ADias

I see in Audi forums several posts claiming DSG failures - both hydraulic and electronic. What is your experience with that?

To be stranded on the road with a tranny failure is a bit unsettling. Extremely rare on a manual/clutch and quite rare on a std automatic.

Chris from Cali

I haven't seen/heard of one glitch w/DSG and I've owned a DSG car for over 20K miles now. Considering the relatively low torque (207 lb-ft), it shouldn't be taxed at all. Even the newest S3 in Europe (and TT-S) have 250+ lb-ft going through DSG with no problems. The third-party reporting I've read is that it gets iffy above 300 lb-ft (i.e. w/turbo swaps, etc.).

MAB Badgerbimmer

I have both an A3 with DSG and an M3 with SMG. From a smoothness perspective there is no comparison. The DSG is smoother than any transmission I have ever driven auto or manual. However the SMG is significantly more dynamic and track/performance oriented. Awesome on the track & just fine in manual mode on the street, complete trash in auto mode.

Hopefully the PDK is the best of both on the GT3 in my future!

jj99c2

Thanks for that detailed write up Pete.

When in manual mode the car stays completely manual, correct? It won't "kick down" if you floor it in a high gear?

Mussl Kar

I would like to give the new PDK a shot but will most likely wait for proper paddels. Maybe there will be an aftermarket solution?

dndodd

I have an A3 with DSG too. Mine has an ecu upgrade from APR 250 HP and 300 Ft lbs of torque no problems. The biggest frustration with the A3 is I get used to my PCCb's in the 911.
I drive another A3 from APR with an S3 turbo on it. Over 300 Hp and more torque, the DSG performed well.

Ed Burdell

There's a good write up in this month's Excellence.

mdrums

I'd like to know how most all of you can judge the steering wheel shifters/levers/paddles ergonomics when none of you have ever seen them in person let alone even tried them yet?

Chris from Cali

I am basing my opinion 100% on the "functionality" of the Tiptronic toggles. Useless, IMO. Paddle shifting is much more "natural" given hand position on the wheel.

ADias

Your opinion, like mdrums stated, is inexperienced. The 997.2 paddle design actually allows proper (left hand or right hand) shifting with one's hands on the wheel, using thumbs for upshift and index fingers for downshift.

How do I know? My paddle-shift '08 C6 has exactly that arrangement, working the same way and i should say quite ergonomically.

The complaints we are hearing come from people used to another system, which is not necessarily better, and... allow me to say, demonstrate a bit of brain blocking in adapting to another (simple) user interface. These are the same people who months ago would claim that 6 on the floor was the only way... I would like to see the pull to upshift/push to downshift inertial argument applied in that case. Nuts!

Chris from Cali

This is understood. I have tons of experience with "normal" paddles, so that's what I'm comfortable with. I'm sure I could get accustomed to the Porsche's toggles, but why? FWIW, I'll be sticking (pun intended) to a manual in my Porsches.

ADias

At the end of all this, I think that's what most will do. I think the distinction here is not manual vs auto - it is 3 pedals vs 2 pedals. If you prefer a 3 pedal solution that's what you should get. I want to drive the new PDK but I have not decided on it either for a future car.

Soulteacher

Pete, excellent contribution! Thanks so much! I'm getting PDK with my 2009 Euro Delivery and your write-up reinforced my decision. Again, thanks, great post!

leslie

I just drove a pdk equipped 997.2 C2S coupe. Not a long drive. Perhaps 20 mins. I also currently have a DSG equipped Golf as my daily driver so it was pretty interesting being able to compare the two systems.

tip vs pdk: Absolutely no contest. All you tip owners out there will love the pdk equipped 997 and IMO the brilliance of the transmission will seriously affect resale values of late 997.1 tip cars.

pdk vs manual: This is a 2 pedal vs 3 pedal question. And your preferences will sway the decision. However, I am of the opinion that for a daily driver and/or daily driver *** occassional track car, the pdk solution is the best 2 pedal solution out there. For a dedicated track car, one could argue that something like the Ferrari F1 system in it's current guise has weight advantages that make it the better choice for track use (but I would imagine that the pdk system will outlast the single clutch Ferrari F1 system in terms of clutch wear).

pdk vs dsg: Here I found the two near identical (i.e. as much as near equal in terms of smoothness and responsiveness). But bear in mind that my Golf is a R32. I find the dsg in my R32 very smooth and seamless whilst the vast majority of my friends who have dsg equipped Golf GTIs complain about the jerkiness of the system when pottering around on part throttle. My conclusion on why there is a marked difference in the experience of dsg from GTI vs R32 owners is due to the way power is delivered in the NA 3.2 engine of the R32 vs the turbo 2.0 engine in the GTI.

Would I get pdk if I were ordering a 997.2?

You bet!

Le Chef

A thought about "puddles". I wonder if most people who ordered Tip in the past (MDrums excepted) bought it because it was automatic. As such once they had gotten over the novelty of using the buttons to change gears the first time on the way home from picking the car up at the dealer, they never touched them again. They really are 911 automatics.

With DSG in the Golf and TT I wonder if this gearbox really is appealing to two different groups: the "Automatics", and the "Paddlers". The "automatics" never use the paddles, and the "Paddlers" never use the "D" setting.

If this were true then Porsche did screw up on the design of the "puddles" and compromised the design by trying to appeal to everyone and ending up falling in the middle and making no one particularly happy. "Automatics" will never use them, and "Paddlers" want the system to be conventional with right up - left down.

Does anyone agree, or am I barking up the wrong tree?