correct way to drive F1 ?

Congrats on the car. Treat it as you would a manual clutch. Take off positively, don't ride it, avoid reversing up a hill. I have 23,000 miles on mine and 20% wear. I think of it as a manual at lower speeds and feather the throttle on up shifts to make the change smoother. Blipping on downshifts is fun as well. When you're pushing on just keep it floored. Enjoy.


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Do not feather the throttle. Do not use reverse up hill.

 

If you have an early 360 get a CS ecu installed, best upgrade every. Make sure the POE is set correctly. This is not a drag car so always ease into the throttle from a standing start until you fee the clutch fully engage (should start to engage at 1200 and be fully engaged by 1600-1800 rpm). Then have fun.

 

Lots of threads here on how to properly drive an F1 to prolong clutch life.

As others have mentioned, avoid reverse and uphills. This is where clutch slip is extensive and shortens the life of the clutch.

On normal driving press the accelerator pedal a little thump to quickly engage the clutch.
Then wait until the clutch is fully engaged (you will feel it) before accelerating hard.

Other than that - enjoy!

Dan

 

There's a useful youtube video from a dealer in Florida which is regularly posted in these many other threads

 

[QUOTE="Thecook posts ................... and feather the throttle on up shifts to make the change smoother. ............[/QUOTE]

Eric C, post:.........Do not feather the throttle. ...........[/QUOTE]


This is why so many people are confused.

 

As advised by dealer..................and lets face it, they are going to know (hopefully !).

When giving it the full beans keep your foot down and do not lift as you shift.
When just pottering around the slightest lift, or feather, as you shift.

And as others have touched on, when in traffic be positive when pulling away.

It is also good practice to knock it into neutral when you come to halt (waiting at traffic lights etc). Reason being the hydraulics are not having to work hard holding the clutch down (the benefits of this should be fairly obvious).
However never do that while rolling as you can only select 1st when you are at a standstill.

 

When stopped, whether in gear or in neutral, the clutch is open, so putting her in neutral when stopped gives no advantage in throw-out bearing life like it does on conventional manual transmission cars. I still coast to a stop in neutral to avoid unnecessary downshifts, which do wear the T/O bearing and very, very slightly, the clutch. Mainly because that is the same way I drive a manual transmission car.

Remember also that you get no rev matching on upshifts or downshifts when in Normal (360) or Sport (F430). You do in Sport (360) or Race (F430.

 

Have you driven a manual before?

If so, once you get into the car and take off for the very first time, you will almost immediately understand how to best drive the car to max the clutch life. All my friends who drive my car once, immediately says this is just like a manual, I can feel the computer modulate the clutch!

 

Don't think N does anything for the hydraulics because the clutch is held open anyway.
Also, you can get 1st while rolling, you just have to downshift immediately after initially grabbing a gear. It's true that the F1 wants to select the highest possible gear when going from N, but you can quickly get down a gear or two (which is usually about where you want to be).

 

Feathering/Slipping is never good on a clutch.

Eric C, post:.........Do not feather the throttle. ...........[/QUOTE]


This is why so many people are confused.[/QUOTE]

 

Most will probably skim through this, which often results in the wrong conclusions being drawn,but I urge you to just read it thoroughly.

I offer the following based on many many years in the Motor Trade as a Technician.


There seems to be a misconception as to what the F1 Transmission is, and mores to the point, how it operates.

Firstly it is NOT an “automatic” !

The F1 is essentially a “Robotised Manual”.
in fact it is the same transmission as the “manual" or "stick shift", but with a Hydraulic Actuation System for Gear Selection & Clutch Operation attached to it.

Versions of it were used by Alfa (Selespeed) and Fiat, and indeed a few other manufactures (Nissan, Lexus etc).

Basically you have treat it more like a Manual than an Auto.
Yes it can be used as an Auto, but it is not a true Auto as it does not have “creep" engineered into it.
You will have noticed by now the if you are in 1st on a slight incline and release the brake pedal the car will roll back or forwards (hence why you treat it as a manual).


As for the Clutch operation it works in exactly the same way as the Clutch in your regular Stick Shift, the only difference being it’s operation is controlled by an ECU, and not you.

Therefore when driving along and in gear the Clutch is engaged (obviously).
With the Clutch engaged the Release Bearing is at rest with no hydraulic pressure applied to it.

In other words exactly the same as it would be in a regular manual.

Also when the car is stationary and in Neutral the same applies (release bearing at rest).

Therefore in these situations there is no pressure being applied to the Bearing and thus no stress or wear.


Stress or wear of the Release Bearing occurs when it is actuated or under load.
That is when you have your foot down on the Clutch Pedal (regular manual) or in this case when the ECU has instructed the Hydraulic System to hold the Clutch off, or open.

While the Clutch is being held open the Release Bearing is under maximum load and stress.
The same goes for the Hydraulic system operating it. The System is being asked to hold the Clutch open.

Think of it this way………
You are driving your regular Stick Shift and while sitting stationary you have the Clutch Pedal pushed down, and you keep it pressed down for a long period of time.

How long before your leg starts to get the shakes (especially with multi plate or high torque load clutches) ?

Doing this is what causes the most damage to the Clutch Release Bearing, regardless of the car.


So going back the F1 Transmission, when you are stationary at set of traffic lights, or what ever, knock it into Neutral.

As there is no drive, because you are not in gear, the Clutch is released and sits in the engaged position.
Exactly the same as if you start your car up and leave it running in your garage.

With the Clutch engaged there is no pressure on the Release Bearing, and also no load on the Hydraulic System.


