Official 599GTB Manual Transmission Thread. Last of the breed?

Everybody understands that a dealer might invent arguments to sell a car but it's a different case here.
The lead time story wasn't from me.
I personally know of one (high mileage) manual 599 with repeated issues related to the clutch - maybe the throwout bearing - and difficulties with getting the spares. I heard a similar story of another manual 599 from a credible source.
Things I never heard of from any of the many 599 F1's.
On the other hand no problems seem to be reported from low-mileage manual 599's.
It might also depend on how the cars are driven, of course.

 

here is the link to a complete 599 gtb manual clutch

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=1&Mo=704&A=1&B=41983&S=

here is the link to a complete 599 gtb f1 clutch

http://www.eurospares.co.uk/partTable.asp?M=1&Mo=704&A=1&B=41984&S=

 

Thank you ross !!

 

Thank you Ross!
No broken parts here

 

Ross- If you looked at those two transmissions, they would look identical except for an extra sensor or two on the F1 version. Internally, they are identical, too.

 

The short first gear is hard to fix, but does the 612 clutch assembly and flywheel not fit to help the drivability?

 

You mean like this one?
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I helped my friend buy this a couple years ago. And yes I have first dibs on it if he sells

 

Ross- Yup.

Vig- Why would you want to swap a nearly indestructible dual plate clutch for a single plate clutch from an earlier model? Ferrari went the other way and used the dual plate clutch on the Sessanta and OTO 612s.

1st gear on the 599 is 3.15:1 x the rear end ratio of 4.18:1 for 13.167:1 overall. On the 575M and 550 it is 3.153 x 3.909 = 12.325. Factor in tire diameters 26.13" (550/575) vs 28.41 (599), 12.325 x 28.41/26.13 (1.087) and you get 13.40 equivalent for the Maranellos, or a lower speed 1st for the Maranellos than the 599. Plus the 599 has a higher redline (8250 rpm) than the Maranellos (7500) so is even more capable of higher speed in 1st gear.

So why is anybody complaining about a granny gear when it is actually a higher speed 1st gear than the thousands of Maranellos out there? Nobody in their 550 is complaining about a granny gear.

 

Yes, I wonder too!
The 599 does 85 km/h in 1st gear at the 8400 rpm redline. Not exactly short!
For the 575 it's 78 km/h at the 7700 rpm redline, for the 612 76 km/h at 7400 rpm.

 

Fuel shut-off on the 599 is at 8400, redline is 8250. A 575M will not get to 7700 rpm, fuel cut-off is at 7600 rpm, redline is 7500 rpm. Can vouch for that one. Same numbers for 612 with nearly identical engine to the 575M.

 

In my friend's car, on Ferrari's press photo and on all other photos I saw the 599's redline looks like 8400 rpm
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575M Maranello 7700 rpm redline:
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612 Scaglietti 7400 rpm redline (sorry for getting off-topic):
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Does not matter what is on the tachometer. The 599 redline is 8250 (look in the owners manual) and fuel shut-off is 8400. Fuel shut-off for the 575M in the workshop manual and owners manual is 7600 and redline is 7500. From personal experience, that works exactly as advertised, regardless of paint on the tach. Redline on the 612 is 7500 rpm in the OM and WSM, just like the 575M, regardless of what is painted on the tach. Who knows why Ferrari had those marks painted on the tachometers? You have to look up that stuff or bounce it off the rev limiter to confirm for yourself.

If you do not have the owners manuals, you can download them for free from ferraridatabase.com.

 

Terry, this clutch wasn't designed to be manually actuated. And clutch uptake seems to be the largest issue with this car for most owners. OTOH, I've never (ever) heard a 612 owner complain about the drivetrain. Do other OEM high output cars with manual transmissions use single or twin disk clutches? All the aftermarket twin-disk clutches I've come across are pretty difficult to drive on the street.

 

Vig- The 348 originally came with a dual plate clutch, but later cars came with a single plate clutch. Same clutch on the two versions of the 599 and the only difference is the throw-out bearing. Both are annular bearings and the engagement should not be any more of a problem with a clutch pedal than an F1 pump. Travel is the same.

Trouble is, the owners say they work fine, but others are saying no, there are problems, but have no specific information. Some complaining do not even know how an F1 system operates compared to a three pedal version.

 

This sums up the situation perfectly. Thank you Terry

 

Thank you! Didn't know about the randomly painted redline of some cars - as you noticed

 

Funny thing is, in Road & Track's first road test of the 550 in January 1997, they complained about the rev limiter kicking in 200 rpm or so below the red line on the tach. Little did they realize the redline was 7500 rpm, like the 575M and 612, and 100 rpm above that was where the rev limiter was kicking in. Their data panel showed speeds in gears for 7700 rpm, like the tach says, so they never looked in the owners manual. Same for the Daytona, except there was no rev limiter so they were regularly over-revved, which did not seem to bother the engine. Never did on mine, at any rate.

 

WOW! Is that a U.S car??

 

Swiss

 

I was told by Ferrari when I ordered my car I not only had the last 599 made but the last one made with a manual transmission. Clutch uptake was way at the top and the driver experience was less than pleasurable. We modified the pick-up with an adjustable valve so now it picks up closer to the floor. It's an awesome car now and totally fixes any drivability issues. They also gave me a vin number that ended with 599... They didn't want to make it until the end of the normal production run. Pretty stoked I got the last manual transmission Ferrari is ever likely to make... I can dig up the manufacturer of the valve and give you the dealer that installed it if you want... Makes a world of difference.

 

Don't know if this has been posted before, but I stumbled across this video of a manual 599 on a high speed run. Unfortunately the person taking the video did not show the owner shifting the car very much.

At the 4:10 mark you see the gearbox.
Tubi Ferrari 599 GTB 140+ MPH Ride!! - YouTube

 

Does anyone know of any 599 manuals for sale right now?

 

what is the build date on your car?