Chucksta

has anyone got any 996 driving tips?

my gear changes really suck when i try to floor it... i think my major problem is shifting from 1st to 2nd.. it just gets worse the faster u try to do it..

also, any tips for heel toeing?

my shifting skills are really bad... i guess that's what happens when u drive a 1.8 L auto merc for 5 years! lol....

thanks

chucksta

MJones

Practice, Practice, Practice
It will come

Palting

Just be smooth. Speed will follow naturally.

KWC4S

chucksta, are you shifting by feel and/or sound or by watching the tach? i use a combination of feel and sound.

i've always left my foot on the gas a fraction of a second after beginning to engage clutch to keep the rpms from dropping so quickly. it does the same thing as "blipping" your throttle between gears.

it's hard to say what could improve your shifting without hearing/seeing what is rough in the shifting process. do you think that you are over rev'd or under rev'd when it's rough. knowing that is critical to knowing how to correct it.

MJones and Palting are both exactly right.

Good luck

NMoore

Yeah, stay smooth speed will come, and besides the car pulls the same in gear no matter how quickly you get it there. If it feels or sounds bad for the car it probably is.

Think of shooting maybe, it's how fast you can shoot AND hit the target, not how fast you can raise the gun and pull the trigger. Golf is exactly like that too.

You get faster without thinking about it as you gain experience, probably the "without thinking about it" making the biggest contribution.

KWC4S

NMoore, right on. When I "think" about shifting smoothly, I usually don't. Maybe we should call it Zen shifting...or maybe Yoda shifting.

paneraiwatches

Do you have a B&M shifter yet? They make a huge difference!

Chucksta

I think i'm just a bit uncoordinated...

nothing worse than missing a shift when u have a chick in the car...

Palting

In that case......PARK!!!

NMoore

I can think of much worse things to miss with a woman around! Obviously that being a toilet to us married types...

Just tell her your mind is so much on her the car got away from you. Besides if she catches you thinking about the car around her (single OR married) you may as well drive straight to a jewelery store.

1AS

Lots of people learning to shift a manual trans believe the shifting motion is in the arm. It's much more so in the wrist. Try using your fingers and wrist to see if things smooth out. The first to second shift is tough in Porsches anyway-compared to a Corvette or the slick shifting Hondas- so don't let it get you down. AS

pingu_c4s

Whats the ideal shifting rpm for you guys in normal day driving? 3000 rpm, or 4000 rpm or more?

mooty

pull lever from 1st to neutral, stop in neutral momentarily, blip the throttle, shift to 2nd. do it enough times, it will be fast and smooth.

Palting

No such thing as ideal in day to day shifting, IMHO. It all depends on mood and traffic. That's the wonderfull thing about the 996. The torque band is flat and wide enough that there is a lot of room to play and still have plenty of torque.

mooty

ideal shifting rpm. right where the tach turns red. it sounds better when you shift around there too ;o)