A question or two about 550 Clutch wear and pedal pressure

I have driven alot of manual transmission cars and find the clutch pressure a little firmer than some but not that much so (incidently the nicest clutch feel I ever felt was the BMW 850 6 speed). As for the mileage/clutch replacement issue, I have about 16.5k miles on mine and have no indications of clutch wear yet.

 

When the clutch is very worn the pedal pressure goes up. It is a byproduct of the pressure plate geometry. The clutch wear is very easy to check from under the car. There are ventilation holes on the bottom of the bell housing. The one on the right side will have a small slotted bracket visible through it. The slot runs for and aft and in it is a pin that serves as an anti rotation device for the hydraulic throw out bearing assy. When the clutch is new the pin at rest is in approx the center (centre to you) of the slot. As the clutch wears it will occupy a position further and further to the rear until it bottoms in the slot.

As for mileage I have a couple I service at over 30k with original, its all up to you. With the torque that car has you should if careful be able to wear the car out around the clutch.

 

If you've never driven an F-car before the clutch on a 550 CAN seem pretty heavy. But it's nothing compared to some of the older 12 cylinder Ferraris

That being said, I'd say the pressure needed on my car is 2-3 times that of my usual manuals (P-cars)- and the clutch on my 550 is well within specs and has lots of life left in it.

 

Yes, compared to most modern cars, particualrly Porsche, the 550 clutch feels heavy. Plus, the shifter is notchy also. What this means is that you need to shift like you mean it. None of the fingertip stuff. The good news is that it is so much fun to do!

Dale

 

I've just had a new clutch put into my '98 550 with 23,000 km. I didn't have the car new so can only remember when it had done about 15,000km about 2 years ago.

With the new clutch the pedal pressure is amazingly light - it's as light as a Toyota Corolla. The service manager said that people always comment when the clutch is replaced because the difference is so dramatic. Honestly I can't believe the difference between the old pedal pressure and the pressure now.

 

This may be irrelevant since I drive a 360M. One of my complains about the car when I first bought it was the pressure it required to depress the clutch. It was like my old 68 Camero SS, just insanely heavy. But since then Ferrari had two updates to the clutch assemblies to replace seals/bearings. The last update done in April 2004 made the clutch so easy to push that I thought there is something wrong with the car, after confirmation with the dealer no problems. That's just the way new seals and bearing act in the clutch assemblies.

 

So how do you enjoy the car now with the light clutch? It's not what you expect from a supercar is it!

 

Actually, it felt weird at first but now I am used to it and feels much better, especially for around the town driving or getting into tight parking spots.