Da Hapa

My opinion, and only my opinion, the gearbox in my aforementioned S2K's were far more positive and solid than the gearbox in the 997. I can appreciate that people have different opinions but I can't see how anyone could drive the two and not agree.

I don't know about that... you've never seen how I shift

jk335

I though I would jot down an observation today and see if it rings true to any other 997.2 stick shift drivers. This might have been the day i realize I need to have this checked in detail by a tech.

I was coming off of a nice exit ramp doign about 55 mph. I drop the car into third, and then to second. The car wouldn't shift to 2nd. And went it did click into 2nd, it was accompanied by a large sound I can only describe as a boom and bang sound. Not loud. More like the sound resistance makes.

So I think I am very concerned. I mean I didn't ask the transmission to do anything crazy, just two simple down shifts.

I also know for sure now this transmission is not as smooth as the 2009 Boxster S I drove for a month. Does Porsche use the same transmission and clutch? If so, then I know for sure I need a tech to drive this one. Next week i will make my way back to the dealer. My hope is something can be adjusted so there is not so much resistance.

They say our clutch is self adjusting. Maybe it's the clutch that's doing this? I had two tail lights that were just defective and replaced. maybe the clutch is bad?

jk335

Jerry you might be completely right too. I am visiting the dealer after the holiday to get that squared away. They are aware of the problem. After today's expeience, I will investigate and get soem answers.

aggie57

Well, I've spent the last 2 days driving my fathers Selespeed Alfa 156. It took me a couple of hours driving to get used to it again but then as I drove into the garage this afternoon I did the classic and hit the "clutch". The car stopped quickly I can tell you!

Looking forward to getting back into my manual....!

kimf70

Jk335

are you using the downshift to brake? Are you blipping the gas as you downshift?

Frank

jk335

Hi Frank,

Yes, on of the joys I have is shifting from third to second on manually equiped cars when i am about to enter a slower speed corner. What happens is, the car slickly move to the lower gear, but it is abruptlly met with this hard resistance. Usually it's a thump or a bang. Some say it's inherent to the transmission. But it does not happen from 2nd to third, third to 4th ect...

Who knows, maybe there is just something wrong with my second gear. I thought it might be the clutch, but it may not be.

I have been drivign a stick shift since 1998. And have had many different cars up to this carrera. None have exhibited such a notchy second.

Should I be blippign the gas at the precise time I shift into second. usually I shift and a nano second later I am hitting the gas.

kimf70

When I down shift as I exit a slower speed corner, I usually blip the gas before I down shift. Try doing this even on a straight away. i rarely use the engine to slow the car. P-cars have such great brakes! I have paid more attention to my manual gear shift after reading your post. The 997.2 clutch is definitely firmer feel than acuras and the BMWs. But it is still a very robust clutch that feels very precise rather than notchy. The feel of the 997.2 clutch when I drive it immediately after driving my other 6 speeds reminds me of the feel I had when I went from a 2002 996 (3 year old) Carrera to a new 2005 6 speed 996 GT3. I just attributed to the fact that it was new, firmer and needed to be broken in. It felt as if the clutch spring mechanism was firmer. Didn't think much of it afterwards until now.
If you are bothered by the tranny, (sounds like you are) have a local tech test drive it. As firm as they can be, it should not feel broken.

jk335

Thank you so much for your post. Funny thing is, when I drove the 997.2 that my dealer had, I never had this much trouble switching the gears. And I noticed that 2nd is now just startign to act up and gettign worse, where I feel there might be an issue. The guy I bought the car from offered to drive it and see what he thinks. He's been drivign Porsche for his entire life, so I think he'll have a good opinion. We also will drive a 997.2 stick on the lot to compare.

But in the mean time, i am going to blip the throttle and see if it helps. My main concern with second is downshifting. There is so much resistance, it's almost impossible to perform a smooth shift in a hairpin turn. The whole reason I bought the car.

But I have confidence the dealership will be able to fix the issue. It's a top notch place, and I am very happy I bought the car there. They seem very eager to help with the issue. Which is half the battle.

kimf70

If you are downshifting on a hairpin turn, blippng the throttle is a necessity in many cases. (Heel and toe). You can lose the tail pretty easily if you are turning on the corning at high speed and downshift on a turn without blipping. Don't do that. You will end up in a ditch. An extrem case of similar scenario would be drifting into a corner and suddenly letting go the accelerator. You will spin.

Frank

jk335

I am talking more about just coming off a non agressive curve. One should be able to downshift from third to second and not have this much reistance.

I feel once I drive another 997.2 this week that is a stick, i will be able to come to a conclusion.

I will still keep your advice in mind though. Good tips...not to crash!

jjprusk

While I agree that a properly executed heel/toe is a good skill, I would argue that its no more engaging than a PDK - you just trade off heel/toe for left foot brake. Having driven several cars [on many tracks] using both heal/toe vs left foot brake IMHO they are both equally engaging. Left foot braking allows for techniques in getting through corners that "clutchers" can only dream of. A perfectly executed turn using both throttle and brake properly is a thing of beauty (and extremely engaging).

I don't get the "pico second" remark. First off, it will definitely be orders of magnitude more than a pico second. Secondly, the incremental acceleration is irrelevant - the difference is in how much speed was carried into the corner and how quickly the driver gets back to throttle. Lastly, I also don't get the "driving myself" comment. Then I must assume ABS was disabled, traction control disabled, throttle was physically connected to the engine, and there was no power steering. With the exception of ABS (since virtually no race cars use ABS), it sounds like a real race car you must be driving - not something I'd want to drive on the street.

vrnkc

I like a manual transmission because I actually like being able to shift SLOWLY between gears at times--just to hear the sound of the engine / exhaust change as the rpm drops.

jk335

I too, which is why i chose the stick shift. I have't been able to break away from work to have the service department look into the shift linkage. I had a friend who knows about cars this weekend drive it and he thinks the shift linkage might be the issue, not the clutch.

The only real way i will know for sure is when i drive another 997.2 stick for comparision. one thing is for sure, the shifting is workign, but that 2nd gear resistance KILLS smooth shifting at any speed. Porsche needs to figure it out i think, because if it's a characteristic of the transmission, then more will choose PDK I feel. Thats why i think mine might be defective. But only a trip to the dealer will prove it. I'll let everyone know what i find...

Da Hapa

To each his/her own.... as good as the PDK is (and it's very good) I just don't find it to be as engaging as driving the manual transmission car.

I can't believe how many people are hung up on pico second. It wasn't meant to be literal folks....

Personally, I don't care if I'm a minute slower on any given road or track in a manual tranny car vs. a PDK equipped car. I'm not Ayrton Senna and I'm never going to be... I would rather be slow and enjoy the drive than fast and not enjoy it. But again, that's just me.

jjprusk's point about ABS, traction control, etc. is well taken but misses my point.

I'm driving on the road the overwhelming majority of the time. Traction control, ABS, power steering aren't taking any fun away from me on the road because I don't drive that hard on the road to even invoke ABS or traction control. But damn near every time I take the P car out of the garage for a drive I find opportunities to safely practice my heel/toe shifting and I (again, just me) really enjoy that. The PDK won't do that for me.

DRJMK

drving the pdk, to me,is just as engaging, however, my left foot is bored! But, it is silky smooth, the PDK plus is awesome and I wouldn't change a thing! Basically, it comes down to each his/her own. After all is said and done, it is a Porsche, there is no substitute....!