fast1

PDK also lets novice drivers speed effortlessly, whereas a manual requires a teeny bit of skill and effort.

I agree that it takes a "teeny bit of skill and effort" to drive a MT on a street, but it takes a lot of skill to drive a MT quickly on a track. Even mastering heel/toe is challenging to some drivers.
Bottom line is that MT is dying a slow death. As a matter of fact even driving is dying a slow death. Most high end cars are currently semi-automatic, and it won't be that long before they are fully automatic. The dominant argument for PDK over MT is that a PDK car is quicker. A fully automated car will be much quicker than one that requires human intervention, but I won't get a lot of pleasure taking trips in that automated car.

Dennis C

This thread is the gift that keeps on giving!

As I said in my previous post in this thread, I've always been a fan of the manual gearbox. That said, I have become quite a fan of the PDK gearbox too. The thing that is interesting in this thread is the number of comments about PDK being fully automated and therefore requiring no skill whatsoever from the driver. With PDK, anybody can drive like a pro. First of all, PDK is fully automatic if you want it to be, but it's fully manual if you want it to be. It doesn't have a third pedal, but the driver can still decide how and when to upshift or downshift. Secondly, there's more to driving a car than shifting gears. Shifting gears is only one part of the driving experience, and only part of the skill required to drive fast. Like many here, I worked on my heel/toe technique for many years and I love a properly executed heel/toe downshift. I get it. What I don't get is the apparent hatred by some people for the PDK gearbox. I guess that's the beauty of the 911 line. There's still a choice (unless you buy a turbo!).

Happy New Year everyone.

PS - I'm not an old, fat guy with bad knees.

MaddMike

I currently have one of each in the garage. For track driving, the PDK all the way, for enjoyment, the manual. I can only keep one so the manual will be for sale but I know I will miss it. Thankfully, my motorcycle is a manual so I still get that fun.

Dennis C

I was actually talking with my wife about this yesterday. She believes that I will miss the manual transmission. My proposed remedy is to keep the 991 with PDK, and to add an older, air-cooled 911 to the garage with a manual gearbox.

That's the ticket....

Iceter

Seriously! I've driven one and while I take pride in knowing how to do it, I prefer not having to adjust my own ignition timing as I drive, or having to back up a steep hill because the carb is gravity-fed.

I enjoy driving a manual transmission, and I like that I'm now one of the few drivers out there that can do it. But, in my daily driver, the satisfaction of self-shifting doesn't outweigh the many benefits of the PDK, IMHO. Other people will disagree, and that's perfectly ok.

One thing I will do, is teach all three of my kids to drive a manual transmission and I am strongly leaning towards making their first cars manuals. This serves multiple purposes. The first is that it will prevent them from loaning their cars to other people since so few young drivers know how to drive a stick. Second, it has become a theft deterrent, for the same reason. Third, both hands will be occupied by the act of driving. Idle teenage hands are too often filled with phones.

Dennis C

Great points on teaching the kids to drive a manual. The problem is that they are hard to find, from any manufacturer. I bought Subarus with manual transmissions for both of my sons, and they still drive them today. Both of them prefer a manual to an automatic.

the_buch

Smart

Para82

I've been considering this route myself as I know PDK is superior on the track and would sort of like to have the best of both. I've got a Ford GT350 6 speed manual mated to a 526 hp Flat Plane Crank V8 so I feel like I get could still get my manual fix on the street. It's not an easy decision both the PDK and manual 997 gearbox are fantastic.

Mumbles

What put me off stick shift was test driving used cars as a lot had a severe wicked clutch that needed a leg like Popeye to work it. PDK is a great tool that my spouse can also use.

DC911S

Calf raises and other exercises can make that puny leg get into shape. Most people in here never got to drive big block muscle cars with a all mechanical clutch and some really strong clutch return springs. A Porsche hydraulic clutch is girly compared to that.

Mumbles

Sure Arnold

rbennett

Have you ever clutched a 930 Porsche before? solid link from pedal to clutch arm.

DC911S

No growing up in WV I only saw Porsches in magazines. But we had big block Fords, chevys, and mopars that had all mechanical clutches with super strong return springs and pressure plates. If a person gets a tired leg from a hydraulic clutch then it's best they stick to PDK so they don't cramp up.

Kurzheck

My '05 C2 is 6MT and I love it that way. There is something about a dying skill that makes the driving of a car like a 911 that much more satisfying. I work out of my home with no daily commute, so I know if I had to drive everyday to an office, it would become taxing, so take what I say FWIW.


I just recently drove a 991 Turbo S and could not believe how good the PDK was. In a car of that power, I would want PDK, no question. It would be intimidating to drive a car like a 991 911R that has manual, but I'm sure I could get used to it. But man, you better know what you are doing.

Para82

Good points - have you tried 997.2 PDK? Curious how the older PDK units compare with the newer ones.