No I'm not trying to troll here or start anything, but I'm curious about why so many are adamant about getting a 6 speed. I'll give my perspective and then hopefully you guys can enlighten me on what I might be missing.

I've had plenty of manuals before however I've never had a car where they seem to be an advantage over automatic, that is too say I've never had a high performance manual or raced a car where manual would be preferred. I currently have a MB S500 which is automatic, however I can shift manually like the Tip if I want to. I'm looking at a 997.1tt and the reviews all say the Tip is faster. I've seen comments on this board where one of the instructors said he could get a rookie driver up to speed and around the track faster with a Tip. From a mnx perspective, it seems like the cost of clutch plates would be more than routine mnx on an automatic. For city driving the auto is a clear winner. I understand the comment about being more in control of the car with a manual, but isn't it the same with a Tip if you manually shift through the gears? Also, don't you need the Tip to take advantage of the overboost function for faster launches? With all these comments in mind, I will say that I haven't owned a high performance car with a manual, so what am I overlooking? Do any of you have a 6-spd and wish you had a auto, or vice-versa?

 

For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation is enough. LOL

This question comes up time after time. I personally love to drive 6 speeds, end of story for me as I feel involved with the car and can truly work on honing the driving skill.

 

+1

 

I have a 996 Tip...and I can assure you that it is not what is slowing me down - it is me. I am running 1:39-1:40's, faster than most of my peers in the same group at Road Atlanta. but I can assure you the car is capable of more.

Why did I get a Tip? I drive a LOT for work in Atlanta...horrible traffic. Between having a cup of coffee and being on the phone constantly - it was less "work" to drive a Tippy. But now that I track more - it would be more "rewarding" to drive a manual. But again, unless you are good enough to drive the limit of the car - I am not sure that the tranny is going to slow you down.

What I do find annoying on the track? 3rd gear is just not quite geared right...and it downshifts on its own - requiring me to look before manually downshifting which i don't like. But the tranny is solid - the car is so much better than me.

Now having said all that...I am referring to the far inferior "Tiptronic" on the 996. The 997 PDK is a million times better. I have driven PDK cars and it is simply amazing.

If you are going to race - get a manual or sequential. If you are going to dual purpose...you'll be happy with either one. If you drive a LOT in stop/go/rush hour - I would still go with the Tip/PDK.

Hope that helps.

 

For me, the DD gotta be automatic and the fun cars have to be manual. There's nothing like a clean downshift into a fast corner followed by the up shift down the straight away and the cars in the rearview mirror getting smaller.

 

Thanks for the replies so far. The car will be a 2-3 time a week commuter with little or no track time. I'm trying to understand it, especially since so many swear by the manual. It reminds me of another "AH-HAH" moment I had as a guitar player. I've been playing for 30+ years and as a player you either "get" Jeff Beck or you don't. People who love him swear by what a great player he is and those who don't are just told they don't know how to listen to his playing. I was on the "don't get it" side until I watched him play live at Ronnie Scott's. Then I understood, I finally "got it." I'm looking to see if there is an AH-HAH moment with the manual and whether I'm overlooking something, especially since I'm coming from an easy driving S500. I think I want a manual, but I can't convince myself that's the way to go. On the other hand, my wife would be happy if I got the Tip. Keep the replies coming....

 

The 6-speed vs tip/pdk argument is like trying to argue for the DH vs letting the pitcher hit. You can argue the benefits and short comings of both until the cows come home, but at the end of the day it is purely 100% a personal choice.

For most of us that love the 6-speed there is a desire to connect with the mechanical pureness of the car. There is a relationship that develops that is deeper knowing that you are intimately connected with the guts of the vehicle and that you are either both in sync with one another or that you might f*ck it up with a miss shift, an over rev, burn the clutch or stall her out and with these mistakes she may in fact kill you in return. Knowing this either gets you more engaged or it annoys you, but only you can answer that question.

 

Depends on the type of driving/commuting you do and how you grew up with cars and the passion that you have driving these cars on the track. I have PDK on my C4S ; wife has manual on her Boxster. Recently got a 2007 GT3 late last summer and have tracked it 4 times after tracking the C4S 2 seasons. The sharpness of the GT3 and visceral feeling of the car is intoxicating. GTR s are incredibly fast on the track but less involving/rewarding for the driver I have been told. It is not always about lap times IMO. The PDK in sport mode with manual paddle shifters can be fun while allowing more tolerable stop and go traffic.

 

Go drive both and decide.

 

I have a manual 997.1 Turbo.
It is a true daily driver as this is my only car.
The only time the thought of wanting PDK crossed my mind was when I was climbing steep Swiss alpine roads. This was because I am no professional driver, the clutch is long and the car is heavy, so in corners I lost the flow, with PDK I would not lose the flow as I would only have to operate the gas pedal and turn the wheel.
Never tried Tip or PDK for that matter, but I tried DSG in a Golf, got bored after 5 minutes, put it in D and that was it.

You either like manual or you do not like manual. It is also a habit thing. Since you've always been driving auto you will probably not like manual.

 

Advantage, no. It's a liability compared to, say, a PDK and is also a pleasure.

Faster at what? My wife says that if I don't drink too much, I'm faster.

Why? So he could concentrate on his line. I've got my first track date (in this car) set later this month and trust me, I driven pdk's enough to know that I'd be a lot faster in one.

I have a tip in my Cayenne and the only time I use it is for quick downshifts to pass. And no, this isn't the same as well executed throttle blip on a downshift.

I used to have in my signature the tag line "my next car will be PDK" and this was before it was released. Last Nov, I did a test drive in a 6 sp and then a second a month later in a different car. I bought the 2nd car. So glad I discovered the 6 sp Dave

 

Great thread. I too watched Jeff Beck live (Eric Clapton's Crossroads) and was blown away. Before that, not too interested.

As for the manual V.s. auto debate I prefer the manual. It's just more engaging, more fun when you are REALLY driving it. That being said my am commute is a quick 8 minutes and I barely get out of second. Would a Tip / PDK be better? Perhaps. But I don't live for my daily commute. I live for those early am, later pm, romps where I'm engaged with the car.

1+ on drive both.

Also, go find a nicely optioned car with a great color and interior, regardless of the the transmission. These are incredible cars. You'll be happy either way.

Joel (from Hawaii)

 

I drove a 991s PDK for a couple of days, yes it's faster, yes the downshift rev-matching is fast and perfect but after a few days I was bored with the "superior" technology. It's a matter of personal preference but having 3 pedals is the only reason why I will never consider a Ferrari or any other supercar without a 3rd pedal.