I wonder if it is cost affective to retrospectively fit a HGTc upgrade kit given the price difference from a standard 612 to a HGTC / OTO ? Is there even an upgrade kit? If this has been discussed on another thread then I apologise in advance !
There are several threads on this if you do a search. See post #12 in this thread, its a 599 but pretty much the same. http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/612-599/514147-599-hgte-vs-hgte-package.html I didn't notice the carbon ceramic brake kit. I don't the price but it has to be hugely expensive.
I looked into this briefly and I can tell you that you better trade your car an buy an OTO Here are the parts you'll need -exhaust 6000 $ ( and it will be in fail open mode on car before 2006), if you have a 2006 model you ll need to buy the pipe and the vacuum box + valve -Brakes minimum 25 000 $, please note you will need new wheel hubs (the aluminum part) to attach the larger callipers -rear anti roll bar, HGTC has a larger bar apparently -Gearbox TCU, can only fit this on cars with F1-S setting from 2006 ( at least 1000 $) -Damper ECU, springs are identical ( probably another 1000$) -19 inch wheel if you are 18/19.... And all this without assembly I have a gen 1 612 and I have driven back to back a 2006 HGTC, carbon brakes stopping is stronger with little pressure, whereas steel brakes are progressive, so you need to push hard. Sound is better on the HGTC, hands down. Is the handling so different ? not sure you'll notice much on the road, is the gearbox faster? I don't think mankind can sense a 20 ms advantage, but shifts are improved at low RPM and you can have faster shifts without the sport damper setting on. Is this worth a 30K-40K conversion, absolutely not, 612 are great cars as they are and one should learn to enjoy and master it. Forget about finding parts on ebay, HGTC parts are very rare and often sold with a minor discount to catalogue price. Carbon brakes are to be avoided as second hand... no way to spare much money on that 30-40K except maybe for callipers.
Ferrari made HGTC kits with varying levels of equipment for the 575M, but I have never seen HGTS or HGTC kits for the 612. There are CCM brake kits for the 612 and the other parts are available separately. Packages: * *HGTS Package includes: Sports Exhaust, Modular Wheel Rims 19″ with Sport Tires, Colored Brake Calipers, Specific Suspension Control ECU, Revised F1 Gearbox Software with Shorter Gear Shift times. * * *HGTC Package includes: Carbon-Ceramic Brake Discs, CCM System Mono-block Brake Calipers, Sports Exhaust, Ball-polished Modular Wheel Rims 19″ with Sport Tires, Colored Brake Calipers, Specific Suspension Control ECU and Revised F1 Gearbox Software with Shorter Gear Shift times Image Unavailable, Please Login
A member here "MoeD" went through the whole process of upgrading his pre-2006 612 with the HGTS package. For pre-2006 it takes a while to get the right ECU and TCU. If you contact MoeD, I am sure he will give you a detailed idea of the steps and costs involved.
Yes I did do the whole process to the exact specs as factory. Few people realize that even the ignition modules are totally different. I would say that I would not undertake such a challenge again if I knew what I knew now. The most important and cost effective item to do is the rear antiroll bar which is the only change in the suspension- The bar comes with an upgraded suspension ECU which is actually shared as a Maserati Skyhook suspension part. That roll bar/ECU combination is less than 2 grand. Then just upgrade to 20 rims. Factory challenge wheel sets are readily available here and on ebay, or use any aftermarket 20 inch wheel to gain the same performance. HGT2 as offered on OTO, does not include any suspension ECU- so it's a different set up. The transmission TCU is different and will give you mildly updated shift times, but not by much. Taz may be able to chime in on this subject as he is quite familiar with the shift time differences. The TCU upgrade part is also only about 2 grand, but I had a helluva time making it work. My entire car's computer system was reflashed along with it's relationship to every ECU component that responds to it, and then a Ferrari guru from FNA still had to make the trip out 'on the down low' to do my dealer's owner a favor and revise the car's electronics to accept the TCU, which you'd imagine would just be a simple change out. The ignition modules are big money and offer no appreciable advantage that make their cost worthwhile. Lastly- Exhaust options are many, the factory HGT exhaust is the best option. I used Tubis at the time w/the 'mini propella' tips- look very very very similar to factory HGT tips. I bought the 'more sound' version, i.e. loud, and they still didn't do the car justice at all, being all to quiet for my taste, and sounding like the last sip at the bottom of a glass of a soft drink through a straw on full throttle. My 456 Tubis are everything I could want, the 612 tubis I bought by contrast were custom built, expensive and disappointing. Find or purchase a factory HGT exhaust if you can. If they are valved, the valves can be modified to stay open in about a minute and the sound is just Lovely. My car ran truly Fantastic thereafter, with all the tuning work far outreaching factory specs, but definitely- I'd have been Ok with the suspension and tire revisions only and that is my recommendation to you. You will notice the handling revision immediately on your first curve, but it's ever so slight only. The other revisions offer gain, but they are ever so slight as well as not to be worthwhile of effort, time and expense. Lastly, acquiring the suspension/exhaust parts should be a no brainer, most of the other parts need to be Ok'd by area Ferrari reps to which dealers report. They don't want people taking cars and adding parts that didn't come from the factory. It keeps people from turning certain cars into cars that they are not. So for instance in this case, they are happy to sell you some upgrades over the counter, but parts like the ignition modules, they don't want to sell you if the car didn't come from the factory with the HGT package option. My dealer had to coerce and call in favors to get those parts and ultimately got them because the area manager was away on vacay and whoever took over that week let it slide. So in finality- I recommend wheels & exhaust, and perhaps roll bar too if you're adventurous- but that's all (Or just go buy an HGT equipped car- In my case I eventually traded to an OTO HGT2 equipped car). Hope this helps!
Moe- Ferrari quotes a 10% reduction in shift times, so that would be from a min shift time of 180 ms to around 160 ms.
Taz- I remember on upgrading that you can tell the difference in shift times, but it's so minor, that it's hardly worth the cost. Your identification of the shift times bears that out Thanks
Taz- Would you know the difference in shift times between regular and sport modes in any given F1 set-up?
I would assume that gear shifts are identical in both modes but clutch release is much faster in sport mode, you can clearly hear this when you are cruising in normal mode, it can take a second for the clutch disc to be fully pressing the flywheel again If you think about the gear change mechanism there is no point in accelerating it, the hydraulic system as an operating pressure and just needs to shift from one gear to the other once the clutch is depressed, however depressing and releasing the clutch is more complicated as it affect human comfort and that part of the process is adapted depending on throttle position , rpm, speed... so the 180 ms for the first gen F1 is the fastest shift time, longest shift times are obviously not measured as it can take more than a second in normal mode
Michel- Usually in these upgrades, min shift time is improved and so is normal shift time. Quite often, normal shifting is more noticeable an improvement than min shift time. In most, clutch take-up is smoothed/enhanced and clutch life is enhanced. Why they did not just do across the board changes early on is the question. That is what they eventually did do for the F-133H engine change, where the addition of HGT2 did not change F1 parameters.
We agree on that, I tried the F1S 2006 HGTC back to back with my gen 1 and indeed, impossible to notice the 20 ms when you floor the accelerator but in normal mode the F1-S is noticeably faster, my theory is that it's coming from an optimised clutch action and not from the gear selection.
Adam- Really funny thing is there is a thread in the 360/430 forum asking how to replace the AUTO button, which they have worn out. All I can do to keep from asking them why they are using AUTO in the first place. So far, I have been good, which is unusual. My AUTO pushbutton does not even have a fingerprint on it.
