F430

[gra001]

F1 or manual............pros and cons please, thanks.

[ferdi p]

Try searching...
Loads of opinions on this subject!!

[sidned]

Purely personal preference. Some people like the F1, others not so much. I prefer the manual as I don't drive my car very often and feel a little detached when driving the F1. I can see the appeal, but I just didn't feel involved and didn't get on with it at lower speeds. Manuals are pretty rare on the 430 but try both and see which you prefer. I've heard that clutches last a little longer in manuals as you have less control on the F1. Then again, you can go through a clutch on a manual pretty quickly if you have no mechanical sympathy.

Enjoy the test drives and let us know what you decide.

[AmoCS]

Does anyone know what year Ferrari stopped producing the F430 manual?

[tuscaneer]

im quite old school in my approach to everything in life.but even if you are not,surely your first donkey should have that iconic open box?mine had to!

[Drclarke]

tuscaneer said:

im quite old school in my approach to everything in life.but even if you are not,surely your first donkey should have that iconic open box?mine had to!

I may be missing a obvious joke but whats the donkey?

[steelej]

Drclarke said:

I may be missing a obvious joke but whats the donkey?

Dancing donkey is an affectionate name for the prancing horse.

John.

[chippy348]

I would like to know this answer, i am looking for a F430 and would like a manual. I have a E60 M5 and the car is perfect apart from it is missing a clutch pedal ! The gearbox is fine i just like to have a clutch pedal to be more connected with the car.

I have come to the conclusion that there are not that many late manual F430 out there ?

[paul0843]

If you want a 430,I think it's more suited to f1..
and expected to be so..

If you feel like a manual,maybe a 550 or a 360..

[Davey S2]

AmoCS said:

Does anyone know what year Ferrari stopped producing the F430 manual?

Didn't sell enough.

[isuk]

The manual gearbox was available up until the end of production. I doubt there will be many late cars fitted with it though.

[steelej]

chippy348 said:

I would like to know this answer

The only way to get the answer to this is for you to drive them both and decide which one you like, everyone's answer is dfferent.

John.

[groak]

I'm probably about to start thinking about selling my manual 430. If it was an option on current cars, I'd definitely have it.

[Drclarke]

steelej said:

Dancing donkey is an affectionate name for the prancing horse.

John.

Thank you! I did wonder

[chippy348]

groak said:

I'm probably about to start thinking about selling my manual 430. If it was an option on current cars, I'd definitely have it.

Have you driven a F1 430 if so what’s your take on it ?

[jackal]

The manual is wonderful. Thats the way ill be going if I opt for a 430.

But the i love gearboxes.. Always been one of my favourite elements of driving.

[groak]

chippy348 said:

groak said:

I'm probably about to start thinking about selling my manual 430. If it was an option on current cars, I'd definitely have it.

Have you driven a F1 430 if so what’s your take on it ?

Nope, but I drive an auto/paddle shift Merc workmobile, 99.9% of the time in auto mode.

Having driven manuals for 40 years I don't have an instinctive feel for paddle shift, and I feel more car control with manual tho that's probably all in the mind. Obviously it's an evolution, but is it an improvement? Probably, but I'm not certain it improves the je ne sais quoi that makes a 'driving experience'. (A comparison might be MP3 versus vinyl).

BUT, if the ferrari was my daily runabout I'd probably prefer the auto to the manual.

One other thing: Obviously F1 is an evolution, but like all technology it obsolesces rapidly. Just as 430 F1 superceded 360 F1, 458 F1 takes it to a new level again. As I said, I've not tried 430 F1, but a recent test drive in a 458 left me thinking it would not be possible for any human being to change up or down as fast or seamlessly as the F1 box does. It's very impressive. But, to me, it's a bit like driving a computer game.

Edited by groak on Sunday 15th January 22:53

[LukeyLikey]

Just replaced a 360 F1 Spider with a 430 F1 Spider. I have other fast cars in manual transmission but I think the 430 really suits F1. A rear engined Ferrari is a very responsive car when it comes to steering so having the gear change at your finger tips allows you to keep both hands on the wheel to really feel what's happening as you turn in. F1 also makes left foot braking easier for me. A front-rear V12 Ferrari might be a more romantic kind of thing but a mid-rear V8 Ferrari is well suited to the F1 gearbox I reckon.

Having said that, although I loved my 360 (which, by the way, I discovered to be a very different car to a 430 - 430 is smooth, high-tech, quick, 360 is much more raw and no less a Ferrari) the 430 F1 is probably the perfect balance between the drawbacks of F1 being too underdeveloped (not really smooth enough) in 360 and too overdeveloped in 458 (unbelievably quick and smooth but like a video game).

n.b. Doubt if I'd say that if I owned a 458..