EAG, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Yes, the F1 transmission was a flawed idea for street cars. In a race car, you floor it and pull upshifts as fast as you can. Then you start popping downshifts as you brake. You can’t do that in stop and go traffic.

And yes, until recently, Ferrari quality control was nonexistent. Toyota destroys more cars than Ferrari builds. Even today, Ferrari relies on its customers for production testing. This is why a new Ferrari needs to be driven during its first three years, i.e., find the problems while under warranty. And there will be problems.

My point is a relatively new Ferrari is problematic at best. Why add another layer of problems with after-market modifications?

Ps Buying a 20+ year old Ferrari has its benefits. All the gremlins and their cure are widely known.



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Only problem Dale, is the market is currently paying higher for converted cars vs OE F1.

 

The undeniable beauty of the gated shifter is further highlighted centered around a sea of ugly. Well played.


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By how much? What I've seen on BaT is not much of a premium, if any.

Besides not everybody is as smart as me. I know how many eggs a honey bee lays.

 

Art, can you share bios on your technicians?

 

Avg 599 is $150k. EAG conversion - $50k. Latest converted 599 on BAT = $220-225k.

 

You may be a bit low on the average, but I've been told the 6-speed from the factory on a 599 was problematic. I hope the aftermarket is better.

Again, many, many, years of buying and selling cars. Original cars hold their value. How much will an EAG conversion be worth in 15 years if they go out of business?

 

I think you are missing the point Dale. Owners are converting their cars to save $$$ by avoiding F1 problems and experience the gated shifter. I don’t think this being done in hopes for higher future valuations. If it happens - it’s a bonus. I also don’t think anyone is hanging onto F1 F430’s hoping to hit the lottery either.

 

@Texas Forever

What does a 25k mi 599 go for?

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-ferrari-599-gtb-fiorano-5/

 

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-ferrari-599-gtb-fiorano-6/

My friend recently won this 24k mi 599 off BAT. @Imstillonjava Welcome to Fchat Carol .

 

It is true that repair parts for an EAG conversion would be NLA (no longer available) if EAG were to go out of business. At the same time, in my personal effort to acquire as many OEM Ferrari parts as I can for the gated six conversion of my '05 612 Scaglietti I have found that most of the major Ferrari bits are presently NLA. This includes the shifter tower, the actuator plate, and one of the three shifter rods. The final factory gated sixes of this model were produced about 15 years ago.I expect that the major 599 parts are equally NLA. It would be fair to say that Ferrari has washed its hands with respect to these units.

For that matter my crystal ball says that none of the recently released hybrid models -- the 488, F8, 296, La Ferrari -- will find any spare parts for their high voltage batteries and electronics 20 years after the ends of their production cycles. The rumor mill says that a replacement for the La Ferrari high voltage battery is already such a rare bird that $200,000 is the going rate. Unlike the EAG bits -- simple pieces of metal that can be scanned and reproduced as one-offs -- the owners of these hybrid systems are going to be left high and dry.

 

Great update. Looking forward to the photos. Thanks for sharing.

 

Most EAG parts aren't based on OEM and therefore won't be interchangeable like Dr. S parts, so EAG conversions will be on their own.

When I went about my conversion I made sure to make extra parts as well as having them OEM based. I bought all of the oem parts available and used those as well. A lot of parts aren't made anymore. I'm sure it's much worse now. Last I checked oem cables were $4k instead of the $400 I paid 2 years ago.

If my billet steel shift rod somehow breaks and if I didn't have multiple extras, I would be in the same boat as the owner of an OEM gated car with a broken shift rod. Just because my shifter assembly isn't oem doesn't mean parts are harder to get than if it was oem.



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What happend to the 4hr soup to nuts conversion time?

 

Each to his own. F1 transmissions can be fixed. Plus, it helps to drive a F1 like a manual. Again if I had a 599, I wouldn't covert, but that's just me. If I didn't like the car, I'd sell it and buy something else, like a $25,000 40,000 mile M3.

 

I recently took a trip in a buddy's 50-year old Daytona. At one point, I said take a look around, how many of these new cars will be running in 50 years? We laughed and said none.

 

The other perspective is you have an Enzo engine in front of your car with a gated manual for fractions of an Enzo.

 

The Enzo could do with a manual conversion also. Let's just do them all..why not? Nobody wanted a manual when they were offered..so why the change now?

 

It comes down to different enthusiasts. When people buy new Ferraris they want cutting edge performance and tech. When people buy old Ferraris they want a cool car with a fun driving experience. I can assure you that very few 360 owners that bought their cars recently did so for the lap times [emoji28]

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Easy explanation. Everyone is eager to try the latest and greatest, which happened to be F1 at the time. After a decade or two of experiencing it and dealing with it's quirks, then going back to a gated manual, some (including myself) have decided the gated manual is simply more fun to drive on the streets and less finicky to deal with from a maintenance standpoint. It also represents purity in the driving experience.

Mr. JWW said it best in his Youtube review of the Challenge Stradale under the "Modern Classics" series .... "Sometimes going forward is going backwards." Connection and driving experience is unfortunately being exchanged for performance or ease of use. Not to say F1's don't offer connection, but some feel a higher connection with a manual. The car feels like an extension of your hands and feet in a manual. If I want to reverse, I can do it right away. I don't have to stop what I'm doing, press a button, wait 3 seconds for a beep, make sure I'm in reverse double-checking the gauge cluster, and hope the car actually reverses. There's an electronic barrier between you and the car.


Why not do an Enzo manual conversion? Not many see the benefit of messing with a collectible of that caliber as those cars are rarely driven to begin with. Also, few have the balls or means to attempt it.

 

The manual vs. paddle-shift debate has been beaten to death. No need to clutter this thread further with that debate. Either you get it by now or you don't. To each his own. The market has already spoken IMO.

 

Good thing I'm a horse and not a dead horse.





I'll see myself out.

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