FI OR A 6 SPEED F355 WHICH WOULD YOU BUY IF GIVEN A CHOICE?

6-spd manual

 

I have had both and I prefer the F1. After several manual f-cars, I feel the F1 is now my favorite. I currently drive a 99 Fiorano Spyder F1 as a daily in both traffic and not and love it. I think it is strange to me when people say there is no involvement with the F1 - I feel just as much in touch with the F1 than any of my other manual fcars. There is no torque converter like an automatic, you don't just press the gas and fall asleep, you have to shift up or down, feeling the engine just like a manual, the only difference is that you move your right hand to shift instead of your right arm.

To be fair, it does seem to slip for a long time at takeoff. I have had clutch work on mine this past week and it was no more expensive than any of my others. Now if the automatic shifting mechanism goes bad, then it will certainly be more expensive than the manual (cost of progress).

In my final analysis, the manual is nice and nostalgic, but the F1 completes the performance package for the 355 in my opinion.

 

definitely 6-speed but if you're looking for a '99 serie fiorano spider equipped with the 6, you may have a tough time considering there are only 10 out of 100 available.

 

There is nothing like getting the revs right when you perform the double clutch...heel and toe downshift. You won't get that feeling with an F1 shift.

Having said that I've driven a 360 Challenge car and the F1 shift is great for track work. I have an SL55 with a paddle shift and it is huge fun at the track....bang through the gears...left foot brake trailing in the corners...balanced with throttle......

I'd still buy the 6 speed....love the sound of that gate and the skill/driver involvement thing....Ciao...Dino

 

Me. I like to feel my car. Since I do not race on a track, a manual suits me. If I sell my 550 and get a 575, I would get the automatic F1 transmission, cruise control, back up radar, roll over protection control, automatic braking. Heck, with all of this I can sleep while it drives.

Wait, this sounds like an MB.

Oh I am soooo 20th century!

 

What do you mean it didnt like sitting in traffic like the engine died or it overheated. ?

 

Sorry ,
It wasn't so much the sitting in traffic more like the stop/starting.
It really used to heat the gearbox on the F1 pretty badly.
And changing back to neutral every time made no difference.
That peskey buzzer/alarm used to come on all the time.

Wazza

 

6 speed for sure. The F1 'box is definitely better than a torque
converter, but I don't think it would be as fun as a 'real' manual.
Personally, all my cars have been manuals, and I could never see
myself driving anything else, although I have never driven a
Ferrari, so what do I know.

 

It is too bad that they could not set up the cars for both, You could shift the gate, or the wheel.

 

I don't know about the 355, but I've had both an F1 and 6speed 360 spider. I much prefer the 6speed for all of the reasons stated above. While the F1 is unbeatable on the track or on clear backroads, the 6speed holds it's own and is, in turn, unbeatable as a daily driver or in traffic. Good luck with whichever you choose since either will put one gigantic grin on your face!!

 

I don't understand the problem of using the F1 in traffic. Never had this problem myself.

 

I own an F1 now, and I'd buy an F1 again in a heartbeat.

 

A couple of months ago at TWS in a FOD/FOH ferrari challenge race, we observers got the spare track time for doing laps on the short course. In my M6 F355 on street tires I chassed down several 360 F1s! Several of these on r-compounds! One, in particular, would not let me by even on the front straight. I could exit T15 with 5 MPH on him, but couldn't get past on the straight. Several times I went inside him down into turn 1; all the way up to my door handle parallel with his door handle; then I backed out and let him have the T2. He was holding me up big time. The officials black flagged him, double black flagged him, and finally sent out a car to get in front, slow him down and bring him into the pits! And he even had an instructor in the friggen car!

Note: This has nothing to do with it being a 360 F1 vs. F355 M6; nor does it have to do with F1 vs. M6; it has to do with driver ability. A good driver with an M6 can out lap an average driver with 200 pound weight advantage, aero advantage, and F1 advantage all put together.

 

Driver ability will make a difference, of course. Put the same driver in both cars. He/she will most likely be quicker in the F1 equiped car (assuming that the driver knows how to use the F1 system correctly).

 

I have a 355F1, I agree that the system was certainly improved in 360s an furthermore in 575s.

I think that the answer is a matter of personal taste and usage.
I dislike F1 box in trafic, you just don't have as much control as with a clutch.
On the flip side, blasting through windy roads is way more fun with an F1, you cannot be as tidy if you have to move your hands away from the wheel. Yes, a perfect heel & toe is fun, but how many of those do you achieve when pushing it.

As an every day car, I'd take (am taking actually) a manual.

The trick in making up your mind is not to go for a fast drive, you'll love the F1 box, but rather to get stuck in rush hour trafic ...