I just bought my first Ferrari in August - a 348 Spider! Back in 1990, I went through Bondurant's 4 day road racing course, and drove a Mustang GT and a Formula Ford. Prior to the class, I had about 10 minutes of experience driving a manual transmission car (a buddy let me drive his POS-mobile for a while). So I basically learned manual transmission driving at Bondurant, plus heel-toe (and a number of other things). As a side note - if you've never gone through a similar driving course, I would highly recommend it. Tons of fun mixed in with many moments of absolute terror about how fast you're driving through turns. Shortly after returning, I bought an Eagle Talon AWD Turbo 5 speed. Very easy to heel-toe, and a s-load of fun, especially in the wet and in snow. I had that for 2-1/2 years until my neighborhood got 17 inches of rain in less than 24 hours - and the parking lot outside my apartment was inundated with water from my doorstep to the doorsteps of the apartments across the street. The water was up to the radio inside my car. Totalled. Fast forward 25+ years - I have recently driven my son's 2008 Mustang GTR 5-speed a few dozen times. Very rusty. My heel-toe needs improvement, but there's enough rotating mass in the engine that it wasn't too terrible. Now with the 348 - holy crap! The engine spins up and down (with down being the important part) so quickly that I cannot effectively do a heel-toe. By the time I get my heel off the throttle, the engine has spun down near idle. Again, I am a bit rusty, but the 348 seems to be a different beast than American V8's. Any advice? Should I try using Senna's technique of using the side of the foot instead of the heel? Or do I just suck at this and need more time in the car?
You need more time in the car and just have to work on your timing. I've never driven a Ferrari that I cannot get perfect heel-toe downshifts with and to be honest I cannot drive without doing it. It is just too second nature after decades doing it. Keep at it and you will find your groove. One thing about Ferrari gearboxes is that they can be a little slow and the engine is much more responsive than the time it takes to upshift. For this reason I always add an almost imperceptible blip when passing through the neutral portion of the gate during an upshift. If timed correctly it ensures that there is no change in RPM the instant the clutch is released. It is a very satisfying thing to get right and on the cars I know well this is a totally seamless thing. It also saves a lot of wear and tear on both the gearbox and the clutch.
I use the side of my foot, not heel. I have a 355 which revs even faster - here's a video of me doing it (but not showing the footwork). You have to be fast with the shifter and your clutch foot and it's a true blip. Other cars you have to put your foot on the gas for longer, but with these it's a true tap of the throttle to spin the engine up and then slam the gear in. You can't be scared of it or gentle with it or it will be a bucking bronco of a drive.
Thats how a Ferrari is suppose to be driven! Must get a video of my next track day. I also use the side of my foot, my preferred driving shoes are nicely worn there; kind of like worn knee sliders!!!!
I wheel to wheel raced my 348. You need to build up the brake pedal higher maybe try 1/2" to get it more level with the throttle when on the brake. This allows an easy left to right transition. Then don't HT, do left part foot on brake and use right side foot on throttle. Develop a routine left foot off clutch to dead pedal then Learn to left foot brake too and the 348 trails in very nicely.
Right, FBB. I added a 1 cm spacer under the brake pedal in my 550 for safe heel-toe downshifting... Image Unavailable, Please Login My F355 Challenge pedal arrangement requires no spacer.
As others have said, use the side of your foot. And if the revs still fall too fast, well then, you just need a bigger blip!
