I guess this is what you get with porsche, every choice could be the right one. I guess the only thing I know for certain is that I want a Porsche. :3

 

Good call in my judgment . Porsche manuals are OK. Some are better than others but most suffer from ridiculous gearing. 991 and 981 models had very heavy clutches and long throw shifters. 991 seven speed manual was truly awful from what I recall. 991.2 and the 992 seven speeds are OK but throws are long even though the clutch is lighter. I didn’t think that the seven speed in my 991.2 c4s was that great. While clutch take up was nice, shifting with the long throws wasn’t much fun. The 992 is the same. Haven’t driven a new GT4 but I’ve read that the throws are shorter. Honda manuals are the best in my judgment. S2000. Even old Prelude. Mazda’s Miata has a splendid manual. It is very difficult to find a good manual in a modern car. Very few buy them. BMW’s manuals used ro be OK although the shifters were rubbery feeling. They seem to have gotten worse. I’ve always driven manuals and I’ve experienced some truly awful ones like in Ford’s SHO. Even driven column-mounted manuals. Compared to them, yeah Porsche’s manuals are superb. It is all relative. But Porsche makes such a good auto that it makes sense to buy the PDK.

 

18 way because I drive in winter and need heated seats.

 

IMO Hondas have wonky transmissions. s2ks are close ratio transmissions geared for a japanese highway that tops out at 80kph. They're painful to go anywhere long distance and are quite busy on a track. Honda 3rd gear grind has affected pretty much every honda transmission from at least the 80s to the late 2000s.

Mazda probably makes the best transmission for feel adn gearing imo. They're geared decent for all applications and are like shifting in double cream for smoothness for most of them since the mid 90s.

 

I have no recent memory of the S2000 so I may be succumbing to what Garcia Marquez called “ the charitable deceptions of nostalgia”. The Miata ND OTOH, does have a really nice manual with great gearing for that engine. It is a great little car. Porsche’s PDK is superb for spirited driving but for ordinary driving on public roads, I prefer the excellent ZF auto in my 440i convertible. If I get the chance to get back into a new Boxster again, I would still pick the manual despite my reservations about the gearing.

 

Driving the Spyder with the top up is a lot more entertaining than I expected. All those wonderful mechanical sounds without the wind noise.

 

I find myself trying to come up with excuses to go places just to take my Spyder for a spin...

 

I think like anything, even what is considered a good transmission is subjective. I sold my S2000 for my GT4 and personally i thought the S2000 MT was the best one out there bar none. Porsche comes as a close second with Subaru and Mazda close behind. BMW MT are so bad now and almost made me quite driving manual all together.

I love the Porsche PDK. I think it's the perfect blend of manual engagement with automatic comfort. Its currently the only dual clutch automatic that i would strongly recommend and choose over a manual in some circumstances.

 

This is me 100 percent!!!

 

I freely admit that I have a problem, I checked into rehab, that didn't work, I went to the Hypnotist Romane, no luck there either, drove a friends Porsche with a PDK, confirmed it, no good for me...

So, I now just accept that I have to own a Spyder with a manual transmission, get out for therapy any time I can especially if the sun is out, apparently my condition was all a result of a vitamin D deficiency!

 

agree, plus the car looks killer with the top up or down.... this is my first convertible and I would not have bought one that looked only average with the top up

 

PDK = MORE $$$ for LESS pedals! Manual = LESS $$$ and MORE pedals!

Case closed.

Thank you for attending my TED Talk.

 

^ Ya but with PDK you get 50lbs more curb weight for only 3g more. Do you have any idea how much deviated extended leather you'd have to order to add 50lbs more curb weight? So really it's good value

 

I vote for more leather and manual.

 

These cars deserve to be equipped with a manual. Although I originally thought that I may prefer a PDK in my '20 GT4 for track events, for the track I use the manual works great. And...... if you've never had a manual, what better time to become a better driver! These are driver's cars, not your Mom's/Wife's minivan. A manual gearbox is a right of passage.

The only people who would disagree with this opinion would be hard-core track addicts (typically) or posers (because of the better 0-60mph stat).
Regarding your GT4/Spyder dilemma, just make the decision. Get a GT4 if you're going to track on a regular basis, otherwise get the Spyder. Of course, this is all predicated on the fact that you're actually able to get an allocation or pay the markup on pre-owned.

Sorry for the lack of filter, but these posts really give me an iitch thats hard to scratch.