4200 early vs late gerabox

mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
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9,038
Personally would never have a 4200/GS if using it daily in heavy traffic. The gearbox is wonderful on the open road, but tiresome in traffic.
Buy one for the weekend, and have a full auto car for the city.
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,786
I wouldn't use it *daily* in traffic, but I have absolutely no issues with mine under any road conditions.

Which is nice

C
 
CatmanV2

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,786
I drove mine through central London last year. Loads of road closures due to the Triathlon, if I recall. Never missed a beat and in many ways far more pleasant than an manual.

C
 
C

Chrisbassett

Member
Messages
3,909
neilcharlton said:
In terms of the CC box, is it a nightmare in traffic as some say ? I live in central London so its very stop start. Do you stick it in auto mode (but not sport) , or still manually change with the paddles , what's best ?
Does the FD DBW box make it any nicer to drive in heavy traffic/ stop start . I heard it makes the change harsher but easier to predict, so a better drive...
Click to expand...

Neil, I live in London too, very happy to give you a demo
: )
 
neilcharlton

neilcharlton

New Member
Messages
45
I use the tube for my main commute , so it will only be a weekend car , but a lot of that weekend could be in traffic :-s

Thanks for the offer Chris , that's very kind of you . I'll pop you an email via the forum . Cheers.
 
maverick

maverick

Member
Messages
1,982
If I had the money I would be all over this
,this would be a nice addition to a early car as it would make it as maserati attended it to be from the factory ,if ya got a keeper this could add value in the future as Dave has said these are becoming very rare .
 
Fran

Fran

Junior Member
Messages
94
I have a 2003 4200 CC (MY2002) all original including the gearbox software and I can confirm it is a pleasure to drive in any condition and I believe the jerkiness experienced by many owners is due to a bad gearbox set up. Mine has always been fine but after a complete clutch replacement seems to be perfect. Smooth in traffic and aggressive and "fun" on open roads.

As many has said it can be updated (but is not possible to come back, at least easily with a simple memory refresh) but not only I want to keep my car original but it seems the older set up is now desired by many owners. I can only agree!


This gearbox gives the car a special character that makes these cars special.

PS my car is on sale on this forum but I still have to find the right buyer that can appreciate my car! I love it so much and even if I am under pressure to get more space for the arrival of a new car my heart find it difficult to let go!

FM
 
hodroyd

hodroyd

Member
Messages
14,150
I'm not sure what this thing about the software is, I have had 2 x 2007 CC cars and both had rev blips on change down, were smooth when required and lightening fast pushing in sport, so how are the early cars better if they are the same..??
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,038
The classico used the CFC201F gearbox ECU hardware, and from 04 onwards the CFC231F gearbox ECU hardware was used.
This followed at the same time with the Ferrari 360 that used the same gearbox/cambiocorsa configuration, and the same gearbox ECU's.
As we know Ferrari's are much more common, and consequently more people have looked into the different gearbox ECU's.
From what I can make out the CFC201F and CFC231F are interchangeable, the difference being the 231 has double the EEPROM memory size of the 201. They certainly swop in the CFC231F instead of a CFC201F on 360's, straight plugin swop apparently so they can have a later gearbox map on an early car.
The cheeky Ferrari owners actually buy our 'cheaper' second hand Maserati 231 gearbox ecu's, being the same hardware, to flash on the Challenge Stradale gearbox map!
So, I can't see why the early classico, especially if flashed to the no return softer map, can't be exchanged for the later 231 hardware, with the latest GS map...
 
mjheathcote

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,038
If you have a classico and if you want the rawness, the original first generation map may be preferred, however if you have the second generation map on a classico, don't want the rawness, the later 231 hardware with the last GS map may be an option and an improvement, maybe.
It would be interesting to know all the different parameters between all these maps.
A big thing said at the time of the GS launch to market was that the GS now has a quicker gear change.
Is this true, or was the comparison between the second generation classico map, and not the first generation classico map?
Certainly with my first generation map, full throttle gear changes when over 7,000 rpm are lightening fast, but you need both set points to achieve this...full mashed into the carpet throttle...7,000 rpm and above...actually as stated in the owners handbook.
 
Moz1000

Moz1000

Member
Messages
821
Mike's right - for the first generation map on the CFC201F.50 TCU hardware, with the throttle hard to the floor, and changes at 7000 rpm (actually >5500rpm I think, but a lot's happening at this point!), the changes are neck-breaking.
Moz
 
S

stefanocirillo

Junior Member
Messages
214
I have read through this thread with great interest. I have an early GS i believe the original number plate was a 54 reg. Now as far as im concerned, the gearbox is fantastic. In sport the gear changes are extremely quick and with full throttle it is quite simply brutal. Its like a kick in the back. I absolutely love it! So am i right in thinking they changed this software in later GS models? Im curious to know what changes they made?

(Apologies i am diverting the original question on this thread somewhat).
 
CraigWaterman11

CraigWaterman11

Sponsor
Messages
762
Pre-sofast and Sofast

"Pre-SoFast and SoFast transmission control system (CFC201; this is the first generation of transmission control system as introduced in 2001 on the M138 model. The name SOFAST (soft+fast) was introduced little later when a new control software was applied with the aim to enhance operating comfort. Management of gear changes is not influenced by information concerning vehicle dynamics." Maserati Advanced Electronics pg. 94

Maserati M138 Cambiocorsa
HW CFC 201 (SOFAST) up to assembly 12203
HW CFC 231 (SOFASTII) from assembly 12204
 
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