Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

My PDK CS w/SC & PCM is a daily driver that will also do some DE's. It stays in sport mode most of the time unless I am taking a long drive on the freeway without much traffic. Then I just leave it in manual mode and get awesome fuel mileage. The Sport Plus mode is amazing for high performance driving (track or backwoods twisties).

If you missed a manual you could always throw the shifter to the left and bump it forward for up or backwards for down. Shifts will be faster than anyone could do manually. PDK has made the manual trans in late model Porsches obsolete. The only question mark is how long the PDK clutches will last.

:cheers:

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

My PDK CS w/SC & PCM is a daily driver that will also do some DE's. It stays in sport mode most of the time unless I am taking a long drive on the freeway without much traffic. Then I just leave it in manual mode and get awesome fuel mileage. The Sport Plus mode is amazing for high performance driving (track or backwoods twisties).

If you missed a manual you could always throw the shifter to the left and bump it forward for up or backwards for down. Shifts will be faster than anyone could do manually. PDK has made the manual trans in late model Porsches obsolete. The only question mark is how long the PDK clutches will last.

:cheers:

Great, but now the car is doing all the work. So much for being a hot shoe.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I'm moving this thread with the expectation that it receives more responses in the Cayman/Boxster Chat forum. My input:

Despite my many spirited 'discussions' with others about PDK vs. MT over the years here, I'm actually finding I do miss rowing gears once in a while. There, I said it. Happy now?

There's no doubt that PDK is a technological wonder and no human or standard transmission can match it for its speed and improved performance, but as others have said, very few of us spend 100% of our time driving our cars on a track. There have been a few times when I've been on the street driving my 09 CS w/ PDK and thinking about what I'd be doing in my 06 CS w/ MT in the same situation.

Now, does that mean I regret getting PDK? Not at all. In fact, after experiencing PDK for the first time in this car, I doubt I will ever buy a MT car again.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I'm moving this thread with the expectation that it receives more responses in the Cayman/Boxster Chat forum. My input:

Despite my many spirited 'discussions' with others about PDK vs. MT over the years here, I'm actually finding I do miss rowing gears once in a while. There, I said it. Happy now?

There's no doubt that PDK is a technological wonder and no human or standard transmission can match it for its speed and improved performance, but as others have said, very few of us spend 100% of our time driving our cars on a track. There have been a few times when I've been on the street driving my 09 CS w/ PDK and thinking about what I'd be doing in my 06 CS w/ MT in the same situation.

Now, does that mean I regret getting PDK? Not at all. In fact, after experiencing PDK for the first time in this car, I doubt I will ever buy a MT car again.

Precisely my thoughts

:cheers:

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Guess I'll have to drive one. I shift my 335i with paddles sometimes, but the response can be slow and jerky. Not anything like a MT. Have heard good things about double clutch transmissions.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I like my PDK and I've driven both MT and AT cars for years before. I would highly recommend the Sports Chrono (SC) and PSM with PDK as well. The standard shift points in auto mode for the PDK are a bit too close, but SC in sports mode will spread out the shift points. Of course, there's always manual mode!

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I like my PDK and I've driven both MT and AT cars for years before. I would highly recommend the Sports Chrono (SC) and PSM with PDK as well. The standard shift points in auto mode for the PDK are a bit too close, but SC in sports mode will spread out the shift points. Of course, there's always manual mode!

Totally agree - Sport Chrono is a must. Auto mode without sport mode on is so horribly conservative it's almost useless - you end up cruising in 7th gear at 40mph. Ridiculous.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

PDK is extremely smooth; Sport Mode makes a totally different driver out of the car. I doubt you would be sorry you chose it especially if it is a daily driver.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

+1

do I miss my MT? nope
but I've still got one, thoroughly enjoy PDK, especially on track with SC

PDK is extremely smooth; Sport Mode makes a totally different driver out of the car. I doubt you would be sorry you chose it especially if it is a daily driver.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I had a DCT M3 before the Cayman and missed shifting although the dual clutch transmissions
are better technically. I test drove lots of PDK's and felt the same way.
There's something to be said for the connection and action/response.
This is nothing against PDK, I just personally like the interaction.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I had a DCT M3 before the Cayman and missed shifting although the dual clutch transmissions are better technically. I test drove lots of PDK's and felt the same way. There's something to be said for the connection and action/response. This is nothing against PDK, I just personally like the interaction.

