PDK vs 7MT
05-05-2015, 10:50 AM
#107
Nordschleife Master
past the 7 pages . . . time to close this thread
05-06-2015, 02:08 PM
#108
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Tallahassee, Florida
Posts: 1,016
Likes: 0
Received 22 Likes
on
16 Posts
Rzani-
I could have written the same letter. I am 71 yo and have only driven MT cars since I was 16 yo. I bought my first new Porsche in 1974 and owned MT Porsches ever since until 2013. I had multiple back surgeries and had trouble with accelerator/clutch coordination on my 1995 993. So I traded it for a 2013 991 with PDK. To make a long story short, it bored me. My left foot and right hand were motionless. I tried it in manual. The performance was spectacular but boring to my left foot. I sold it in February and take delivery of a 991 GTS tomorrow morning. Me, my right hand and left foot are overwhelmed by the GTS. I have been out to see it and it is knock-out gorgeous. I am not disappointed. I am determined to live years longer to drive it.
I could have written the same letter. I am 71 yo and have only driven MT cars since I was 16 yo. I bought my first new Porsche in 1974 and owned MT Porsches ever since until 2013. I had multiple back surgeries and had trouble with accelerator/clutch coordination on my 1995 993. So I traded it for a 2013 991 with PDK. To make a long story short, it bored me. My left foot and right hand were motionless. I tried it in manual. The performance was spectacular but boring to my left foot. I sold it in February and take delivery of a 991 GTS tomorrow morning. Me, my right hand and left foot are overwhelmed by the GTS. I have been out to see it and it is knock-out gorgeous. I am not disappointed. I am determined to live years longer to drive it.
05-06-2015, 02:14 PM
#110
I ordered my S with the 7MT for two reasons. One, like you, I've mostly had manuals and love the feel of rowing through the gears. It's an itch/addiction that simply needs scratching. And second, once I drove one, quite by accident, I was blown away by how good the manual gearbox is on the 991. It's fantastic. Just like the PDK.
05-06-2015, 02:15 PM
#111
Three Wheelin'
05-06-2015, 02:17 PM
#112
Drifting
In another thread on RL Hinkley asked me if I thought I'd keep using the manual function of the box, or just give in and leave it in auto. Here's what I wrote:
Yeah, that would be the easy route, for sure. It's funny how we get retrained -- in all my test drives of PDK cars in February I'd come to a slow roll to a stop light and find my left leg pressing a phantom clutch pedal trying to take the car out of gear. Now, I've started nearly stalling my Wrangler when I come to a light because I just roll up to it and forget to put the clutch in!
So far my natural desire is to continue controlling the box myself, mostly so I can enjoy the aural thrill of up and downshifting exactly when I want and inducing that beautiful BLAT-BLAT-POP-POP-SNARL on overrun. I think that for that reason alone I may stick to my manual shifting even when the new wears off, but we'll see. I remember getting an A4 loaner back in maybe 98, when they first got the Tiptronic with shift buttons on the wheel. My wife had a 97 without the buttons and I thought the buttons would be a game changer -- I could sorta have a manual, while wifey gets her auto.
But before I even got home from the dealer I had switched back to full auto and never thought about it again. There was absolutely no benefit to using the buttons for manual control except possibly in the mountains when you were really hammering and wanted to stay in a higher gear than the auto would hold.
But with the PDK, since there are actual, real entertainment benefits to shifting yourself, I have so far found myself always choosing it. But 350 miles is certainly a short test sample. We'll see!
05-06-2015, 03:41 PM
#114
05-06-2015, 03:42 PM
#115
Three Wheelin'
Just want to weigh in quickly. The PDK is a great transmission. It's telepathic, and each shift is instantaneous, utterly perfect. It's not necessarily better than the 7MT, just different. That said, I personally find it boring. Even using the paddles to shift in manual mode (which I do virtually 100% of the time), I do not find it nearly as engaging as driving a manual. With my C2S manual, I felt fully engaged with the car and in the driving experience. With my TT, not so -- even though it's fast as hell and a total beast. It just doesn't provide me with that same level of driving enjoyment. So I'll be trading in my TT and have an order on a manual GTS, June build, hopefully late June/ early July delivery. At the end of the day, it's a personal decision -- there's no right or wrong, better or worse. Only different.
