Driving the 430
Discussion
Thought hard about posting this as I suspect many will (fairly) groan at an old topic...how best to drive the F1 transmission on an F430. But this has been a friendly place before and a fellow poster has already been v helpful with various thoughts, so thought I'd give it a go as the point is becoming very very real to me!
I've just sold a kidney to buy a lovely 2009 F430 coupe. Picking it up on Thursday. First ever Ferrari so totally living the dream, but terrified/exhilarated in equal measure. Y'see up to now I've been a lazy ar#e and been driving autos for years - mainly old Porkers. The tiptronic was so bad I never bothered to switch myself.
Now I'm about to step into the car I've lusted after for years...and god knows I don't want to make an ar*e of myself and even worse, destroy the clutch prematurely.
I'll drive it to work a couple of days a week (only a 15 minute journey tops so not ideal I know, some stop go traffic, a motorway, a few speed bumps, slight uphill ramps into a thankfully wide car park) and at weekends stretch its legs more.
I know there've been threads on this over the years, though the variety of advice is a bit bewildering. Should I just wait to read the manual and all will become clear??
From what I can gather, the main advice seems to be:
- reversing uphill is a clutch killer
- launch control is a clutch killer
- when slowing to a stop at lights, downshift (either manually or letting the box do it itself) right down to neutral and coasting to a stop (though opinions differ whether it makes any difference compared to keeping it in 1st)
After that, it seems down to driving preferences - change up from 1st to 2nd ASAP OR rev it high in first; lift off the throttle slightly when upshifting OR (per the manual I believe) don't lift; change up generally in 4-5k rev range OR let it breathe and aim for 7k+. I guess it must depend on environment, conditions, mood and noise etc.
Anyway, I just wondered if anyone here might offer some advice based on their own experience? And if I'm a total muppet, can I stall this thing by changing down too early to 1st or will it always blip and match revs etc (did that once on a 996 Turbo, down to 1st too soon and the car went bananas and just gave up - though that car was one gremlin after another anyway)
Thanks v much
I've just sold a kidney to buy a lovely 2009 F430 coupe. Picking it up on Thursday. First ever Ferrari so totally living the dream, but terrified/exhilarated in equal measure. Y'see up to now I've been a lazy ar#e and been driving autos for years - mainly old Porkers. The tiptronic was so bad I never bothered to switch myself.
Now I'm about to step into the car I've lusted after for years...and god knows I don't want to make an ar*e of myself and even worse, destroy the clutch prematurely.
I'll drive it to work a couple of days a week (only a 15 minute journey tops so not ideal I know, some stop go traffic, a motorway, a few speed bumps, slight uphill ramps into a thankfully wide car park) and at weekends stretch its legs more.
I know there've been threads on this over the years, though the variety of advice is a bit bewildering. Should I just wait to read the manual and all will become clear??
From what I can gather, the main advice seems to be:
- reversing uphill is a clutch killer
- launch control is a clutch killer
- when slowing to a stop at lights, downshift (either manually or letting the box do it itself) right down to neutral and coasting to a stop (though opinions differ whether it makes any difference compared to keeping it in 1st)
After that, it seems down to driving preferences - change up from 1st to 2nd ASAP OR rev it high in first; lift off the throttle slightly when upshifting OR (per the manual I believe) don't lift; change up generally in 4-5k rev range OR let it breathe and aim for 7k+. I guess it must depend on environment, conditions, mood and noise etc.
Anyway, I just wondered if anyone here might offer some advice based on their own experience? And if I'm a total muppet, can I stall this thing by changing down too early to 1st or will it always blip and match revs etc (did that once on a 996 Turbo, down to 1st too soon and the car went bananas and just gave up - though that car was one gremlin after another anyway)
Thanks v much
Enjoy - be positive when setting off so the clutch engages fully quickly then change early to 2nd - in traffic this means not dribbling along behind the car in front but trying to let a gap open then fill it
For the first few weeks you will be very jerky until you get used to it
Changing down for lights applies mainly from high gears so don't keep it high on your list of things to remember - its not about the clutch its more about the rest of the mechanism
For the first few weeks you will be very jerky until you get used to it
Changing down for lights applies mainly from high gears so don't keep it high on your list of things to remember - its not about the clutch its more about the rest of the mechanism
If you are stopping for more than a few seconds eg at traffic lights, put the car in neutral to save clutch wear (only applies to single clutch boxes as in the 430, not to later dual clutch boxes). When shifting, if you want a smooth change, lift off a bit but if you want maximum attack you can keep your right foot flat and it will change fine but with a fair old jerk. Launch control will indeed kill the clutch.
Something useful which isn't often mentioned:
You can select neutral from any gear and at any speed by pulling both paddles. You can then re-engage an appropriate gear from neutral at any speed by hitting the up or down paddle. The car chooses the gear for you. It will pick the highest appropriate gear if you hit the up paddle, a lower gear if you hit the down paddle.
Great fun on the motorway if you're persuaded to 'rev it' at speed. Also useful for coasting to a stop from higher speeds.
You can select neutral from any gear and at any speed by pulling both paddles. You can then re-engage an appropriate gear from neutral at any speed by hitting the up or down paddle. The car chooses the gear for you. It will pick the highest appropriate gear if you hit the up paddle, a lower gear if you hit the down paddle.
Great fun on the motorway if you're persuaded to 'rev it' at speed. Also useful for coasting to a stop from higher speeds.
I just sold a GranSport, same F1 box as the Ferrari but I would imagine with earlier firmware. The car had 9,800 miles and 30% clutch wear, when we sold it she had 13,000 miles and 70% clutch wear. I had to fit a new clutch to sell her. I can only put the excessive wear down to stop start traffic experienced on the occasional trip to the office. I would be very wary if your commute involves dealing with 10 min of stop/start as that was all it took to prematurely kill my cars clutch.
