The whole PDK argument about faster and sharper shifting, while true, misses the point entirely. The point is about the experience. It's like saying audio books are more efficient than real books because you never miss a word and you can "read" while driving. It's like saying televised football is superior than in-person because you get a better view of the game. It's like saying an Apple Watch is superior to a classic Patek because it's more accurate. I could go on, but the point is that in my opinion, automatic transmissions are for minivans, not for sports cars.

 

Absolutely. If I'm a professional driver who earns a living by winning, no question I want an automatic. For amateur HPDEs and certainly for the street, I want a MT. Bottom line is that driving automatics is boring to me. The fact that a PDK shifts far faster than I can manually, doesn't alleviate my boredom.

 

Yep, my next 911.

 

Old school is the best school ...PDK is fine if you wan't to use your right hand for other things ....

 

I’m a manual transmission fan... I’ll likely own another older 911 with a manual transmission in the near future. My first two 911s had a 6MT and I loved it in both vehicles.

That said, I’m also a PDK fan. I don’t really care about how fast it shifts. While that’s nice, it’s missing the point. The PDK experience is very engaging and very fun in the right car. My 991 TTS wouldn’t be as fun or enjoyable to drive with a manual transmission. It would be a chore. My 997 TT was right on the fence; the clutch wasn’t pleasant to operate and it got to redline so fast (especially in first gear) that it sometimes felt like a chore to drive it. On the other side of that coin, my normally aspirated 996 C4S wouldn’t have been as fun if it had an automatic transmission, even if PDK was a possibility for that car. It had a wonderfully smooth shifter action and a fantastic clutch feel. I can’t imagine buying something like a 964 with an automatic transmission, even though it was available.

In my mind, both gearboxes are great and they both have their place.

 

opinion:
-automatic transmissions with torque converters are for trucks and minivans.

-PDKs are for race cars when you need that extra 500ms each time you shift gears.

-MTs are for sports cars driven by enthusiasts who want engagement.

-CVTs are for cars driven by people who want no engagement or feel of the engine.

always to each their own, though.

 

In 1994 I was working on a stint in the UK on a Royal Navy contract. We had maybe 100 families, all located in and around IBM HQ near Portsmouth, Hampshire, on the coast about an hour South of London. We were all driving around on our US licenses, no problem (just living with driving on the left).

Turns out the wife of the HMFIC had an auto accident downtown Porstmouth near the harbor. It came down from On High that we, all of us, spouses included, were to receive formal driving training and obtain our full UK driving licenses, all fully paid for by the company, of course.

Well, it turned out, you could pick either a car with an automatic, or a car with an MT. Most of us guys (at the time, mostly guys) of course picked MT cars. The spouses (ok, well at the time, it was mostly females) selected the AT equipped instructors, as it was just plain and simple easier. So after getting our training (which was around 10 lessons of about an hour each) we all end up taking the test (which, in the UK, is surprisingly exacting, and has a pretty high failure rate -- I passed first time in a MT) and then go get our licenses at through the DVLA.

But unbeknownst to us, they have in the UK a special endorsement for handicapped folks; you know; hand controls for the feet, dual wheels, that sort of thing. One of those driving license codes is 78, which means you can only legally drive a vehicle with an Automatic Transmission. I looked it up, the code is still there today.

https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-codes

It has always amused me that in the UK, if you can't drive a stickshift, you get a restricted license. Kinda like being handicapped.

*ducks and runs*

 

I’d love to hear more about the manual transmission car history of some of our Rennlist enthusiasts. What cars have you owned with a manual transmission? Here’s my list:

• 1979 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce, 5MT
• 1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupé, 5MT
• 1993 Isuzu Trooper, 5MT
• 1993 Honda Civic, 5MT
• 1995 Honda Civic, 5MT
• 2004 Saab 9-5 Aero, 5MT
• 2002 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, 6MT
• 2008 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet, 6MT

Hopefully I didn’t forget one. The 996 C4S had the best clutch and gearbox of the bunch. Like butter....

 

How did you get the revs to hold like that in a manual?

 

keep the accelerator down, the transmission will just do it on the newer models. Between that and rev syncing and auto blip, these manuals are not exactly “old school”

 

What’s the info that flashes on the display right of the gauges? Some limit?

 

Porsche makes zero race cars with PDK. The GT3R uses a sequential with clutch pedal as well as the 911 Cup and 911 RSR.

The clubsport cars are not raced by the factory.

I dont think the use of sequentials is much for shift speed. I think it is for safety of consistency. No spinning out due to botched downshift or overrev risk during a race.

 

Question is how long before an aftermarket manual tranny conversion is offered. I saw a shop earlier in the year working on a Ferrari 458 manual tranny conversion. Haven't seen much as to what it cost, but if you can afford the car probably a good chance you can afford the conversion.

 

I'll bite:

1972 MB 250c (W114) Coupe, 4MT (technically Mom's old car)
1990 Acura Legend Coupe, 5MT
1995 993 Carrera Coupe, 6MT
2018 Carrera T, 7MT

Seems everytime I get a new one, they add a cog :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

A very well calibrated ankle...

With a SC (or as close to SC as they put into our Ts; personally I am very happy with the changes and deletions) and MT equipped 9A2 lump... In Sport or Sport+, when you are static, in gear and floor the accelerator, the car keeps the revs held at 4k. Apparently it isn't "Launch Control", but... In the above clip, my first time using the feature, I had PSM set to Off (so only nannies left were ABS), side stepped the clutch and rode it out. I later tried it with PSM set to Sport and it definitely engaged in 1st and 2nd gear. I think Launch Control in a PDK car allows 6k of revs, so I am pretty confident in the buffer. Having owned a MT Corvette with a 427 in it, I'm real familiar with BCS (Burnished Clutch Stank) and there was zero of that yesterday.

Not sure how much I will use the Hillbilly Launch Control that P offers in the MT 991.2s, but it is a pretty cool feature IMO.

SS