Betternotbigger

I asked myself the same question but then, by the law of averages, there would be no delay half the time (and there is a delay of sorts all the time) and it's pretty obvious which is the next gear when you're accelerating hard isn't it? Yet the delay is noticeable in this situation.

What I wondered instead was whether, when Porsche says the next gear is preselected, they mean (slightly disingenuously) that PDK adopts a waiting mode until, only following your selection of the next gear or the instructions of the Auto algorhythm, it pre-engages the next gear in order for the shift to take place with the opening and closing of complementary clutches. You wouldn't notice this in Auto mode but you would with the paddles/buttons.

rodsky

Sometimes there is a very slight and perceptible delay, but i am pretty positive its nowhere near 1 second. More obvious on upshifts.

Mike in CA

This has been my experience, too. We need to keep in mind that although the paddles are giving PDK an electronic signal to shift, the actual shift is a mechanical operation. Unlike auto mode when the computer is timing the shift, in manual mode PDK is waiting for a command from the driver to initiate that mechanical operation. Also, in normal and regular sport mode, engine torque is reduced to a greater or lesser degree during shifts to make them smoother. To me, it seems to make sense that all of this interaction is going to take a split second, which is perceived as that very slight delay between pulling the paddle and the actual shift.

wwest

There is a new "real time" ATF line pressure control technique being used in standard automatic transmissions. Basically the ATF line pressure is no longer continuously sustained. This has resulted in DBW being used to prevent the engine from quickly up-revving when a re-acceleration downshift, quickly following a "coastdown" upshift, cannot be completed quickly due to the lack of "reserve" ATF line pressure.

Porsche is now using a variable displacement engine lubricating oil pump, no pressure bypass relief valve required, in order to improve FE. Perhaps the same technique is being used within the PDK.

The problem occuring with standard automatics, 1-2 second throttle response delay/hesitation, has become a fairly common complaint.

Think about it, why should the line pressure needed to accomplish a shift be held at a high level for hour upon hour of constant speed cruising.

kitwetzler

Sadly, one of the things that I notice is that there feels like there is a delay for me, because you have to move the paddles so far to initiate a shift, again, compared to BMW M-DCT. I find that transmission to be WORLDS better in terms of responsiveness, but part of that is simply that the paddles have a very short and much more positive feel.

seapar

Wonder if the improved PDK on the 991 addresses this?

Betternotbigger

I've been up early to do some more "research". I'm still hampered by the need to keep the revs down as I run the engine in but it appears at least on this morning's evidence that if I floor the throttle and send the rev counter spinning clockwise then the shifts initiate with minimal delay but, if the relative change in rpm is slight, then there is a hesitation after the paddle pull. So the paddle response seems to follow one of a) the throttle pressure or b) the relative rate of change in revs.

I carried out these "tests" in Sport Plus mode, and quite a challenge it is to keep the revs below 4000!! Next time I'll experiment in Auto and Sport. But the variation appears to be all part of the adaptive nature of PDK as a couple of you have suggested. Nevertheless, it beats me why, in Sport or Sport Plus, I would EVER want a delay even if tooling gently around.

Anyway, I know how I'll be driving in future if today's inferences turn out to be well-founded...

wwest

The firmware controlling the line pressure level in real time tries to distincquish between "cruise" mode and acceleration mode. If you have the gas pedal fully depressed, or even close thereby, it will expect a shift being required fairly soon, quickly. The most common problem results from how you "lift" the gas pedal. Lift it quickly and the firmware will/might assume you wish to use the engine for coastdown braking. On the other hand, lift it slow/ly, gently, and it will/might assume you wish to enter, continue, cruising mode and will upshift accordingly.

Now throw in the use of the new technique to conserve fuel, FULL engine fuel cut during coastdown periods (sequential, repetitive, downshifting to sustain a fuel starved engine above stall) and you can/may end up have a (seemingly) very confused PDK firmware control.

mambodoc

I haven't installed the paddles yet, though I sense a slight delay with the buttons.

