I was dead set on a 981 PDK Cayman S, but then I drove a manual 981s....and wow. I havent driven stick in 5 years and that car just perfectly clicked with me. I was totally confident in 5 minutes and I didnt want to give the car back. Even got some decent rev-matches in there (didnt have sports chrono).

Due to the stupidly high prices and lack of supply on Caymans, Im probably going 911 instead. Which brings me to the 2013 991.1 manual I drove this morning..... It was horrible. Starts were sketchy, confidence was lacking. I was worried about stalling and staring at the tach on every stoplight. I couldn't wait to get out of that thing. This particular 911 has a soul exhaust on it (obnoxious) and 40k miles, so theres a good possibly its been abused. Also had a pretty bad engine tick when it was cold.

Id like to know if there was something wrong with this particular car? Or if this is just how the 991 manuals are. If anyone can compare it to the 981 Cayman S manual, that would be a good point of reference.

Thanks. My near-term happiness depends on your response.

 

I had a Boxster S with a 6 speed years ago and now a 991.2 with a 7 speed and there was not nearly the amount of difference you describe so if I were you I would try another one and see what you think, no matter what anyone here says, including me.

 

Thanks for that. I will do my best to find another local one. What were some of the differences you noticed?

 

7th!

 

Seriously, it was a while back but when I first drove my 991.2 the shifter felt familiar and I have no complaints; however, there are some here that do not care for the new ones but it mostly has to do with the tall gearing. If you liked the Cayman shifter you will like the 991 shifter as well.

 

I had a 991.1 7MT before jumping into my 991.2 GTS 7MT. While there is a noticeable improvement in shifting with the .2, the .1 shifting and clutch action on the .1 wasn’t bad by any means. Sounds as though your test car may have had some issues with wear and tear so I’d continue looking.

Whether a .1 or a .2 I’d highly recommend replacing the OEM shifter with Numeric Racing, which transforms the tactile experience by eliminating any slack and producing crisp, notchy, short throws. A must-have upgrade for any manual IMO.

 

I enjoy my 2013 7MT very much. i did have to change clutch at 38k miles after owning the car for a year, i wasn't the first owner.
I think that the car is very easy to drive and shifting feel can be greatly improved by getting Numetric shifter.
I suggest you go find couple other cars to drive. One thing i noticed on 991.1 over my old 997.1 is that its very easy to get burning smell out of the clutch, its soft and not as grabby so if shifts/revs aren't pressie when going hard, prepare to smell the clutch a tad when you get out of the car. The car you drive may not have been taken care of properly.

 

Sounds like you found a bad example. I have owned both 981 and currently 991.1 C2S in manuals. Once I installed my numeric racing shifter and Function First Transmission mount, my car shifts just as good as my previous 981 Cayman S. My car has 77k miles.

 

I have a 991.1 manual and I don't have issue with the shifting action. It's smooth and has a nice "snick, snick" action when shifting gears. Very accurate. And, in contrast to my 996, a much better action. Your experience with the 991 does not sound right and potentially something off about it.

 

The manual in mine (991.2) has gotten better and better over the miles (at 12K now). Perfectly happy with it. I haven't heard or read knocks on any Porsche manuals.

Except if you lose the reverse light switch, which is inside the transmission, the fix is to replace the box. Insane.

 

Someone posted a hack using a microswitch, luckily I had warranty and porsche replaced my manual trans on their dime. But if it goes again, I will do the microswitch hack for sure.

 

My prior used 991.1 had a lightened flywheel and would have the condition you mentioned: easy to stall when taking off from a light and also chattering on uptake. I too would watch the tach and worry I't be honked at...the dumbest thing to do on an already light-rotating-mass boxer engine. A lightened flywheel helps on a massive 5 liter V8 but makes driveability worse on this engine. I would stall it once a month. Otherwise the shifting is known to be slightly sloppy, especially with any wear. The 991 7MT is definitely a different experience then the Boxster 6MT feel. I don't know anything about the Caymen. I'd suggest finding another example and try again...

 

The first P car I drove newer than a 993 was a ‘13 Boxster S. I came back from the test drive thinking it was the smoothest/nicest MT I had ever driven and ordered one right after the drive. My current 991.2 seems fine but for the gearing and the nearly useless (in my real world) 7th gear (see gearing comment).
Bored and not content to leave things alone since I decided to keep this one longer than a year, I’m having Numeric cables and shifter installed next week When the Soul exhaust goes in. I haven’t tried that setup so I’m curious to see if it feels that much different from stock. Of course, it won’t help the gearing part.

 

You’re in for a treat, shifting will be transformed. I haven’t done the cables yet but even with the shifter only I’ve been really pleased with the setup. Just a shame about the tall gearing, especially 2nd and 3rd....

Have you already switched over to sport cats? Or are you doing exhaust only?

 

I did uprade the shifter with the cayman gts shifter and its perfect. It was not sloppy before but near perfect now. I think the stick getsa bad rap because no one has muscle memory for 7 speed gates. The brain sees it as foriegn. After you program your brain its great.