Queram

I believe that I have enough seat time with the Tiptronic under various driving conditions so I write a short review of what I think.

I drive a 2006 C4S. I had to choose tiptronic because it was the only way for me to own a daily driver Porsche. I still have doubts in my mind since I paid more than $250000 for this car. The reason for my doubts is the fact that Porsche thought that they could get away with anything they put in this car and THEY DID. I bought it. I always liked manuals, I drive very fast and I explore my cars potentials very frequently. My last car was a 2003 M3 which had SMG (it is a manual transmission).

To cut the story short here is my review in an outline.

CONS:
- In automatic mode the transmission changes to 5th gear in almost no time. ( I made trials this causes excessive fuel consumption since I have to step on it to find a smaller gear. I can barely make 300 kms in automatic mode. Bare in mind that the gas costs $2.10 a LİTER which is 3.5 times more than what you pay in USA. Altoguh it may not be a problem, I have not find money on the street either)

- There is no problem in automatic mode when I put the pedal to the metal. The car performs. you forget it is a TIP

- I spend most of my time in manual mode just to keep the car in appropriate gear and when I decide to step on it, the gear change time is AWFUL. It is very very slow. I will make some comparisons at this point. My M3 was a SMG equipped so it is out of the comparison, it is 20 years ahead of this transmission, altough a Carrera DESERVED MUCH BETTER. The regular steptronic shifters in BMWs are way ahead in terms of comfort and gear change compared to TIP S. Some people said that the TIP comes from Mercedes Benz, I believe that and the reason is my C180 (I call it the prostitute car since 6 people drive that thing including guests) is a 5 speed automatic and the gear change sure is as slow as my Carrera or maybe a little faster than my carrera. It changes gears as not to give any disturbance to the precious asses of those Mercedes owners. C180 is a 4 cylinder 140hp Benz which is the BOTTOM LİNE BENZ in some countries because of the high taxes and expensive benzine (gas). I believe that I may have the same transmission in both of my cars

- I always liked lever controls. It is a feeling close to manual and in my SMG M3 it was the method I preferred compared to the paddle shifters ( those come handy when you are going very fast in a curvy road) Porsche DID NOT BOTHER TO PUT LEVER CONTROL.

- In conjunctıon to what I wrote above THEY DID NOT PUT ANY PADDLE SHIFTERS EITHER. They put up/down buttons which are very inconvinient if you drive yourself fast. I mean FAST. Yesterday turning a 2 lane 180 degree fast bend, I accidentally pushed down button next thing I know I was saying hi to the driver on the inner lane with my wide *** (oh yeah 4S) was almost grabbed by the outer siderails. It was such a show that when I entered downtown, the college girls who happen to drive along in one of the cars I passed before I entered the bend stopped at the traffic light and commented on how cool that drift was and they wanted me to take them for a ride. I have no problem with driving like that but when it is unintentional it is dangerous, altough pure adrenalin.


Now comes what I like,

- The fact that it starts in 2nd gear. It is convinient for everyday driving and the car has enough power when necessary I can also make it start in first when needed.

- When I floor it and speed my *** off on the highway with not much gear change your forget that it is an automatic however I think you have to be under heavy acceleration and braking.


I commented various time on threads about Tiptronic and I searched before I posted this topic. Some people do not know what they are talking about. This transmission is less than an average automatic transsmission in my opinion. Some say it is a clever one, it learns. Welcome to the automotive world, most automatic transmission systems have been learning for quite sometime now. It is like a laptop with Centrino mobile technology. They mostly come that way now. Unless you go some cheap 1200 cc light city car (even they learn nowadays)

Porsche belongs to VW AG. They even put DSG system in GOLF with diesel engines. Tiptronic S line A4s have paddle shifters and the change gears much faster than my Carrera. Why feed the big boy in the family with hay, when you feed the others with meat.

When a sports car is on the subject all the manufacturers went ahead of themselves to give a nice alternative to manual transmissions.

Ferrari, Maserati ----->F1 (driven 360 Modena)
BMW M3,M5,M6 ----->SMG II (owned) up to par in my opinion better than F1 system in ferrari.
Lamborghini, Aston Martin ----------> F1 systems I have not driven
RS4 will have a DSG system I believe.

Carrera 2/2S/4/4S ----> Yeah right top of the line, engineering marvel, one of a kind Tiptronic S taken from BENZ. There are some cars in the VW family that puts alot of power and torque with automatic transmissions or likes but why get this slow *** transmission from BENZ.


Oh well, I bought it now I have to live with it. Other than this tiptronic issue I LOVE THE CAR. IT IS GOOD IN EVERY ASPECT. sorry for the rant, I just had to share.

Someone please make my day and tell me there is a software that speeds up the gear changes in manual mode.

Porshaphile

Since you have a 4S, you have the Sport Chrono package. Do you see any difference in tiptronic shifting speed or transmission performance when you have the Sport button on? Recent times for the new 997 Turbo put the Tip ahead of the manual for lap times. Wonder if that's just hype?

boolala

it's not hype. Porsche has outlined the engineering reasons for why this is the case.

