F1 Uphill battle!

This may be a very basic f1 transmission question but here it goes. I have a 06 430 spider with f1 transmission. I also have a very steep incline out of my house. When the car is in first gear and stopped it is next to impossible to get up the hill. The car revs, the valves open and it gets very throaty and loud, and when I finally make it I smell clutch. If I get a rolling start I can bottom out. Do I need to rev with brakes applied then release. Or is the clutch wearing. Just had the car services at Fofl and they said clutch was fine. I usually avoid this incline but not always possible. Thanks for any insight.

 

What you need to do is to get the clutch fully engaged and not to slip before you go up the hill.

If you smell clutch burning, that's bad.

If it bottoms out, get skid plates. A lot cheaper than a new clutch every few hundred miles.

 

^ I have skid pads. Any recommendations of how I can engage the clutch quickly in a short distance. Would putting it in auto help. Thank you. Clutch smell has only happened twice . First time I didn't realize what it was second time was yesterday.

 

Is your car warmed up?

If not - note that the clutch slips a lot more if you drive off immediately after starting the car. Try warming up the car for ~2 to 5 minutes, before driving off.

 

Buy a new house !

Logically I reckon to use race mode should engage clutch quickest

 

I also live in a steep hill and had similar problems although infrequently. I found that auto is a lot smoother for the hill and for stop and go traffic.

 

Left foot braking will help in this situation.

When I have to stop on a hill, I keep my left foot on the brake. When it's time to go, I apply throttle until I feel that the car let the clutch out, and then come off the brake and go!

Voila! Minimal clutch slip and no expensive smells!

 

I read that there is a technique to prevent bottoming out on a steep incline. They recommend approaching the incline at an angle. Not sure if they mean to go diagnonally up with wheels straight or to zig zag across all the while keeping the wheels angled out of the wheel well. Anybody know?

 

Do not put in auto! Put it into race. It will engage the clutch the fastest.

 

Get the car rolling on a flat surface before you hit the steep incline if you can. You will need about 10 - 15 yards. You should be able to fully engage the clutch within this distance.

 

I will try warming the car up for a few minutes and race mode. Can't get a running start (10-15 yards) the car has been lowered. If the warm up and race mode don't work I'll try the break technique. Thanks guys.

 

Fixing the driveway will be way cheaper than wearing the clutch out.
Adding some concrete or bitumen to smoothout the initial sharp incline would be good.

 

Had to redo the driveway for our new home. Just completed a few days ago. Way cheaper than a new clutch and the in and out is so smooth now. Worth every penny. Now I can get the Fcar into the garage.
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Er, the car's lowered from stock? And the driveway's steep? Bad combo. One may have to give.

 

Going up or down on a incline definitely helps a lot (not zig zag). But, it only helps if you have a wide enough space to navigate with.

There's not much you can do here aside from "feel it" over time. But, allowing the clutch to slip all the way up the hill is a really bad idea. Fixing the incline, raising the car to help it not bottoming out will help.

I'm not sure about the "left foot braking" idea. I never tried it but if it helps to get the clutch engaged while the engine still runs, it should work. However, as soon as the revs and torque level drops too low for the situation, the computer will disengage the clutch to prevent the motor from stalling.

Even a 6 speed wouldn't help much when trying to go up a steep hill from a standing start. The motor needs to give torque one way or the other at low speeds. The only way is to keep the revs high and slip the clutch.

 

i live off of a very steep driveway too, my 08 fully engages the clutch almost 3-4 seconds from a dead stop on the hill once i hit the throttle, get a second opinion, yours shouldn't do that.

You may want to use your parking brake so the car doesn't get a chance to roll back

 

I can't put numbers to it (my buddy guessed 15% but who knows?) but my driveway is steep enough to be difficult walking up in the snow. It turns 75 degrees at the steepest point.

First gear is pretty short and my 6 speed 360 has plenty of torque to cruise up at just above idle. My understanding is that you'll never get an F1 car (360 or 430) to engage the clutch at such low rpm.

 

Impossible....

 

I think he means 15 degrees (which is still a lot!). 90 degrees would be straight up. Even an F18 can't do that from a standing start!

 

Well. I put it in race mode and get a slow running start and it seems to do the trick. Thanks for all the tips guys.

 

Come on guys, let's think about this. He's saying that his driveway turns through 75 degrees (at its steepest point) NOT that he has a 75 degree incline.

 

I'm having problems with this as well, as my apartment's garage has a steep hiil to go to the other levels, and I cant go fast enough for the clutch to desengage or i'll bottom out.
Have anyone tried the braking technique? Does it work, and more importantly, does it harm the clutch?

 

Nearly two years later...yes that's exactly what my point was. IOW, it's difficult to carry momentum because there's a tight turn (with retaining walls on both sides).

 

I agree with this. Use your hand brake before accelerating on a steep incline so the clutch can engage without the car rolling back. It's the same with dual clutch systems. There are however companies like VW who have a system that does this automatically, called 'hill start assist'.

 

Get a stick shift problem solved. I can drive my car up steep inclines with little more then tickover.