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Old 06-08-2012, 08:35 AM   #8
thstone
Certified Boxster Addict
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 7,669
I don't think that anyone was saying that the PDK sucks. The PDK has several distinct advanages over a manual and Ghost hit the highlights of that list in his post.

However in my experience the PDK isn't perfect either. No matter how hard manufactuers try, they still haven't quite matched the shift feel of a manual. Slamming into the next gear in 0.0000001 sec's has nothing to do with the feel of the shift. There is something about the way that a manual clutch engages that the PDK can not quite match (yet).

Second on my list is the imperfect shift algorithms. I still find times where the PDK isn't in the gear that I would have chosen if I was shifting manually. Of course, there is a distinct possibility that the PDK has selected a BETTER gear (or the proper gear, however you want to say it), but to me, that's besides the point. I am the driver and I want the gear that I want whether its right or wrong. And if its wrong then I want to learn to be able to select the right gear to improve my driving skills.

Without going on and on, the point is that if the PDK does it all for me, even if it did it perfectly, then that leaves me unsatisfied. To my way of thinking (which could be wrong of stupid headed), then I might as well buy a Google car and let it not only do the shifting perfectly but the steering, braking, and throttle too (which I am sure that a computer can do better than I can).

The PDK is light years ahead of the Tip and I'm sure that whatever comes next after the PDK will be light years ahead of the PDK. Technology is sure to continue to march on and someday it will exactly match the feel of a manual and shift where I think it should shift and a myriad of other things, but I don't want the car to drive itself, I want to learn to drive the car myself.
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1999 996 C2 - sold - bought back - sold for more
1997 Spec Boxster BSR #254
1979 911 SC
POC Licensed DE/TT Instructor

Last edited by thstone; 06-08-2012 at 08:44 AM.
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