i was driving around in my 355 yesterday when it hit me, i never really tried the sport mode suspension when i did, i felt the car firmer.. no arguements but i don't know whether i was kidding myself or not, the shifting was much more precise and the rpm's weren't climbing as fast.. i.e. it was a more fun car to drive, and it affected the way the car drives IN TERMS OF ENGINE/TRANSMISSION am i kidding myself? or is it really the case? i think i will always keep it in sport mode from now on, can that be problematic?
it's not psychological at all! the whole point is it does sharpen up the ride and speeds up the gear shift. are you just joking?
no i am not kidding the ride is firmer, "sharpened up" as you put it .. true that is what i expected about the speeding up the shifts, i have not hit full throttle.. simply because i was enjoying the car so much ! the rpm's were NOT climbing as much .. is that "sharpening the ride?" if so, then i am really happy ..
You never tried it? I dont think mine has been driven in the regular mode the whole time I have owned it.
I can see what Mowater is saying. On regular drive on streets, I use a standard mode. On autocross & circuit, I use Sports mode. In heavy traffic, I even use Automatic mode, and surprised how smooth it drives. I feel that I need to use the best of both side.
Oddly enough I just flicked the switch for the first time last weekend as well. Shifts are infinitely better. It actually snaps into gear so quickly at redline that the back end kinda jumps as the tires get traction. In regular mode it seems like the shifts take forever. Don't think I'll be switching off sport mode... And correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the clutch actually last longer with the shorter shift times? As far as I know, a clutch only really gets worn out when it's slipped. Wouldn't faster shifts = less slippage and therefore longer clutch life? Maybe I'm just dreaming -R
I wouldn't use that auto mode very oftenif I was you. The previous owner of mine usedit alot andmy clutch had to be replaced at 9900 miles. ANd yes Robin, using the sport mode will extend the life of the clutch due to less slipage.
yeah, i too am surprised that i didn't try it before [i have had it for like 3months now] okay, so we all agree that the car is better in both terms of suspension [ie, ride] and that shifts are much better (faster, in your case.. i have yet to try that) but it seems to me that everyone is talking about shifting in a racing/high acceleration manner, whilst i am not i am talking about taking the car from 1st gear all the way to 6th gear in a very "normal driving" manner.. the car doesn't seem to "drop its nose" or "take a second to change gear" in normal driving through all gear changes (what you guys are saying is at HIGH rpm's, something that i have not tried yet) i THINK that the rpm's do NOT climb as fast (ie the car feels a bit heavier, more in-control) when driving normally .. and from what you guys are saying, it becomes a better performer when driven hard can someone please explain why the car feels more in-control of itself, (well-mannered-rpms?) at low speeds and casual driving when the sport mode is on ?
The sport mode significantly stiffens the suspension. Now from what I've been told by Ferrari, it also affects the brakes as well as the faster gear shift. Because of the stiffened suspension the car will not wallow around and will feel "tight". Just leave it in sport for the next week then switch it back to comfort and you will immediately feel the difference.
Sport mode to me is unbelievable. When I told the previous owner of my experience he was floored b/c he rarely used it. When I hammer through the gears, shifting at 8K RPM, the car is like a raped ape...back end twitching upon shifts, chirping the tires, etc...AWESOME!
took it for a drive today, it was fun long runs up to 120 miles .. and back to a bit of traffic cruising around the shifts are great.. the car is so much firmer however, at heavy acceleration, shifting at 9k the car seems to have a "kick" in the back am not sure if thats what u guys are describing but to me it was a bit too much.. any theories?
I'd love to believe that Sport Mode extends clutch life. I've got a 98 355 F1 with about 15 thousand miles. Clutch replaced at 10K miles and computer tells me I've got 72% wear on second clutch. So, my experience seems to confirm impressions a 355 with F1 will need a new clutch around 10K miles. First time I used Sport Mode, reving up near red line before each shift, my passenger said his neck jerked so many times he needed to see a chiropracter. Just recently, I was literally taking a friend to see a chiropractor for neck work when I again used Sport Mode, with so many kick ass shifts, my passenger said the 355 had accomplished the neck work for him. My use of Sport Mode has been conservative -- only for aggressive driving -- thinking it puts considerably more stress on the car with shifting under full throttle, resulting in faster clutch wear. I mean the car just lurches from gear to gear! I also think that using automatic mode is likely to produce more ride on the clutch, resulting again in faster clutch wear. Have heard lots of opinion siding with this view. But what I hadn't thought about is whether using Sport Mode in normal driving would result in less clutch wear. Is there really some concensus and, if possible, any evidence on this. I'd be happy to use Sport Mode all the time if such were true. Cheers, Paul
