MikeJim

Was under my 2006 997S this week to change transfer case fluid and noticed that the fill holes did not match the Porsche handbook illustration.

Upon further inspection, I found stamped in two different places on the transmission "MADE IN JAPAN." My Porsche dealer says this is not unusual.

Others tell me it's VERY unusual to find a Japanese tranny in a German car.

Who's right?

Mike in CA

Aisin Sekei, a Japanese transmission manufacturer, supplies Porsche with a 6 speed 911 transmission. It's not at all unusual.

utkinpol

997.1 and 997.2 all street cars got Aisin boxes to which people in GT3 cars refer as 'junk'. but imho 997 gt3 boxes are also Aisin. i am not 100% sure.

yep, where is a lot of stuff like that, when i got my car i was not really aware of WHAT makes GT3 so damn expensive. but every single thing does matter and almost everything in GT3 car is well worth its money

here is a link btw that shows all those gearboxes. i am not sure why it shows gt3 ones as Aisin, imho they were all german, in GT3 and GT3 RS. May be gears itself are cut by Aisin but assembly is German. Go figure. Still GT3 tranny is way better gearbox than Aisin-made one.

http://www.gboxweb.com/997specs.html

alexb76

Have you ever thought of getting a GT3 as dual purpose car? Is it do-able?

I simply cannot afford two 911s, and with all the debucle of 991, am considering GT3 as a viable next upgrade, BUT, I am not sure how streetable it is. I've been in a couple at the track, but that doesn't show how comfortable on the streets they are. Was thinking of 997 GT3 (.1 or .2) without rollbar, adding rear seats, and making it street/track car, and I hope the sum of its parts would be a more reliable dual car than a base 997.

utkinpol

not for me, i need rear seats for my kids, i will never retrofit seats into 997 gt3 car as it will become uninsurable and god forbid you get an accident with somebody injured in that retrofitted seat... i would rather buy old 996 gt3 and strip it down into track car instead.

best option for street right now is GTS car but there again you will get aisin box and lack of gt3 suspension bits.
more i know less i beleive a 'dual purpose' car is a good idea. all good track cars are getting mix of cup and gt3 parts and become extremely street unfriendly, racing parts do not last long on a street especially if you drive during winter, so, well, if I would be replacing 997.1 now it would be a GTS car with 6 lugs wheels and SPASM option.

i was searching for such car last winter and gave up as i found none. as of buying new one - i cannot force myself to do that and honestly not sure if i really want a new car. for me right now for street this 997.1 is more than fine. for track it is also pretty much ok as it is now, so, why to bother? it outruns stock gt3 rs cars and ha tons of grip. engine is **** but i can replace it for less than upgrade into gts ot gt3 would cost. so, it will stay for now.

a lot of folks drive GT3 cars as DD cars and seem to be OK. So if you do not need rear seats i cannot see any problem with stock 997.1 or 997.2 GT3 car as dual purpose car.
but if you need all 4 seats - you are out of luck. some drive kids on a front seat in booster in a 997 car but i am not sure if it is a smart/good idea.

alexb76

Makes sense... what mods have you done to your car now? I remember GT3 front LCA, and I guess what's in your sig, right? Does plenum help?

Btw, on the link you sent, ALL 997 transmissions are made by Aisin, excluding the GT3 Cup!

axhoaxho

I had a 2007 Carrera S, and now have 2010 GT3.

I believe the gearbox in my GT3 is made by Getrag, and the one in my Carrera S is by Aisin.

Regards,

(P.S. With a quick search, this is from a Car & Driver article...

"...The stiff clutch and the high-effort shifter provide further confirmation of the GT3’s dedicated nature when you slip the transmission into first gear. The high shift effort comes in part from the short-throw linkage, which reduces by half the distance the shifter moves between gears. It also reflects that the GT3 uses a race-derived Getrag transmission with heavy-duty steel synchronizers, much shorter gearing, a dedicated oil cooling system, and interchangeable ratios, rather than the Aisin transmission used in other 911s...")

utkinpol

you mean what haven`t i done yet?

i did not do much to drivetrain, it is M96 3.6L motor with softronic tune, 200cell fabspeed x-pipe, plenum, and GT Gears TBD in the gearbox. newly replaced stock flywheel, new clutch, new AOS, new RMS, new... something else down there, i did it all last season when I killed old clutch finally.
on mustang dyno it shows 290hp at wheels, powerband is very linear and pulls very well. in regular terms it is probably somewhere around 340-345hp at crank.

in suspension what is left stock now are front uprights , wheel bearings/hubs and stock brake calipers. all the rest is gone, all arms are racing parts made by ERP - all steel monoballs, front/rear LCAs are from 996 GT3, JRZ RS coilovers, gt3 upper strut mounts with monoballs, semi solid engine mounts, gt3 master brake cylinder, not sure what else.

all in all it is a lot of fun to mess up with this car. gt3 would be less fun as it already got most of stuff got right, i could move coilovers into any 997 gt3 car and most of ERP arms too, but, well, all you get in the end is 100hp more.
i chased 997.1 gt3 car at last event at limerock, only place it could run away from me was on the long straight and i was back on its tail after 3rd turn, so it does not bother me overly too much.

if i would get a GTS i would have same power level with gt3 and it would be nice, but, GTS are still priced very high at same level with 997.1 gt3 car and i cannot justify to myself getting one at this price. if they will get down to 60-65K - then may be. will see.
i would rather spend this $45-$50K of current price diff between my car and GTS on building dedicated track car, that would make more practical sense. will see.

Fahrer

Audi and VW widely use Aisin transmissions for their tiptronic models. Several years ago one had to pay extra to get an Aisin automatic in a Cadillac.

Fred2

I usually Google subject items here to get my Porsche learning up to speed.

I learned too much today

Aerokitted

I think the surprised ones aren't in the commerce business.

The food on your dinner table may well have traveled as far as your German car.

I learned about the pos German LSD Porsche shoves into the rear of the gt3s. Remediation bill: $2500.

ADias

996s and current GT3 have Getrags or perhaps some GT3s have ZF. The 997.2 PDK is ZF. The word is that the 991 7sp and PDK are Aisin.

Mike in CA

Easy enough to check. Any 991 owners want to crawl under their cars and see whether they find "Made in Japan" or "Made in Germany" on their gearboxes?

Edgy01

If you simply looked at your window sticker (Monroney sticker) it would show the transmission source to be Japan. As a long time Porsche driver and owner I have no problem with Porsche AG sourcing a transmission from Japan, much like I have no problem with them sourcing their rear suspension castings from Austria, etc.

Cars, today, are built from parts produced by the best vendor for the money. The Aisin transmission is robust and would never have been put in a Carrera by Porsche if they felt that it was not up to the task.

Rather than crawl beneath a new 991, just look at the sticker in the window to determine major component source information.

Mike in CA

Better idea...