Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But like many of the Porsche factory drivers, I really think the PDK will improve the lap times for many, if not all but the most adept track drivers.

I just spent some time in a two week old 458 Italia Spyder on some twisty back roads, the Ferrari equivalent of the PDK made the experience of driving a powerful but unfamiliar car an absolute joy. And as in the case of the PDK, in the manual mode you still have the full sense of car control, just handled differently than a shifter handle in your right hand.

What I have never understood are those that say the new technology is somehow "effeminate". On another website, some posters actually chided someone ordering a new car with the PDK to get the car in the color pink to show what a pansy he was for not ordering a "manly" transmission. It is just a different technology that in some cases, such as those without the use of all their limbs, or those that are not proficient with a clutch pedal and shifter to enjoy a performance based car. I really don't see choosing a PDK so your better half can also enjoy the car as endangering your masculinity.

In the Charlotte area it is about 50/50 on what is available. I just bought a 981 this past Wed with PDK. I have left hip issues and pushing a clutch is painful if I drive a lot. It kind of left me no choice if I wanted to enjoy a Porsche.

I have driven a 991 'S' with PDK a lot and with the bigger engine it is more fun, the low end torque simply helps PDK perform better. The funny thing is on both my 981 and the 991 the whole start in second gear can be scary because if you realize you need to get up and go there is a big delay unless you get used to pushing the throttle to exactly the right place. If you stomp on it then the rpms race up really high and on the Boxster that means you are screaming for no reason, on the 991 'S' it's only a moderate screem :).

PDK runs my Boxster in very low rpm all the time during normal driving, the gas mileage it can put out is unbelievable. On the way back from the deal in Hickory it is few stop lights and a lot of highway. I was up at 36mpg, the last 10 miles I put the top down and well that drops the gas mileage a lot.

It is interesting in many of the Porsche youtube videos with the best/top drivers they do do their own shifting with PDK, I found that interesting.

I like PDK, drove Boxsters and Carreras with it. The main difference between a true "auto" and the PDK is that there is no "slack", no torque converter and that makes it so much better. It is truly a -so-to-say- a manual without having to use the 3rd pedal.

Less gas consumption, better performance. NO human being is able to change gears as fast as a PDK.

Having said that my Box has the "manly" gearbox.....

an automatic is an automatic. There are crappy automatics. Then there are quick automatics that cleverly place paddles on the steering wheel to heighten the realism. Still an automatic...
The only way it can be a manual, is if driver and trans are directly connected. You can make a mistake in a manual, PDK will never make a mistake: thus its an automatic Porsche.

Also, there is no debate, an automatic Porsche and an automatic Ferrari will always be faster than a human shifted Pcar or Fcar. But the possibility of error is what makes for good racing and separates great drivers with fast laptimes from mediocre drivers with fast laptimes. Any form of racing that de-emphasizes the role of driver is inherently compromised form of racing. Sure the lap times will be faster but the racing will be processional (aka parades of boring) as a driver rarely get its wrong in a corner where error leaves him exposed. Removing the possibility of error also allows a mediocre driver to get closer to the pole position time. All this racing is sacrificed so that the lap time can go down two seconds? How many fans will miss two seconds? They'll miss the racing.

IMHO manuacturers should be working on making the cars more durable not easier to drive. This is most evident when you see a mortal weekend driver in a 996 that gets within a few seconds of a factory driver in a Cup Car. That gap going up in smoke is taking the racing with it. As far as regular driver in a regular road going Porsche, I guess it makes sense you do a lot of daily driving. Too bad for Ferrari though....I've had to cancel my order every year now.:p

This again? :rolleyes:

Hey, don't Formula 1 cars use a transmission very similar to PDK? Somebody decode this for me and tell me if it's similar (sounds like it to me):

Formula One cars use semi-automatic sequential gearboxes, with regulations stating that 7 forward gears and 1 reverse gear must be used, with rear-wheel drive.The gearbox is constructed of carbon titanium, as heat dissipation is a critical issue, and is bolted onto the back of the engine Full automatic gearboxes, and systems such as launch control and traction control, are illegal, to keep driver skill important in controlling the car.The driver initiates gear changes using paddles mounted on the back of the steering wheel and electro-hydraulics perform the actual change as well as throttle control. Clutch control is also performed electro-hydraulically, except to and from a standstill, when the driver operates the clutch using a lever mounted on the back of the steering wheel.

That's just to save face. They aren't doing their own shifting. Those automatic Porsches are shifting for them. The driver is simply making requests and the computer 99% of the time is saying "downshift? no kidding, already on it" or "umm no you don't want 3rd, you actually want 5th, I'll ignore your request until you get it right." The paddles are more for the driver's amusement.
If PDK really was what people think it is, it would have a "PDK OFF" button like a car may have a ABS OFF button or TC OFF. A system where the computer is simply a spectator.

One of my all-time favorite car movies. :cheers:

If they could just take out that stupid muscle car, it would be perfect.

I think this is a good point. It should have an off button for those that don't prefer it.

F1 cars are also automatic. That's why the races have become stunningly boring since the golden years of Senna/Prost/Piquet/Mansell when there was an actual gear lever. Do a Google search of Senna doing a lap around Monaco with one hand on the steering wheel at insane speeds. Getting past backmarkers without so much as a twitch or loss a sliver of a second on his pole time. Insane skill.

