sweylo

It's unpopular because it's wrong

aggie57

That’s the GT4. In the 992 there is a bit of a gap between 2nd and 3rd which you notice on tight track sections but on the road there’s more than enough torque in all gears to deal with that. Frankly I thought we’d moved on from MT/PDK religious wars. Each is good in their own way, all I would say is that when I get back into the MT 992 after spending time in our automatic SUV it’s a good feeling.

inthesticks

For what it's worth, Nick Murray is extremely positive about it, especially compared to previous gens:

yrralis1

I agree with you . I love both the manual and the PDK equally so my view is not an either/or but rather a BOTH . The strength of one reveals thew weakness of the other and visa versa but both are outstanding . my issue is with THAT SPECIFIC. manual in a 7 speed turbo engine . I too drove the very first 2017 manual 7 at my dealership . In a city test drive it was fun as heck . Its when I drove it again later on that I found that at higher speeds gears 4-7 suck . There spacing is just awful. In contrast a 5 speed NA is not even a discussion in a fun car. I's pick a manual and had dome so on every previous 911 .

Glerald

Why not rhe PDK and when you want the MT just push the button and use the paddles? I drove 3 pedal cars for years and decided to give the left leg a rest so now PDK C2S. No regrets.

AlterZgo

Honestly, I think it's because it would be pointless. I have a 992 S manual and a stage 1 tuned F80 M3 manual. Even w/ a basic stage 1 tune, through 1st and 2nd gear, you have to be lightning quick w/ the shifts or you will hit the rev limiter. In fact, in 1st gear, I find I have to start initiating my shift around 6K RPM or I will hit the 7.5K rev limiter immediately. This is with a car that makes perhaps 450 wheel hp. I cannot imagine how absolutely insane it would be to drive a stock, manual 992 turbo S.

The 992 S feels even faster than my tuned M3 but that is because the 992 has a ton of grip whereas the M3 slides its way through 1st, 2nd and into 3rd. The 992 manual has taller gearing so it doesn't rip to redline quite as quick, but it will still bounce off the rev limiter if I'm not paying full attention when flooring it in 1st gear.

For those who want a Turbo S manual, just get a 992 S and a tune and you will get similar acceleration feel but in a manual car.

I was looking at a 992 Turbo (non-S) but decided to get a 992 S for the manual transmission and the fact that speed is no longer a big deal. With Tesla Model 3s hitting 0-60 in the 3s, acceleration has become commoditized. Plus, with my tuned M3, I find it almost impossible to use all the power on the street. It is downright dangerous to drive w/ traction control off. however, with traction control on, it cuts power constantly. So it kind of defeats the purpose of having all that power. A turbo S overcomes all those shortcomings w/ AWD, but still, how fast does a car need to be? These things are all scary fast and dangerous on the street to give it full throttle for any significant amt of time.

Once you've become jaded by the acceleration, it gets a bit boring. I've never gotten jaded or bored driving any of my manual transmission cars in the past 30+ yrs of owning manual cars.

AlterZgo

As an owner of a manual 992, I'd have to agree that I was disappointed with the manuaI and that most manual transmissions nowadays just aren't great. They are compromised in many ways and have begun to lose that fully manual feel because manufacturers mess with engine management and clutch delay valves to help smooth the shifts, which has made the experience not nearly as direct as with the older manuals. I never test drove a 992 manual b/c they're virtually impossible to find. I bought it because I had to get a manual. While it's decent, it is not nearly as awesome as everyone makes it out to be. I don't mind the shift gate spacing. I don't think they're too close and the 7th gear lockout until you are in 5th and 6th gears works brilliantly. It allows you to shift like it's a traditional 6 speed manual and only put it into 7th gear when you want to cruise on the freeway. With that said, the shifter **** feels plasticky, like the joystick on a pacman game. The little plastic top cover of my shift **** clicks like it's not fitting snuggly and makes the **** feel a bit cheap. Rowing though the gears does not give me that very positive, notchy, mechanical feeling, but almost feels like you're banging through plastic gates on a driving sim's fake gear box.

