pieces work together. This is why when I first drive a Ferrari F1 car, I put it in the automatic mode and modulate up shifts with the throttle. There is so much nonsense about not using the auto mode, it drives me crazy. The F1 transmission is a COMPUTER/SOFTWARE driven piece of machinery. It doesn't care whether you pull a paddle or its senors tell it to shift. Don't believe me? Try it. Say your redline is 6,000 rpm. Put the F1 in auto. Get on the throttle up to say 4,500 to 5,000 rpm and then lift slightly, you car will upshift. (BTW, the old Porsche Tip transmissions, let you pull a downshift by blipping the throttle.) Of course, with a manual transmission, lifting the throttle is how you begin an up shift. The difference with a F1 is you don't have to lift to pull a paddle shift. Just pull and keep hammering. But keep in mind, your clutch is paying the price. Can't repeal the laws of physics.

BTW, on the track, the ideal is to start the shift at max horsepower and get back on the throttle at max torque. On the street, the ideal is to not get thrown in jail. I like to exercise a motor, but not over the top. I also like to stay out of jail.

Ps None of this applies to the dual clutch transmissions. On the track, they are unbelievable. Just leave it in auto and drive the car, particularly if the computer allows left foot braking. On the street? I find them boring, but that's just me.