Hi all. So I recently purchased an 05' 360 Spider. Full service history so no dramas there. Question: Does the 360 have a slight flat spot way down low taking off from rest in 1st gear? It's like slight power ...then - pow...huge surge. My specialist says its a characteristic of the 3.6 V8 .... but I'm wondering given it's naturally aspirated that it should be more responsive? 2nd, to 3rd, 4th etc ...no flat spot at all.
Is this an F1? Sounds more like the way my F1 clutch engages from a stop. It may have nothing to do with the engine.
Yes - my bad - the F1 gearbox. Used to drive the naturally aspirated 4.2 V8 F136 in a Maserati with the ZF gearbox. Was no flat spot at all in that so assuming must be the F1 gearbox? Love the engine howl on the 360 - amazing.
I've found it to be fairly characteristic of F1 360's. The clutch can slip quite a bit off the line, especially if you are tentative on the throttle.
If the car isn't moving during this flat spot it could be the PIS needs adjusting on the box. Basically the slack before the gearbox engages 1st gear. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My 2003 Spider has the same characteristics even after having the PIS reset. Try shifting into 2nd year sooner. This helps a bit.
My '03 F1 also is a bit sluggish to engage the clutch when first started up and first take off. Once warmed up, not bad at all. But it is a different feeling. You will get a method to taking off and also other ways of changing the shifting by experimenting with the accelerator pedal.
Partly the F1 system and partly the flat plain crank. The rotating mass is very low so clutch control is critical to get a smooth launch. The F1 isn't perfect and the system can get a little lag when the clutch starts to engage from a standstill; very light rotating mass vs the mass of the car.
I have the same issue on my '00 360F1, most often when pulling away from stop signs/lights, so I upshift to 2nd before pulling away.
I have the same 1st gear experience when my 2000 360 is cold . Once it warms up it is tremendously improved .