Still, as amazing as the PDK was in the 992 I test drove, I would choose the manual every time simply b/c I like manuals. While the PDK was telepathic in how well it chose gears and the shifts were perfect and the performance was excellent, I know I'd get bored with it as I have every other automatic car I've ever owned. If I were going to track my car, I'd get the PDK. For driving fun on the roads, it's manual for me every time.

rk-d

That's been my experience. I'll always have a manual car in the garage, because that is an itch that I will always need to scratch. But I love the outright performance of the PDK and would miss not having that too.

This makes sense. TTS has much more pronounced boost (and, let's face it, lag) than the Carrera and I could see how managing clutch slip could be tricky. The power flips on ferociously - you have your hands full managing that even with PDK. I could see how a manual would almost feel like an impediment.

DrewTJ50

This generally echoes my sentiment though is probably more critical of it than I am. I really love the overall experience. I find the throws to be short, crisp and satisfying with the exception of finding 7th. I don’t need anymore notchiness for most street driving. The time I spent in my father in laws GT3 and GT4 with MT certainly made me appreciate those transmissions, but the clutch stiffness and mechanical feel do come with some downsides in many daily driving scenarios.

People say the MT isn’t a good match for the wide torque band of the turbo engine but I shift more than the engine requires just because it’s fun and I like it.

Honestly my only real complaint is the cheap plastic on the shift ****. Not sure wtf Porsche was thinking there.

BSO

IMHO, a sports car without a manual is a waste, but then I grew up in a time when all the "serious" enthusiast media and contributors derided ATs and sports cars weren't sport with a AT.

So my 991.2 C4S was ordered with MT. With18k miles, the MT has smoothed out and drives quite nicely. Sure, modern ATs are wonders of quick shift and META for track work.

Leave it that this is a personal decision and there isn't a wrong choice. Enjoy what you like.

yrralis1

Porsche did have a manual Turbo . I have the last one . Its a 997.1 Turbo . In fact they continued the manual into the Gt2 RS which lasted after the 997.2 became all PDK for the Turbo . The reason at the time was because they did away with the Gt1 engine and went to an integrated wet/dry sump engine . PDK was the route for that engine . It believe it had to do with the cooling mechanisms but it was so long ago I dont remember . The RS maintained the dry sump (with 6 speed) and was the last of that engine entirely .

That said it was still a traditional 6 speed rather than. 7 . It still is not as efficient as the PDK . Plus the first gen PDK was awful and it still beat the manual .
At that time there were guys who refused to buy any further Turbos . They were manual only guys just as there are PDK only guys .

I find both zealot exclusionists unable to exoruejnce all that Porsche can offer by excluding one . I did drive the manual 7 in both NA (991.1) and PDK (991.2) . While the manual charm of a 7 speed turbo engine lost its appeal the PDK improved greatly over time . It was simply a passing ofbthe baton , It wax gradual and to this day I would get any 718NA in a 6 speed and would wrestle heavily with a Gt3 .

It is for that reason when I saw manual I suggested the 718 . I even picked the Boxster because its the only convertible in the line up I like . He asked for sorting different , a manual, enagagement , and its right there at half the price .

Porsche992

get the manual transmission. There is nothing like it. If you wajt a rocket ship get a Tesla plaid.

ipse dixit

I believe the current 7MT used by Porsche cannot handle the torque in the 991 and 992 TT/TTS.

yrralis1

Yes they can . I have a stage 3 clutch in my 750 Hp 997.1tt . My car was a project car . The cost of a Kevlar clutch was about 2600 plus install . The car comes stock with 480 . We took the stock clutch off at 575 . Anything more than 750 means changing the internals which can be done as well . As I said I don't remember exactly why (it is 14 years later) but it had to do with the Dfi engine .

rk-d

I think the point is that standard units will struggle. Race clutches are not a practical OEM option - they can be hard to modulate in traffic and noisy (granted not every application ends up like that).

People have a hard enough time driving manual transmission nowadays and modern stick shifts are so buttery smooth and easy to drive. Even the RS clutch in my (relatively) lower powered 993 is difficult for some people to drive. I can't imagine Porsche outfitting a true race clutch in street car. You'd have people bringing the car in for service because they're stalling out the car and think it's broken.

That said - there was a rumor that Porsche was going to make a limited run of Sport Classics with the Turbo S engine, but ducktail spoiler, RWD and manual transmission. So maybe they've figure something out? A car like that would be incredible.