Mine's 37% wear at 10k miles, though by the sound of it, I'm going to be adding to that pretty sharpish in traffic. I suppose that's my trade-off really. I don't want it to sit there 5 days a week, waiting for free time on the weekend. Even a 15 minute drive home from work should be something to savour all day and I guess a new clutch 12 months on is my side of the bargain. At least I go into it eyes open so above advice appreciated! Bit peeved at how unbelievably sensitive these things seem to be - then again I know it's built for performance not mass-produced reliability at the expense of speed etc.
Not long now
Not long now
red_duke said:
Just had mine serviced and it's showing 35% clutch wear at 23500 miles. I must drive like a granny.
My newly acquired example was measured twice within a few weeks, when I was acquiring it and when the dealer did a major service as part of the deal. First reading 26% second 28% - only a handful of miles between them. 17k miles on the car.Hopefully my test drive didn't account for the 2% wear!!
Does make you wonder how accurate the readings are.
Fatsterjack said:
My newly acquired example was measured twice within a few weeks, when I was acquiring it and when the dealer did a major service as part of the deal. First reading 26% second 28% - only a handful of miles between them. 17k miles on the car.
Hopefully my test drive didn't account for the 2% wear!!
Does make you wonder how accurate the readings are.
The readings should be used as a guide only Hopefully my test drive didn't account for the 2% wear!!
Does make you wonder how accurate the readings are.
one time i got a 48% reading then a few hundred miles later 46% heat can affect the reading so like i said use as a guide only Here is my list of tips for driving F1, some may disagree but it works for me, my car is on 31k with just over 50% wear.
- Drive in sport or race mode, snow and wet modes slip the clutch more. First 1000 miles of using my car I used wet mode and used 3% clutch in 1000 miles. Since going sport or race i've averaged around 1% per 1000 miles.
- When reversing, blip to get momentum, don't ride the pedal. Avoid reversing uphill
- Nice smooth getaway when moving off, allow the clutch to fully engage without too many revs
- Flip to N when coming to a stop at a light, I don't go down the gears, I just go straight to N from the gear I'm in.
- When in slow moving traffic, allow some space in front so clutch can fully engage.
- Don't use Launch control
Hope that helps, but try not to worry about it too much, just enjoy
John.
Thanks John and everyone, all sounds v good sense. If heat affects the readings I do wonder what the true number is since I'm in Dubai! I think you and some others have hit the nail on the head by saying don't stress about it too much, just enjoy it. It'd be awful to finally own one of these amazing things then spend each drive with white-knuckle fearful paranoia about another 0.5% wear added. Might as well not own the car.
Really want to try the both paddles then left paddle selection idea - sounds tremendous.
I'll avoid LC and uphill reversing entirely, those seem the big bads. The stop-start traffic is a downer and I can't really avoid that - plus in Dubai believe me, if you leave a gap someone else will fill it sharpish (it's wacky races at times) but needs must.
Much appreciated to all, cheers.
Now to find a decent car cover that doesn't take 4 weeks to ship over....
Really want to try the both paddles then left paddle selection idea - sounds tremendous.
I'll avoid LC and uphill reversing entirely, those seem the big bads. The stop-start traffic is a downer and I can't really avoid that - plus in Dubai believe me, if you leave a gap someone else will fill it sharpish (it's wacky races at times) but needs must.
Much appreciated to all, cheers.
Now to find a decent car cover that doesn't take 4 weeks to ship over....
Quick update - wow!!! The car is sublime and I didn't realise what that howl would be like when it really lights up. Just wow.
However there's a bit of a worry - several times I'd hear a warning beep (3 short beeps) while driving along the motorway. I don't think there was any visible warning light, just the beeps which also seemed to flash the odometer briefly. Then they'd stop and no other sign of a problem. Had an admittedly quick look at the manual and couldn't find advice.
Was I overheating the clutch? Maybe I was driving for too long at too high revs (I think I may have been). As I say, I didn't get a warning notice/light, only the beeps. I'm rattled - does this ring any bells? Hope it's not an electrical gremlin on day 1 of ownership but I suspect it's me......
Advice appreciated.....
However there's a bit of a worry - several times I'd hear a warning beep (3 short beeps) while driving along the motorway. I don't think there was any visible warning light, just the beeps which also seemed to flash the odometer briefly. Then they'd stop and no other sign of a problem. Had an admittedly quick look at the manual and couldn't find advice.
Was I overheating the clutch? Maybe I was driving for too long at too high revs (I think I may have been). As I say, I didn't get a warning notice/light, only the beeps. I'm rattled - does this ring any bells? Hope it's not an electrical gremlin on day 1 of ownership but I suspect it's me......
Advice appreciated.....
Any warning should appear in the lower right of the rev counter or speedo - it could be the clutch (tho often it pops out of gear if unhappy) it could be the boot (front or rear) needs closing properly it could be alsorts - look out for the warning light
Edited by johnnyreggae on Friday 25th October 07:35
Well I still get the 3 beeps occasionally, with no warning light or any other indicator of a problem other than the numbers on the odometer flashing briefly with each beep. Sounds like no-one's seen this before and the car doesn't react badly in any other way, but guess I need to have it seen to.
Other than that, that gearbox is a peach. I know it's not a patch on the 458 I drove last year for slickness but the whole experience is just so...feral! Lovin' it.
Other than that, that gearbox is a peach. I know it's not a patch on the 458 I drove last year for slickness but the whole experience is just so...feral! Lovin' it.
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