599 Clutch

I know a bit gloomy, but a healthy dose of reality

 

My 2007 had a rough life prior to me. 24,000 miles and 75% used on the clutch. No issues with it at all and I'll drive it until it starts acting up. It's a consumable IMHO, so it might as well be fully used.

 

We are on the same page. Most drive their cars so little that the difference is 10 years or 11 years until a clutch change, and likely more than that. Just like you do, I will play with my toys and worry about it later. In the case of a clutch, much later and maybe never.

 

Maybe your car had some track days and some really spirited driving. Not necessarily rough.

To me,, that is a proper life of a car like a steed that raced in its heyday...

 

Track use is actually not tough on clutches. City driving is rougher on clutches.

 

I did have to think about this for a moment...so banging gears at redline approximately 6-8 times a lap for 20-25 minutes at a time with transmission temps at its limit is not going to wear the clutch prematurely?

I do understand totally the city driving in traffic and backing up a hill is the worse thing ever for the clutch though.

 

No, it is the slipping that wears clutches. Very little wear on the clutch from banging shifts, especially since the system matches revs on upshifts and downshifts.

Incidentally, reverse is not bad at all in the 599, especially compared to the 360 and 575M, where it is almost as high as 2nd gear. First in a 599 is 3.15:1 and reverse is 2.93, pretty close and not enough to worry about rapid clutch in reverse.

 

One thing that you should think about.

Very often the throw out bearing gets leaking with the years.
So you have to open the system to install a new throw out bearing.
Mostly this is the time to install a new clutch also.

In that cases, the clutch often has wear, but labor costs more to open the system again some time after the new throw out bearing was necessary/installed.


my opinion :
Clutch is good for 70-80.000 Km at normal use and driven with brain.
Throw out bearing is good for same km, but risk of leaking at about 12 years (or some more)

So you can calculate what happens earlier at your car, and i'm sure, most will have situation nr 2 first, a leaking throw out bearing.
So better not to think about the clutch wear.

When it get's time, it get's time.


Daniel

 

One note on George's much earlier comment about depressing the accelerator pedal twice before starting. This is actually to synchronize the MAF meters and has nothing to do with the clutch. Recommendation is actually to depress the throttle 3 times, though, not twice.

 

so what would this do from a practical stand point...? Tell me like I'm 5 yrs. old.

 

When I said synchronize the MAFs, it is more like synchronize the throttle bodies so both banks are getting the same charge of air to mix with the fuel in the combustion chamber. With Weber carburetors like my old Ferraris, we used a Uni-Syn carb synchronizer to do about the same thing. On our fuel injected Ferraris, this procedure does it electronically.

 

So, you agree the 3 pump in on position is needed or maintained electronically & nothing to concer in starting.

 

Rik- One more time, not sure I understood your question.

 

I'll phrase better.

Reference was made to have newer models with fuel injection turned on, then pump the gas pedal, now three times, to adjust, now, the MAF meters.
You referenced newer models like being discussed which have fuel injection are done electronically. I'm trying to correlate this to needing the 3-pump scenario. However, I've never heard of such a routine. Not quite sure what to make of this pump discussion. Haven't seen that in the manual either.

 

Rik- Backdoor source.

 

I assume this is with the key in the On position? I've never messed with it because I like the car the way it is.

 

Here is a question:
Everyone gives the 599 low marks for the single plate clutch, yet the GTO has the same single plate clutch and people fall all over themselves for the GTO.

What gives??

 

I thought the 599 had a dual plate clutch. But you know a LOT more than I do so I probably have that wrong. I will say, I have zero complaints about the clutch in the 599. It is a joy to drive.

 

The 599 and GTO both have a very tough, small diameter, twin disc clutch.

 

599 gtb and 430 scuderia have superfast 3 transmission. It has a much more advanced and long-lasting clutch compared to 430 and previous models. It varies according to use and it is not easy to say an exact km but as I said it has a much more reliable clutch compared to previous models.

 

probably because those giving low marks to the 599 need to justify it to themselves after butchering the wonderful F1 to install an inferior three pedal system (even though the resale of these Frankenstein manuals doesn't come close to justifying the time or cost, and despite a near universal claim to how much better it is), whereas nobody would dream of carving up a GTO.

 

I still don't understand this "pump the gas pedal three times" thing. I believe, could be wrong, that the manual says not to touch the gas pedal during the starting process.

Is this something you are supposed to do before every start, or when it's cold, or what?

I tried it in my 612 OTO, and it didn't seem to do anything on a cold start. It started just like it always does.

 

Should we point out that there was no such thing as a superfast 3 with the F1 transmission?

 

At least two people have carved up their 599 GTO's to make them manual.

 

John- Or that the Scuderia had the same clutch as the F430? Superfast refers to TCU software, not transaxles, even though the Scuderia and GTO transaxles were modified to absorb the quicker shifting.