CrazyMD

I've been reading these forums for quite some time in anticipation of the time that I would purchase a new 911 Turbo. I found the car I was looking for and the vehicle turned out to be very sentimental to me. If you read the following article you will understand why:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2...-life/1811295/

After taking delivery of the car, I found the PDK paddleshift system to be reverse of whats normal for me and difficult to drive. So I started looking on the internet for options.

I came upon the Techart PDK paddle's. After calling Techart and talking with someone named Florian, he sold me on the $900 upgrade kit.

I received my kit and on sunday began the installation. Midway during the install (After my steering wheel is off the car and taken apart) I noticed that the plastic paddles have internal cracks in them. I should have stopped at this point seeing the poor quality of the kit. I put a little superglue on the inside of the paddle's and continued with the install.

For $900, the kit consists of 4 pieces of plastic...maybe valued at $5, manufactured and molded in china. 2 pieces are the paddles and 2 plastic pieces cover the front of the steering wheel where the PDK push button used to be. After everything was complete, I had the steering wheel back on the car, I completed the last step which was snapping the 2 PDK button covers in place. Not to my surprise, the fit and quality of the buttons was very poor. They do not fit into place correctly, it seems that the molding is a bit off. Infact when I pull the left paddle, the plastic cover moves quite a bit. Definitely not right.

So I immediately email Techart indicating that the installation went well, however one of the plastic covers molding doesnt seem to fit right and I'd like to swap that out for another one that would possibly fit better. The response I get from this moron is to disassemble the entire kit, return it to them and they will give me another kit. I tell him that it took 3 hours to install the kit. Why would I take everything off when all you need to do is exchange out a $1 plastic cover piece for me which is the last step in the instructions. Again I received the same idiotic response including that I should have had them professionally installed. I responded that had I paid a shop to do the install and you tell me to take everything apart to swap out a small piece they would be responsible for all my costs incurred. I could tell that dealing with this company is not worth anymore of my time.

So the bottom line, if you are looking at upgrading your PDK paddles I would recommend AVOIDING using Techart. Their quality control is horrible, their parts do not fit right, and their customer service is worse than the crappy chinese manufacturing used to make their parts.

I called American express today, opened a dispute on the charge. I'll be posting some pictures and a youtube video of the poor quality of their product. I'll be taking the entire kit off my car and putting it back to stock or just buying the Factory Porsche S steering wheel that has the paddles built in.

mdrums

CrazyMD, I think you've posted your issue in just about ever forum..I can tell you're pissed.

Anyway, that that Tech Art junk off and order a Porsche steering wheel with the paddles. This is the best way to go for zero issues, stock look and better quality.

Principissimo

Found this topic after having driven my old Lambo in the weekend.
I was away for the weekend with my friend that owns my old Lambo and he wanted to drive the Turbo S and so I drove my old car for a while.
Now the biggest difference with the two cars is that if you want to drive fast with the Lambo you must use paddles, with 997 you can even use auto mode. So I drove the Lambo using paddles. When I went back in my 997 I tried paddles (that I rarely use to be honest) and found out this delay. It is I'd say a half second delay from the moment you push the paddle to the moment the gear is engaged: but you can clearly feel it. In the Lambo there is no delay at all.

sandwedge

Agreed and I always use the gear lever instead of the paddles for this reason since those shifts are much quicker. Given that it's just two different ways of sending signals to the transmission it seems like the delay is due to the long travel of the paddles. What should be a quick little "click" action instead feels like a prolonged 1" pull towards the wheel to make things happen.

Principissimo

This weekend I went to the mountains where you can have fun with your car. It was the perfect occasion to test the delay paddle/gear.
As somebody posted this delay is due to the electronic of the car. When I tried it last time I was on sport mode but driving not in a sporty way. Yesterday, always in sport mode but driving in a sporty way, paddles/gear were responding perfectly and without any delay.
So this delay is due to the chip controlling the system: if you are driving in a normal way there will be a smooth gear change with the delay but if you drive fast no delay at all.

Principissimo

Here she is after some sport