Holger3.2

He doesn't really mention 5th gear, he is talking about the 5 different shift MAPS of the gearbox ECU on early 993s. From low rider to the very aggressive stage 5 mapping, which most of the 'normal' drivers haver never experienced.
Newer 993s (assume since 1996) have a much finer mapping, with more than 200 possibilities, learning and adjusting to drivers behavior.

But he talks about downshifting to fourth and third gear ... maybe a little mistake, as the tiptronic he describes, the early one, for sure has only 4 gears (if you don't count revers
Ant to my knowledge, there is no 5 gear tipper for a 993 ...

MarinS4

There was a REALLY nice 993 C4S Tip for sale a few years back for a screaming deal. I was very tempted to purchase and attempt a PDK conversion. The hurdles are HUGE but IMHO a NA 993 would really love the tight gear ratios of a PDK. In the end I opted to stay focused on what I have and be grateful for that. It’s the creative side of me that can’t stop taking on projects though.

hoggel

I went there. Bought a 993 tip in 2005, drove it for about 5 years, converted it to manual. To do the swap I bought another 993 and had all parts swapped both ways. You would have to look very closely at each car to see that they did not come from the factory in their current configuration. I think wire splices at the trans and the base carpet around the pedals (grey instead of black) in the manual are the only clues.

I still have the car and love it. But I have been thinking of selling the car and have offered it to a few people who are looking. The transmission swap is going to be a problem if I get serious about selling it. I had assumed that it would be valued at about the tip level. But it appears my assumption may not be valid. It appears the pool of people who would consider buying a manual car with a transmission swap is much smaller than the pool of tip buyers.

rjf

Not to derail the thread ... but what is it that makes the European 993s so much better?

Side marker lights, rear fogs, adjustable headlamps, cloth seat coverings with the Porsche logo...what else?

97c2s993

Lower ride height from factory, no bumperettes front or back, more hp (I know, only 3 more), higher likelihood of no sunroof (as mine), OBD 1 through all the years (mine's a '97) so no check engine light issues and less sensors, button for above mentioned rear fogs (no gap in dash).

haygeebaby

Agree with this - filling the right level is important - makes a difference from my experience.

My two cents:
accept the transmission for what it is and adapt your driving to it
I feel it is too much trouble and too costly both in time/money to swap a tip to a manual - but hats off to the guys who have done it
other avenues for mechanical upgrades usually end in costing too much or not worth the effort
sell the tip and get a manual is a better route to take

I found that installing a smaller steering wheel with paddles made the driving experience more enjoyable and engaging.
Make sure the car is in tip top condition and get some weight out will do wonders.

Avenues to look into:

• modify the gearbox valve body for faster shifts - could result in harsher shifts as well - and adversely effect drive-ability. I have not found anyone who has done this yet on a 993. We'd have to source a spare valve body and modify it and test it to see what level we can take the modification to before the gearbox shifts become too harsh.
• reprogram the TCU to hold gears and not upshift automatically. Two people have done this - but I do not have the details of how they did it or who did it for them.
• reprogram the TCU and tell it to not enable the coasting function - again - not one has done yet.
• reprogram the TCU and tell it to always stay in the most aggressive mode (or a special mode) - only one person I know has this.

jago

i spend virtually zero time in D, in either my 993 targa (fs in marketplace very reasonable, ahem)
or in my PDK 981.
i put a nice 340mm paddle wheel in the targa, almost always use M but the '3' setting is good for about town.

MyCarDrivesGreat

thanks (one year later) this is very useful - I won't be trying the left foot braking as I think this is basically dangerous and best for race tracks only - but the shifting in manual I do now. the mapping is interesting. after an a couple of hours of fast driving - town then some very fast autobahn - then empty open alpine roads where I can only kill myself the mapping totally changes the way it shifts when Im back in drive. The tiptronic has none of the charm of manual which wins every time but its a Porsche auto box and designed to be raced which it really does. In fact the tip is only any good when raced. so crap for messing around in but still excellent for fast driving. shifting down especially. Ive come to terms with it and will keep it as is and enjoy it. if the next few years are any good Ill buy a manual 993.

MyCarDrivesGreat

very good read. many thanks.

darkgable79

I was under the impression that the C4S only came in manual. Did they manufacture C4S’s with the tiptronic gearbox?

MyCarDrivesGreat

2S Tip here looks lovely

https://www.german-car.net/fahrzeuge/kom193

darkgable79

Yes. I’m aware that the 2S was manufactured with the tiptronic. I’m actually in the process of looking for one. But there was a comment earlier in the thread were a poster said he was considering purchasing a 4S w/tiptronic for a smoking deal. I wasn’t aware that the 993 4S came with a tiptronic.

Holger3.2

My saying ...
However, after 9 years of scaring the **** out of the GT3 guys here at the Autodrome, the swap to manual will happen in the coming weeks. Got a 997 GT3 gearbox. It needed some machine work and we re-geared it partial for the local conditions. Including light flywheel, dif look, new clutch, pedals, CAE shifter and flying in Christian for installation, still cheaper than an unknown G5020 from LAD .....
Still fearing that my lap times will be slower than with the tiptronic ...
The future will tell!

TheBen

There was never a 993 Carter's 4/4S tiptronic.

1997hmc993

Hi,
I have driven my 993 Tip for about 2 years now.
The AT filter and the fluid were changed about 2 years ago and put about 20K miles.
I usually drive in manual mode. Today, I noticed that the transmission was in automatic mode even though the shifter was in the manual position.
I try to upshift and downshift but it did not do anything but stayed in automatic mode.
No problem going forward or back in automatic mode.
Any suggestions where I should start to look for the problem.
Thank you very much.