Homeles

If anybody starts this up again, ban em'!

drcollie

I am amused by the silliness of what defines a manual transmission according to some here.

I'm old enough to remember when a REAL manual transmission meant no synchros and everything had to be double-clutched with each gear change, and drove enough farm equipment and the occasional race car to get pretty good at it. There's an art to it. Synchros are for girlie-girls.

MarcusG

I'm with drcollie.


It's just one of those things like payphones and the VCR or maybe a better example, Beta.

All my cars were/are manuals unless they are my Impala or full size domestic pick up.

I love my PDK in the Carrera S but there was this personal excitement that occurred with the latest Getawayer's red GTS review with the manual. I totally agree with him. If it was my only car in L. A. & O. C. freeway traffic I'd stick with my PDK for obvious reasons which is sad because the one of the key reasons the PDK is the choose of trans is the performance advantage. How's that for irony.

I've been in the prowl for a 15 GT3 but I think if I came across the perfect MT 991 GTS I'd be a player. Decisions, decisions.

Cheers everyone.

hoppah

Oh heck yeah. WHO'S READY FOR TRACK DAY?



H.

drmatara

The hill hold took me by surprise the first time it engaged and then few hundred miles later...it's a non issue...

hoppah

Makes me want to take a ball bat to the engineer who came up with it every time it happens. Why it can't be disabled with a checkbox in the setup is a mystery to me.

H.

trysixty

Go easy on the engineer, he/she was probably just taking instructions from some mid level accountant/lawyer/human resources bimbo trying to get ahead by showing how politically correct Porsche can be. Someone should educate Porsche that being anti-politically correct would sell more cars....probably too late

chuck911

Thank you drcollie for saying the Menial Transmission is not a REAL manual. I totally agree, trying to say otherwise is silliness. There was once an art to it that is gone now, which is why today its merely menial. And I never would have dreamed of calling today's MT lovers girlie-girls, but you seem to have gotten away with it. Well done, sir!

mtbscott

What have you been driving prior to your 991? Every manual transmission car I've had since around '06 or so has had hill assist, including MINI's, Audi's, BMW's, and now Porsche. It's very easy to use and works as intended IF you quit trying to fight it. Light changes/traffic moves, let off the brake, take a deep breath then give it some gas and let the clutch out like you always would....it's nowhere near 2 seconds.
But if you try to force it, then yes, you stall it because you've essentially just dropped the hammer with the brake still on. BTW, the execution in the Porsche of hill hold is the best I've had so far and easiest to get used to.
As to why you can't turn it off? Most likely it's considered a safety feature, and some things are chosen at corporate level as non-defeatable. Just like you can't turn off the DRL's on a US model 991, you can't program out hill hold either.

chuck911

But, any true manual enthusiast would still want to take a ball bat to the engineer. For making the 'manual' automatic. I mean, if you're going to hold true to your manual principles.

Uh oh, principles. False premise.

Nevermind….

mtbscott

I have just started my ignore list. Thanks.

Hugh Jardon

I'll take the MT to symphony analogy and move it into a more direct comparison.

Drumming...

Playing a full kit involves both feet and hands working in concert to create a groove and dynamics. Slow and soft, hard and aggressive etc. A good drummer is constantly working the hi-hat and kick pedals to create the groove, and using their fingers and wrists to accent the hi-hat and snare to develop a consistent back beat for a full sound.

I think driving a MT car is similar. The overall "groove" is set by the driver and they have total control over the car. A talented driver can manipulate the clutch-shifter-throttle-brakes and steering to create whatever experience is called for at the time. Fast and aggresive, smooth and controlled etc.

Obviously a driver skilled at using the PDK and manipulating the gear selector, throttle, brakes and steering could accomplish the same thing, but the clutch engagement is controlled by the machine and not the driver. So in that sense the timing of the clutch takeup is more like playing a digital drum kit and having MIDI trigger drum samples. This is not necessarily a bad thing, just a different overall feel.

Just as drum machines, drum samples, MIDI are better at certain music, a live drummer is better for other music.

I can really understand why people would be passionate about the transmission, as it is the direct link to the "heart" of the car. I can also understand why people would choose PDK since it gives them the best overall performance in test numbers. Similarly, I can understand how people would choose a MT as it gives them the most visceral interaction with the car. (save for no syncros/double de-clutching etc.)

It's nice that Porsche still offers a choice (for now).

hoppah

At the top of this article is a pic of Chuck with his new high-tech VR goggles, explaining the elimination of MS ("Menial Steering"), MB ("Menial Braking"), and MN ("Menial Navigation") to the excited passengers in his new ride. They of course spent years listening to Chuck's rants about "Menial Transmissions", so they're hip to his lingo and ready for an exciting day of Grand Touring with Chuck's multi-core processor at the helm:

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/the-eco...mous-vehicles/

Lest you think this is some far-in-the-future event:

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/...to-coast-trip/

H.

maxpowers

Those self driving cars look like real "drivers cars". I can't imagine the excitement of an open road and sitting back in a self driving car with VR goggles as the drives me around. If it's faster/more efficient at driving the car, why would anyone want to bother controlling anything? If you want to brake, accelerate, shift, and steer yourself do you also want drum brakes and the crank-start your car?

hoppah

Only if you're a Neanderthal, right, Chuck? Once a task has been exposed as "menial" by the relentless march of technology (and pointed out by those few visionary geniuses among us), who are we to oppose its elimination? I for one welcome our new robot overlords.

H.