Therefore in view of that when you are stationary it is simply good practice to select Neutral and take the strain out of the system.
These things tend to last longer and give better service life if treated this way.


I will agree you can select 1st, or even a higher gear when rolling (depends on road speed), but again for the sake of looking after your expensive to repair car, it’s best to treat it with a little more care.


Finally I will add this little pearl of wisdom………..

The worse thing about having the Clutch held open for extended periods of time is the continual “Thrust Loading” being applied to the Crank Shaft inside the Engine !
Yes, when you operate the Clutch you are attempting to push the Crank Shaft out the front of the Crank Case !

Those Thrust Bearings don’t last for ever, and I’m sure you don’t need to be told the cost of replacement.

 

read the whole post. thanks

 

Long post that is wrong about how the F1 clutch works. Look at post #9, this is correct.


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This thread is a great illustration of why the F1 is so engaging. Yes, a DCT is fast but soulless, whereas the F1 still requires that you develop a technique to properly bond with it.


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Well thats two people (#9 & #15) who clearly have absolutely no idea of the basic principles of operation of a Diaphragm Clutch !

I suggest you read this from Aldous Voice, which basically confirms what I have just said, but also goes into more in-depth detail.

Enjoy.........

Ferrari F1 Clutch Operation – Aldous Voice


I wil also add that pretty much all the parts related the Clutch are identical whether Manual or F1.
The only differences are some of the Hydraulic pressure Line parts.

 

Never ever down change from 2nd to 1st when car is moving. Anyone with their righteous mind will not do it with manual car, one should NOT do it with F1 "automatised manual transmission" either.

The computer will do the down change IF its required. At least my (latest "normal" revision) TCU will keep 2nd engaged even at very, very low revs (in parking lots, etc. situations) rather than changing to 1st gear.

 

Tackleberry can mock as he wishes but until he has been driving an F1 as a daily and had it over 12 years or contributed as much to this community as Taz he should tread lightly. Aldous Voice had a lot of good content but the description provided by Tackleberry here about F1 operation is definitely wrong. Welcome to the board noob


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Sooo.....I do most of the stuff you guys suggest but I'm not clear on the sitting at a stoplight. Do I sit in 1st gear or sit in neutral? Been sitting in 1st. 7% clutch wear after 11Kish miles but of course who knows about release bearing.

 

It doesn't make any difference to wear. If you are sitting still and on the brake the clutch is depressed, same if you are in gear. I prefer being in gear because I don't forget to shift to 1st, rev the engine, and feel stupid; Taz prefers to be in N. It is really just what you prefer. And yes, I have driven manual cars for many many years before having the F1, I just prefer to be in gear.

For what its worth, the throwout bearing on the F1 is full contact so it is ALWAYS touching the pressure plate and spinning. None of this changes that.

When I said DD, I meant DD. I commuted in my car a lot. Driven in town. Stop and go. Traffic jams. Driven in SF often, hills and all. Take the car to Home Depot, groceries, etc.

 

Dave,

If you are sat at a stoplight with first gear engaged the clutch is being held open (so no drive).
This does not affect the clutch itself in any way shape or form as it is disengaged, so no wear is taking place, however the Release Bearing (or throwout bearing as you guys call it) is now under it's highest load as it being asked to hold the Clutch open (disengaged) for a long period of time.

And yes, while the Release Bearing is always in contact, when the clutch is engaged it is effectively at rest.

It is also worth noting that the Release Bearing is technically NOT in contact with the Pressure Plate, but is in fact in contact with the Fingers of the Diaphragm Spring.
It is the action of the Release Bearing pushing against the Fingers of the Diaphragm that release the pressure on the Driven Plate and thus disengages the Clutch (in other words the highest point of stress for the Bearing)

This also has a knock on effect with the Hydraulic System as it is being asked to keep the line pressure up to hold the Clutch open.
This means your F1 Pump is now operating flat out to keep that continual pressure in the system.

So if you want to take a little stress out of the system when stationary (at a stop light) select Neutral.

 

Anyway, to the OP.

Cutting through all the flannel the bottom line is you treat the F1 as if it were a regular Manual Transmission.

You will find this advise in similar threads here, on other forums, and even You Tube vids as well.
In fact any good Ferrari Dealer would probably be happy to help you out if you ask them.

And.................if you open up the Owners Manual it pretty much tells you what to do in there.

If you don't have one they can be easily downloaded on line.

Enjoy

 

Tackleberry- Most of what you wrote is incorrect, especially on the clutch in neutral for F1. When stopped, the clutch is always open in an F1 Ferrari, regardless of what gear you are in, including neutral, like Dave and I said. So you are not doing anything for wear when stopped in neutral in an F1 car. So please stop giving folks incorrect information on that aspect of driving an F1 Ferrari. Ask one of the pros if you need confirmation. That is how I learned how it worked (Rifledriver). Rolling to a stop in neutral works fine. If the light changes when in neutral, hitting either the right or left paddle will get you the (same) highest gear where the engine will run cleanly. That is nearly always too high a gear, so a good technique is to use the downshift paddle to get a gear and be prepared for a nearly instant downshift to get a usable gear. If you do put her in neutral for stops, taking your foot off the brake inhibits going into gear. Most of us learned that the hard way before looking it up in the OM to understand how that works.

What you said about driving it like you drive a 3 pedal car is great, just the details of how F1 is mechanized were wrong.

 

My understanding also Terry.....

To illustrate this....on really cold mornings I get a whine from my release bearing on start-up that goes after a minute or so as the bearing warms up.
It stops as soon as the clutch engages on take-off. That confirms the clutch is open when in N otherwise it would only whine when I selected a gear...


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