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PDK Buttons To Paddles

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Old 05-02-2012, 01:35 PM
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RonnieTheC
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Default PDK Buttons To Paddles

I once read that on a new 2012 997.2 with PDK, the steering wheel with buttons can be swaped out for one with paddles. I called my local dealership and spoke to the service manager inquiring as to the cost, and he said he has never heard of this being done. Any comments?
Old 05-02-2012, 02:18 PM
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jes999
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Wheel is available from Suncoast (and others).

PDK Paddle Wheel
Old 05-02-2012, 03:36 PM
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scycle2020
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Originally Posted by RonnieTheC
I once read that on a new 2012 997.2 with PDK, the steering wheel with buttons can be swaped out for one with paddles. I called my local dealership and spoke to the service manager inquiring as to the cost, and he said he has never heard of this being done. Any comments?
The service manager should be better informed. The two dealerships I know locally have both done the conversion on several cars.
Old 05-02-2012, 04:28 PM
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Mike in CA
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Originally Posted by scycle2020
The service manager should be better informed. The two dealerships I know locally have both done the conversion on several cars.
+1, and I've personally had my original button wheel swapped for the paddles. A great upgrade, BTW.
Old 05-02-2012, 05:16 PM
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PJorgen
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It's an easy DIY, 20-30 mins top. New wheel is about $900.
Old 05-02-2012, 05:20 PM
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w00tPORSCHE
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Wow .. I can't believe that you got that answer. I swapped mine 6 months ago at Barrier Porsche. Parts where ordered through Sunset Porsche.
Old 05-02-2012, 06:51 PM
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Mumbles
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You lose the heat aspect when you change to the paddle steering wheel
Old 05-02-2012, 07:14 PM
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Mike in CA
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Originally Posted by Mumbles
You lose the heat aspect when you change to the paddle steering wheel
You lose everything as no other convenience features are available on the paddle shift wheel but it would be worth it to me (I didn't have any of that stuff on my original wheel in the first place anyway).
Old 05-02-2012, 08:07 PM
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Alan C.
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You lose everything as no other convenience features are available on the paddle shift wheel but it would be worth it to me (I didn't have any of that stuff on my original wheel in the first place anyway)
You can get a conversion kit from Sharkwerks that includes a set of paddles that are connected to your stock wheel. It will work on a multi function wheel, I checked. I believe it is made by Techart. You need to do some wire swapping on your wheel. I looked at the directions and it isn't too complicated.

Priced at $900 so the price is about the same as adding a paddle wheel. I am seriously considering this route as opposed to a new paddle wheel. I like the color of the multi wheel a bit better. As for the functions the only thing I use is answering and hanging up the phone

Here's a link:

http://www.sharkwerks.com/products.php?pid=274
Old 01-29-2013, 11:41 PM
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CrazyMD
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Just would like to say that the President of Techart called me. I explained the problem to him and he immediately had me come in to exchange the piece. I installed the cover and fits perfectly. He offered to replace the paddles as well however I didnt mind as they were already installed, cracks were inside the paddles, and I think the superglue will hold just fine.

I appreciate his time in resolving this issue. Now I get my multifunction steering wheel with paddles! If anyone needs help with the install let me know!

Last edited by CrazyMD; 01-31-2013 at 04:54 PM.
Old 01-29-2013, 11:52 PM
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Mike in CA
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Originally Posted by 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.
Sorry for your troubles. The factory paddle shift wheel is the way to go, and an easy swap....



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