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DuoSelect/Cambiocorsa Usage Guide

5K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  The Trident 
#1 ·
We're gonna get our Sport GT soon. I thought of starting this thread to get everyone's advice on how we should drive our very specialised manumatic six-speed transmissions in order to prolong the life of the clutch.

I'll kick off by quoting MVP from Ferrarichat.com, who also posts on MaseratiLife:

- Never use auto mode

- Always use sport (except rain or ice which should be common sense)

- Try to use reverse as little as possible

- Avoid going uphill from a stop.

- Put it in neutural while sitting at the stop light

- Instead of downshifting every gear during normal driving (not spirited) just throw it in neutural.

- Do not take the foot off the accelerator while shifting, wait until the car finishes shifting

- Shift above 3krpm's all of the time, not saying run it to the rev limiter but 3.5-5k is nice for daily driving.
I'd like to invite anyone who has more valuable advice to chip in. :)
 
#3 ·
I do leave it in neutral when coming to a stop as I believe that theoretically it should cause less clutch wear. The CC goes through every gear on the way down, and I figure if I go into neutral, it gets to skip those gear changes. Also, it is a lot smoother.
 
#5 ·
Throwing it into neutral

Both the clutch and the pads/rotors are parts that, by definition, will eventually wear out. Not sure having to prematurely replace rotors and pads is going to save me any money compared to the cost of a worn clutch.

Using only the brakes to slow down or stop the car is going to toast the rotors and pads so fast it will make your head spin.
 
#6 ·
"Put it in neutural while sitting at the stop light"

I don't know you need to do this. The CC will pick N itself if you sit long enough, due to the inherent leakage in the slave cyl.

I'd add:

- when in traffic, wait until there is enough of a gap and then take off to allow the clutch to fully engage
 
#7 ·
Glenn Wallace said:
The CC will pick N itself if you sit long enough, due to the inherent leakage in the slave cyl.
Does the CC drop into N after a few minutes at rest by deliberate design because it's not good for the clutch/tranny to sit too long stopped "in gear," or is it just the result of what Glenn refers to as "inherent leakage in the slave cylinder"? I've read the threads which seem to suggest that at rest, the CC clutch is actually disengaged and in N (notwithstanding the number "1" on the display), meaning there's no need to paddle it down into N, but then I always wondered if that were true, why was the tranny programmed to drop into N if too much time passed at rest. Glenn's comment would explain the eventual drop from first into N not as deliberate design, but simply as what eventually happens in a pneumatic system. So, does the theory of "inherent leakage" explain the car's own shift from gear into N while at rest?
 
#8 ·
Well, here is my history. Not much different than MVP's suggestions.
I replaced my clutch at 31K miles, during the warranty covered replacement of my failed F1 pump. The clutch still had 20-30% life left, but I figured it made sense to get it done while the tranny was out anyway.
My driving habits:
- Moderate stop and go usage, and almost no rush hour traffic. This is probably the biggest reason my clutch life is good. Obviously this is pretty much an uncontrollable aspect in determining clutch life.
- Always sport
- Never auto (except those rare instances when I am on the cellphone in stop and go traffic)
- As much as possible, aggressively shift up at high revs. I avoid letting off on the accelerator during shifting since it seems to cause very mushy shifts, with quite a bit of clutch slippage.
- When downshifting, I blip the throttle to help match revs between the engine and tranny. The computer blipping doesn't quite get the job done when driving aggressively or downshifting at relatively high RPM's.
- I never bother with putting it in N either when slowing down or at a full stop. You could argue that, on the one hand, the clutch gets very slight slippage when being put into and out of N, or, on the other hand, that the throwout bearing gets very slight wear when left in gear at a stop, but this is such a minor factor in clutch or throwout bearing wear that it just doesn't matter either way.
- Never engage the clutch going uphill. I always make sure the clutch is fully engaged before going up my driveway, and always do it in 1st.
- Never, never, never reverse up an incline. This will wear the clutch faster than just about any other activity. The clutch never fully engages in reverse, apparently by design (on all F1 style trannys - not just Maser). I did this once and the clutch burn was awful.

