Who sells aftermarket PDK software?

 

I purchased a 2009 997.2 PDK without SC. As others stated, Porsche should never have sold a PDK equipped car without it. It was like driving an old Buick in the way it shifted. After much misinformation ( being told by a dealer that I had to have PASM to install the Porsche upgrade), finally got it done by my local dealer. A bit pricey, but probably the single best upgrade you can do, and it's a factory approved upgrade too.

Changes the entire car when I push the "Sport" button.

Just do it!

Larry

 

Thank you all. It makes me feel good that I am not crazy. Will call the dealer tomorrow. It looks like it's about $1100 to get a sport button.

 

sport button.... jeez get the sport plus button even shifts faster than the sport!

my 2010 C4s Sport chrono plus option car shifts super quick...like faster than my friends lambo Gallardo quick

 

Small price to pay given how it'll transform your car. You should get both a sport and a sport plus button btw. I'm in sport plus manual 90% of the time. Never in the miserable normal mode where you're forced to spend 100% of your time now.

 

I know this is an older post, but how do you non S, non Chrono folks feel about the PDK backing up and low speed behavior?

I don't think that the PDK is much slower, however it can feel a bit boggy when switching from auto to manual mode, it seems to like the taller gears for fuel efficiency, then you have to switch down a bit.

 

It should shift faster as the Gallardo has a single clutch automated manual whereas the PDK is dual clutch.

IMO, in sport plus, my car shifts nearly as fast as my Alfa Romeo 4C. However, it is not quite as fast to shift as my VW MK7 GTI DSG which, believe it or not, is one of the fastest shifting cars I have been in. The 997.2 shifts much faster than our Aston Martin Vantage and Lamborghini Gallardo, both of which have automated single clutch manuals.

I drive in sports plus manual every time I am in it unless I need 7th gear in which case I switch it down to sport. They should have made it where you can manually shift into 7th while in sports plus. Oh well.

 

EMC2's observations are spot-on with mine. When I had the PDK oil serviced they also updated the software resulting in the changes EMC2 describes. My only disappointment is in Sport Plus the notable kick I had before has become notably more tame, but I guess that works well when I'm autocrossing since you don't want hard kicks upsetting your car in one of the turns you are almost always in.

I only ever use Normal mode when starting out to keep RPMs low. Once the engine is warm I'm always in Sport (or Sport Plus when manually shifting). I would certainly be unhappy if I were always locked in Normal mode. Sport Chrono is a must in PDK cars in my opinion. I don't notice any significant slowness in the sport modes... maybe just the smallest hint.

As ADias points out, the shifting is certainly adaptive and maybe even more so now after the software update. The behavior in automatic mode with Sport varies dramatically for me based on how I am driving at the time, so the adaptation seems to consider a fairly short term window.

 

So with PDK in sport mode doesn't that also affect the suspension and throttle mapping? Is there a way to get snappy shifting without harsher ride? I'm asking because I'm trying to decide between a 6 sp and a PDK car. Thx

 

From the '09 owner's manual -
Sport Mode

A sportier car set-up is obtained when Sport mode
is switched on. Interventions by the Porsche
control systems are intentionally shifted towards
greater agility and driving performance:

– PASM (Porsche Active Suspension Management)
is automatically changed to Sport mode,
resulting in a stiffer suspension setup.

– When Sport mode is active, the PDK transmission
switches to a sporty gear-changing map
and shortens the gear shifting times. Gear
changes take place faster, but fuel consumption
is also increased.
PSM (Porsche Stability Management) control
gives a sportier road-feel to the vehicle. PSM
interventions take place later than in Normal
mode. The driver can maneuver the vehicle
with greater agility at its performance limits,
without having to dispense with the assistance
of PSM in emergency situations. This helps to
achieve optimal lap times, particularly on race
circuits with a dry road surface.

– The electronic accelerator pedal reacts
sooner, and the engine is more responsive to
throttle inputs. When Sport mode is switched
on, this function is activated only after the
driver has floored the accelerator pedal or
released it briefly.

– The rpm limiter characteristic is “harder”, i.e.
the engine is immediately throttled when the
performance limits are reached (only in manual
selection mode for vehicles with PDK transmission).
f Please observe the chapters on PSM, PASM
and PDK.

A very detailed explanation of what is going is discussed in the Technical Bulliten:

Service Information
2009 Technik Introduction
All 911 Carrera Models
®
can be downloaded here: http://www.planet-9.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=289

 

I find that even when not in Sport, if I get more agressive with the accelerator, the car changes behavior quickly and will stay in an "elevated" mode for a while. That said, I do mostly enjoy Sport mode.

 

And a short version of an answer to this question: Yes, you can have Sport shifting without the harsher ride.

When you press Sport or Sport Plus the car automatically enables the firmer PASM mode (if you have PASM). You'll see both lights come on. Many of us immediately deselect the firmer PASM setting as soon as we hit either of the Sport buttons; in most cases anyway. You want pretty smooth pavement for PASM's firm mode. The buttons are just an inch apart so it is easy.

 

I think this really depends on the year of both cars. My 2012 LP car shifts in 105ms-120ms in Corsa .105 to .12 seconds. I've read PDK numbers ranging from 40ms to 200ms .04 to .20 seconds. The earlier versions of E-Gear where much slower.

I'm actually not sure when the PDK got faster or if it was accomplished solely through software upgrades available for all cars. My P Car is a 6MT so I'm not too familiar with the PDK other then having driven a few.

PDK is a far superior technology to the Lamborghini E-Gear but I'd miss the theater of throwing shifts in the Lambo. Nothing like that brutal Corsa gear change at near 9,000 RPM.

 

From what I've read (others can correct me if I'm wrong), only Sport Plus mode stiffens the suspension, so you should be kosher in the snappier Sport Mode. Also note that Sport Plus is only available with PDK and not the manual.

 

That's brilliant and makes perfect sense. Now I just need to drive one for myself. I've driven a couple of 6 speeds and liked them. But I really want to drive a PDK. It sounds fun.


Thanks Storm and Steve for your replies.