I took a great Nor Cal ride yesterday in my 06 S Tiptronic. From San Francisco I took I-5 north to Red Bluff and then 36 East to Chester CA. 36 is a good quality mountain road with sweeping turns and a number of mile + long straights with complete visibility. If you can get there, I highly recommend it.

On the way back, I took 32 south to Chico. This is a 50 mile run with excellent twisties for about 25 miles. As I was driving along in a spirited fashion, I imagined how it would be driving with a manual. Although the stats are that the tip is slower in straight line, I could not help but think the tip would be faster and safer due to being able to keep both hands on the wheel in this kind of driving and eliminate the added elements/distractions in manual shifting. I know this might be heresy to some, but is my hypothesis correct for the average p-car driver?

 

I like keeping both hands on the wheel on twisty roads - just seem much more effective. But on roads like that (not a track), speed is really not the goal - driving pleasure is the thing - and for some that's shifting, for others, it's not. If you have that road and a Porsche...probably going to be fun.

 

Contrary to the 'conventional wisdom' often expressed here, the TipS is quite good. But be prepared for an onslaught of naysayers. And do not feel bad they say the same thing about the PDK.

 

In the real world--street or track--a tiptronic can be faster than a manual tranny, yes. I am sure this thread will flesh out quickly with various tip detractors. If you like yours, then all of that "noise" is just that.

I cannot work a clutch for physical reasons and have owned 6 Porsches with Tips. When I used to do DE's with my 01 996 Turbo, I was usually faster than other 996 Turbos with manuals, especially heading into and powering out of corners, using the Tip in auto mode. If I was in trailing position behind another 996 Turbo, I would frequently have to ease off the throttle at the apex/corner track out anticipating the "lull" that was coming on the other guy's up shift.

 

What is a tiptronic?

 

Nothing wrong with the Tip, and I'd agree that for most people most of the time it's going to be faster than the 6-speed irrespective of what the official 997.1 specs would have you believe. For the 997.2, there's no debate about the PDK, that's faster period. I had a number of BMW 5 Series before moving to Porsche a few years ago and it's much the same there, the automatics are generally faster.

 

Even in a straight line, a manual is only faster than a Tip if you hit all the shifts perfectly. 99% of people would be faster in a straight line drag race in a Tiptronic.

On curves, that balance probably sways towards the Tip even more, though maybe not. When I'm going around a tight bend I can shift down before the bend so I'm in the right gear to power out of it. In a Tip, my understanding is it won't downshift until you get on the gas on the way out of the bend.

Obviously with PDK and paddle shifters it's no contest.

 

Tip? Whatever (nah, just kidding). Tip's history. No more Tip. Me? After an unblemished record of staunch sports-car manual tranny advocacy: my next Porsche will have PDK. It's faster.

 

I didn't buy a Porsche to win races, so even if the automatic was twice as fast as the standard, it'd still be only half as fun to drive. That includes PDK and paddle shifters. I drove one. The day Porsche stops making standards is the day I go back to Mercedes.

 

For all but the most skilled & experienced track folks, the tip will be faster on the track for the rest of us. I'd also wager it is faster in a straight line for most Porsche owners. I've been to a lot of events with other people where you take turns doing tasks on a track, and I'm always amazed how few people can shift worth a damn, and how many people always shift well before redline. Owners are the ones with the money to afford and want the car. They aren't necessarily skilled drivers or hardcore Porsche enthusiasts.

 

The satisfaction I get from a manual tranny is much more than what I could from a Tip or a PDK... I do DE events and don't care if I can shave off a second by swapping into a car with PDK, it's all about the satisfaction you get from it I bought a 997.1 for this specific reason, when I was getting one 997.2 was already out but all the cars were equipped with PDK. I wanted manual and didn't want to wait so went ahead with a .1. Got a good discount as well.

As long as you have fun and enjoy it, it doesn't matter what it is

 

Because Mercedes has so many standard transmission vehicles to choose from? Surely the availability of a manual transmission isn't the only thing that distinguishes a Porsche from a Mercedes for you.

Look, I'm being a bit facetious. I had manuals exclusively in my cars (as opposed to my wife's) for 40 years and I get your point; I hope Porsche keeps making manuals available for those who want them. In small part, I did buy a Porsche to "win" races (well, autocross) and aside from that I find PDK to be very entertaining to drive in general. I miss working the clutch about 10% of the time, so the trade off is not 100% perfect, but overall PDK is a big plus for me.

 

I was all set to buy a tip until I tried one for a decent drive and to me it was not as engaging as the manual. Also, the tip is a bit slow to react - probably faster than me - but while I'm changing gear I feel involved in the drive and not just waiting for the car to react to what I'm telling it to do. So for me, the choice to go manual was so that the car "felt" fast, not that the car actually was.

So in the end, I bought a manual but I'm pretty sure my next Pcar will be a PDK with paddles.

 

Well, it's a fact that according to Porsche, Tip IS SLOWER on 997.1 C2/C2S/C4/C4S vs. Manual in 0-60 by some margin. HOWEVER, Tip is FASTER on 997.1 Turbo vs. Manual!

Now, if one doesn't have good skills shifting, that's another story.

 

I disagree slightly. Obviously, if one has poor shifting skills, they're gonna lose to Tip on a drag. Note you're LOSING HP with a Tip!

Also, proper shifting is done before you enter a turn, so you gotto do your braking/shifting before you enter a curve, so the downshift into twisties if done right is not gonna be any slower than tip.

PDK is the only *Auto* transmission that's closed the gap and faster. It's not just shifting speed, but the lack of Torque converter makes PDK not waste HP, hence gaining from faster shifting!