orthojoe

My Evo has a getrag dual clutch tranny, and my spyder has a standard 6 speed manual. Since I have both, I can appreciate the merits/pitfalls of both. I'm not going to go into what those are, since we all know them very well at this point. I just had to point out that the one thing I don't like about owning a dual clutch transmission is :
Having to explain to people what it is and how it's different from a traditional torque converter transmission.

I consider myself a hardcore car enthusiast, and it drives me nuts when someone looks at my car and says, "It's an automatic?" Then I have to sit there and 'try' to explain what a DCT is as I watch their eyes glaze over and have no idea what I'm saying. Then the follow-up comment is, "oh yeah, my SUV has paddle shifters too, it works great."

I'd post this rant in the Evo forums, but it would degenerate into 16 year olds bragging about how they can shift a manual transmission...

Marine Blue

I knew there was another reason why I preferred an MT.

I've had the exact same issue when explaining PDK to friends who aren't car nuts. A few will ask me for car purchase advice and when I mention PDK they immediately think "automatic" and ignore everything else I say. Truthfully it's the car manufacturers faults for not doing a better job marketing the differences. They shouldn't leave it to the sales person to explain it because half don't have a clue.

Macster

You can't win them all. I wouldn't lose any sleep over the fact that some people can't tell or don't know the difference between an older style automatic and a PDK.

You and I and everyone else here knows the difference. Does anyone else really matter?

Try to come up with a nice but pat answer or reply that leaves them happy.

For example: When someone comes up to me -- best is when I'm with my Turbo -- and says: "Nice Volkswagen", I reply: "Thanks. I have two.".

The open mouth is priceless.

Sincerely,

Macster.

stevecolletti

You can see where the confusion arises, though. 'Automatic' to most people is, "you don't have to do anything to drive". All PDKs/DSGs/F1s have an 'automatic' mode that allows complete neophytes (non-car people) to drive. Oh, and manufacturers adding shift buttons/paddles to conventional automatics have further blurred the distinction.

I tend to steer those people I know who can't drive a manual to PDKs/DSGs/F1s because they are better in every way than a conventional slushbox, but to them, they are still 'automatics'.

Dr.Bill

Like Ron White says 'you can't fix stupid'.

Just tell them it's the same transmission F1 cars use. If they still have a blank stare, saying more would be useless.

Or just answer 'no' when they ask if it's an automatic.

Sort of like my friend who is a gunsmith. He has some suppressors and automatic weapons for sale in his store. He gets tired of all the stupid questions - are those legal? Can I buy one? Blah, blah, blah. Sometimes when someone asks - I thought those were illegal? he just says 'they are'. Once he told a guy he was too stupid to buy a gun and kicked him out of the store!

rubber_ducky

I gave my neighbor a ride in my PDK Cayman S yesterday. Before we went out, i asked him if he'd like to drive, he declined. When he sat in the car, he said... "I didn't know it's an automatic". He later said that since it's an auto, he wished he'd taken me up on my offer for him to drive. One more advantage of having a 6MT... not as many people can and/or are comfortable driving one.

boxster-r

i totally agree!

stevecolletti

Perfect analogy, and blurred the same way via the use of the term 'automatic'.

fast1

Just tell them it's a manual transmission without a clutch pedal. That shouldn't be hard to grasp for anyone. The only problem that I have with PDK is the $3K it costs. That's almost 20 dinners at my favorite restaurant for my girl and me.

the_vetman

I see that someone's beaten me to F1 explanation already.

I'd just tell people "no, it's the same transmission as in F1 and other race cars". Done. Say no more, though I'm sure some will continue to probe..

As far as immature 16 y.o.'s, remember that we've all been there once. Not that I'd ever participate in such stupid pissing contests nowadays...

BTW, aren't Porsche forums great (vs. Evo/STi/etc. forums)?

stevecolletti

It's $5K if you get the Sport Chrono-plus options that make pdk so fast.

the_vetman

I often want to say and do things like this at work...

fast1

I'd just tell people "no, it's the same transmission as in F1 and other race cars".

I'd substitue the word "similar" for "same". The dual clutch transmisson in an F1 probably costs more than a Porsche turbo.

orthojoe

That's never going to change. Sadly, 95% of the time it doesn't matter.

True enough, but it's still annoying.

Exactly. It takes all of my strength from strangling a salesmen every time they try to say you have all of the control and advantage of a traditional manual with paddle shifters and 'tiptronic' type of levers in a slushbox, torque converter tranny. My wife just got a new MDX over the weekend. It has paddle shifters... When I first got the Evo years ago, my wife's friend commented on the paddle shifters on the Evo and said, "Oh, my mother in law has that in her car too".

Smart man

The Evo forums are good and I'm an active member on them. There are actually a lot of really knowledgeable people, but there are also just as many backwards hat wearing morons too. I will say that their forums are more exciting in terms of drama.

My fellowship director once told me, "Joe, never operate on someone you can't stand". Wise words...

the_vetman

By that account, I'd never operate on most people. BAHAHAHAHAHHAHA... err.. (COUGH) sorry.