MARANELLO, Italy – Starting in September, the whole F355 lineup will offer the gearbox created by Ferrari and Magneti Marelli in the form of the Formula One.
Ferrari projects that it will be standard on 60% of the F355s produced in the upcoming year, costing 6% more than the manual version. It might eventually replace all other gearboxes Ferrari offers.
Ferrari started working on the gearbox modeled after the Formula One in 1994 under the name Selespeed.
A system now utilized by every Formula One team, Selespeed is an electro-hydraulic gear and clutch command.
Similar to a motorcycle or bicycle, the driver utilizes the mechanism to successively up- or downshift the gears. It functions as an automatic transmission while in automatic mode.
Along with its single-plate clutch, the standard six-speed manual gearbox now includes the Ferrari-Magneti Marelli technology.
The throttle valve opening, engine revs and temperature, rotation level at the entrance and exit of the transmission, vehicle speed, gear picked, and gear requested during the gear change are all monitored by a central processing unit. The chosen mode, such as regular, sport, ice, or automated, is also taken into account.
The gear selection and clutch are operated by an electric oil pump that supplies six hydraulic electrovalves. The system is Magneti Marelli’s initial foray into the gear control market. Depending on what the manufacturer wants, there may be different driver interfaces.
Ferrari opted for paddles a la Formula One behind the wheel. On the 156, Alfa Romeo will employ a joystick in place of a conventional gear lever to control the transmission. Magneti Marelli won’t name the automaker, but they’ll use the buttons on the instrument panel.
Selespeed will then be available from five significant volume automakers. The few hundred units per year that are currently produced will gradually increase in number.
The F335 F1’s sport mode gear shifts are its most notable characteristic. Compared to systems like the ZF Tiptronic and Getrag SMG, they are substantially faster.
In contrast to the 270 milliseconds required by a conventional gearbox, Ferrari claims that the gear changes only take 150 milliseconds from the time the clutch fully opens to the time it closes. When the engine speed is over 7,000 rpm, the driver must be active to shift thus quickly.
Mauro Forghieri was the first to come up with the concept of a mechanical gearbox with electro-hydraulically controlled gears and clutch in the 1970s. He was Ferrari’s technical director for Formula One at the time.
A system installed in 1978 on a 312T2 Formula One car served as a prototype for this, adding complexity without appreciable increases in shift speed. The plan was tabled until electronic management became more effective.
The concept was implemented in Formula One racing ten years later. It was tested in 1988, and Nigel Mansell and the Ferrari F1 639 used in that race to win the opening round of the 1989 world championship. It has been a requirement for Formula One since 1991.
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Overhaul of the Ferrari 360 F1 transmission
Over the years, we have come to know quite a few Ferrari 360 Modenas. Overall, they are reliable, and maintenance expenses are controllable (for a Ferrari). We had no idea the source of the grinding in second gear until a new customer called to report it.
It was decided that the problem must be mechanical and that the transaxle must be taken out after a brief test drive and an extensive electronic diagnosis utilizing our Leonardo scan tool.
It was found that the second gear synchro block ring was worn after disassembly. This was undoubtedly the root of the grinding concern, but we still needed a fix. There were only two possible options: either replace the transmission with a factory rebuilt unit (expensive but offering a quick turnaround), or rebuild the transmission internally (a labor intensive job that required very deliberate disassembly and inspection to ensure there were not further problems). The owner of the 360 chose to have us perform the rebuild. Because it was tough to find the right pieces, it was difficult.
The supply chain experienced quite a few problems, but we were eventually able to obtain all the required parts. Thankfully, no additional damage was found, and we identified the cause of the problem. It was clear that the transmission had been taken out of the car and serviced in the past. An incorrect installation of a retaining clip was discovered by our technician! A retaining clip often has a sharp side and a tapering side. Due to this one error, the second gear bearing failed, leading the gear to become stuck on the shaft and the second gear blocker to experience severe wear. Most of the bearings in the transmission, along with the gear and synchro, were replaced. Using the Accini Leonardo scan tool, we reset the electronic clutch PIS (Point of Initial Slip) after the transmission had been installed again. The automobile was ready to go after a free wash and wax!
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I am requesting help from the community at the risk of revealing my lack of competence operating an F1 transmission.
I’ve always driven manual gearbox cars, but this is my first Ferrari, and I’ve never used an F1 transmission before. I’m learning that, as a beginner, I need to sharpen my skills in driving and shifting methods that I find natural. Let me begin by listing a few things that I have found to be issues for me:
When I started the Ferrari in first gear for the first time from a stop, it instantly began to buck back and forth. I tried to feather the throttle, but all it did was make things worse. It was either neutral or second gear for me. It was quite unsettling.
Early upshifts in the car were not what I would describe as smooth, especially in the lower gears. As a long-time user of manual transmissions, I always attempted to make sure that my shifts were smooth enough so that the user would not notice the gear change. If I followed the owner’s manual’s advice and didn’t lift the throttle during gear changes, the Ferrari with the F1 would reward me with a discernible gear change sensation. The transitions happen quickly. I can now understand one of the car’s lack of cup holders.
