GregD

All good...


And no answers from Porsche yet.... Gonna have to stop by in person tonight and ask...

Minesh

Ok guys I just got back from the dealership asking them to update the Firmware if need be since the Gear Selection in my Manual 2012.5 C2S does not show anything until I am completely off the clutch and gear engaged including in Reverse gear. I told them I knew people from the board who said their vehicle didn't exhibit this characteristic and I would like it fixed if possible.

The service person said the tech and Shop foreman agreed the gear selection is not supposed to show until the car is moving in that gear, he said that is how this "chassis" is supposed to work and there was some technical explanation that I couldn't understand. I again told him people from the Rennlist board in 991.1's said they don't have that issue so why would I. He said he was going to investigate it further and call me back. He suggested I ask if any one knows of a bulletin code or something that he could reference to show it may not be working the way it should. I know its a long shot but if any one has any ideas on how I can get this resolved I would appreciate it. My car is still at the Dealer so they can fix it while its there.

Thanks in advance!

Churchill

I'm having a hard time understanding -- is this supposed to be an actual problem? When you're in a gear, the dash says you're in that gear, but you want the dash to say you're in a gear 1/10th of a second sooner, like when you're shifting into that gear?

Minesh

Not about timing. Just want it to work as intended if I have a choice.

But to answer your question with an example, wouldn't it be ideal to know if you were in Reverse gear before you started rolling backwards after having let off the clutch? Imagine shifting in to 1st accidentally thinking you were in Reverse and the car moves forward in to something or someone by mistake when you thought you were in R. This isn't a big issue but if the car can indicate what position the shifter is in before you are off the clutch that would be ideal.

We have had multiple people mention their cars work the way mine does as well as other who say they can see gear selection before releasing the clutch. If its a simple fix (Firmware) then my preference is that I get it updated as needed.

sctanton52

I know it is not the model being discussed in this thread, but our Boxster-S (6 Speed MT) does not show the selected gear until the Clutch is fully let out. I agree I would like it to show what gear has been selected before you start moving. Particularly, as noted above, in First and Reverse.

Noah Fect

I've seen a number of people say this. What's the reasoning?

Even with the top down, there's still a need for good air circulation, especially in traffic. It could be argued that it shouldn't come on by default, but it's not as if the default level of airflow is obnoxiously strong.

c_Gio

1st: not shown till clutch is out
2-7: shown when selected

Jabs1542

I thought this was a result of the autoblip feature. In order for autoblip to work the car MUST know the 'target' gear before that gear is selected. Knowing the current speed and the target gear the computer can tell the autoblip how much to blip the throttle, and of course this must happen before you release the clutch.

I have experimented and can confirm that mid 4th to 3rd is a lite blip whereas mid 4th to 2nd is a pretty big blip - so it knows where it's going (this would not be a hard algorithm to program). So far the consensus is showing that those with autoblip (Sports Chrono in Sports+ mode) see the gear indicator prior to gear engagement or clutch release.

No idea if this is a simple software change.

Dennis C

One thing that I've never understood is why you have to hold the button to put the cabriolet top up or down, as opposed to one touch operation like the windows. It's especially annoying when putting the top down, because the windows go up as soon as the top is open, so you then have to put the windows down again. My 997 was the same way. I know there are aftermarket solutions to address this, but it shouldn't be necessary.

CarLovers India

very informative thread. I will add more product on my website for 'smart' car lovers.

Al.Fresco

Yeah, the mods4cars SmartTOP is a must.... same for the Targa. I'm sure its a litigious USA issue surrounding a safety concern about fingers, arms, etc. (think backseat kids) getting caught in the mechanism without an quick/easy way to stop its function. I have heard its a single button flick in some other areas of the world. Same reason we get ugly warning stickers on our sun visors where they don't appear on cars elsewhere.

Dennis C

Good points. We are our own worst enemies. I had the SmartTOP on my 997 and it was great. I'm sure I'll order one for the 991 also.

Gary JR

To save you from yourself. If you notice an obstruction (tree limb too close, etc.) the quickest way to avoid a problem is release the hold on the button.

KenTO

Just drive the car like you would if it did not have a gear indicator. Older manual cars did not have gear indicators, and people drove them just fine. I don't look at the gear indicator, I just drive the car and keep my eyes on the road. It's actually more fun this way and you feel more connected to the car.

StormRune

I'll have to agree with Kento. While a difference in behavior here may be mildly interesting, it should have nothing to do with how you are driving the car. You should be able to up or downshift in a fraction of a second. If you take the time to look for a number and consciously think about it, then you aren't driving the car hard enough to matter. I'm not saying this is the case for the original poster of this observation, but it sounds like a bit of a mountain is being made of a molehill.

In my manual driving days, it was possible to feel the increase in pressure required to push the car into the new gear on the rare downshift into a potential money shift. I knew not to complete the push into the gear, or if I had I knew not to release the clutch before rechecking the shift. But that would occur maybe 1% of the time at most. The extra pressure in this case is due to the synchronizers requiring too much time and effort to sync up the big difference in rotational speed of the gears. I can't say that this exists in today's 911s as I don't have a manual one anymore, but I do know for sure that when I was driving aggressively enough to need to do this right I certainly didn't have time to be taking my eyes off the road to find a number on the dash to tell me what gear I was in.