Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login It’s high time the 355 F1 gets the respect it deserves! The car represents the very 1st production street car to have a F1 derived gearbox. Straight out of Ferrari’s Formula One program ! I had mine out today driving in city traffic, all day, running errands and going to lunch. The car didn’t skip a beat. Performed flawlessly and shifted faster than anyone here can do manually ! The only issues with this fine system involve mechanics that screw them up ! Get a qualified tech that knows how to work in this relatively simple system and it’s bliss. Sure the system needs some fresh parts after 25 years, big deal. Give it what it needs and it won’t let you down. Performance is also very gratifying. At WOT, the shifts are totally hardcore. And blipping the throttle yourself during downshifts makes for totally smooth and rewarding heal and toe action. Anyone who says otherwise either hasn’t driven one or doesn’t know how !
Indeed, I had a preconceived notion that the F1 system was rubbish, then I drove one!! Love it!! I would have one in a heartbeat for sure.......The 355 is the sweet-spot in the Ferrari Lineage.....
I'll be honest though as much as I loved my F1 when it was running right...I hated it when it wasn't. I have a fairly good understanding of the system now and would like to get one as a second 355 but I'm holding out for a nice spec. Carbon seats and fender shields ideally.
Or just isn't interested in having an automatic transmission in a weekend fun car. 3rd pedal FTW....LOL
I have slowly come toward accepting the F1 gearbox on newer cars like a 360CS and 458. But there are reasons: 1) both cars are exceptional overall cars, and they absolutely do not come in a 6 speed. 2) there are reasonable scanners that will make servicing of those cars and gearbox possible for non-shops. The 355F1 does not have a cheapy scanner that can read their codes, making it near impossible to service the gearbox for anything more than fluid changes. As soon as there is a more complex problem, and you don't have a $30,000 tool, you are stuck with guessing or anecdotal internet posting.
It’s not a automatic! It’s a six speed manual that you drive exactly the same way minus the third pedal.
With all due respect, if you can place the transmission into gear with one button and you can drive from 0-200 mph without other inputs.....it's an automatic.
That is an option, although I’ve never pressed that particular button. All kidding aside, I just think the car should be appreciated for what it represents and not knocked by people who must have a stick. I have multiple Ferraris with sticks and they’re great. The F1 system is a ton of fun too and shouldn’t be knocked. If some people don’t like the car after spending time with one, that’s perfectly fine. Go get a stick, but don’t act like there is something negative or wrong with a F1 car.
I have 2 gated Ferrais and a PDK Cayman S. I pretty much leave the PDK in auto mode because the computer handles the up shifts well. But sometime I pull the paddles to over ride the computer on down shifts. but if I bury the pedal I may have to pull the up shift paddle if I want to get out of 2nd before I hit 80.
But for alot of us it IS a negative, a BIG one.....it doesn't mean you shouldn't like it and that there isn't alot of people like yourself. For example, I think not liking a convertible is loco....but I know there are differing opinions, and it's no big deal for me.
Well yeah! If you shift the F355 at 6k which peaks HP at 8250, it would stand to reason you would shift the Cayman at 5400 as it peaks HP at 7400. I can't imagine the anxiety of letting any sports car designed for high rpm usage exceed 1 o'clock on the tach
I wouldn't knock it, just know if I have the option I would be happier with a 3rd pedal. Unlimited funds/space? Hell yeah I would add an F1 F355. Limited funds/space = no.
I have no problem taking the Cayman to red line when I'm on it if the roads permit it. It's a Porsche. It doesn't brake. But seriously, when I take the 355 or 308 or 981 out it's not for a quick blast of going through the gears, shifting at red line. I usually put 100 or more miles on the car on a week end drive around New England. Just yesterday drove 84 miles for a cup of coffee at D&D even though there's one 3 mile from my home. Anyway, if you want to shift at red line, you go through 1st, maybe 2nd, and then short shift 3rd, 4th, 5th, ... depending on the car, 6th, then 7th. WTF? I don't need the screaming chicken sound effects and rather hear the engine run multiple time though a specific RPM range, topped out were appropriate for the roads I'm on. Even then, that's pretty much limited to 1-4. So you guys tell me, with red line in 2nd about 72 mph, 3rd about 95 mph, where are you red line a 355 in 4th , 5th , 6th? Don't tell me, I've seen the video. WOW, that's enjoyable, for 10 seconds. That what sports cars are for. I imagine that guy just shot his load and can go home.
I don't know......sounds dangerous to me. I'd rather have a car that has brakes, but that's a personal thing.
I have a gated GT3 and an F1 355. You did it backwards dude. Had the 355 out for the first time this year on a drive with Porsche Club. The 355 with an F1 transmission is a thing of beauty. It's smooth as silk fast as hell and in sport mode down right thrilling. The 355 is not as fast as the GT3, but it has a very different feel that I find quite exciting and the F1 shifting is a huge part of that. A properly maintained and operating F1 system is simply a cool, unique, feature that I really enjoy. Honestly, I am not so sure I want a manual transmission 355. I have spent the time to understand this system and repair things that need attention. Personally, I think everyone should change the accumulator bulb in their F1 system as it changed the world in mine. DIY post in the sticky thread here.
Leonardo, single car, diagnostic tool is $4500. So not sure why you would say you need a $30,000 scanner. They did a reset of my F1 system at Continental in Chicago for $200. That was 5 years ago.... so $40 a year....and counting down. Yea, it complicates some DIY things. I get that. But can we stop with the $20,000 F1 repair bills and $30,000 SD computer purchases please? It's simply not true.