As far as the C2/4 is concerned I'll reiterate what I've said before: If you you're unhappy with the tip then either it's defective or you just don't know how to drive it.

Queram

I think the 997 turbo tip is different than the one in other 997s. As for the manual mode gear changing speed, my butt can not tell a difference. I hope somebody will come up with a software update for the transmission, better Porsche comes up with one.

Queram

I am new to Porsche world, where can I find the engineering reasons for their tıptronic choice.

You know my unhappiness is caused mostly by my expectations to find a decent alternative gearbox other than the 6 speed manual. I gave the other manufacturers and their examples. If you are telling me that TIP S compares then I think we have very different expectations from our Carreras. I drove another 997 with a TIP S and it is exactly the same.

djantlive

SMG is better than TIP but we all know that. I agree that DSG is overdue. Not sure why the delay. Maybe it's because of the development on the 997TT, sedan and Cayman.

Corvette still uses 4 speed automatic so I guess Porsche isn't the worst. I do like the Tip comparing to other automatic. The auto mode holds the rev when you drive aggressively. If you like manual, you really should not have gotten a tip. I don't know why someone would drive a tip if they are used to a manual.

Queram

The reason is it is my daily driver and I drive 3 hours total of bumper to bumper traffic. When I say bumper to bumper I really mean it. Only way for me is the Tip S right now. I personally cannot compare to a Corvette. Altough the image of the Corvette is way better than over there, it costs exactly half of a 4S. I do not think anybody gets the point I have in mind. Maybe because we do not drive at a constant speed of 65 mph here. Rather we drive very fast on the highways, agressive in the city and way too dangerous compared to standart everyday driving in USA.

Well anyways I still like my Porsh

djantlive

That's cool. Just thank your tip every day when you are in that sucky traffic. 3 hrs each day has got to suck.

Marsellus Wallace

Think the 997tt tip can communicate with the engine to optimise gearchanges.The tiptronic system is not perfect-for a start the steering wheel switches and nowhere near as precise as paddles found on systems like smg or f1.I would say that auto mode(which I tend to drive in most of the time)is much better than smg or f1 due to the fact that tip is a proper auto box.Granted manual mode is not brilliant compared to the other systems but if I wanted to drive manually all the time I would have bought a stick shift.Where I live there are around 100 speed cameras and if you are more than 3mph over the speed limit you are in trouble,so most people crawl along well under the limit which is frustrating with a manual gearbox.

boolala

That's an amazing statement. I have a Benz too (see my sig) and the pcar tip is absolutely nothing like it. If your tip responds like the benz then it's defective and, hopefully, still under warrantee.

Alan Smithee

You should reiterate that IT IS YOUR OPINION.

It is a fact that the interface is not ideal, having neither a console shifting option nor having paddles.

It is a fact that it is a 5-speed. There are now 6-speed automatics in cars costing less than $25k, and 7-speed autos in luxury cars in the 997's price range.

It is a fact that the Tiptronic is a glorified automatic transmission, which is inexcusable when the lower priced sporting competition from BMW and higher priced competition from Ferrari have sequential manuals, and there is a squential manual in the corporate parts bin (DSG).

It is a fact that it starts in 2nd gear and there is no way to program it otherwise. In MY opinion, this is annoying. The resulting flat spot between 2,000 and 3,000 RPM on the non-S was/is apparent on both of my Tiptronics, and experienced by others on this board. It is not malfunctioning; it is simply too little torque in too tall a gear (and a direct effect of having only five ratios).

The Tiptronic is fine for those that want a Carrera automatic; it is just that. But unlike the aforementioned sequential manuals, it is not a worthy substitute for a well-driven manual. See Excellence's article for another person's opinion.

boolala

Why? Is it not clear whose opinion I am expressing?

....and I assume that this is YOUR OPINION.


OK we'll make a note of the fact that this is your opinion.

Whether it is worthy or not is strictly a matter of opinion.

Alan Smithee

The Corvette has a 6-speed automatic with paddle shifting.

boolala

Exactly. You had TWO. So the first one was clearly defective and I'm suggesting the second one is too.


It just tickles me that people buy it, apparantly don't know what they are buying and then bitch about it. Just sell the damn thing and leave the rest of us alone.

Alan Smithee

boolala, your original post was stated as matter-of-fact and accusatory to those of us that are not happy with the transmission.

I listed facts.

OK, I admit that the steering wheel buttons are not ideal IN MY OPINION. But obviously I'm not alone when every other manufacturer of automatics with sporting intentions or sequential manuals uses paddles and/or console controls.

As to the Tiptronic's worthiness compared to a well-shifted manual, I suggest you go to Porsche's website and look at their specs page. You'll find that the automatic is slower. That's a fact.

Yes, Porsche replaced one of my transmissions...it was because it failed, not because it started in 2nd, had poor gearing, and lacked tactile feedback. So nice to hear you're amused by those of us that bitch about it. I did know what I was buying (leasing); it is for my better half to drive primarily, and she wouldn't have it any other way (for the same reasons as Queram...brutal LA traffic). I express my opinion (and will continue to) so that people considering it aren't swayed by Porsche's marketing without giving it some serious thought.