360 F1 cluch wear 85%: should I change clutch?

keeping on driving with a worn out clutch can cause damage to other mechanical parts, therefore I would... My Ferrari dealer always told me that clutch should be replaced after 60-65% wear even if it does not slip too much yet, to avoid other problems.
Hope this helps.

 

At 60-70% wear, yes i agree with this statement. If the clutch is at 85% the flywheel will very likely need replacing anyway. I personally would never replace a clutch without AT LEAST replaceing the seals in the slave anyway, they are problematic and even slight sticking will cause poor initial set-up, which in turn shortens clutch life. Also bear in mind that the clutch wear figure is simply an extrapolation of two figures; point a=clutch thickness when new, versus point b=PIS. Seeing as many are poorly set up when installed, this figure is a rough guide, at best. For example, early TCU software cars have no variable PIS, so to get the clutch to last longer many tamper with the initial clutch thickness index to get it to bite earlier and create less heat, and therefore less wear. The upshot of this is that the clutch wear reading is a total lie. Here's an example; If your clutch was REALLY worn 100%, then it wouldn't drive, right? Well i've seen clutch wear readings as high as 105% before they drop out of gear, clearly because of either poor setup, a new clutch fitted to a worn flywheel (very common)or to compensate for the poor software in the early TCU's. While the wear reading is a good indicator, there are other ways to detect clutch wear. Bite point is an obvious one: if the car pulls off at over 1800 rpm before clutch is fully back on it indicates wear, or that the PIS is set too high. If it's been driven for any length of time with the PIS too high wear will occur at an accelerated rate. Then there are the other common ones...clutch overheat buzzer, crawling in gear because PIS has been wound low to compensate for clutch wear, Dropping out of gear, and slow changes, even in sport mode. What i'm saying here, is if it TRUELY is 80-odd percent worn, it'll need a flywheel at best. I'd drive it until it starts popping out of gear and get your money's worth. If you do go ahead and get the clutch done, make sure they at least inspect the flywheel properely and refresh the cylinder seals.

 

1. Does anyone else think $7200 sounds high for a 360 clutch job?
(not used them, no affiliation) Ferrari Ft Lauderdale has an advertised service price for a 360 clutch at $3785. http://www.ferrarifl.com/vintage.php

2. I "will" drive until the clutch slips, or on the 430 until its starts forcing me to "N" (have not used up a 430 clutch yet). *Note: Ricambi shows a flywheel at $2000! A bit more than my Porsche replacement flywheels by a long shot. So as RustyBits says you do risk damaging your flywheel at some point (not sure why this has not been engineered out of the equation).

3. I say "will" in (2) because I have never used up a clutch in my life. I dont flip cars, I usually keep a car / motorcycle for life or until its totaled or something. Maybe I am just clutch friendly. This includes years of professional motorcycle racing. Maybe I am just lucky.

 

I sure hope that $7200 is high and I like the $3785 price I think the average clutch job should near $5,000 by the time you do all the "might as well do it now" things. But for the original poster remember that he is in Norway, their pricing could be different and the exchange rate changes daily so $7200 could be a good price.

 

I dont know...sounds a little like apples vs. oranges.

The $3,795.00 is the service portion only. Add a premium for purchasing parts from an F dealer, and I suspect you are up in the $5K to $5.5K range (I have a 3 pedal so Im making a bit of a guess here on the total...my cert F mechanic charges $4,200.00 all in!). Then factor in the notion it would be like living in Orlando and travelling to Washington DC as your closest Ferrari dealer, and I suspect that they can charge a little bit of a premium for their services. You dont like the price? Travel another 500miles...

 

I just dont understand your logic or point here. Please elaborate?

The advertised price of $3795 is for a clutch replacement on a 360 at a Ferrari dealer service department. Why would you add a "premium for purchasing parts from an F dealer"? I might agree that this is the "base" price and that if you opt for replacing additional parts while you are "in there", or have to replace the flywheel because the clutch was so worn it was damaged. But the base price should be the actual price minus tax for the median of customers. Or maybe I misunderstand their marketing and sales tactics (possible)

 

You are so far away from service I would change it now and save another trip in the not too distant future. I was told after the clutch gets past the 50% level it wears out progressively faster.

 

My interpretation of the offering was that it is the pricing but not parts incld. My bad if that isnt the case and its an all in price. Seems really reasonable if that is the case.

 

My F1 clutch was recently measured at 85% worn after issues with being unable to engage reverse. I don't think the 85% is accurate because I have had no issues with foward gear shifts. Reverse is still an issue after hard driving. I will wait until it slips into neutral to get the clutch replaced. Around 5K, I was told.

Nate

 

What is the problem? +$5k for a clutch change?
After you can drive for miles without any problems. And what if it breakes down (in the middle of nowhere???) you leave it?

Mind you, you are driving a +$100k car and don't want to spend but take risk? I really don't understand but hey I had a 328 for 50.000 miles and had a bill of Euro5000,- each year for 6 years. It never broke down because I spend what was needed (not over spend by the way).
I am happy to pay the bill of the F430, different world to me these days.

 

Might as well change it now than later. Why let something break first? You're going to have to do it eventually.
It might start to slip in a week or a year. Either way, you are going to replace the clutch so why not now before things start to go bad or break?

Just my .02

 

If Ferrari recommend changing clutch after 50% wear then they should change the calculation method so it reads 100% at 50% !!
IMO I'd carry on driving it, unlikely the clutch will suddenly fail and strand you - it will just get progressively worse.
Full clutch change in UK is £1500 - $7500 sounds very steep, my garage would fly out to you and do it cheaper for you

 

Houston: We have found intelligent life.

I will give that a big +1!

...where does the madness end? Better change it a 49% as not to be too close to 50%. Well to be real safe, better change it at 45%. Why not at every oil change?

 

lol, of course your Ferrari dealer told you that you need to change your clutch at 60% wear...

 

You also don't know if you can trust that reading. What I mean is, if it was not reset at last change all bets are off as far as that being an accurate number. I have seen it before.

Before you bought that car, the last owner could have put a new clutch in it right before offering the sale. Using an independent repair facility which may not have access to an SD2/3 had no way of resetting it. New clutch.....60% worn. If the CPS was not zeroed out, then the measurement the ECU uses is incorrect.

Good choice to have the clutch done.

I always say that the first time the car drops out of gear, it's a warning. That flywheel ain't cheap.

 

^^^^ any F1 without a TCU reset would have not been shifting right. no one in the right mind would leave out the reset after a f1 clutch job.

 

Would you like me to start naming people who would likely not reset the PIS after a clutch job if it would save them $29.95? Clue will giv thy not wite legably times some nd dote kare.