Hi everyone,

Posting for my father, he recently replaced his old tiptronic 997 Turbo with a 991.1 Targa 4 GTS with PDK. This newer 911 is awesome and is such an improvement over the already fun 997.1 Turbo. My question comes though when you put the car into sports+ mode. It shifts pretty hard and really juts you back into the seat and juts the entire car in general when shifting. Is this normal? It seems pretty crazy how hard the car shifts in sports+ mode compared to other double clutch cars we have driven that are generally pretty seamless shifting even in the top performance setting.

Also today we tried launch control in the car. The car would build up RPMs and display the launch control ready notification on the steering wheel/front dash icons, but when you go to release the brake with your foot still firmly planted all the way done on the accelerator the car would lose all of its engine RPM and just end up going off the line as if you mashed the gas from a stoplight. Seemed very odd as we have done launch control in other VAG cars multiple times with success.

The car is a CPO car with low miles.
Thank you for reading and please share your opinion!

 

PDK shifting in Sport + you experienced is normal in the .1 cars. Less severe in the .2's I believe. Launch control does not sounds right. Was car fully warmed up prior to Launching?

 

Yes. We will likely try it again and see how it behaves and if it still does it we will take it to the local Porsche dealer.

 

Sport + PDK in the 991.1 should be reserved for 1) manual shifting mode (lever to the left) using paddles or buttons, or 2) track use only. That mode holds gears for shifts near the red line. The behavior - fast hard shifts- is what it is designed to deliver. Sport setting is all you should use on the street with the lever to the right. Read the manual for details.

 

Hang on, Chuck. Are you saying the car should not be driven on the streets (daily driving) in SPORT with the shifter to the Left (manual) and use the steering wheel paddles to shift up and down?

 

I drive 90% of the time (Sport mode, manual, shifting with paddles). On longer highway trips I may go PDK auto mode, and on some spirited back road drives I will go Sport+, manual, paddle shifting).

 

I think you have to turn off VSA for launch control start

 

Thank you, Shammerman. This is exactly how I drive my car. Always Sport w/ PSE open and paddles, except long highway driving or heading to church

 

Hi Mumbles, what is VSA?

 

Same here.

 

I've launched my 991s many times. The only time I've experienced a loss of RPMs is when I had too much steering angle. This happened at one particular autocross and was happening to others as well. Have to keep the steering wheel as straight as possible. I have a hard time believing that is your issue as it is such an odd circumstance. Hope you figure it out...launch control is a blast.

 

Didn't say that. Was trying to get across the difference between Sport and Sport Plus. Sorry for the confusion.

Sport Plus in a 991.1 in *automatic* (shifter to right) mode will hold car in gear to red line and then shift hard and fast. Downshifts in Sport Plus in that mode will do the same thing. Totally normal. Great on the track at max attack. Confusing and jarring for novices on the street.

Driving in Sport just holds shifts til a bit later and a bit faster than in non Sport mode. Choose to use paddles or buttons to shift for control over hard shifts when in Sport Plus. This is a great feature, not a bug!

 

When I am shifting manually with the paddles (which I do 100% of the time when not on a road trip) I cannot tell the difference between Sport and Sport+. Throttle response feels the same, sound is the same, etc. I know Sport+ relaxes the nannies and allows the rear to step out more, but I'm never getting to that point anyway, so I feel no difference.

 

I happen to like auto shifting in Sport+ mode. I will often toggle between Sport and Sport + depending on the road. When it’s tighter and windier, and I want the car at higher RPM, + is the way to go. Not sure I see the need to have the car in manual to achieve this. Am I missing something, other than the fact the tranny will hold gear to redline?

 

Sport Plus also causes the engine mounts to stiffen for more positive handling. In my car it is obvious, but also gives harsher response to sudden road bumps..