F1 Auto mode question.

I tried the auto mode and didn't care for it very much. It shifts up way too fast, and doesn't downshift fast enough.

 

The auto mode works for very conservative driving. Out of curiosity, I've tried it twice in 11 years. It's crap. However, I can tell you that the snow setting, which sounds ridiculous, is instructive. If you're out in the rain, drive very conservatively. The tires will spin without any effort (especially with the Pirellis, which are a joke).

I had a 2007 Maser QP and was annoyed that the default was to automatic. I've learned since that that car is much better suited to an automatic. Maserati (Fiat) learned that, too, and began offering true automatic transmissions in 2009 or 2010.

The 360 is a manual at heart. Don't waste your time with the auto mode again.

 

Yep, auto mode works pretty much the way you guys described it. It will upshift at higher RPM and downshift nicely for accelleration, but you've gotta be on the throttle pretty hard before it acts better. It's useful for distracted driving (eating; talking on the cell) or for the SO who doesn't want to deal with paddles, but it seems pretty useless otherwise and is seldom used by most 360 drivers.

The low traction mode mentioned by donho can help in extremely slippery conditions, but it uses the same software as reverse (i.e., continuous clutch slip) so it will kill the clutch very quickly. It's probably better to avoid slippery conditions entirely or drive incredibly careful or almost anything rather than using it.

Basically donho is right that the 360 F1 should be drivin like a standard transmission since that's exactly what it is.

 

Not sure if the 360 does this, but in the 430 you can use a paddle to shift if necessary while in auto mode.

 

If either paddle is used while in AUTO mode, the system automatically reverts to Manual mode. The AUTO button would need to be depressed again to return to AUTO mode.

 

Screw auto mode. Is using the paddles too difficult?

You can't get the feeling of this car in auto mode. I swear they put it in the car just to get good EPA and fuel mileage results.

 

I always figured Auto mode was a nice little coding project for a summer intern.

Chris: my guess is nobody here has used Auto enough to establish an idea of "normal" behavior for the mode.

 

You guys actually use Auto-mode? Just curious, but what are the benefits, if any?

 

1) It lets you keep your right hand on her knee more easily
2) You can hold a cup of coffee when driving

OK, that is all I have.

Yes, I have used it but only on a rare occasion. It short shifts every gear so purely for a slow Sunday drive. It is not a sporting drive in Auto. Important to remember that this car is not an automatic and never will drive like one. No smooth, easy downshift and it picks the highest gear that it can for any given speed.

 

Not on my '08. It will transiently go into manual mode and then after a short period automatically shift back into auto mode.

I use auto mode all the time BTW.

 

This is correct. The car will downshift by itself in either mode (auto or paddle). But, it only downshifts when the vehicle is slowing and the RPMs drop.


Personally, I rarely let the car do the shifting as it's really set up for the least entertaining method of driving. It's good for valets though who never saw a paddle shifter in their life.

 

Would auto-mode have any mechanical benefit like perhaps preserve the clutch better than manual shifting?

 

My car has an auto button! Who knew, who cares!
These cars have 6-speed F1 sequential manual gearboxes and should be driven accordingly.
If you want auto buy a car with an auto.

 

We did..................Or I should say............Ferrari did

 

So let me get this straight: In "manual" mode the F1 will AUTOMATICALLY downshift if you forget to do so while decelerating. It will AUTOMATICALLY upshift to prevent exceeding redline when you accelerate if you forget to do so.

Sounds to me just like a nanny transmission and nothing like a true manual.

Oh, I forgot, it's got a clutch (which it AUTOMATICALLY engages and disengages for you) rather than a torque converter.

Whoop dee doo.

Don't flatter yourself the F1 is basically an automatic gearbox. Even the Porsche tiptronic can be placed into manual mode. Doesn't make it a 6-speed.

And, BTW, I did buy an "automatic." Ferrari calls it an "F1."

 

If the first part of your sentence is always true, the second is not. You should try the Sport mode a bit more often.

No possible comparison between a F1 and a Tiptronic. The Tiptro is definitively an automatic gearbox which can be used in manual, while the F1 is definitively a 6-speed (with hydraulic actuators for clutch and gear selection) which should not be used in auto mode .

 

Seriously, how about just reading the owner's manual?

"An upshift request is not accepted when engagement of the requested gear will force the engine to run at too slow a speed...." First part of my assertion THEN

"An downshift request is not accepted when engagement of the requested gear will force the engine beyond a certain a speed...." My second assertion.

Turns out that you have been giving yourself far too much credit.

 

I know quite well the owner's manual

The second part of your sentence was the following:
"It will AUTOMATICALLY upshift to prevent exceeding redline when you accelerate if you forget to do so"

It has nothing to do with gearchange reject while trying to change at an improper engine speed.
What you wrote is true while in Normal mode, but not in Sport mode where the gearbox WILL NOT AUTOMATICALLY upshift to prevent reaching redline and limiter.

 

There is also a fuel cutoff that is automatically engaged if you try to exceed redline.

In any case if you think that just pulling back on a couple of paddles somehow makes this a "manual" transmission you are fooling only yourself. The tiptronic can do exactly the same thing. Merely controlling what gear the transmission is in (while it automatically engages and disengages the clutch) is not the essence of a manual tranny.

 

Woow, I learnt something today ...

You are the one who speak of a manual tranny in a thread dedicated to the use of a F1 gearbox in "automatic" mode vs "manual" mode.
I don't fool myself because I do love my F1 (with CS TCU). It is so much fun, and much more efficient than what I would be able to do with a manual tranny.
Also, if you consider that the F1 is, as the Tiptronic, "merely controlling what gear the transmission is in" you are missing something. The BIG advantage, even bigger with the CS TCU, is the way the transients between gears are managed.

 

It's an automated manual. Manual and F1 gearboxbox are the same.
Far, far from an auto.
I've never owned an auto car and this, especially with the Strad TCU, is something else.