Tim, welcome to the club. You will love the car.
Received the 575M. Everything is as expected (emergency brake light would go off so needed to pull brake up and down a few times, else as expected). Only able to drive a short distance (will take her out further this weekend). The gate takes a while to get used, in town I can barely hit 3rd, this thing is incredible, now I understand what everyone has been writing (not my grandmas M3, looking forward to shifting a bit smoother and by touch).
I'm interested in how others might describe driving these manuals. I find, rather than a single motion as with any number of cars, that mine responds well, quickly, and smoothly to a move to neutral, feel the gate, slip into next gear double motion. Its not slow and doesn't require any hesitation but its definitely a double motion. What say others?
That's a good description, Eric. A double motion, and you have to get used to doing the action. Second to third, particularly when exiting a fast curve or roundabout, is particularly so with me. Very satisfying to get right but I do recall when I don't my small daughter asks why the car's so bumpy...oops. My 575 gearchange seems a bit more hefty than my 550s, of course you're dealing with more torque but there's something else there too. Maybe it's just my car.
I've driven many manual trans cars. But it took me a while to be smooth with my 550. Now, I don't even think about it. Can't remember why I had any difficulty. And now I easily go back and forth with my C5 Corvette manual, which has a much lighter clutch spring.
Granted I am a rookie since just purchased but above describes my initial experiences to a tee. Double motion, The bumpy (haha), and the sloppy 2-3 transition big time. It is nice to read I am not as bad of a driver as I was thinking.... I will check back in on the seat time to get this down...
Well Done Tim, Drive it ! They are amazing cars, Daytona heirs and nothing they build now is quite like that. You have a great support group here. I’ll re-join one day. Darius , the following is the current ride, you may recognise the colour scheme ! As you know after your road tests, I had to commit heresy and go for the V8 !
Tim, Glad to hear the car arrived without surprises. The best I can describe the manual 575 is a very easy car to drive from point a to b, but takes practice to get smooth. Learning where to shift is part of the fun and I’d say let it rev higher than you’d think. I usually cruise at 3500rpm and shift at 4500-5000. I rarely use 6th gear but do find 4th a lot. Enjoy!
Thanks. I just drove down PCH from Huntington Beach to Laguna Beach, Ca (very enjoyable drive). I am getting better, kinda smooth now. I wish I read this post prior, as those are the ranges I settled into myself. But as you said, the fun is in the learning (unless a very nice yellow Porsche GT pulls up to you and is obviously much much smoother). Nothing like a humbling experience. Everyone enjoy Thanksgiving.
Graham, good to hear from you. In fact that is uncanny. While I was test driving the GTC4T, I came to the conclusion it's the spiritual successor to the Maranellos. Same ability to be relaxed and louche or crazy and racy. The actual successors didn't do that, the 599/F12/812 went down the hypermanic super-GT/supercar route. Neither the FF nor the Lusso V12 have the same character either, due to 4WD keeping a clamp on things and also the Enzo-derived V12 having a different characteristic, much more rev-hungry, rapid to spin faster, racy. The Lusso V8TT engine (tuned differently from 488) in your car does an excellent impression of the torquey yet revvy Maranello V12s. Fantastic car. Hope you rejoin the manual Maranello club at one stage.
What I meant is the differences are not enough to change the experience. You can get the FHP if you wanna be a hot dog. But frankly driving on the street, I never noticed any significant “seat of the pants” difference between the two, except every 575 I have driven had paddles. So if you want a stick, I’d go for the 550. You’ll have plenty of things to do to keep the car running. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Trying to remember because it has been 10 years. My favorite part of driving a 550 was doing second to third under power without the hood dipping. It takes practice. You can’t look at the gate, you have to develop a feel for the shifter moving along the indentations. You have to be deliberate. You don’t need to heel and toe, but I would sometimes do a quick double clutch if it felt like the clutch wasn’t fully disengaged. Really hard to describe. For me, it was a 100% feeling I was in synch with a thoroughbred machine. Note: make sure you have a clear road in front of you before trying this. You’ll be getting on 120 as you go to third and the car is just starting to run. I always lifted after catching 4th. Damn that car was more fun than the law allows. I just wish they had a better build quality. I’m a checkbook mechanic and that car almost broke my checkbook. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
