As I get used to my 06 997 S, I find I strongly prefer the mapping of the Tip in sport mode over normal mode. It takes it within inches of the PDK...not all the way but very very close. Other experiences or thoughts on this?

Any reported issues with prolonged or permanent use of sport mode on the transmission?

I leave the suspension in LA setting which means "off road soft".

 

My 997.1 TT stays in Sport mode with the shocks back to "Normal"

 

no, it doesn't

 

I had an 08 tip Carrera S with sport mode. It was very good, but not close to the PDK with sport mode, big difference based on my experience.

{ I have a 2012 C4s cab(997) now}

 

John, I am not sure what you mean by "within inches of the PDK".

If you mean 0-60 performance, you would be wrong. The increase in performance is a hallmark reason for the existence of the PDK.

If you mean how the trans feels when the gears change, you would be wrong too.

If you mean how both can be used in fully automatic mode with the gear lever placed in drive, and how both can be shifted with paddles/buttons, OK.

As has been noted in your thread in the 996 forum, they are two very different transmissions.

I think you are perhaps just trying to start a conversation, and your way of doing that seems to be to throw out a strange statement that will elicit responses.
But your premises often seem to be out of whack and it makes us all wonder if you are obtuse, insecure, or just a pot-stirrer.

 

Wouldn't you really rather have a Buick?

This one's pretty sick:

 

I really get sick of the tip bashing around here.

To the OP, yes, the tip is way more fun in Sport Mode, no doubt. I look at the non-sport mode as gas-saving mode, and Sport as Normal Mode.

Regarding this Mercedes-built transmission's reliability, two Indie mechanics told me it's an anvil and to thrash away at it. It's known for reliability.

I can't afford a PDK-equipped car, so I can't confirm or deny your comparison.

 

The tip isn't bad for an automatic transmission...as for people bashing them, the vast majority of Porsches sold in the last decade were automatics, so the bashers are in denial and/or completely wrong about "real" sports cars ONLY having manual transmissions.

Some of the special edition GM cars with especially high output were only available in automatics - for some of the powertrains, there weren't any OEM clutches that could reliably handle the power.

 

Okay here is where I'm coming from. The PDK is an automated transmission. The Tip is an automatic transmission.

The PDK is relatively new and loaded with electronic technology and monitoring systems. This complexity creates potential problems in getting the transmissions serviced in a timely manner, and it also leads to false service warnings.

The Tiptronic is a 25 year evolution that peaks at the end of its being used by Porsche. It is much easier to service and does not suffer from the complexity of the PDK. In fact its sturdiness is well documented.

The VW DSG and the Porsche PDK are minor variations on the same theme. My long term use with a VW DSG showed many of the same experiences that reports here give on the PDK version. Nice rev matching on down shift, crisp upshifts, does it faster than a human being with a manual transmission.

The tiptronic does not have rev matching, and the up shifts in nomal drive are not particularly crisp but more those of a traditional automatic transmission. However in dropping down a gear for simple passing purposes...5th to 4th or 4th to 3rd, the lack of rev matching was not an issue since the changes in rpm are in the 500 to 600 range. For me, in this example, that puts the Tiptronic within inches of the PDK/DSG.

Sport Mode. Pulling away from a red light in this mode showed similar throttle and gear mapping in both transmissions. Crispness off the line again goes to the PDK/DSG...but when chosing to upshift manually I found them close enough...again...to put the Tip within inches. However that gap widens when letting the sport mode run to its rpm set upshift points...and the PDK/DSG does a cleaner job.

Under threshold braking in manual and sport mode, the rpms in both transmissions are dropping so fast that rev matching is not as big an issue. The braking is taking out the lack of rev matching in the Tip. So I again find them inches apart...a shame they didn't add rev matching to the tip as it might have been a tie.

In fully automatic/automated drive mode, slogging along through city traffic, again there wasn't a big enough difference to make me oohhhh and aahhhh about PDK vs Tip. Again, inches apart.

Put me on a race track and I would certainly opt for the PDK/DSG. I think the prolonged heat of race use would be harder on the Tip. Put me on a road trip cross country and I would probably chose the Tip just to avoid potential warning light anxieties.

I find I'm using the same techniques in my Tip that I did in my DSG. Sport mode with manual upshifts at similar rpms used in my manual transmission 996.

For me, a late generation Tip in a 997 S gives me excellent performance and it also fit my budget. And I'm not missing the manual transmission.

 

I don't know John , " warning light anxieties"? With the PDK? I don't know anybody that has issues with their PDK , other than the few in this forum.

IMS and RMS doesn't give you any anxiety, because it did with my 08 when I was driving it.

 

John, maybe you see inches worth of difference.
Most people see way more than that.
The two transmissions are vastly different.
In a sense they are actually more different from each other than the manual is different from the Tip.
The manual and Tip are mainly different from each other in the way the "clutch" is actuated (manual vs torque converter) and how the gears are moved in the trans case (manually vs electro-hydraulically) .
The PDK is different in that it is two concentricly arranged gearsets and clutches. It is so quick because the next gear is already selected on the 2nd gearset and that gearset can be connected to the drivetrain instantly.
A shift with a manual or conventional automatic requires a de-clutching, gear set movement in the case, and re-clutching.
Because they work differently they feel much different.
Sure, the average non-enthusiast driver may not notice much difference.
But anyone on this forum should be able to tell the difference within a couple of shifts, and the more you drive the PDK the more you can discern how the difference manifests itself.

 

Ive been away from here for a while, but let me just say - I can't believe this is still being discussed. Very different transmissions, very different driving experiences.

 

I prefer brown eyes

 

wondering why its not available for 996 tip but is for 997? surely its v close to the same box or software ?

996 tip is sluggish and pedestrian, had my time again id go 997 PDK

 

Eh nevermind.