+1

dabrams, there really is no right answer here, just what you find engaging and appealing.

I too came from an M3 with DCT and found myself missing rowing my own gears. Something about a perfectly executed heel/toe downshift or an uber smooth upshift and the tacticle feel of the third pedal and shifter make the experience more fun for me. But that may not be you!

DCT/PDK are far different than an "auto" and have to be driven to be understood. It's great technology--fast, perfect throttle blips and downshifts every time. It's just whether it's what you want and only you can tell that. Don't assume it's like an automatic--go try one and experience it. If for some reason you can't find a Cayman with PDK find an 335 or M3 with DCT and try it out (PDK is better than DCT, but it will give you a good idea of what it's like).

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

If you found automatics boring, you'll probably find PDK boring as well. From all reports, it does such a good job all by itself that you'll probably just end up leaving it in drive most of the time anyway.
I've had a CS w/PDK as a loaner for two days, and I'd highly recommend it over any automatic transmission. It's made me a better driver with my 5-speed manual Cayman, by motivating me to try to match its quick shifting speeds, and perfectly matched throttle blips on downshifts. It also has 7 forward gears, which certainly helps to fill the large spacing between gears of my 5-speed.
But my left foot was bored. I still prefer the driver engagement and satisfaction of driving a manual gearbox well. That's just my $0.02, FWIW.
Good luck with your decision.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

There have been a few times when I've been on the street driving my 09 CS w/ PDK and thinking about what I'd be doing in my 06 CS w/ MT in the same situation.

Shifting gears. :hilarious:

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

One of my friends, who is a big motorsports enthusiast, had an interesting take on this debate.

He thinks that there are people who praise PDK for it's track ability and for it's ease of daily driveability in traffic. For all others in between, manual is more enjoyable. In other words, there are some that fall at each end of a spectrum who truly NEED PDK, those that fall in between can still enjoy a manual. Hope I got the point across accurately.

I thought this was an interesting view.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

there are people who praise PDK for it's track ability and for it's ease of daily driveability in traffic. For all others in between, manual is more enjoyable.

No one can describe it better... yet we will always want the two worlds together!

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Manual is dead to me

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

The dealer had a pdk boxster, I'm going to test today

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I know I'm on the other side, but I don't ever want to give up my manual. I know I'll never be as fast as PDK, but the PDK will also never have as much fun shifting as I do.

I know this is often overstated, but the clutch and shifting is part of my driving enjoyment. I really don't have any interest in PDK. Here's hoping Porsche keeps making real manuals.

OTOH, I would insist on the PDK if my Cayman was my daily driver.

Kevin

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I know I'm on the other side, but I don't ever want to give up my manual. I know I'll never be as fast as PDK, but the PDK will also never have as much fun shifting as I do.

I know this is often overstated, but the clutch and shifting is part of my driving enjoyment. I really don't have any interest in PDK. Here's hoping Porsche keeps making real manuals.

OTOH, I would insist on the PDK if my Cayman was my daily driver.

Kevin

Right, well the day may come when the technology makes it possible and practical for cars to drive themselves following sensors built into the road. Plus in theory cars could also communicate with each other, and far more efficiently get us from point A to B than a human driver. Not only more efficiently, but by having cars work together on the roads, much safer as well.

If that day comes, there will be people who enjoy the benefits of being able to sit back, let the car handle the steering, acceleration, braking while reading the morning paper. They will correctly point out that the computer controlled driver is a safer, more efficient driver than any human can be. They may be right, however....

Then there will be those who miss the involvement of steering, using the gas peddle, the brake peddle, etc. Technology must march on, and there is no stopping that, but from the point of view of what is most involving, the most fun, not everyone feels that a more automated driving experience is as fulfilling.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

PDK is probably the best automatic transmission ever made. Despite all the fancy buzz words, the fact is a computer shifts the car for you - it's an automatic transmission. Sure, you can use the cute little buttons or paddles or even the shift lever to tell it when to shift, but it still does all the work. And does it quite well.