I’ve read some entries on this site from people who have developed better driving techniques, and I’m honing my own techniques. To explain what I’m doing
First, I attempt to GENTLY push the throttle when starting in first gear. like putting my foot between the throttle and an uncooked egg. However, occasionally I forget, and the automobile buckles a little. One approach to reduce the bucking is to start in second gear, however I think that damages the clutch more quickly.
I’m refining my technique to gradually release the gas when shifting up to make the shifts more fluid. In several posts, I’ve seen that some members participate in this while others do not. Naturally, gradual acceleration and avoiding excessive engine revs before to upshifting will also produce smoother upshifts.
I downshift into third gear when sloweding down in traffic. I’ll then immediately shift to neutral as I roll slowly to reduce clutch wear. When approaching a stoplight or stop sign, I find that shifting into neutral after traveling in third gear for roughly 10 miles per hour works great. I think clutch plates are more expensive than brake pads.
The hardest thing for me is learning a naturally smooth starting technique in first gear. Am I performing incorrectly? Is there anything on the automobile that can be adjusted? Has this trait been exhibited by others? When the car buckets back and forth, I feel like such an idiot. I would greatly appreciate some feedback on the techniques others use to accelerate smoothly out of a stop in first gear.
The Original Paddle-Shift Transmission
All Formula 1 vehicles had a manual transmission and a clutch pedal until 1988. At the time, electro-hydraulic valves were utilized in the aircraft sector. Ferrari recognized an opportunity and developed a comparable technology that would enable a far smoother gear change while eliminating the necessity for a third pedal or gear shift.
In order for the design to be utilised in the impending 1988 automobile, Barnard started working on it. He suggested using two buttons on the steering wheel for an electronic gear change; this idea eventually led to the development of two paddle-shifters and a handed clutch for the 1989 Ferrari 640.
Barnard’s revised design soon ran into issues. Early testing of the 1988 “639” (a car that was never used in competition) revealed numerous faults in the new gearbox design, which made Barnard and Ferrari employ an improved version of the 1987 car for 1988, known as the F1/87/88C.
What is an F1 transmission’s mechanism?
In Punta del Este, Uruguay, I got my first close-up of an F1 car. The sound of the all-too-familiar F1 motors screaming through the downtown streets electrified the atmosphere. I would count the gear shifts until they were just a whirl of sound as a car-obsessed petrol freak. It’s amazing how quickly the gears shift. Naturally, since I didn’t know much about the gearbox of F1 vehicles, I wanted to learn as much as I could, and this is how F1 cars shift gears.
Semi-automatic sequential transmissions are used in F1 cars to change gears. The driver’s shifts are made by the onboard computer. The driver can choose the left paddle to shift up or the right paddle to shift down using the paddles that are located behind the steering wheel.
The F1 cars’ tremendous speeds and velocities call for an outstanding transmission. In contrast, either an H-style transmission or a stick shift system will be used in a modified street car. A main and layshaft, the clutch, and a selector mechanism make up a gearbox in most cases. The gears on the layshaft revolve in unison with the gears on the main shaft and are mechanically coupled.
Check out the great products from the official F1 store here if you’re looking for some F1 memorabilia.
What kind of transmission is found in a Ferrari?
Ferraris are thus automatic? When not in manual mode, a dual-clutch transmission performs similarly to an automatic transmission in many ways. At the time of this writing, the Ferrari lineup had been entirely automated for more than a decade.
What kind of transmission is used in F1?
The rear suspension components from the Lotus T127, Lotus Racing’s vehicle for the 2010 season, are mounted to the gearbox.
With rear-wheel drive and a minimum of 8 forward gears (up from 7 starting with the 2014 season) and 1 reverse gear, Formula One cars use highly automated semi-automatic sequential gearboxes with paddle-shifters. Fully automatic gearboxes and systems like launch control and traction control have been prohibited since 2004 and 2008, respectively. This is to ensure that no teams are using these systems illegally to gain a competitive advantage as well as to keep costs low. The gearbox is made of carbon titanium because heat dissipation is a major concern. It is bolted to the back of the engine. Gear shifts are initiated by the driver using paddles on the rear of the steering wheel, while the actual shift as well as the electronic throttle control are handled by sophisticated electric solenoids, hydraulic actuators, and sensors. The driver uses a lever situated on the back of the steering wheel to manually activate the clutch while shifting from neutral (i.e., standing still) into first gear. Clutch control is also carried out electro-hydraulically. The Forti FG01, the final F1 vehicle with a traditional manual transmission, competed in 1995.
A contemporary F1 clutch has many carbon plates, is less than 100 mm (3.9 in) in diameter, weighs less than 1 kilogram (2.2 lb), and can handle about 540 kW. (720 hp). All teams are adopting seamless-shift transmissions as of the 2009[update] racing season, which allow almost quick gear changes with little drive loss. In order to keep costs down, gearboxes in Formula One must last five consecutive races, and starting in 2015, gearbox ratios will be fixed for each season. Shift times for contemporary Formula One vehicles are in the range of 2 to 3 ms (for 2014 they could be changed only once). For the first event in which the new gearbox is utilized, changing a gearbox before the allotted time will result in a penalty of five positions being dropped on the starting grid.