I already placed an deposit for the mk2 GT3, just thinking to have a 6-speed manual or a 7 speed PDK gearbox.

What's your thoughts?

Any inputs would be great, thank you.

 

test drive one with PDK.

 

Did your dealer advise the GT3 will include the PDK option? Know my dealer is still awaiting confirmation from Porsche for PDK, and that includes accepting GT3 orders for a build date.

BTW, to answer your PDK question - after driving a Carrera with PDK, I became a believer.

 

PDK too heavy for GT3 (adds something like 80 lbs). Currently it's a replacement for Tip, not stick. I'll wager it won't be available for 997.2 GT3.

On the Carrera it works brilliantly but like all paddle systems it removes too much driver involvement. I'm not ready to give up the thrill of heel-toe downshifts. Good for driving in heavy traffic, though. And probably good on the track if it wasn't so portly.

 

If you love to shift, love that thrill of usually getting your HT shifts superbly and occasionally getting them with +/- 15 rpm, then I feel you should stick with a stick. However, if you will track the car regularly, are more concerned with lap times than the old-fashioned thrill of rowing your own (and I can't stress enough how much I love rowing my own...), then I would seriously consider trying a PDK in a 997.2 with SCP and the Sport Plus mode activated before finalizing your GT3 order.

PDK adds 66 pounds, not 80~ nor the 88 that Tip did. Yes, it's a true penalty, but I am willing to wager that almost any driver would be faster around their favorite track with PDK thanks to the quicker shifts, on-power shifts, and added ability to focus on braking points, etc. I *hate* extra weight, but light seats, a lack of sunroof, and PCCBs would more than cancel the weight penalty of PDK in terms of on-track performance. And, with the exception of the seats, save weight in better places to save it.

I dunno, but after a second track day with PDK, I am no longer seeing PDK as a replacement for Tip, and (again) I am a manual die-hard, having searched long and hard for a loaded 2007 GTI with a 6-speed manual, not DSG. And I'd still buy a manual GT3 if I wasn't going to track it. Like SpeedGeek, I just love the interaction of shifting and HT. It's the one joy ol' Uncle Sam can't take away.

BUT, if I was truly going to try to get better on track and do the seat time necessary to get there, I am more and more thinking I'd go PDK if it were available. Or 997S PDK/SCP/SPASM if it were not. How's THAT for nuts? I know, I know... I'd never have thunk it, either.

pete

 

Too heavy? So what is the solution for the GT3? Something like the F1 gearbox?

I am afriad even the C2S/4S with PDK will be faster in 0-100 than the GT3. I know that is heavy, but the Turbo is going to use it too. So if only the GT series without PDK, that's sounds odd to me.

 

Yes, otherwise the GT3 will be hard to match the perfromance of Carrara S/TT with PDK. That's what my dealer said.

 

Have not driven a PDK yet. If you track it competitively, then I see the appeal, and let's face it, there aren't any F1 drivers lamenting the loss of the left peddle. If you don't though, question for you is once the novelty of pushing the buttons for quick gear changes wears off, don't you think you will miss the tactile interaction with the car that comes from changing gears. I mean, let's face it, at the end of the day the appeal of these wonderful, crazy cars is the feel of driving them, and some of my best memories are gettign the heel and toe just right through a series of hairpins. You can't do that with buttons. If it were only about what was fastest, I would wager that we probably would not still be driving rear engine 911s. Just my two cents worth.

 

Agreed, I think I am more into PDK this time, need a test drive someday.

 

Just be ready to hire someone to swap the wires in the steering wheel buttons...

pete

 

If Porsche's plans are to Homolgate the PDK for racing, then it will be an option on the GT3/RS. My guess is, it will. Porsche first developed the PDK as a racing only gearbox in 1983, and used it some versions of the 956, and later the 962 Prototype racers. It owuld make the RSR's that much more competitive.

Robin

 

Unlikely, as PDK of the 956/962 era has nothing to do with today's PDK other than name and basic concept.

Also, RSRs use sequential trans from 9R6 RS Spyder, newly adapted and built for racing...

pete

 

Lets get one thing clear:PDK is not a sequential like in the cup/RSR etc . The Sequential requires a ton of maintence and is in no way streetable.

I have a deposit on a RS with PDK whenever they come out like some of you, but I worry how the PDK will be after repeated track duty and...if porsche will cover failures.

 

Me too, but I will only execute if and when an RS gets built. If they fix PDK (I find it unacceptable in cuurent form) on the GT3, like in a cup car you could choose the PDK to be faster. Peronally I drive a GT3 because it is a car that rewards a driver and that includes heel-n-toe and mynew one will be a 3 pedal one.

 

A few comments on PDK gearbox...

* PDK gearbox engineered to fit the new A91 engine block

* PDK gearbox will be available in two versions: 450Nm and 700Nm

* PDK gearbox is "suited for higher speeds of up to 8,000 revolutions"

...hence GT3 expected to stick with that awesome GT1-based engine linked up to a six-speed manual gearbox (derived from 996 GT3 Cup gearbox) with interchangeable gear ratios, steel synchroniser rings and race-proven at above 8400rpm!