With that being said, for a DD, the PDK is perfect. Sometimes I miss the manual, but then some bumper-to-bumper traffic will pop up and I don't miss it any more! If it were just a track car, or even primarily a track car, I think the PDK would get boring. And yes, in traffic you can be tooling along at 40mph in 7th gear - yawn. However, if you need to get somewhere, stomp on the gas and it will instantly drop to 2nd or 3rd. Try that with a manual!

So, it probably depends on how you use the vehicle, how engaged you want to be with the driving experience, your level of competence with a standard transmission, etc.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Test drove a Boxster with PDK, no sport chrono today. While not as engaging as driving a 6MT, it was miles ahead of the slushbox in my 335i. Definitely upshifted too much at low speeds, but responded very quickly to throttle input.
Given how much I drive in traffic, I can see where it would advantageous without sacrificing much performance. Sound like it would be worth it to have sport chrono.
Since my BMW was in a accident, I will have to wait until I can turn it in next summer on my Owner's Choice financing. Will probably just order and lease a Cayman with the options I want.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I was a confirmed MT driver, I have been born again, and I wont go back. Love the PDK, Sports Chrono is a must. I recently installed a PSE on my new spyder, and now the car is driven almost always in manuel, using the new paddle shifters. Great sound, seamless shifts, and the paddle shifters are very intuitive. I have been driving MT porsches since the 356 days, and I have never had more fun than with the PDK, both in traffic and on the track.(autocross) You won't miss the manuel.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I bought my car because it had the manual. I'm old-fashioned. Actually, I'm just old.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I bought my car because it had the manual. I'm old-fashioned. Actually, I'm just old.

Heck, I'm just old too, but I got the PDK. Right now, I have an 07 2.7 Cayman w/5 speed and an 09 CS w/PDK (had it less than a week). I have to admit that I concur with Interpol that there are times already that I miss the manual.... That being said, I think I will love the PDK when I get her on the track (which hopefully will be tomorrow on the VLN circuit at Nürburg). I'll try to remember (see original comment that I'm just old...) to post my observations after that brief track day. But, even though I slightly miss the shifting once in a while, the PDK, for me, was by far the best choice.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

So, tell me about the downshift on the PDK- all I ever see posted is what a good job it does of replacing the clutch pedal; and IF you opt for the Sports Chrono, what a wonderful job it does in selecting gears.

What does it do on the brakes? Does it blip the throttle & downshift at appropriate speeds to help with the braking?

Before I got old, matched downshifts were my forte. I still have the timing but the Cayman has too-wide (or long) pedal positions.

PS- both me & my wife insist on MT.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

So, tell me about the downshift on the PDK- all I ever see posted is what a good job it does of replacing the clutch pedal; and IF you opt for the Sports Chrono, what a wonderful job it does in selecting gears.

What does it do on the brakes? Does it blip the throttle & downshift at appropriate speeds to help with the braking?

Yes it does. The effect is more pronounced in Sport mode - downshifts occur at higher speeds so engine braking contributes more to deceleration.

The computer also does automatic revmatching when manually downshifting and will also not allow manual downshifting if it results in overrevving.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Holy ....!

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I got the PDK and I do miss rowing. However I just went and bought another MT car for pure rowing fun. As a DD the PDK is way way better, you can shift manually and then go to auto when you need to take a phone call. I took a long 14 hour drive to seattle and the PDK was a lifesaver, I could zone out a bit.

Also with PDK, cruise control will automatically downshift if you are going downhill too fast, and all sorts of goodies.

But never get PDK without Sport Chrono, the standard shift map is for fuel efficiency only, don't expect to drive it in standard auto unless you're feeling real cheap, or are stuck in traffic and want to coast a lot

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

To me it seems like the Cayman makes a great GT so the PDK was a good match. Throw in a Lotus Elise on the side for pure rowing

(I went with a Miata on the side)

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Quick question, everyone says sport chrono is a must have with PDK, and then mention how much better it is in auto mode. If you run it in manual mode, does the sport chrono also make a difference?

I prefer manual, but my lease is ending soon and there are a lot of pdk cars without sport chrono sitting on dealer lots for a long time so probably could get a really good deal on one.

Thanks.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Quick question, everyone says sport chrono is a must have with PDK, and then mention how much better it is in auto mode. If you run it in manual mode, does the sport chrono also make a difference?

It does make a difference. In addition to the higher throttle response Sport Chrono gives you, you get slightly faster, gearshifts when you shift gears. Sport Plus makes this even faster.

