My brother likes my 348 coupe, but he says he wouln't want one for himself because the shifting is too much of a pain in the a-s-s. We all know that the older Ferraris take a little bit of effort and precision to shift. Is there anything that could be done to make the shifting easier--like 355/360 ease? Or even Porsche-like ease? I don't have any experience with fiddling with gearboxes. I want to put him in an older Ferrari!
Learn the double jointed proper shifting technique! Up, over, up; down over down. Don't try to rush it or it will take longer.
My 308 shifts as nice as my Miata. It is not as quick, but it certainly isn't hard. Take your time and be deliberate. Regards, JPL
Following is for 308s. I don't know if it will help a 348. http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?p=192784#post192784
Strange as this might sound, I find that once the car is warmed up it actually shift better when being driven hard (above 5000 revs) than when just pottering around town.
the shifting shoudn't vary much, all the gated f-cars are similar. You may need to use some lube on the gate, when that is dry you have metal-metal friction. I recomend something like TW-25B teflon spray or white lithium grease.
You're absolutely right. All the controls in a Ferrari work more fluidly when the car is driven agressively. The shifts get easier the faster you go. Hell-and-toe downshifting becomes a lot easier (and a lot more necessary) when you approach a slower corner at a high rate of speed. And the very best part of a Ferrari is that it encourages you to go faster by becoming more user-friendly the faster you go. --Matt