I am leaving the 348/355 brotherhood…

Just wanted to say goodbye and tell you that I am going to miss you all. I have been an active reader, and from time to time contributor to this forum. For those of you who know me you know that I have been a two time owner of a Ferrari 355 GTS F1. The first was lost in an accident some 5 years ago and the last in a similar accident in end of September this year. To me the ownership has been a relatively easy with none of the typical problems that you sometimes find on the 355. No F1 gearbox problem, no clutch change, no broken headers, no valve jobs, just fun and many, many happy hours on the race track

Sadly though I have come to the conclusion that I can no longer drive a 355 with the F1 gear box. In the endless discussions that we have had on this forum have always been an advocate for the F1 system, but for me it ends here...

As a last contribution to this group I would like to share my thoughts of a problem I have never read about before. My first accident happened on a cold but dry day when I was going to move the car to new garage. I was driving down a straight road, accelerating and shifting into 2:nd when I lost all traction. The car spun and I ended up in the ditch upside down. The car was totaled and I was so chocked that I was unable to remember what exactly happened. I have been going through the accident in my mind many times without really understanding the root cause.

So last week it happened again. Driving down a straight road, nice day, road is dry and I shift from 1:st to 2:nd and BAM, the car turns around in no time and I hit the road barrier. This time the speed was lower but the car was again totaled. My wife who was in the car behind told me that the speed was about 50-60 Km/h and she couldn’t believe how this could happen.

To me however it is no longer so hard to understand what is happening. When shifting from 1:st to 2:nd the harsh shifting in sport mode makes the tires break loose and when you don’t have a clutch and no ASR you pretty much become a passenger. Lifting the foot from the gas doesn’t really help, since you are still in gear. I don’t consider myself being a reckless driver or an inexperienced one and I have now come to the conclusion that I no longer feel safe driving the 355 F1. On the track I feel totally safe but in daily traffic I can just not predict the amount of force and grip that the car has.

It is with great sadness I now plan on moving over to the modern world of Ferrari ownership… My next Ferrari will probably be a 430, not a bad car but far from the nimble and pretty 355 that I have come to love so much over the years.

If this will end up in another debate about the F1 V.S. manual, I can tell you that I will never go back to a manual. I am stuck in F1 mode and love the thrill going down the straight of a race track feeling like a real F1 driver

Forza Ferrari
/Johan

P.S.
Look me up in the 360/430 forum if you have time. I am now planning on reading and knowing “everything” about the 430 ;-)

 

Hi Eric and PAP
I will remember to keep the manetino on the safe side of CST-off. And i will probably come by the 348/355 forum once in while. It has become such a deep habit that I will probably not go away...

 

Thats what I wonder too.
Yes the 430 comes with F1, and thats what I want but i has a stability system...

 

I'll try to be there

 

I guess I had about 6000 rpm at the time of shift and I had been driving for about 10 min. But in the cold weather we had that day I dont think the tires had changed temp at all.

 

Not something anyone would be proud of :-(

 

I wouldn't say that the actual speed had much to do with it. It is the state you are in while shifting (1:st to 2:nd) at high rpm. The foot planted on the gas pedal and if the tires brake loose you dont have a chance to react quickly enough. Maybe if I were used to left-foot-brake I would have had a chance to brake.

I am 45 years old and feel quite experienced as a driver. I have spent many, many hours on race tracks over the last 20 years. Both in Ferraris and in other cars. I am without doubt responsible for the crash. But I think the F1 system in the 355 makes it possible to end up in a situation that wouldn't happen in a manual car or a F1 car with ESP...