I have recently bought a '99 360F1 and have a couple of queries: Performance - subjectively it doesn't seem any quicker than my '91 Testarossa. I have stats from several uk road tests according to which the Testarossa did 0-60 in 5.2 secs and 0-100 in 11.2. According to the August '99 test of the 360F1 it did 0-60 in 4.2 secs and 0-100 in 8.8. Autocar was surprised by how quick it was but had the test gear checked and it was accurate. I appreciate 'seat of the pants' isn't exactly the most accurate method but presumably a 360 should feel quicker than a Testarossa? Transmission - the shifts from 1 - 2 and 2 - 3 are harsh, and there is a distinct clunk and shudder from 3 - 2 and especially 2 - 1. The idle seems a bit rough which I guess doesn't help but the whole gearshift seems unacceptably rough to me. Are these signs the tranmission needs adjusting, and/or is the clutch on its way out? Is sorting an F1 transmission a 'black art' or should any specialist be able to sort it? Leaving aside the obvious 'sell the F1 and buy a manual' option, is converting an F1 to a manual using s/h parts feasible? I understand the F1 is simply an automatically shifted manual so logically it should be possible to add the parts to make it a full manual - i.e. clutch pedal assembly, new centre console etc - and lose the F1 auto shifting kit? Is a Larini with test pipes useable on the road or will it make my ears bleed and the neighbours hate me? TIA Andy
Andy, In mid 2002 the TCU for the F1 was updated, and the new software made significant improvement to the gear changes. If your car has the old TCU (and you're sure it hasn't been updated) you could think aboout doing the update to TCU part no. 193263 or 211023. I'm not sure which you would need. They cost about £700 from Eurospares, and you can fit it yourself, but to get it to run smoothly you will need to have the car plugged in afterwards to the SD2/SD3, but it doesn't take long and shouldn't cost a fortune. I believe it would feel like a totally different car afterwards.
