danwink

Hi all! I’m in the market for an 09+ base cayman. I have primarily been looking for manuals, however my wife would prefer a PDK and I am open to buying the nicest one I can find.

I found a nice higher mileage car today (95k) equipped with PDK and sport chrono. The car was of great interest to me as I have little PDK experience.

I was a bit surprised by the drive. I primarily drove in manual and found the shifts to be relatively leisurely. I did have the car in sport (didn’t try +). Frankly, it shifted more slowly than my Jaguar F-Type with paddles (a traditional ZF 8 speed).

I didn’t spend much time allowing the car to shift itself, it did seem a bit better when left to its own devices.

So- is this a typical experience in an early PDK? I presume that the transmissions may have improved from a software perspective, but again- expected more.

it was not a bad experience, I guess I have just been hearing that PDK’s are gods gift to enthusiasts for a decade and maybe should have tempered expectations.

I had a VW GTI DSG years ago (06 I think) and recall it shifted very quickly.

Kuro Neko

Schwinn

It's hard to judge what's "leisurely" to you over a forum, but I would say that something seems wrong. I test drove a few PDK vehicles during my search and found it to be VERY quick. In comparison, my Caddy ATS was a bit slower (as expected) and my company cars (Toyotas) are terribly slow. Any other car I've driven with paddle-shifters has been slower than the PDK as well. Based on what you're describing, it seems off.

My only other recommendation would be to try test driving other PDKs and seeing how they feel, in comparison, but I would never call the PDK slow or leisurely. Granted, I've never driven a Jaguar either...

TMc993

To add to Schwinn's comments above, how hard were you driving the car? Even using the paddles, PDK shifting will seem more "leisurely" under light acceleration. On the other hand, if you're "on it," shifts should be almost instantaneous with no obvious throttle lag. Schwinn's suggestion to drive other PDK cars is a good one.

danwink

Thanks to both of you. I somewhat expected that may be part of the issue. It was rush hour and not a great road to test the car, so possibly it was that.

it’s a really clean and nice 09 base, so checks a lot of boxes. The miles are a bit high, but these 2.9/PDK combos appear to be pretty reliable.

Tbere are not a ton of PDK’s around to drive and my local dealer has virtually no inventory.

Racer Boy

The "Sport Plus" mode is really only for track use, because it only shifts at redline. If you fantasize about being a race driver in normal street driving, I suppose you'll like it, but it's very obnoxious and annoying for normal driving. Imagine taking off from a red light in traffic, accelerating slowly with traffic up to 30 mph. The car won't shift until redline, so you be revving the motor really high for no reason, and other drivers will be looking at you like you don't know how to drive.

My experience is that if driving in a sedate manner, the PDK shifts aren't anything special, but once you start driving it harder, the shifts are pretty quick. That said, I've been disappointed at how slow the 1 - 2 shift is in my car sometimes at the track, but I suspect that it does that if the traction control has had to kick in when taking off from a standing start (this happens during autocrosses).

danwink

I was able to find a 2012 911 carrera PDK yesterday and took it for a spirited run. It was as expected.

i did see some online reviews for the 2012 that indicates the PDK software was improved for 12, but it really was a great experience.

i owe the cayman a better drive in less traffic to reassess.

i also drove an 08 cayman 5 speed yesterday. It had really long gears.

hueyhoolihan

an "S" model i assume?

The Duke

I think that the "S" models only came with 6-speed manual transmissions.

The early(?) "strict" models did come with a 5-speed.

As the owner of an S, I know why you made that assumption!

hueyhoolihan

i posted the question in my previous post because as an owner of a '07 2.7l base model cayman (with the five speed manual, and the car running about 3000 RPM at 65mph or thereabouts) i think the gearing is on the short side. so i thought maybe the "S" version was geared differently is all.

of course, i was assuming the "tall gearing" was in reference to the cayman and not the 911.

The Duke

The S has very tall second and third speeds - I know that I've been over 100mph in third!

Not sure why it's so. I know that this has also been a common complaint about the current gen GTS, so I guess we're in good company.

danwink

I think I was close to 70 in second. Living at altitude, I am already down some HP, seemed that a bit shorter gearing would have really been nice. I would also enjoy more reasons to shift!

This was the '08 base/5

Mathman

Danwink, I agree, in Reno we do lose HP up high. I feel a manual is better up here and in the mountains vs a PDK. JMHO.

danwink

Hi- and we have some of the best roads on the planet to enjoy them on! Unfortunately, I need to negotiate with my wife who wants an auto...