Overally, the CC tranny is a blast, and I am hooked on it.

Mike
 
#9 ·
Just enjoy the car and forget about it. Drive it like a manual which is what it is, i.e. avoid sliding on the clutch (slow traffic, reversing etc). I had 10k with marginal wear. Its no point having this great car and always drive it worrying about the clutch wear. It really isn't as big a deal as might appear from the forum.

- Toffe
 
#10 ·
Wtf???

I don't get the netural thing.... When you put the car in nutural, the clutch is engaged and the gears are spinning (just not connected to the final). If you clutch a car the clutch is not engaged with the flywheel but the throwout bearing is spinning. Which is worse? Either way when you shift into 1st, the clutch is activated and the clutch makes contact with the flywheel. Am I missing something? Is this pseudoscience??? Where's the F=uR (ef equals mu r)?????
 
#11 ·
Toffe said:
Just enjoy the car and forget about it. Drive it like a manual which is what it is, i.e. avoid sliding on the clutch (slow traffic, reversing etc). I had 10k with marginal wear. Its no point having this great car and always drive it worrying about the clutch wear. It really isn't as big a deal as might appear from the forum.

- Toffe
I'll have to second this. I've had my GS about 3 weeks now, and still can't figure out how the clutch actually works. I am now very comfortable driving the car, but have no earthly idea as to what the hell is actually going on with the transmission. At least on a traditional manual, I know what's happening with the clutch as I am the one controlling it via the pedal. As for this CC gearbox, I have no idea when the clutch is engaged, what is actually causing it to wear, and when I am treating it well or vice versa. So I've given up trying to figure it out. I spent a lot of dough on this car.....I'm going to drive it and enjoy it, and remain blissfully ignorant as to what's going on in that gearbox.
 
#12 ·
- When downshifting, I blip the throttle to help match revs between the engine and tranny. The computer blipping doesn't quite get the job done when driving aggressively or downshifting at relatively high RPM's.
How do you blip the throttle when downshifting? Do you mean that you pull both paddles to hit neutral, blip the gas pedal, and then pull the left paddle to drop down a gear?

When you say the commputer doesn't quite get the job done, do you mean that when you look at the tach during computer downshifts you don't feel that the computer properly matches the revs? Do you give it higher revs ... or lower revs? If so, how much?
 
#13 ·
The blipping is a timing thing. As you flip the downshift paddle, you also blip the throttle. I know it sounds weird, but it works. You do need to practice it to get it right.
I have found that if you are aggressively slowing down, and want to downshift while braking hard, that the computer doesn't do a good job of matching the flywheel rpm to the tranny rpm and there is a significant lurch when you downshift without blipping the accelerator. On the other hand, when downshifting while gently slowing down, the computer does a fine job and doesn't need help.
The technique was taught to us Maser/CC and F360/F1 owners at a track day put on by FMOSF. They had us practice on the dragstrip in the center of the track, accelerating to a high speed and then braking hard, and blipping the accelerator on downshifts using a heel/toe technique, just as you would with a manual tranny.
Mike
 
#14 ·
Put that small list together a while back.

- Put it in neutural while sitting at the stop light

The above is pointless, I normally do it out of habit but it has no benefits.
 
#15 ·
"- Do not take the foot off the accelerator while shifting, wait until the car finishes shifting"



i don't know about this, i always lift the gas pedal at the exact second that the transmission makes the change and then i hit the gas. my thinking is that the gear box makes the change and i put less stress on the gears.

i don't feel any slipping, the only thing is that you really have to do it at the correct time or you will fu$$%k it up. (it is a cool test to master the change)

the shift is slower but i think you are helping the gearbox.

if you listen to the car when it is shifting the ecu actually takes/ lifts the gas for a second. this is evident in every change (especially at high RPM's), if not you would hear a rev sound when you changed gears and the transmission had the clutch on.

