F12 Drivability

Yeah it can be really scary. I was so surprised when I was driving on unfamiliar roads and didn't realize the grip level was so much lower, coming out of a turn, 3rd gear very low RPMs, just wanted to give it a little and the car tried to fishtail on me a bit. I caught it, it was low speeds, maybe 30-35 MPH, it definitely got my attention!

 

The subject of proper tire pressure has always intrigued me, especially when a car's performance depends so much on the rubber.

So with the car's listed tire psi based on 65 degrees F, does that mean adjusting up approximately 1 psi for every 10 degrees F increase in ambient temperature? Interesting, the listed psi should also be maintained even when the temperature drops.

 

Yes. If your garage is 65F and the car sat all night and outdoors its 35F then in theory you will want to add +3psi. And if it is 95F outside then you would want to -3psi. I think its really not quite 1psi/10F but its close. I tend to adjust my cars pressures 4 times a year and I just use the average temp outside.

 

I have not been adjusting down the psi with higher outside temperature. I'll need to do that. Too much psi seems to lead to the tire picking up debris and nails more easily.

 

Here are pics of the car. All of your experiences and advice really helped get me comfortable with the purchase. 2015 Rosso Corsa/Nero with very low mileage

 

Hi Everyone. Thank you all for your advice, insight and experience. It really helped get me over the top and this is what I purchased. 2015 Rosso Corsa with Nero interior and very low miles. Can’t wait for it to be in my driveway. It’s getting shipped now.
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Congratulations! Enjoy the beautiful beast!


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Congrats!
One of the greatest Ferrari's ever made.
Drive it hard, but respect it...it can bite you in the butt.

 

What others have said above. The F12 was designed as a GT car with all the creature comforts that come with it. It is not a hardcore sportscar, nor is it an S class. The F12 is a weird mix of both (don't want to use the word Hybrid here!) The ebst part about the F12 is that it truly has a character (oh dear) a soul if you must. And because it is not faultless it will reward anyone that enjoyes driving cars. Communication is excellent when driving the car. However it still is a very heavy rwd car with one of the best engines on the planet. If you simply drive around town and abiding the speed limits it's a very gentle drive. I'd like to refer to my F12 as a grizzly bear. Yes it's big and cuddley, but floor the panel and all of a sudden the bear becomes angry and roars and growls and is so much faster than you think it is. It's when you floor it and hit 3rd gear is when the magic starts to happen. The car feels like it's accelerating it's acceleration (you'll see what I mean). This holds even true on a track. I couldn't keep up with the GT3RS's whilst being on SPA, but give me a little of a straight and you'll see those cars decellerate when 200km approaches and the F12 simply keeps on pushing.

In short it's a truly, truly amazing car that we'll vividly remember in the next decades.

 

Beautifully stated!
She will seduce you, that is for sure.
First you notice the smell of leather.
The with the cold start it barks into life, and you think you have awoken a beast.
Then it settles down and as you warm the engine on gentle driving you think, "Hmmm, what is all the fuss about, this drives like a nice Euro-luxury car."
Then when the car is warm, and perhaps the road opens up you think you'll give her her legs...then wow..the beast is back!
Banging through 8ooorpm upshits, dive through apex, brakes, riping downshifts...endless torque and power.

We will indeed be praising this car, and the 812, for decades...I'm unconvinced about the future after that...but we'll just have to see.

Again...congrats!

 

Thanks for the most recent posts. Those descriptions of the car are amazing and make the wait that much harder!

 

Congratulations! The others have it right- the hallmark of this engine is it keeps pulling in a way that you will find hard to believe. Its because it gets STRONGER as you rev it. That's a Ferrari V12. Welcome to the family

 

Glad I saw this comment, I thought it was only me who noticed the low speed downshift being a little rough. My F12 is new to me, so I'm trying to understand the nuances of the car.

 

Bumping an old thread however I will say zero issues with mine on the 3-2 downshift. If you've driven a stick shift car before the DCT logic behaves like one on the F12. Don't be doing a 2-1 downshift. It does it rather well but it is awkward given the shorter gear ratios of this car. It can be a little "weird" sometimes sub 10 MPH going on / off throttle but it's rare. I had a GT-R (aka Godzilla) before now that DCT was way worse at low speeds. Also had a modern R8 with the S-Tronic (DCT). That one was way smoother than the F12 and behaved more like an auto (butter smooth, lightning quick, and would creep in 1st off the brake pedal). The smooth/quick though was boring. The POW up shifts under more aggressive throttle applications are a hoot on the F12. Reviews say the F12's DCT is fast and smooth. Maybe back in 2013 when this model first came out but compared to modern DCT (like my prior R8) it's certainly not as fast/smooth. It's pretty stout for what it is.