Something interesting he experienced with the PDK was that in full MANUAL mode cruising in 7th gear, he pressed the gas pedal down hard, and the car downshifted for him. Caught him off guard a bit. So he made sure he was in MANUAL again, cruising in 7th, pressed down hard, and same thing...car shifted on it's own. The dealer's response, "We really don't know why. We're still learning about this transmission." Hmmmmm

I think that's the 'kickdown' function of the PDK (check the manual). There's a switch on the floorboard behind the throttle pedal that gets tripped when you floor it that causes exactly what you described.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

I feel some of the decision is how you intend to use the car.

I have not owned an auto equipped car for some 20+ years. I went for the PDK with the Cayman as its my daily dirver, and over the years traffic in the Dallas area has gotten much more congested. If yours will be a weekend car only, then the manaul may be way to go.

Having lived with the PDK for a 14 months now, it is unlike any auto I ever experienced, and I seriously doubt I will ever go back to a manual tranny as long as there is a PDK option.

Now if I could only get the bubba's who have yet to learn to drive off the road...

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

My Cayman S is an '06, so I never had the option for PDK. However, I still enjoy the extra involvement with manual, and wouldn't purchase a PDK. My dad describes driving manual as being a little more "romantic". On a side note, he actually purchased a PDK equipped Boxster S, and after a few months, missed shifting on his own. Car was sold in 6 months, but that was also due to him driving too fast.

Something interesting he experienced with the PDK was that in full MANUAL mode cruising in 7th gear, he pressed the gas pedal down hard, and the car downshifted for him. Caught him off guard a bit. So he made sure he was in MANUAL again, cruising in 7th, pressed down hard, and same thing...car shifted on it's own. The dealer's response, "We really don't know why. We're still learning about this transmission." Hmmmmm

Call me old-fashioned (only 34), but I still enjoy the engagement of driving my car, not a computer doing it for me. I do, however, realize that you can't really say that a "true" sports car is a manual, anymore, because most of the race cars are not using real manuals these days. But I'm not a race car driver.....well, not in real life...

Please let me point out that the Cayman S is not my only car. It is, however, my only practical car as the other is a Hummer H2 lifted on 38's.

 

My Cayman S is an '06, so I never had the option for PDK. However, I still enjoy the extra involvement with manual, and wouldn't purchase a PDK. My dad describes driving manual as being a little more "romantic". On a side note, he actually purchased a PDK equipped Boxster S, and after a few months, missed shifting on his own. Car was sold in 6 months, but that was also due to him driving too fast.

Something interesting he experienced with the PDK was that in full MANUAL mode cruising in 7th gear, he pressed the gas pedal down hard, and the car downshifted for him. Caught him off guard a bit. So he made sure he was in MANUAL again, cruising in 7th, pressed down hard, and same thing...car shifted on it's own. The dealer's response, "We really don't know why. We're still learning about this transmission." Hmmmmm

Call me old-fashioned (only 34), but I still enjoy the engagement of driving my car, not a computer doing it for me. I do, however, realize that you can't really say that a "true" sports car is a manual, anymore, because most of the race cars are not using real manuals these days. But I'm not a race car driver.....well, not in real life...

Please let me point out that the Cayman S is not my only car. It is, however, my only practical car as the other is a Hummer H2 lifted on 38's.

Actually I believe this is because pdk on manual only uses the 6 forward gears.

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Either way, it downshifted to 4th...

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Sometimes I wish I opted for a PDK; only sometimes. From my own experience the last 10 months of ownership of MT, a PDK is the choice if the car is your DD in heavy traffic or to be driven for long distances. Nevertheless the MT is really fun to use and smooth as the case with the cayman. My next Porsche will be equiped with a PDK for convienience only.
:thanks:

 

Re: PDK owners, anyone miss manaul trans?

Sometimes I wish I opted for a PDK; only sometimes. From my own experience the last 10 months of ownership of MT, a PDK is the choice if the car is your DD in heavy traffic or to be driven for long distances. Nevertheless the MT is really fun to use and smooth as the case with the cayman. My next Porsche will be equiped with a PDK for convienience only.
:thanks:

Agreed, I was driving my 6MT Short shifter today thinking of this post. All I will say is nothing beats rowing through the gears of a Porsche Cayman.