458 Anyone update/upgrade TCU to a speciale one?

The TCU programming is a bit of a mystery. A buddy with a Speciale remarked just this past weekend how much more aggressive my Italia felt than his car. I’ve driven both his and mine on track. Both are inconsistent in their behavior. I thought I had mine figured out how to get a smooth or firm shift by choosing how much throttle and what rpm to upshift but it hasn’t been 100% consistent.
Generally speaking, my Italia in race mode has a firm kick at part throttle and under 7000rpm. The more throttle and higher rpm results in smoother shifts. Usually. But today I had a 1-2 shift that kicked pretty firm even though I was at 8500rpm. Maybe I lifted slightly before pulling the lever. I switch between manual transmission cars and the Italia from drive to drive so old habits die hard. Who knows.

Bottom line, you can program whatever behavior you want into the TCU but I haven’t fully seen what sensor inputs are factored into the shift firmness output. It’s definitely some combination of speed, throttle position, gear position, rpm, and temperature. Maybe even more than that.

 

I have noticed in some cars that remember depends on road surface and heat in the tires and tire choice

Only when its all warm and stable do i find things consistent

 

Hardware chip set upgrade? Anything to be gained with faster processing speed?
Software upgrades may depend upon engine differences between Italia and Speciale
Finally are their any gearing differences between the two models

 

These getrags are mounted up to F8 included with gear ratio differences.

Software upgrade is related to pump pressure and shift time that in Speciale is way faster than in a standard 458, specially downshifting.

And no, F dealership cannot do it.

 

Who does?

 

Well, you need an independent who know a what he is doing. Not easy

 

Spot on again, Mikey. Every time my car gives me on of those good kicks I get a brief anxiety attack that my DCT is failing and I need to sell the car. LOL. Then I remember this is actually part of the allure and it happens to everyone and its way more enjoyable than smooth shifts all the time.

 

Chalk it up to that "Ferrari ownership experience" LOL