this was explained to me by a Ferrari engineer at a charity event. i am just deducting and thinking that by lifting the gas at the correct time you are extending the lift and the transmission will let the clutch go with no added power. (i could be terribly wrong and i am actually killing my car, but hopefully i will go back to Europe next year and ask the guy again)



-willie
 
#16 ·
willie said:
"- Do not take the foot off the accelerator while shifting, wait until the car finishes shifting"



i don't know about this, i always lift the gas pedal at the exact second that the transmission makes the change and then i hit the gas. my thinking is that the gear box makes the change and i put less stress on the gears.

i don't feel any slipping, the only thing is that you really have to do it at the correct time or you will fu$$%k it up. (it is a cool test to master the change)

the shift is slower but i think you are helping the gearbox.

if you listen to the car when it is shifting the ecu actually takes/ lifts the gas for a second. this is evident in every change (especially at high RPM's), if not you would hear a rev sound when you changed gears and the transmission had the clutch on.

this was explained to me by a Ferrari engineer at a charity event. i am just deducting and thinking that by lifting the gas at the correct time you are extending the lift and the transmission will let the clutch go with no added power. (i could be terribly wrong and i am actually killing my car, but hopefully i will go back to Europe next year and ask the guy again)



-willie
Willie,

I'm sure a Ferrari engineer is far more knowledgable then I am, I'm not going to argue that. Perhaps I didn't master it correctly but when letting off the throttle while the car was shifting my car would shift very jerky and going into the next gear was not smooth.

Regards,
Kevin
 
#17 ·
MVP said:
Willie,

I'm sure a Ferrari engineer is far more knowledgable then I am, I'm not going to argue that. Perhaps I didn't master it correctly but when letting off the throttle while the car was shifting my car would shift very jerky and going into the next gear was not smooth.

Regards,
Kevin

i had the same problem at first, it actually took me some time to learn the correct timing. when i started the car would jerk the second i jumped on the gas.


the trick for me was to lift the second that i pull on the paddle and then hear for the shift an then get on the gas. i tried for days and days and one day i got it and it felt like the cosmos had aligned or the holly spirit was watching or something, but then it became second nature and now i do it with out even thinking.

like it mention before, i don't know if what am doing is good or bad. the Ferrari guy only told me that the ecu cuts the gas for the change. i am the one adding and thinking i know more than a computer software that was created with countless hours of testing.

but, at the end of the day i think it works for me... now if my next post in the coming months is tittled " My transmission exploted" then you now what i did wrong (oops):D


-willie
 
#18 ·
The Trident said:
Does the CC drop into N after a few minutes at rest by deliberate design because it's not good for the clutch/tranny to sit too long stopped "in gear," or is it just the result of what Glenn refers to as "inherent leakage in the slave cylinder"? I've read the threads which seem to suggest that at rest, the CC clutch is actually disengaged and in N (notwithstanding the number "1" on the display), meaning there's no need to paddle it down into N, but then I always wondered if that were true, why was the tranny programmed to drop into N if too much time passed at rest. Glenn's comment would explain the eventual drop from first into N not as deliberate design, but simply as what eventually happens in a pneumatic system. So, does the theory of "inherent leakage" explain the car's own shift from gear into N while at rest?
I didn't write that too clearly!

It does no actual harm to the car, and is not CAUSED BY the leakge, but the drop to N is intentional by the gearbox computer DUE TO the inherent leakage in the slave cyl. Interpret the beep as the computer saying "I can't keep my foot on this damned clutch forever you know". ie a design decision to to this issue.

It is documented in the owner's or workshop manual, I forget which.
 
#19 ·
Thanks, Glenn. I think I'm finally beginning to understand this arrangement with the CC at rest. For a while I was confusing clutch engagement with gear engagement. In any event, I've taken some of the other well-suggested advice and I'm not going to sweat about it any more. I'm just going to enjoy driving my car.:D :D :D
 
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