Zeus993

Looking for a quick update on the Manual Transmission Vs. the PDK debate. By now Porsche has worked out what few gremlins surfaced in the PDK, upgraded the software and is really pushing this transmission hard throughout the their sports car line up. Let's face it - it's a superb transmission. And I, like many of you, see myself as a die-hard 3-pedal guy but for those of you that made the switch into a PDK'd Cayman or Boxster or 991, what's your verdict? After some years of use do you miss the MT? Do you actively drive the PDK in manual mode, shifting with the paddles or the center sifter? Or like old dogs after losing your nuts years ago in a veterinarian's surgery, do you carry on in auto mode, your 3-pedal driving days becoming all but a faint memory? What's your final verdict?

drwuss

This topic has similar results to talking politics...

In any case I had a PDK cgts that I almost did not buy because I wanted a manual. I ended up really liking the PDK in that car. On track the smooth shift that didn't upset the car was what I liked most about the PDK. I also liked how you could still use the paddles or selector in auto mode without engaging manual mode. I liked almost all features of the PDK and felt no disconnect with the vehicle. Because it is easier I will just list what didn't like about PDK:

1: In manual mode would the car still shift if it thought it could do it better than me. IE, in 4th at 30mph and I floor the pedal the car would shift to second. I feel like when in manual mode, the car should stay in the gear selected unless damage may occur without shifting. I feel that this would be a relatively easy software fix at the OEM level and is not an inherent flaw of design.

2: The center lever on a non PDK-S 991/981 has backward shift function/direction for the lever. I believe this is fixed with the currently produced cars.

3: Sport Plus shifts felt artificially hard. Maybe they are not but I didn't really use this setting because it seemed like BS to me.

4: I never figured out how to do a big smokey burnout. Or even a wussy tire kinda squealy burnout. Maybe you can, but if not I do not know how a PDK die hard could successfully argue against this point.

Now I have a GT4. I actually turned down my first allocation for GT4 because PDK-S was not an option. Now after owning the manual car again I really like it and am glad it isn't a PDK.

So in short I started my Porsche ownership buying a PDK when I wanted a manual, and continued it by buying a manual when I wanted PDK, yet somehow have had an overwhelmingly positive take on the whole thing. Maybe I am just easy to please, maybe I just really like cars. My take is both options are completely relevant if you can learn to enjoy what they have to offer.

p912guy

[QUOTE] Or like old dogs after losing your nuts years ago in a veterinarian's surgery, do you carry on in auto mode, your 3-pedal driving days becoming all but a faint memory? What's your final verdict? [/QUOTE?

Seriously? After that analogy, who'd admit to driving a PDK like a traditional automatic transmission?

I really like the driver involvement of an MT but the way conditions on my daily commute have changed, I think I would be quite happy with the PDK when I look for a CPO 981 Boxster early next year, especially since it will be my DD and not a track toy. When I got my MINI Cooper (MT), I'd have one or two days a month of bumper to bumper stop and go traffic. Now, taking the same routes, it's typically that way 2-3 days a week. If I ever had time or opportunity to take the back roads and twisties and run through the gears, I might demand an MT in my Boxster, but when I am not commuting I am spending hours on interstates so I am thinking PDK might be just fine, especially since my wife would much rather have PDK for the few times she would be driving.

Lemming

If lap times or being able to comfortably drink a cup of coffee in traffic on your way to work are important, than pick the PDK.

I've tracked and raced thousands of miles and I don't miss the third pedal at all.

Jamie140

Manual all day, everyday for me.

Archimedes

Seriously? Again?

JCtx

I'm a die-hard manual, but couldn't be happier with my GTS PDK. Why did I choose it? In short, because it was the far superior choice. Porsche hasn't updated the manual in a long time. It still has the rubbery feel (cable linkage), and most importantly, 6th is just too damn short for touring (got tired of engine sreaming at highway speeds on V8 M3, GTR, etc). And yes, a 7th would have cured that, but felt even worse than the 6-sp on 991s, so glad I didn't have to lose sleep choosing between those 2.

What I liked about PDK: It's the only 7-sp with a parking feature (GTR had it too, but it's only a 6-sp), so no need to always use parking brake. And best of all, it does NOT engage automatically (I HATE that). The electric parking brake is fully manual, only disengaging automatically if you take off with it, to avoid burning your brakes, so a welcome change from an intruding lever IMO. Second, the shift lever is directly attached to the transmission, not a stupid electronic lever. That means if you engage a gear, car is moving. Not like Ferraris and others that refuse to move if you don't have all doors/hood/trunk closed. Third, you can neutralize the tranny while in D with both paddles, just like Ferraris (awesome). Fourth, and most importantly, manual mode remains manual... but if you want instantly the best performance, all you have to do is engage the switch atfer WOT and it becomes fully auto until you release that switch. Brilliant, especially for those not used to use paddles all the time (like I do). And if the tranny downshifts if you're beating the crap out of the engine, that's a good feature IMO. It hasn't happened to me, because I never do that. And am not going to try. The guy above (flooring at 30) might have engaged the kick-down switch; who knows. But just like the parking brake releasing if you forget, those things don't detract from the driving experience in the least. On the contrary. They ensure you're not going to damage your car for being stupid. And fifth, you can use cruise control in manual mode. On current and previous auto cars, manual mode disengages cruise control. All in all, I'm quite happy with PDK, especially since the current manual in 981s is not the best, but the PDK is. And for once, I can let others drive my car without fear of grinded gears, burned clutch, or botched shifts.

