Ferrari 360 spider. Manual or F1 ?
Discussion
Hi Ben.
In answer to your question, its all about what you want. many people slate the F1 box but I found it great. ok it can be heavy on clutches and isn't great at stop start traffic jams etc. In the end, I went for a manual as at the time I couldn't find an F1 in the right condition with no hidden nasties. My advice would be to try and get the box you want but don't ignore other cars that arn't 100% what your after. always go for the well looked after example with good spec, history etc rather than drawing up your ideal spec list and simply pouncing on the first one that appears in the spec that you want.
In answer to your question, its all about what you want. many people slate the F1 box but I found it great. ok it can be heavy on clutches and isn't great at stop start traffic jams etc. In the end, I went for a manual as at the time I couldn't find an F1 in the right condition with no hidden nasties. My advice would be to try and get the box you want but don't ignore other cars that arn't 100% what your after. always go for the well looked after example with good spec, history etc rather than drawing up your ideal spec list and simply pouncing on the first one that appears in the spec that you want.
Ben777 said:
Hi Everyone,
I am thinking about buying 360 but I'm not sure if i should get a manual or f1.
Whats everyone's opinion? any advantages/disadvantages ?
Ben
I never used to like the "flappy paddle" gearboxes and thought they were a complete waste of time, were fore posers and not real drivers, however I have to admit I’ve changed my tune and I'm a big fan of them now. I am thinking about buying 360 but I'm not sure if i should get a manual or f1.
Whats everyone's opinion? any advantages/disadvantages ?
Ben
Some people love them and some people hate them. My first Ferrari (355) was a manual and I don't regret that decision one bit. I think it suits the old-school character of the car better than the F1 would. Having said that my 430 is F1 and again I'm happy with it and wouldn't buy a manual 430. Your best bet would be to go and try both and whichever one jumps out at you, well that's your decision made for you!
The only downside of F1 gearbox is probably clutch life, which I understand is less than a manual. Having said that, if you learn to drive the F1 properly it should be ok.
One thing to bear in mind though is that the F1 gearbox on a 360 was updated in 2003 so older cars will have the older software and therefore slower gear changes. You can have the newer software fitted though.
Hope that helps! Let us know how you get on!
Hi Mike Brown here, my 360 is sold in fact it went back to Meridian Modena, I took a bit of a hit on it but to be fair Meridian were very fair,FWIW mine was manual and I loved that aspect of it, it was just everything else about the car I did not like, I am going to test a 430 and see if I like it any better, also be aware that if you buy from a main ferrari dealer they will have a fair mark up on it, in my case my 360 spider cost 60k and when they first offered to take it back only 5 weeks later they started at 51K, I settled for a little more than that in the end but prices seem to have dropped anyway now. I should point out that at the time I suffered quite a nasty accident at work which did not help matters at all, it made getting in to a sports car very difficult especially the carbon seats pressing against my broken ribs, so some of my comfort criticisms of Ferrari may be a little off balance. I would only ever go for manual again reasons 1. easier on the wallet 2. the sound of that gear gait and the iconic silver ferrari H gait is just beautiful 3 resale values seem higher for manuals, when I phoned around to sell mine the first question from dealers was."Is it a manual?" Mike
yetie said:
go manual in a 360 ....i had a the F1 and sold the car within 6mths "hated it" you cant dip the clutch and blip the trottle to WoW the on lookers
Yes you can (if that's what floats your boat). Both paddles together for N, blip throttle, right paddle to put it back in gear.Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff