Formula Dynamics F1 Enhancment Thumbs Up

That's definitely a try before you buy in my book.

 

Nice write up and nice install. I have had one for a long time and everyone who drives my car is impressed. Every time this subject comes up here there are a lot of nay sayers who haven't ever driven one with this enhancement. Glad to see that others agree with my assessment.

You really want to feel how much it is helping just turn it off and go for a drive. The change is HUGE and very obvious. It is not as obvious turning it on because the system adapts so the change is more gradual.

 

I love the F1 on my 2003 360 spider, BUT, I've always thought it could be much quicker, like the F430. I'd really like to tryone of these, before I buy one.

 

And I think the F430 F1 should be faster! ...its not bad in Race, but could be quicker for my taste. I guess we all just need 458s.

 

I am in San Jose area. Don't know where you are but could arrange it if you are around here.

No, it isn't as fast as a 430. The systems are different and you can't get there from here unless you buy a 430.

 

The main thing that pisses me off the most is having to engage the clutch slowly from lights and then accelerate.
My tecnique is to slowly accelerate, back off slightly to let the clutch engage and then accelerate away by then all the traffic has passed and 50 meters up the road before you get going (what a pain in the arse)
To be honest I enjoy shifting a F1 once you are moving but as for the rest of it in my opinion it is crap
I would pay Formula dynamics what ever they asked to get this piece of **** to take off normally
Oh yeh I forgot to mention take off on a 5 degree + slope and get ready to buy a new clutch

Kipper

 

I had their version on my GranSport and I have to say that I cannot imagine going back driving one without it I used to avoid traffic at all cost so I wouldn't be watching the clutch wear hopelessly in traffic jam. After the installation, it wasn't so bad anymore. Including miles before the installation, my total clutch wear was 30% at 18k miles. Granted, one still needs to learn modulating with gas pedal which controls the clutch engagement to maximize its effectiveness.

I can't say anything about the 360 version, but experience with FD product and Jeff have been very positive. There are many more references on ************.

 

I hear you on this. I do exactly the same thing and the traffic always pulls away from me. OK not 50 meters, maybe 10-15 meters now that I have the module, but it is annoying.

I just remind myself that it isn't a dragster and I look cooler than they do

 

This is exactly why the F1 cars also need a clutch pedal.

 

Since I learnt the availability of such a module, I have been very intriged to know how such a piggy-back system could improved the F1 management without being too intrusive with the TCU.

I spent some times looking at the pictures, not sure Formula Dynamics is happy that they are published. I think they give some clues on how it works. Here is what I guessed, hope I am not completely wrong :

- only 7 wires ... if you remove one for ground and one for power supply, you get only 5 "useful" wires

- on the 2nd picture, one can see that the system intercepts 2 wires from a bundle. This bundle is connected to connector 11G (cf wiring diagram), and it seems that one of the intercepted wire is black/white (picture 3). Mmmmm ... black/white on conncetor 11G is connected to ... one potentiometer of the throttle pedal. Is the system tweaking the throttle pedal signal? It looks so. For safety reason, on cars with a drive-by-wire throttle, there is a redundant potentiometer. The consistency of the 2 signals is checked by the engine ECU before applying the torque command. So, if you want to tweak the throttle signal, you have to do it on both signals and that is exactly what it looks like. 4 wires are required for that.

- the seventh wire? I don't know and can only guess. Is it just to bypass the system with a simple switch and tell it to come back to the normal pedal angle/voltage law, or is it to detect a condition where the throttle signal must be tweaked (eg. when the clutch valve is actuated)?

It makes sense that making the throttle pedal signal more agressive will improve the clutch operation. Every F1 driver can validate that with his right foot. The most clever part is probably how the pedal angle/voltage law is modified. Is it only a static mod of the curve at low pedal angle? Is there an addition of derivative terms to increase the rate of angle variation? Is the mod active all the time or under some conditions?
Reading some feed-backs, the system seems OK and effective, but from my point of view and based on its "probable" mode of operation, it looks now a bit over-priced.
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That's exactly why I will upgrade to the Stradale TCU once Daniel solidifies the potential upcoming deal.

 

Very nice analysis Eric and I'm sure you're very right knowing your expertise in this domain.

I've seen several units like this one for different cars. The act only on the throttle response. Such units cannot directly interact with the TCU software to optimise the ECU functionalities. In a nutshell, such units are more a psychologic improvement acting only on the throttle and giving the driver the impression that your car gears faster. Despite the high price of such units, at the least the driving experience is improved but it has nothing to do with the TCU controlling the gearbox and clutch. BTW, reversing the Ferrari TCU is a very difficult task, well more difficult than the other Ecu's including the Motronic Ecu's.

 

It's kinda strange as when I updated or adjusted my PIS settings on my 2003 to where it'll grab as soon as I touch the throttle. It still has a little slip but no where near what it had originally. Very close if not dead on my Stradale TCU.

mind you I'd slam a DCT in my car in a heartbeat as I feel that if we could have DCTs in our 360 & 430 cars, well....it'd be a done deal

 

Agreed Rob. The problem with the analysis is that it assumes that the shift speed & clutch engagement is the same at every speed & throttle setting; anyone driving an F1 knows that it isn't always the same. A shift at full throttle 7000 RPM is very quick and the clutch grabs NOW, quite different than 0 MPH. Then all you have to do is remap the information going to the TCU and you get the more agressive shifting.

 

I absolutely totally agree with you. I love the F1 system in my 360, but not until I'm out of first gear.

 

For some reasons I will stop reverse engineering on the subject ... or at least I wont publish anymore.
I think I know how a F1 behaves all along the RPM and throttle range, and I agree with your last sentence. But it is not so easy. Without any TCU S/W mod, there is no (easy) way to let it think that the RPM is not the one which is broadcasted on the CAN bus. The throttle info, which is an important data for the TCU, is by far easier to "remap".