Drove out to a fave back road early this AM before roads got too crowded. Today's mission - engage Sport Plus mode!

Newb question. Bear with me if it's simplistic or been touched upon in previous threads.
Is it OK to flip between Sport & Sport Plus mode while the car is moving?

997.2S, PDK if it makes a diff. Thus far, I wait until I come to a stop, then switch modes.

Wow! Sport Plus button is an invitation to a speeding ticket. But, it was like driving a whole diff car. I can see that I'm going to have to continue practicing with manual mode and paddle/button shifters top get the max out of Sport Plus Mode.

Thanks in advance...T

 

Switch anytime.

 

Thanks, Lex! I thought so, but wanted to confirm. Happy Fourth to you and yours...T

 

It's a long sweep down with your eyes to those buttons. Learn to reference your hand to the center console, move forward, and feel the buttons to switch them blind. This avoids lane drift, for me at least!

Listen to the motor and feel the power band. Shifting is very natural. Just pretend you're actually using your left foot as you shift.

Downshifts in the middle of a curve will not unbalance the car (amazingly)!

Power and revs come on fast. Avoid bouncing off the rev limiter as you are passing.

And most importantly, enjoy!

 

Thanks, Wayne! I am enjoying. I'm not very good, but I am enjoying learning. I came to driving later in life & only have driven automatics until now. So, I really am starting at the very basics in PDK. I have tried to counter my tendency to look down, while shifting - sort of like learning to touch type! In my earliest experiments, I have chosen the loneliest, straightest roads to give myself less things to focus on. I wish my steering wheel was right/up & left/down, so may one may want to upgrade to a sport design wheel...T

 

I actually like sport mode the best. Sport plus and pasm are great for the race track.
Sport mode allows you to modulate the throttle easier.
Remember sport plus waters down the stability and traction control.
Also buy a paddle wheel as soon your can, worlds different. Buttons are horrible.

 

Switch any time, but I think throttle changes are delayed until you momentarily lift off the throttle... like a second or so.

 

Thank you. That I did not know. I agree on the buttons. It seems a bit counterintuitive. Initially, I was pushing on the top of the button for + and pushing on the bottom for - as the hieroglyphics on the buttons were not obvious to me...T

 

I like the buttons. I keep my hands at 9 and 3. The buttons are there for the base of either thumb or my index finger to operate. I can shift either up or down with either hand. If I had a car with paddle shifters I would update my wheel for consistency. But I don't.

 

Thanks everyone for advice & encouragement. Does everyone keep their hands at 9 & 3 then use their fingers to manipulate the buttons? I'm a 10&2 kind of guy, but my stubby fingers can't reach the buttons that way without removing a hand from the wheel.

Another newbie question - do folks try to use only one button (say right) for up shift, down for left button? Or, just use one button for both up & down?

If anyone wants to shoot a cell phone pic of their hand position on the wheel, I'd be refer so grateful!

T

 

On a track you can let the PDK do it's thing. It has a mind of it's own in a good way and is lightning fast. Full throttle out of a corner into a long straight away from 50-100+ you can hear the tranny make some wonderful sounds as it lightning shifts through the gears. It's a different pleasure from rowing your own gears but pretty neat to experience.

 

True ... Auto or manual work very well.

My purpose for manual operation is to be more involved (I would have a manual if I still had feeling in my left leg!), to better feel the transitions in power at my command, and (since I prefer to loosen up the nannies via Sport Plus as well as tighten the suspension) to allow shifting on the street at somewhere less than red line.

Before air bags (in the days of pitman arm steering) hands at 10 and 2 made sense for hand over hand operation. Air bags (should have) made us shift to 8 and 4 with shuffle steering. The 911 steering ratio allows 9 and 3 without (virtually) ever having to release the wheel. OK, there is one right turn on the 1 when heading south of Stinson Beach that requires more rotation than I can get unless I kick the tail out.

Some may argue that this method of not releasing the wheel when rotating over the top will break an arm and smash your face if the air bag goes off. I'll live with this hazard.

I wrote improperly this morning when I said index finger. I use the heel of my thumb to up shift and my ring finger to downshift. This allows me to keep my thumbs clear of the spokes (that is something my mother taught me and it has kept my thumbs attached more than once when off road racing) while maintaining a very loose grip on the wheel.

I shift with only my left hand. It keeps my right hand available for center console controls or for when my wife is with me. Whatever you find works for you ... It's all good!

 

Do yourself a favor experiance the paddles
https://www.suncoastparts.com/category/9972s_pdkst.html
It is way more natural (linked to suncoast paddle wheels) ebay your old wheel. Install is quick and at the track or sporty driving hands can be in proper position without issues hitting buttons etc by mstake in corner.


Also wayne, you are right what you are doing is not correct for hand position. (can result in Jalopnik!)

 

Yep, good to shift anytime as all of the others have stated. I'm also fine with the existing shifter embedded in the wheel EXCEPT for having to learn not to accidentally press the upshift with the heel of my hand in the heat of the moment of an autocross. I've had more traditional paddles on BMWs as well so I'm familiar with both. It did take a while for the shift direction to become natural though, but stick with it and do it while just driving around for additional practice and before long it your brain just does it right.

Here are a couple of interesting excerpts from a technical book I have on the 997.2 with respect to the PDK's behavior in Sport Plus. Note that in Sport you can also get behavior very similar to Sport Plus if you are driving very aggressively (since Sport mode is adaptive and even Normal mode to some degree), however, Sport Plus firmly locks in the most aggressive mapping.

 

I definitely want to do the paddle wheel swap, but do intend to keep the original wheel so I can revert the car to 'all original.'

Does anyone know how the alcantara wheels hold up versus leather?