Tiptronic in manual mode - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

stateofidleness · 08-04-2010, 08:09 PM

So I have a Tiptronic as my daily commute consists of highway parking lots and far too much stop and go traffic...

anyways, i've always been a bit "scared" to use manual mode for fear of breaking something expensive

(you know how that goes)

one day, i accidentally hit the button when turning out of a gas station (without knowing it) and went I went to accelerate, it was like an ENTIRELY different car!! the thing almost went to redline and pulled SO Much harder than in auto mode. it was one of those "holy crap was that MY car that did that?" moments

anyways, i've been wanting to start using the manual mode a bit more, but wanted to know more about how it all works. i read somewhere on here about the different "patterns" or something that the transmission has programmed (like 20something of them for different types of driving)

my main question is, will the car shift itself even in manual mode to keep it from redlining? and is there a way to put it back in auto mode without using the shifter?

thanks fellas!

Lordblood · 08-04-2010, 09:13 PM

Once in manual mode, the car shifts up for you once you get to redline. It's a bit annoying when you are really pushing it since you can end up up shifting twice (once by the car, and then by you).

You're going to have to slide the gearstick back to auto mode to resume automatic gear shifting. However, I believe in manual mode the car will downshift at really low RPM's to stop itself from chugging. However I'm not sure since I have a manual :P.

BoxsterDuke · 08-04-2010, 10:27 PM

I'm still very new to my Boxster and also getting used to it. Certainly on my UK Spec 2.7 Tiptronic, if you use the Tiptronics gear selectors on the steering wheel, you can see on your dashboard indicator that it changes from "D" to "M", then depending upon how hard you are driving, it changes up and switches back over to Automatic. If you move the gear-shift lever across into "M" out of "D", then you are "on your own" and as you describe pretty well, you end up having one of those "Oh My God!!! moments all the way to the Red line.

stateofidleness · 08-04-2010, 10:42 PM

if you have the shifter in "M" position and you're going along and let's say you're in a high RPM, if you move the shifter to "D", would it damage anything, or would it be fine?

tonycarreon · 08-05-2010, 02:20 AM

99.9% of my driving is in manual mode. only once i get on the highway and plan to cruise for a while do i then shift over to "D". you will not break anything shifting between M and D while moving. it was designed that way.

if you slow down more than you should for the gear you're in, the car will downshift for you, but it will not downshift for you if you mash the accelerator for overtaking when in manual mode. again, you won't break it by shifting between "M" and "D" while moving. i do it all the time - it's just computers, not actual linkage.

if you're driving along in "M" in 3rd gear @ 70mph and then shift over to "D" you won't break it. it will instead go ahead and upshift to 5th for you. same thing if you're driving along in "D" in 5th gear @ 70mph and move the selector to "M" - it won't break anything because of your change in modes.

"M" is manual mode that lets you have more control. shift when you want. but the computer will still take over if engine damage could occur.

short answer - you won't break it by change selections or shifting gears.

stateofidleness · 08-05-2010, 05:25 AM

ahhh man great information!

i think this:
"it's just computers, not actual linkage."

was the root of my concerns to be honest. Guess you know what I'll be doing this weekend

roaaaaaad trip.

i'm not the greatest manual driver as I learned on a Kia Sportage

what are some scenarios where you would need to downshift (other than the obvious speed reduction)
if you're cruising along in 5th doing, let's say 60 and you want to overtake someone on the highway, i notice in Auto mode, there's some "delay" in throttle press to actual "get up and go". Would downshifting to 4th in manual mode be a better option for a quicker burst of acceleration?

BoxsterDuke · 08-05-2010, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

99.9% of my driving is in manual mode. only once i get on the highway and plan to cruise for a while do i then shift over to "D". ......you won't break it by shifting between "M" and "D" while moving. i do it all the time - it's just computers, not actual linkage.......

Tony, many thanks for this good information. As a newbie myself I had similar concerns about "mucking-about" with an automatic gearbox, however I went out for a reasonable run last night and gave your method a try. The car drives so much better, as you say if you just stop in 5th gear at lights the computer tells you not to be an idiot and changes down to 2nd for you. If you try to downshift at too high a speed it again tells you not to be daft and takes care of itself. I didn't try reving to the limit to see if it would change up as I wasn't that brave. However, in manual it lets you drive it as it should be between the 4500 and 6500 RPM area in lower gears that the flat 6 seems to be happiest!

However, I think i could hear my fuel consumption measurement dropping!