Steven_H

Anyone else notice that the transmission does not downshift from fifth under full throttle with PDK Sport button pushed. Dealer's head mechanic (knowledgeable, good guy) tested three new GT3s that happened to be in the dealership and claims all were the same. Try this: press PDK Sport, accelerate moderately to about 80 mph, by which time PDK will be in Fifth. Slow to about 60/65 or 3800 rpm. Car will remain in Fifth. Floor it (max throttle) and car will accelerate in fifth without downshift. In non-Sport mode, car will drop two or more gears under similar condition. Smells like a software issue Porsche needs to address.

Mike in CA

I rarely use Auto modes so I haven't come across anything like that. I'll try it the next time I have a chance.

kencollinsjr

atta boy Mike in CA...keepin' it real!

MaxLTV

Will try, but I'm nor surprised. It took BMW over 2 years to get DCT software right in M3, and I had two software updates just for that. Some weird corner cases always pop up. Also, PDK-S seems to be "learning" or just breaking in - mine was almost stalling the engine when upshifting under very-very little throttle driving in traffic, but after 50 miles it got smoother.

Macca

The engine gets way smoother with use. After 2000 miles you will find the car feels "stronger" smoother and is making better fuel mileage.

Never noticed what you are talking about with my GT3. I never used PDK-S much tho. Mostly manual or just auto in town. Cant see how the dealers etch managed to get three GT3 replicating the same on real world roads. You are talking about 60-100mph cycle runs. Why would he have been sitting around testing this issue instead of doing PDI and delivering cars?

Its a learning box and if you have indicated you are driving spirited it should technically hold that 5th gear to almost 9000rpm from my brief (few hours) experience.

Also you dont need to start and accelerate to 80mph to get into 5th. Just start moving and bang the gears up using the paddle + as an overide to get to 5th at any rpm then try your theory.....

Mike in CA

Here's an update on this topic.....

My friend at Porsche contacted me and informed me that according to his transmission guys the PDK Sport button is meant for and should be used on track only. (You'll recall that the PDK Sport button was originally called "Race Track"). He said that at track speed you don't want kickdown, for example accelerating out of a turn under full throttle, especially since the RPM level with PDK Sport is so high anyway. For this reason PDK-Sport doesn't have kickdown.

As always, he is right. I just came back from trying it out. It doesn't matter what gear you are in or at what speed (not just at 65-80 mph in 5th), PDK-S in Sport Auto mode will not kickdown to a lower gear when you floor the throttle. The car just pulls strongly in the gear you are in, mainly because revs are so elevated in PDK Sport anyway.

If you allow revs to drop, PDK-S will downshift automatically to the next lower gear to keep the engine in the power band, but it won't kickdown under acceleration. It's an engineered-in feature, not a software glitch.

In a couple of earlier posts I said that PDK-S did kickdown in Sport based on my PDK experience, not because I had tried it. My bad....never assume....

Macca

Excellent Mike. Thanks for sorting that out. Looks like case closed. As I remember it what you say makes sense but like I declared I didnt spend much time in this mode but will explore it further on the track.

I remember reporting to the community that the shift points were very high and aggressive (too much so for my spirited road driving whereas the normal auto was too soft for me so I enjoyed manual almost 100% of the time outside the towns). Your guy has added an extra layer of detail which confirms my views on this mode.

mshahidz

Would it be detrimental in anyway to use the Sport on the street for short periods of time? Just wondering why its "for the track only" as this is what I was told by my SA as well.

CAlexio

Nice find Mike! So, did we ever find out whether the shifts are any faster in PDK-sport setting? (This may have been answered already?)

Manifold

If Sport mode is tuned for the track, and not suited for the street, it's kind of a bummer that there's only one street mode.

Mike in CA

I don't see how it would be detrimental in any way. Because the upshifts come much later, the downshifts earlier, and with no kickdown, it's not certainly optimal for normal street driving but would be fine when you're being aggressive. Even though designed for the track, it's much more useful on the street than was PDK Sport +, IMO

Alex, I don't know whether the shifts are faster in PDK Sport than they are in manual. Now that I've done some higher RPM driving in manual, it's hard to imagine the shifts being faster in any meaningful way.

Manifold, as I said above, you can use PDK Sport on the street if you don't mind buzzing along at higher rpms. I've tried it. Manual mode remains by far the best option for the street anyway, IMO, but when push comes to shove you really have 3 modes that you can choose from.

Macca

^^^ Agree. I re read my original review of this back in early Dec and still stand by it. You can drive PDk-S on the street but its really not sympathetic to the engine, it holds the rpm way too long for around town driving so unless you want poor gas mileage and abuse the valve train I tend to agree with Porsche that this mode is suited for the track. That said you can drive it fine, it just winds out every gear (sounds great, gets plenty of looks form the street but a bit tiring after a while), The standard PDK is a bit sof IMO and I use it only in the main metro areas so I can focus on something else. Its tuned for fuel economy too. Both modes I understand are adaptive so what I say isnt a blanket statement for all driving styles. PDK M is great and my chosen method for anywhere other than Metro (or track?). Its really quick and alot of fun (and Im a MT diehard)....

Manifold

I guess what I'm bummed about is that there apparently isn't an automated mode ideally suited for 'spirited' road driving. Sport sounds too extreme, and normal too tame.

MaxLTV

I agree. I like what BMW did with 5 auto modes in M3. I called them "black ice", "snow or traffic crawl", "wife driving", "regular driving", and "spirited driving". In GT3 I'd be happy with just the last 2, but it's really just 1. But using pedals is pure joy, so no big deal.

SamFromTX

I thought the same about normal as it was shifting way too early through the gears. I then tried to drive it in a very spirited fashion and the computer learned what I was doing much faster than in the C4S or TTS. It shifted much better. Still, I enjoy manual mode the most on the street.