To do the clutch or not do the clutch?..that's the question | FerrariChat

To do the clutch or not do the clutch?..that's the question

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by jim frank, Apr 8, 2007.

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  1. jim frank

    jim frank Karting

    Mar 29, 2006
    122
    florida
    Full Name:
    jim
    On 3/2/07 I took my 03 360 f1 spi.into the shop to find out why the clutch had slipped in 1st gear twice over past two weeks. On one occasion the motor raced 2-3000 rpm,a cloud of smoke appeared and the burning smell lasted several minutes.The tech tested the car and reported it had 35% clutch wear,he noticed the slippage,and the cause was probably swollen seals sticking to bearing so it doesn't fully engage.Problem will get worse.Replace t.o. bearing and seals and replace clutch since labor will be same.Continued driving could damage other parts and leave you stranded by the road." I had 8500 miles on the car and had decades of experience driving with manual trans.I didn't get the work done and for the last 5 weeks and 500 miles there has been no evidence of slippage.The shop now says to drive the car untill problem reaccurs,maybe it self corrected. My question...what's the likelyhood that I,the driver, caused the problem? How do you cause slippage in first gear with an f1 trans?
     
  2. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    29,163
    socal
    You can have 99% clutch face wear and a clutch system will owrk perfectly. The problem is that manual clutch system is easy to diagnosis, while F1 have all kinds of electronics. Even a momentary power surge or connection fialure from a vibration event can make these F1's do weird things.
     
  3. UConn Husky

    UConn Husky F1 Rookie

    Nov 11, 2006
    4,425
    CT
    Full Name:
    Jay
    That's what Massa said last race when he shifted going over a bump and blew the gearbox!
     
  4. No Doubt

    No Doubt Seven Time F1 World Champ

    May 21, 2005
    72,740
    Vegas+Alabama
    Full Name:
    Mr. Sideways

    F1 transmissions are *different* than automatic transmissions in a key aspect: F1's have no torque converter.

    Instead of the torque converter, F1 transmissions *emulate* torque conversion by electronically slipping the clutch, especially at slow speeds (reverse gear at slow speeds up an incline is particularly bad for clutch slippage/wear).

    So to answer your actual question, it is easy and quite likely for the driver to cause clutch slippage with an F1 tranny. Slow stop and go traffic would do it, for instance. So can backing out of a parking spot.
     

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