05-06-2015, 05:07 PM
#116
I mostly use the paddles, but if I'm in traffic or tired or just in the mood for doing a bit less, I stick it in auto and let the psychic co-pilot that is PDK do its thing. For me the 'engagement' is telling the car what gear to be in. I couldn't care less whether that's via stick and pedal or a paddle, the effect is the same (except it's faster and more fuel efficient with the paddle). And I agree with whoever said the stick in the 991 is too high set to be usable with one's shoulder in the ergonomically correct position.
But this is all personal preference. If you drove the PDK and didn't like it then don't for goodness' sake buy a car that has it. Get a stick-shift GTS before they get taken off the shelves forever (they're more fun than turbos anyway
)
But this is all personal preference. If you drove the PDK and didn't like it then don't for goodness' sake buy a car that has it. Get a stick-shift GTS before they get taken off the shelves forever (they're more fun than turbos anyway
)
05-06-2015, 05:31 PM
#117
I'm in my early 30's and as I've said before always get excited by new technology and when I heard about the PDK I was excited to try it since I heard it was supposed to have the convenience of an automatic with the shifting excitement of a manual. Also, the salesman told me "it's not an automatic, it's a dual clutch".
Just like you did I tried it an auto to start then tried the paddles in every mode and just didn't find the paddles rewarding and didn't enjoy it at all. I really don't care about shaving fractional seconds off 0-60 if the trade off is not enjoying driving the car.
So you def did the right thing with the manual GTS
Just like you did I tried it an auto to start then tried the paddles in every mode and just didn't find the paddles rewarding and didn't enjoy it at all. I really don't care about shaving fractional seconds off 0-60 if the trade off is not enjoying driving the car.
So you def did the right thing with the manual GTS
Wow eg991, thanks for "weighing in quickly". That post is sort of a game changer for me, or might just be the straw that breaks the camels back. I suspect I would be in exactly your shoes if I were to get the Turbo which is why I posted the question. I also have a manual GTS on order and at this point I'm pretty sure I have made the right choice. Of course, I didn't get the benefit of your little TT experiment!
I'm sure there are at least a few of you who have seen the Getawayer Porsche reviews on youtube? I love that guys reviews because I feel like he tests the cars and talks about them the way I would. Anyway, he just about cries with joy while driving a manual GTS. The thing is, he also is giddy while driving the Turbo S, but at the very end, even after having clearly enjoyed the Turbo S he says something like "If you think the Turbo is the most fun you can have in a Porsche, then I challenge you to drive a manual 4S and see if you still choose the Turbo!" Watching him drive the manual GTS is a good visual representation of the difference between the two that I guess I'm trying to put into words.
Like eg991 put it, there are no right or wrongs here, just personal decisions. I guess I'll just have to get over the fact that my manual GTS is going to be soooo slow! Haha!
I'm sure there are at least a few of you who have seen the Getawayer Porsche reviews on youtube? I love that guys reviews because I feel like he tests the cars and talks about them the way I would. Anyway, he just about cries with joy while driving a manual GTS. The thing is, he also is giddy while driving the Turbo S, but at the very end, even after having clearly enjoyed the Turbo S he says something like "If you think the Turbo is the most fun you can have in a Porsche, then I challenge you to drive a manual 4S and see if you still choose the Turbo!" Watching him drive the manual GTS is a good visual representation of the difference between the two that I guess I'm trying to put into words.
Like eg991 put it, there are no right or wrongs here, just personal decisions. I guess I'll just have to get over the fact that my manual GTS is going to be soooo slow! Haha!
05-07-2015, 01:09 AM
#119
Some guys just get a kick out of shifting. Lots of them shift unnecessarily all the time, PDK or otherwise. Three minutes in, watch this guy. (And for all the shifting, the shoulder never moves.)
05-07-2015, 07:36 AM
#120
Addict
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Gone. On the Open Road
Posts: 16,365
Received 1,563 Likes
on
1,020 Posts
I am in manual mode 90% of the time. That will not change with the 991.
