Gotcha. In my mind "kickdown" means a downshift inititated by the kickdown switch. Anything else is just the automatic deciding to downshift. I'm being pedantic here because i'm trying to figure out how the kickdown switch works and how to best drive with it. But yeh, if i just drive faster it won't be a problem!

 

Yep, the 09's might be a little different but even if I hit the kick down switch under full throttle if I am carrying enough speed it seems to carry the gear above opposed to the kick down... This is usually evident just after the Apex on corner exit as I come back to full throttle. The momentum and lack of dip in RPM's seems to "override" the kick down if that makes sense. It tells me even the car thought I nailed that corner LOL

 

Technically there is no kick down switch, its all done by the throttle position sensor. There is a spring button at the bottom of "full throttle" that if depressed past that point the throttle position sensor sends a signal. People have replaced that button with a solid button preventing the signal. If there are sufficient RPMs for a lower gear it will downshift. This downshift is at times not needed or wanted being at the extreme end of allowable RPMs for the lower gear. It normally occurs at the same place on the track when you are right at the shift points between 2-3 or 3-4 so as stated earlier learn to roll into the throttle especially at these locations.

Using manual mode to shift eliminates the kick down and actually will do an upshift at redline.

​​​​​​Somewhere I read later 991 GT3s and 992s electronically disable the kick down in Sport+

 

The text in RED is what I have concluded as well..... when PDK kicks down on exit, I have screwed up the corner. At Laguna Seca, Turn 5 and Turn 10 are a challenge..not every time, but when V Min is too slow, PDK tries to make up for my incompetence.

 

While I have visited Quebec City and Montreal, there is not enough maple syrup or poutin which can be ingested which would allow me to equal the mightly and reckless off-road skills of Matt.

 

I wouldn't put the PDK programming on a pedestal, especially in a Porsche designed mainly for street use. PDK kicking down on exit doesn't necessarily mean that the driver isn't maxing out the car, in many Porsches it just means that the programming isn't optimized for track use.

 

if it kicks down you are too abrupt to throttle or overslowed or both.

have raced pdk all the diff ways. auto is worth a tenth or two, more on longer tracks.

 

All the data I've collected from PDK cars supports your observation.

 

Have you observed any benefit from using the a pdk tune vs the oem pdk maps?

 

I have not dug that deep. Justin Bellanzoni, John Tecce, Tim Olson or Rick DeMan might be the ones to talk to about that.

Just a lot of comparisons between identical model/series of cars at HPDE/track day and especially Club Racing events with the prime differential being manual or PDK. The latter after PCA CR first proposed the weight penalty in GTB1P for PDK equipped cars many years ago.

I’ve observed a huge variance in the gear selection, efficiency and timing of manual shifting between drivers over the last fifteen years of study. Few, if any, club level and HPDE drivers shift as quickly as the box and pedal work is capable of, and even pros are not completely consistent under stress in the car during competition.

The PDK takes that variable out of the equation. Also, no more question of what gear to be in, for the most part. Similar speed corners=similar gear, not always the case after extended post-session bs sessions in the paddock! It does the work for you.

Finally, nearly every pro I’ve ever worked with has not lamented the passing of the manual, except for fossils like me...

The rise of the 991 GT3 Cup and all the new GT4 machinery in SRO and IMSA racing is generally accepted as having improved the reliability and quality of the racing. One less thing to screw up...

 

2nd gear weight and balance transfer -

One other thing I've noticed as it relates to the Cayman and PDK, is that in certain instances, it can be beneficial to manual override the designed-in "smoothness" of the PDK in auto mode by choosing to keep it in 2nd gear manually to induce some instability, to help the front end to bite, and the rear to rotate.

2nd gear has the most throttle induced weight/balance transfer. So, a driver might choose to give up a little power and keep the car in second gear manually entering into certain corners to help throttle steer through the corner, allowing the car to rotate better than if you had allowed the PDK to up shift. And, thereby getting the Cayman pointed down the course a wee bit earlier, allowing you to be back onto full throttle earlier as well.

 

Personally, I've always been nervous of gear changes when I'm not expecting it but they are so lighting fast now it doesn't unsettle the car. I've stuck to the paddles but will be trying auto a bit, I expect I would feel a bit of the connection with the car lost.

 

I actually found it was quick to remember when the car would shift, its quite predictable. The only issue that I sometimes look to avoid is the WOT shift at the top of 2nd gear. Depending on where I am on track, I will short shift to avoid the kick in the pants from the transmission mounts being full stiff.

 

Yeah, those active mounts... Even on the gt2rs it's abrupt.

 

Sorry I'm bouncing but it's interesting.

I see that many of you prefer the PDK track in automatic mode with Sport +.
At the same time I watch all the professional drivers in laps on the Nurburgring track everyone including Kevin Estre is driving in M ​​mode - which feels more fun to me. Thoughts :-)