As a final note, maybe the redesigned 7-sp manual trannies around the PDK casing are better (and finally with a rod-linkage, I hope), but I'm not ever buying a turbo car as my fun car again. Plus I like my sports cars with luxury features (memory seats, parking sensors front and rear, nice stereo, etc), something only Porsche refuses to offer on its GT cars, therefore, looks like this brilliant Cayman GTS might be my first and last Porsche ever. But glad Porsche finally made the car I really wanted, and got one of the last ones built, meaning higher probability of not having any issues. And it has the absolute best transmission you can have on ANY car (and yes, I prefer PDK on this car than PDK-S), including current hypercars. And yes, it's a lot more involving always driving it in manual mode. Yes, I missed a manual sometimes, but on a 981, zero regrets with PDK.

rwlund

I love the PDK in my 981 BS, after driving a manual for 20 years in previous sports cars. For me, the reality is that the PDK shifts both more smoothly and more aggressively than I ever would using the manual. Day to day, the biggest pleasure is the smooth downshift when a hit the gas to change lanes and pass at freeway speed. It just gives the car a smooth but aggressive acceleration that feels great. In the manual, I probably would not have downshifted at all because it seems too jarring, I would just lug along in high gear when passing. Or when you realize the car makes it very smoothly from 1st to 4th gears just accelerating gently from a red light through the intersection, that is a whole lot of nonsense I just avoided. Just my own reaction, but I love it.

Noah Fect

When you buy a Porsche, you pay large amounts of money for engineering. Why not get what you're paying for?

jennifer911

Zeus, there only two kinds of transmissions used on today’s cars, good ones, and bad ones. Surely the men on this forum are some of the most skilled drivers of this era and can extract the ultimate out whatever trans is put before them. In my day most all teenage girls learned to drive manual shift cars. Here in Canada, tax laws make cars and fuel much more expensive than the U S. A first car for a teen girl would typically have been the smallest little Asian car or a stripper Chevy Geo metro etc. These cars characteristically had three pedals.

Poo on lesser men who claim superiority because they can handle a manual shift lever. Modern constant mesh transmissions with full synchronizers take no great skill to operate. Put some of these blowhards in an early 1920s car with a ‘sliding gear transmission’ and they won’t be able to do ****.

Zeus993

Well said Jennifer911! You shed different (female) light to this innocent thread!

And what about the "3 on the tree" tannies, and double-clutching when the synchro was out?

jennifer911

Yeah Zeus, big deal, my first car was an elderly 1967 MGB. These cars came with no first gear synchro.

Ah men, (even though every second person seems to be a one) evolution sucks at improving them and appears to be stuck at the stone age, producing the same cave-man over and over again. I often think “if we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we put them all there”.


Yes, I’ve seen men double clutch a three speed with a busted synchro and a worn out, jamming, shifter linage. Usually sounds like someone dumping a box of cutlery down a staircase!

john weires

I have a 2011 Spyder with a manual transmission and a 2014 GT3 with PDK.

I would certainly not want a heavier less fun PDK series 1 in the Boxster and a manual in the GT3 would not take advantage of how quickly the motor revs to 9000 rpm.

I think it boils down to which transmission is appropriate for the car it's in and how that car will be driven by its specific owner.

targa996

I think I will get a pdk next - better on the track and in bumper to bumper commute - and you can still select gears manually when you feel the need ....

The biggest issue with auto boxes in my other cars is the lag caused by the torque converter - you can also feel it sapping the power away - even with manual modes.

this all goes away with dual clutch auto - so why not. I drove one for a week on a vw golf 1.4tsi - very impressed. The only thing that would hold me back is durability - but I don't see anyone complaining about failures before 100k miles that are out of early warranty ? Maybe change fluid a bit more often if you heat cycle it with track time ?

Nurburger

My 987 Spyder has the PDK transmission and I love it. I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't already have other manual transmission Porsche's in the garage but I'm glad that I did go with PDK. The only time I've driven the car in full auto mode is when I was having the ABS/PSM issue caused by a faulty wheel speed sensor and I really didn't enjoy it.

My PDK experience is further enhanced by the Fabspeed race headers / PSE / Sport Plus combination. I think sport chrono is a must have option if you choose PDK.