MrSelfDestruct

Anyone else here feel that PDK/Auto-manual/Dual-clutch transmissions are the end of Porsche (and all other fantastic cars for that matter)? For me, anything less than a six speed on a 911 is blasphemy! I fear the day when the manual transmission is completely replaced by 8 speed computers...

ADias

No. PDK is great. You just need to understand how to use it and extract the best from the driving experience.

6-speed manual is great too and it's good to have 2 great options.

Funny thing is that all random posts like this come from 6-speed owners deriding PDK, never from PDK owners deriding 6-speed... Hmm, I wonder why!?!

TheMethLab

I love my 6 speed but I'm open to paddles. Good enough for F1, good enough for me.

MrSelfDestruct

Fair enough. I'm certainly not here to trash PDK. For intents and purposes it is a better transmission. I've driven all manner of auto-manual transmissions from PDK to DSG to SMG. I hate them all. I don't find manual better than PDK, just more enjoyable. What I dislike is that fact that more and more cars come without the option of a manual transmission. Given the choice, I would actually pay more for a manual.

rijowysock

i had 6 speed 997 and i "hated the idea of pdk" but after a few test drives i had to have it and bought it... amazing car, love it everyday.

tpenta

I have a 6-spd 997.1S and love it. However, a few weeks ago, I drove the PDK on an track and absolutely loved it. I would have never considered it before that experience. But, I also loved the .2S differences in general.

Coincidentally, today I met a guy who turned back his 2009 PDK because he hated it and is now looking for a standard 2011...

Everyone is different. It's good to have options in life.

-T

91469972

PDK the best transmission ever in my 19 cars to date of 36 years driving every vehicle on the planet.

mambodoc

I've had a manual Cayenne and 928GTS...wanted the same in a 977.2 until I drove a PDK C4S launch coupe after a C4S manual coupe...was sold on it after the test drive...Its a blast in the way it reacts...seems like the car is alive! On a similar note...never thought I like Sports Buckets as much as I do now! I'll always option for them in the future.

Targa Tim

sounds like you haven't driven a .2GT3RS yet.

Macster

Nope. Just the end of the old slush box auto transmission.

IIRC can't even order a new 997 Turbo S with a 6-speed. PDK only choice.

Many of the other luxury/sports car makers report the sales of cars with manual-matic transmissions make up a larger percentage of total sales. In some cases the number of cars going out with the old style manual is under 10% of total sales.

Might be die-hard 6-speed manual fans have abandoned these cars but looks like plenty of new buyers who like the new style transmission to take their place.

Maybe when these PDKs get more sophisticated the designers can implement a missed shift mode, select the wrong gear mode, stall the engine mode, burn the clutch up in 20K miles mode, and once in a great while perform the "money shift" and take out the valves, to make the lovers of the old style 6-speed transmissions feel at home.

Sincerely,

Macster.

ADias

Chris from Cali

I have had a 6-speed 997.1 and now a PDK 997.2. The PDK car is certainly very capable, but I genuinely miss the involvement of using three pedals and the stick. I've test-driven some other sporty cars with manuals lately, and it definitely hammered home the point that I MUST have a manual in my fun car. PDK is a brilliant thing if you want/need an automatic-type transmission, but it just bores me. It's my 4th car with a dual-clutch (2 GTIs, 1 A3), but there is just something missing from the experience. Whereas DSG and the 2.0T in my GTI seem like a good fit, that 3.8 in my 911 just begs for my "personal" touch.

FWIW, I think the much-derided paddle-buttons on the standard PDK are fine. I considered getting the paddle-shift wheel, but I like the fact that either side "in" is a downshift and either side "out" is an upshift. The haters have not spent any amount of time with it before spewing the nonsense....

winkingchef

I'll go on record as being a manual guy (I find the challenge makes driving more fun).

The trends are what make me more vocal.
Ferrari eliminating the manual (even as a for-pay option) is very worrying.

Porsche, please continue to give us both options!

stevepow

"...anything less than a six speed..."

I drove a 5sp '87 Carrera just the other day - less than 6 - didn't seem like blasphemy - sublime actually in a way.

Some say "less is more", some "more is more". PDK is more money and more gadgets - and more gears! More More More, not "less", so not blasphemy.

Or you could go with a "variety is the spice of life" view as some of us have. My view is if I try something and don't like it, then I don't have to do it again.

But I totally get the MT love thing - it doesn't have to be modern, efficient, high-tech to be fun - it just has to be fun.

What I don't get is the incorrect assumption that a PDK car can not also be fun - my car is a blast.

1BlinkGone

Blasphemy my eye. It's still a Porsche. If that isn't enough, I don't know what is. IMHO, neither car is inferior to the other.

If I was looking for a pre-PDK era Porsche, I'd definitely want the 6-sp manual. But now that we have the PDK... Anything '09 or over (with the updated engine) the PDK is #1 on my list.