On Getting used to Tiptronic

[kskimtahoe]

I've been using tip for all of 2 weeks now. One thing I noticed was that it doesn't automatically go to the highest gear on the down hill in auto mode. It is the first automatic that I've driven that does that & I thought it was a nice touch. Once my engine is broken in, I'll try to have it remember agressive shifting patterns.

[nautiquelfe]

Hey guys, i thought i would give my initial impression of the tip. I just bought my boxster last wednesday (99 artic silver). I have been really impressed w/ the tiptronic. It gives me just enough control of rpm range to make me happy. I too have been itching to press clutch and manually shift lever. But honestly after 15yrs of driving i have tired of the manual trans, and can live w/out it. At least for awhile. Theres no doubt if i had been buying boxster as 2nd car i would have gotten the manual. I love the control. I would recomend the tip to anyone in a similar situation to me. But if you want to take full advantage of the power and control of a boxster you may feel a little cheated by the tiptronic. I'm willing to sacrifice the power so for me it worked well. Theres room for both on the road so i look forward to seeing any and all boxsters. I hope everyone can find the happiness in there choice as i have. No regrets here.

[Birdy1062]

I'm allways amused when I see some comments on tiptronic.
In my case it's true that I bought the tip because this was the condition for my lady to drive the Boxter ( and men when she does heads are turning, I can assure you ).

Now, it's true that on the paper the tip is slower than the manual gear, but the numbers are coming from Porsche and I suppose that they have some professionnal pilots in order to make the best time possible.
So, as they are professionnals, they're used to get the upmost of a manual gear, on the other hand with the tip they just smash down the gas pedal and that's it !
Now for us, the "average" drivers ( my case anyway), I'm not convinced that we can get the max of a manual gear ( clutch, change gear, release clutch), on the other hand with the trip, as the professionnal pilots, we just smash down the pedal....

I believe there is a lot of macho attitude in the people saying tip is not for sportsfan...

One thing I really appreciate with the tip is flexibility, my wife is not afraid to start on hill when there is another car 20 cm behind her and I can play with the tip in M or D depending upon my mood; for instance one thing I appreciate more and more is what they call "dynamic deceleration".

Regarding the question about going from 2 to 1: there is absolutely no danger as if the RPMs would be too much the tip will refuse to go from 2 to 1; it's the same for any gear change, the same as when you reach let's say 7.000 RPM in 3 it will go automatically to 4.
Basically you can do nothing wrong with the tip in D or M.
Another advantage in favor of the tip ?

[Perfectlap]

the peformance difference isn't due to the driver. There is a slight loss of power in between shifts with a tip.

[Ronzi]

I don't believe there is any way to manually control which shift map is being used, nor is there any way to tell which one of them is being used.
If I remember the Panorama article, it was an interview with a Porsche/US test driver and driving instructor. He explained an undocumented procedure for causing the Tip to skip gears during a downshift sequence. In other words to jump from 5th directly to 3rd, instead of going 5-4-3.
Basically, you jam on the brakes before the corner and SHARPLY jab the accelerator to the floorboard and release. I have tried it, and sure enough, it will jump down to whatever gear is appropriate, as determined by the computer.
Outside of racing or auto-x, I can't think of any really good reason to do this, or to do it enough to get good at it, but it does work.

[Brucelee]

That is the article I was referring to.

[Lux]

C'mon, having a manual in a sports car has nothing with being macho. But trying to justify an automatic against a manual is pretty amusing.

First of all, Schumacher's F1 tranny is a manual transmission with hydraulically actuated clutch and shift rods. The Tiptronic has neither of these. The Tip is a torque converter automatic transmission, just like every other automatic transmission. Ferrari, BMW (not Steptronic), Aston Martin and Toyota (MR2... )offer a true sequential manual. The 2 have as much in common as Rosanne Barr and Catherine Zeta. I know you've got cars to sell, Bruce. But please...

Sequential shifters will blip the throttle and do a perfect rev matched downshift. Regular automatics can't. With sequential, you can hold a gear thru the corners (same as a manual). With an automatic, you hope it doesn't upshift on you during a corner (or worse, kick down a gear and upset the car's balance). Sequentials can shift as fast as 50 milliseconds. Regular autos can't.

Sure a novice can be faster with an automatic on a track. But why stop there? Let's program the Navigation to control the steering wheel too. Surely the computer would be able to run a more consistant line and be faster. Take away all the things that make driving fun and what's the point? If you can't work a manual, well...start learning.

Any car that I'd buy for mundane transportation would be an automatic. So I have nothing against autos. But for my fun cars they'll always be manual.

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[Adam]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

the peformance difference isn't due to the driver. There is a slight loss of power in between shifts with a tip.

Actually that is only part of it. Like Lux said the TIP has a torque converter that softens up the shifts a bit and saps alittle bit of power to the rear wheels anytime the gas peddle is pressed. They call this parasitic driveline loss and torque converters always suck more power between the crank and the rear wheels than the manuals. Another reason is the TIP weighs about 100lbs more than a manual(trust me check the weights in the owners manual).