There exists a host of reasons I'd steer you towards the F1 transmission .. but ultimately, you'd have to decide whats most desireable to you. I know that on the resale market, the F1 tends to be more desireable, a bit easier in drive-ability, but for the 'true' Ferrari feel, you might opt for the manual transmission. My advice .. test drive both .. than decide.
I love my F1, but there are a few things to keep in mind:
The transmission control units have been upgraded multiple times to improve adjustability. The 1999 and '00 cars, I'm told by the dealer service shop, had very little adjustability so the shifting was the jerkiest. The first TCU upgrade came in MY2001. My experience has been that the PIS (Point of Initial Slippage) setting for the clutch needs to be adjusted annually and must be done by the dealer or other shop that has the Ferrari diagnostic computer.
Early cars also had sticking throwout bearings and a service campaign on the ring gear. If the car has had at least one clutch change then these were likely addressed. A dealer can look up the history of your car and check it for you.
From chatting with other owners F1 clutches seem to have a life of about 20,000 miles. I've had two clutches; first at 14,000 miles when I bought the car, second just recently at 35,000 miles. Some people claim to have much more, but I live up a steep hill with a k-turn at the top, plus I track the car a half-dozen times a year. For my recent clutch change I've had the disc relined in kevlar, so I'm hoping for a longer clutch life. There was some concern about smoothness of the clutch, but so far it feels very good.
The F1 pumps also seem to have a short life, partly blamed on a weak relay and partly on the pump itself. Ferrari now installs the upgraded pump from the Challenge Stradale. I know some owners that claim to change out the relay annually as a preventative measure, as that is a trivial task.
And as a side note, if you elect to run the F1 transmission in 'automatic' mode, you can count on a clutch life much shorter than anticipated. 'Bout 10,000 tops !
Please Note: The F1 Transmission Will Work Fine In Auto Or Manual
Mode. Clutch Wear Will Be The Same!!. Makes No Difference, None
At All, Zip Zero. Thats The Facts Once And For All!!!!!!!!!
After reading Tigers reply with regard to the F1 clutch wear, and having understood that the 'manual' mode would cut into the F1 clutch life dramatically, I called two Ferrari service dealers for the 'last word' in F1 clutch wear. Without question, each dealer suggested that driving the car in 'auto' mode would greatly reduce the 'life' of the clutch. Ferrari owners that commonly motor thier vehicles in 'auto' mode can safely anticipate that the F1 clutch will wear 50% faster than those drivers that aggressively us the paddles. So .. there are the facts once and for all.
Ok Folks, Looks Like We Have A Shoot Out About This. I Have Contacted
5 Ferrari Master Techs About This Clutch Thing. Its How You Drive The Car.
If Your In The Hills, Mountians. Or On The Track The Clutch Will Wear
Faster. If You Hot Rod Around Town In Auto or manual mode the clutch
Will Wear Faster. All The Techs Said The Following: Clutch Wear Will
Almost Be The Same In The Auto Mode Vrs Manual Mode. They Also Indicted
50% More Wear In Auto Mode Is A Little Out There If You Know What I Mean.
I Would Say To All People That Have The F-1 Trans. To Do Your Own Home
Work About This Issue. Trust Your Own Service Tech.
I agree with Tiger, there's no way that there is a 50% difference, but it will wear marginaly more if you drive it around town in auto mode. It's also possible to upgrade the early cars with the later transmission control module, as said it gives far more flexibility to the P.I.S set-up, and will ultimately increase clutch life. The early cars also suffered with throw-out bearings sticking, resulting in a clutch sensor error being stored. Eventually this causes the F1 system to switch off the engine, and it won't restart. You can bet this will happen at a busy set of traffic lights surrounded by people, just to add to the embarasment! It's worth checking any early car's paperwork to see if such work has been carried out, as it isn't cheap. A clutch that has been set up by someone who actually knows how to use an SD2 should easily see 20,000 miles. Incidently, there's also now a modified pump and relay available which addresses the problems of the old pumps. It's a bigger pump but it has much less current draw. I've fitted a couple now and would't recommend fitted the early style pump in the event of a failure.
Last edited by ferraricyprus; 12-09-2008 at 10:51 AM.
Ok Folks, Here Is And I Hope The Last Time We Talk About This Clutch Issue.
I Just Talked To Ferrari Of North America In Englewood N.j. I Talked To
Mario (if You Cant Trust A Guy With This Name We Are All In Trouble!!)
Here Is The True Story From Ferrari. Mario Said And He Said I Could Quote
Him On This. It Does Not Make Any Difference Ifyou Leave The Car In Auto
Mode Or In Manual Mode. Clutch Where Is The Same According The Factory.
As I Have Stated Before And As Mario Stated, It Is How You Drive The Car.
Drive Like Massa And Foget It. Clutch Is Done. Drive Normal In Auto Or In
Manual And The Wear Will Be Almost The Same. Please Lets Put This To Rest
This Is The Facts, From The The Experts. If Michael Does Not Get The Proper
Wear, Well Maybe Something Is Wrong. As I Have Stated Before, I Have Had A
Lot Of Ferrari Automobiles And Have Never Had Clutch Wear Like Michael
Has Stated. With That I Am Done With This Clutch Issue. See you in Monaco
2009.
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Ferrari 360 manual or F1 gearbox?
Linear Mode
