Newb question: How do u use 458 DCT?

There's no clutch to wear out so there's no need to shift into neutral. I drove it pretty much like any automatic car but did the upshifting and downshifting myself with the paddles.

The DCT is supposed to last the life of the car. I wouldn't worry about how you drive it in normal traffic.

 

Indeed, as I do too: in automatic 95% of the time.

 

The DCT is indeed very similar to a PDK, they are both dual-clutch. On a traditional (single clutch) gearbox the normal position of the clutch is "engaged", that's the reason why it's better to go to neutral at standstill (to avoid to force the clutch "disengaged" for a long time); on a dual clutch there is always one of the clutches that is disengaged in normal operation, so going to neutral should not be necessary (since the clutches are designed to be disengaged half of the time anyway).
Personnally I never drive in automatic mode and change gears manually, although the system would actually downshift automatically to avoid stalling in any cases.

 

Thanks for the explanation. Soon to take possession (1-4 wks) of my new to me 015 458 and having sold my 360 have plenty of questions about the 458.

 

your gonna love it

 

Congrats !

We are here to assist you !

 

I went from a 430 to a 458 and the change was astonishing to say the least. I can only imagine how you'll feel going from a 360 to a 458. You will truly love the car.

 

My 458 is my first F car and absolutely love it, congratulations!

Darren.

 

Personally I would drive the hell out of it every moment you can. Fix something if it breaks. Life is short. Don't worry about clutch wear.

Congrats on the new car. It is a truly magnificent machine.

 

Never used the auto mode.

It's best to think of it like a manual stick shift - it is, after all, basically a manual gear box with hydraulically actuation.

There is a clutch which could wear out, but it's a dual clutch transmission, so it's not like the wear you'd experience on a 360. If you search google or youtube for how a dual clutch transmission works, you can get a very good idea of what's going on. The gear box also pre-selects the next gear (by the ECU anticipating where it thinks you'll shift to next). This - I believe - greatly reduces the overall wear on the clutch, since most of the time the gear box is switching between pre-selected gears - and I believe this means the majority of the clutch and gear changing is occurring not under engine load as it were (but I could be off base there).

I always shift into N at a signal, if it's gonna be longer than about 3-5 seconds. No real need to coast to a stop from 6th gear or anything, but I, myself, do tend to coast to a stop in N from 1st or 2nd gear a bit.

Best way to drive the car (unless you are going to use the auto mode) is to think of it as a manual gear box, where the car's ECU operates the clutch for you. Once you think in those terms, the car is a hell of a lot of fun to drive and basically the shifting is exactly the same as with a gated gear box.

Ray

 

The former F1 systems were actually using the very same gearbox as the manual cars, but the dual clutch is different; it's like having two sequential gearboxes (one for odd gears and one for even gears), with one of the gearboxes "clutched" and one "de-clutched" at the same time. While it is natural to select gears manually, the box has different characteristics from a gated box: on a gated box, the clutch is designed to be "closed" almost all of the time, and open only during gear changes; that's why it's better to go to neutral (where the clutch is closed) rather than forcing it open for a long time - whereas in a dual clutch gearbox, each clutch is designed to be "open" half of the time (while the other clutch is "closed"). However, Ferrari still recommends to switch to Neutral during prolonged stops (probably it allows the box to be prepared to directly engage a low gear when restarting, instead of potentially having to shift back from several gears).
Also on sequential gearboxes, one cannot change directly from any gear to neutral (like on motorbikes, on which you have typically neutral only between 1st and 2nd gears); of course with the electrical control from the paddles this is hidden from the driver.
In addition to driving in manual mode, to be "closer to the philosophy" of a sequential gearbox I tend to go down through all gears before stopping and going to neutral (I think it will do it automatically in the background if you do not do it anyway), whereas when driving casually with a gated manual you can declutch and go directly from any gear to neutral.

 

Excellent advice. Just go out an enjoy it. There is no turning back now. The 458 is truly amazing to drive.

 

Do you now own a 458 yourself Kiryu ?

 

Congratulations !!

Any photo's for us please ?

Did you take her for a good ride already ?