Z356

This may not amount to much...but I talked to PCNA engineer today at the Quail Porsche Zentrum test drive center here for the Historics in Carmel and he mentioned something interesting. He said that 7 speed manual transmission on the new 991 is pretty much set up for a possible 'sequential shifter' transmission on a future model. The engineering that went into adapting the PDK internals so that it could be used as a manual were very complicated, that is why there was 'delay availability' of the manual for months when the 991 was put into series production. The 7 speed manual system on the PDK transmission case uses something he described as a 'drum' shifter (I am not technical so it doesn't mean much to me). But he went to explain that it can be easily adapted to the type of 'sequential shifter' one sees on the Cup cars.

So I have put the two together and come up with this scenario for future gt3 transmission choices on the 991 version:

A) The 991 gt3 (base) introduction will be available only with PDK.

B) Once the 991 gt3 RS is ready, they will offer a version of 'Sequential Transmission' on that upgraded model!

C) In this scenario, the traditional manual transmission (e.g. current 7 speed or older 6 speed) will officially never be offered on a 991 gt3 or RS. The 'Sequential' will be NOW the manual transmission choice on the gt3 RS.

Love to hear comments from the RS hardcore crowd here if any of this seems plausible!

Saludos,
Eduardo
Carmel
On the Thursday of Historics at the epicenter of the automotive world this week!

mklaskin

Not sure that the sequential would be considered an "upgrade". Definitely a nice option for those who want the feel of a shifter, but the PDK would likely be quicker. Unless the sequential option offered a significant wieght savings, that is.

Nordschleife

was the 'engineer' German?
are you sure he wasn't just being polite?

The only reason multishaft gearboxes exist is to reduce warranty claims. F1 technology uses singleshaft boxes because they are more efficient. Dual shaft is old 1990s technology.

In the modern world PAG is pushed to develop cars yet alone gearboxes.

A dog is a dog, is a dog.

The 'zeroshift' box is a concept that migrated to race cars from the street. It needs a huge amount more development before it can be deployed on the street.

One man's engineer is another man's PR flac.

911SLOW

Z thanks for the post. The 991's "manual" gearbox (G91/00) is based on the PDK with the addition of a manual shifting mechanism called MECOSA.
I can't see how they can change its layout to a sequential..

Let's wait a bit.

P.J.S.

it will be a PDK with a longer shift lever and be called PDK-SS
SS standing for "sorta sequential"
it will be "derived from motorsports" in that they will use a copy of the lever that is used in the cup cars
there will not be a clutch pedal with the PDK-SS
it will be faster but will not hold up or be warranted with track use
it will not economically feasible to rebuild it... only to replace it

and in an homage to past porsches, they will make ordering deviated stitching for the shift boot its own option and make it obscure so that most miss it all togethger... because the germans love that we miss that option...

carcommander

My dealer told me there will be PDK and then sequential shifter.

savyboy

CRex

Not the first time I've heard the word "sequential" from affiliates of the PSDS--instructors, factory staff around the track, what not...

With the full caveat that these are just rumors, I think that's a step in a right direction. I'm sick of losing those fractions of a sec to DCT cars at every shift... 11 upshifts at my home track, at 0.05s each that's more than half a sec, enough for me to match a well-driven 458... I know this is just a pipe dream...

outline

John,
I imagine all it would take was a new mecosa layout where you moved the lever linearly to change up/down rather than its current H pattern and bingo, you have a sequential shifter. Im putting my money on them being even more lazy and using a regular PDK box operated by a single gear lever instead of paddles. All this needs is two micro switches to tell the box ecu to shift up or down and there you go, sequential box just like the race cars.
Of course it's not a motorsports sequential gearbox but their PR dept can go crazy telling everyone that's what it is and loads of folk will drink it up.
Reality is only what you believe it to be anyways right

ir_fuel

Doesnt PDK already have this function if you put the stick in manual mode?

911SLOW

Neil since you included micro switches in the equation I think that you just described the PDK..

Now if they do change the MECOSA mechanism, and give it a different lever/ cable system (still mechanical) that allows for a forward / back shifter pattern , then yes they might pull off a sequential-ish marketing stunt.
Who knows..

Let's hope that it will be reliable, repairable, upgradable and with some sort of racing background. Let's also hope that a "normal" manual gearbox with similar qualities will be offered.
Am I asking for too much? : p

outline

Yeah absolutely, that's why it would seem like an easy solution to creating a "sequential"
Give a different looking stick/**** that only has a manual mode and hey presto

tcsracing1

the 991RS clubsport with slicks will be as fast around the nurburgring as the outgoing 997.2 Cup car.

Z356

No, he wasn't German. He is an American. Works in Atlanta for PCNA. He did not give that information as the result of a direct question regarding what transmission they are going to put on the 991 gt3 or gt3 RS. I was just asking about the manual transmission on the regular 991 and he volunteer the information about how someone with PAG in Germany that worked in transmission had described the drum shifting system in the PDK adaptation to a 7 speed manual and that is actually pretty easy now to go to the next 'Sequential' step on this type of a transmission! He was NOT the one that speculated that this 'Sequential' would be used in the new 991 gt3 RS - that is only 'moi meme'!

Some of you might remember that I directly asked Dr. Wolfgang Porsche at the PCA Tent Questions & Answers at Rennsport last October (2011) about what transmission they would offer on the 991 gt3 and posted it on this forum:

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-gt2-...after-all.html

We had a lively discussion about the topic back then too!

Saludos,
Eduardo
On my way to 'Legends of the Autobahn' and 'Concorso Italiano'!

kosmo

Was it Sequential or Mental Transmission?

i heard the w/ the latter the driver can change gears telepathically reducing shift times.