When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
My buddy took delivery of his .2 recently and he brought it over for me to show him the ropes on the centerlocks/pad changes and to install the Laguna GPS device.
Before we got started, though, I got a chance to take out of for a spin.
HOLY. CRAP.
Porsche has done it again. They've somehow made seemly small changes and ended up turning everything up an entire notch.
I was skeptical that the .2 would be much different than the .1, but it IS.
The engine is another step up for sure. It's not some subtle thing you can only appreciate on paper. You feel it. You hear it. You love it. Nothing beats the sound of this engine.
One of the reasons I opted for a manual on my .2 was because I felt that if I didn't, the car would be much different than the .1 and I wanted to see what all of the 911R hubbub was about. After driving the car, oh boy AM I GLAD I opted for the manual.
I'm going to have to eat some crow here. I bought into the whole "the engine is better suited for PDK" thing when the .1 was announced. While the PDK-S transmission is fantastic, having a manual tranny with the GT3 engine is a TOTALLY new experience and I LOVE IT. PDK works perfectly, fires off perfect shifts, and opens up some bandwith when you are on the track. However, I have always thought that the .1 was boring on the street because it was too fast and the PDK took away from the fun. The .2 GT3 was a BLAST driving around the streets/highway. Using that shifter and hearing the noises that go along with it was just killer. Seeing that tach run all of the way to redline and then throwing the shifter into the next gear gets that adrenaline flowing big time. I wish I had video running while I was test driving the car and you guys would see the enormous grin and all of the gleeful comments flying out of my mouth.
The shifter in the .2 GT3 is a step up from the GT4. The shifter almost has a click when you shift the gear and it makes it feel more precise and crisp. I like the feel a lot. The clutch is surprisingly light. More light than the GT4. A feather compared to the 997 GT3 clutch.
The only caveat to this is that I haven't gotten a chance yet to drive the car on track. Will the manual add, detract, or just be something 'different'? And what will the time difference be between the 2......? ;-)
Man, I can't wait to take delivery of mine. April can't come soon enough.
Here are some pics of the miami blue car. It looks decent in the pics, but I'm honestly not a fan.
If you want the best description of what it looks like in real life, think of Dr. Seuss blue:
So do you think the .2 pdk would be too fast to be fun for the street like the .1 pdk or is there something else besides the manual that makes you like the .2 so much more?
Last edited by NiteCrawlr; 12-26-2017 at 10:37 AM.
My buddy took delivery of his .2 recently and he brought it over for me to show him the ropes on the centerlocks/pad changes and to install the Laguna GPS device.
Before we got started, though, I got a chance to take out of for a spin.
HOLY. CRAP.
Porsche has done it again. They've somehow made seemly small changes and ended up turning everything up an entire notch.
I was skeptical that the .2 would be much different than the .1, but it IS.
The engine is another step up for sure.
The shifter in the .2 GT3 is a step up from the GT4.
So do you think the .2 pdk would be would be too fast to be fun for the street like the .1 pdk or is there something else besides the manual that makes you like the .2 so much more?
I will let OP express his opinion but for me the Manual is a whole different experience than PDK but if you found the .1 to be too fast to have fun on the street than the .2 PDK would not change your mind
Couldn't agree more! Sold my 2016 GT3 PDK because it just wasn't fun on the weekends when I wasn't at the track. AT the track that car was mindbendingly great, just not as a weekend car. Just got my .2 manual last week and I only have about 50 miles on it BUT its amazing. The motor, the sound, the shifter feel - they nailed it all. Veryhopeful I like it as much on the track ( I only do 4-5 days a year anymore). Amazing car.
Can you guys further elaborate on the street drive-ability of the PDK GT3. I realize everyone's tolerances are different but this is the 2nd time I have heard someone comment on the PDK on the GT3 not being fitting for street driving. It is hard to get full appreciation for this on a test drive. I am coming from a .1 GTS PDK
PDK is perfectly drivable on the street. Its just that for me it's too efficient, it's too good at what it does to be an involving fun car on the street. The motor has a ton of power and the PDK shifts so quickly and relatively early if your not pushing the car. To get it to bang shifts you need to be really pushing it and the car is way too fast for that on the street. On the track - PDK is the choice. Shifts at 9K with this awesome pneumatic sound at lighting speed and its crazy intuitive. Always in the right gear and the right RPM. If I was still keeping multiple toy cars I'd have PDK for my Track car and manual for the street. If my toy car was also my daily and track toy I'd have PDK. But as just my weekend fun car and occasional track car I want it to be more involving and the manual helps greatly in that regard.
Can you guys further elaborate on the street drive-ability of the PDK GT3. I realize everyone's tolerances are different but this is the 2nd time I have heard someone comment on the PDK on the GT3 not being fitting for street driving. It is hard to get full appreciation for this on a test drive. I am coming from a .1 GTS PDK
I think it comes down to this car (all modern 911's really) are so fast and capable that you really can't push the car anywhere near the limits on the street. So you never get to feel fully engaged with the car. By choosing the manual for the street you get that extra level of engagement that you don't get the with PDK. On the track where you are pushing the limits, the PDK allows you to better engage other aspects of the car and focus on things like steering, braking, cornering, etc versus shifting.
I came from a 991.1 C4S with a PDK and was blow away with that transmission when I first got the car. The PDK was amazing because it was something new and high tech that could make you drive faster, but honestly it slowly got boring after a couple of years. However, now coming back to a manual GT3, I realize how much engagement I was missing.
12-26-2017, 02:19 AM
Orthojoe says .2 with manual is AWESOME