Today it's another story. 19 year olds like Vettel with barely any experience are winning races. By 21 they are World Champions. I remember an interview with Williams BMW F1 technical director Patrick Head where he stated that then driver Ralf Schumacher did none of his shifting (because of the paddles), fully automatic F1 car, where the other driver Juan Pablo Montoya did his own downshifts. Montoya was generally quicker, had at least 1 podium finish for every three races he started, stealing nearly 8 pole positions in a single season from Michael Schumacher in the faster Ferrari. But now the story is probably different since the software has improved so much that the driver is always slower than the computer. Even as recently as the first PDK Cayman there was noticeable lag in shfits that's entirely gone now.

For my two cents worth ... a sports car - any sports car - should be a manual transmission. For me the definition of sport is interaction and if you don't feel it then why bother at all. I will admit, that I've been a major rider of motorcycles for years (about 35 years of ownership/riding) and I'd still be doing it if my body could manage it. The interaction of listening to the exhuast noise, the whine of the transmission, the vibration of the motor, and the feel of the ride is what makes the desire to ride so powerful. I get about 80% of that in the boxster.

I'll be honest, I'm not going to buy a PDK model, a tiptronic model, a steptronic (almost did once), or any other variation of an automatic. As someone told me a few weeks ago ... if it doesn't include a left pedal on the floor don't even both to show it to me.

An automatic is an automatic. It's designed to make getting from point A to point B easy and efficient. It's just no d**n fun to drive. It's just transportation.

That is your opinion, and from a technical standpoint false. The range and scope of autotrans on the road today is large; they are far from the "all the same"... As far as your mention of sport bikes, PDK is the closest thing to sport bike shifting a car will ever see... I used to speed shift my KZ900 all the time with out engaging the clutch.

As for PDK not letting the driver make mistakes... BS, PDK will smack right into the rev limiter and bounce up against it until the dolt behind the wheel up shifts. It actually took me about an hour to get somewhat proficient with the PDK manual mode, and I'm sure I could be better with it.

+1 that...once one goes into manual mode i.e. they touch the paddles and it thinks you want full lunch power it will redline until you back off for 2 seconds in which case it will call their bluff. It takes a little getting used to.

I personally never thought I would get it, but as mentioned I had no choice. I will say I really enjoy both. PDK is a whole lot smarter then me most of the time, the only thing it can't do is look down the road and anticipate like I can.

I find it good at two things, in sport mode driving aggressively it is amazing how it knows how many gears to down shift going into a corner for full lunch out of the apex. Tap the brakes lightly you get one downshift, press them a little harder and you get two or 3 downshifts, it's pretty kewl. The second thing it does well is save gas when just cruising around. Sport Plus mode is a whole other animal.

All that being said for mid aggressive driving I will enjoy getting in my 986 manual and taking control. It is nice to have both. :cheers:

Have you driven the 981 PDK? It's truly amazing!

Yes, it is my opinion. And I'll still stick withthe same commentary. No left pedal and it's an automatic. All the same as far as I am concerned. They have no value to me. And I have no desire to own one in a sports can. Ever.

Another good way to beat up on the internals. You can do it, but I doubt if anyone would agree it is a good idea for a longe term practice. But what you do with your vechiles is your business. I would not treat a fine motorcycle like my last few BMW's that way.

If I were racing and had the financing and tech team to go with a teardown and repalcement after each race then sure. It's all about the win. But for my personal vehicles and equipment, I treat them better than that.

I will not be purchasing a new(er) model Porsche with an automatic. It's a preferance. As I stated, if it is an automatic, there just is no interaction and fun for me to be behind the wheel. It's just transportation. I can buy that from anyone.

Vettel is no stranger to racing or winning, starting in carts at 3 1/2, and winning 18 of 20 Formula BMW races in '04. He may be young, but he has serious talent. And they don't shift automatically, you still have to use the paddles to request a shift.

Porsche chick, The F1 gearboxes are not constructed the same as a PDK, they're not a double-clutch box, but more similar to a motorcycle box.

If you track the car and want to be fastest then PDK may be the way to go. For many of us(most?)who don't track then I think the manual trans. is fine for the street. It is the buyer's choice. Perhaps for busy city driving and if I had bad knees PDK would be the way to go. Each one to their own.

no disrespect to Vettel but Formula BMW is hardly the equivalent of F2 (or whatever new name they are using this week). It had neither the depth of talent of GP2 nor the technicality. I'm not sure if it was Gerhard Berger who said this but he was present at the F1 test drive in the Williams BMW (typically the prize for the junior Formula BMW series winner) when Piquet Jr. and Rossberg Jr. were testing. He commented how in the very first test day these two highly inexperienced teen aged drivers were coming within seconds of the lap times set by the full time F1 test driver. In his view this would have been utterly impossible in the 70's, 80's and early 90's. Clearly the cars have gotten too easy to drive relative to previous generations of GP racing. The lack of a gear lever is a primary reason. The lack of mechanical grip a bigger reason. I don't doubt Vettel is talented, though I would't rank him above Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen all three handle pressure and overtake better than him, but there's no way he'd be a three times champion at barely the age of 24 if he were driving Senna's McLaren or Piquet's Brabham. Those cars required far far more from a driver physically and mentally and not to mention being lethally fragile.

Twenty years ago, the advantages of a stick over automatic were:

1. Less expensive to buy
2. Better full economy
3. Better acceleration
4. Less expensive to repair/less prone to repair
5. More fun to drive if you don't have to drive in a very congested area

It looks like advantages 2 and 3 are no longer valid and 5 have always depended on where you live.

Since my long-term plan is to buy a 981 in about the year 2020, I hope that some folks keep buying the manual cars. (And keeping them in their garages and treating them like queens.) However, I guess I owe it to myself to try a PDK.

My next Pcar will be PDK. I just want to be able to enjoy driving it to work a couple of days a week and not getting to and from the office with a sore left leg from all the clutchwork in $hitty Houston traffic.