Guys,


Quick question for those of you who own multiple manual transmission cars, does your 996 6 speed feel like you are shifting and clutching on a semi-truck? Don't get me wrong, I love the Porsche so far and am likely still just getting used to it, but I feel like it is pretty heavy to shift (a lot of effort) and the clutch is pretty heavy feeling. I'm just comparing it to my Caliber SRT 4, the Caliber 6 speed feels like an absolute toy when I drive it now compared to the Porsche. Is this normal? Have I been wussified by the Caliber and need to put on my big boy pants? LOL!

 

well ofcourse the clutch is heavy compared to econoboxes

 

See, though, the Caliber has a Getrag gear box and supposedly a Mercedes clutch on it, so I thought it was somewhat more serious than the econoboxes.

 

The clutch should be firm (some say heavy) and smooth throughout it's travel, and yes the gears can be a bit notchy, most Porsches are and have been like that. You may want to look into replacing the motor mounts with semi solid mounts, this will help the shifting, of course you could also change out the transmission mounts as well.

 

Well, if it's normal I will just have to drive it more and get used to it. My clutch pedal creaks a little too, I'm sure that's just the spring.

 

Yes the creaking is the spring. FYI, most people who drive a Porsche for the first time, or any exotic for that matter always comment on how hard the clutch is compared to other brand cars.

 

Geez, and I thought the clutch was too light on these cars so I put in a GT2 conversion kit and also removed the helper spring so my left leg is now twice the size of my right leg! You definitely wouldn't want to drive my car, that's for sure.....

The creaking may be the spring, but it's often the pedal pivot point. If it's the spring, it'll generally sound like a rusty spring on a screen door with distinct multiple "pinging" (don't know what else to call it) sounds as the spring compresses/stretches. If you want to get rid of it, make sure you use grease on it and not WD40, silicone spray, or another lightweight lubricant as many/most people incorrectly do!

 

I really don't understand the "heavy" clutch comments about 996's. I guess since my first manual was a Muncie 4-speed w/ 4.11 rear end and drove that in traffic everything else is light.

 

Lol my 996 is my first car ever. My comment stems from me driving an S2K after, as well as an evo9.

Both were pretty soft compared to the 996... then I tried an audi A5 -- which made me hate 3 pedals in anything other than a sports car haha

 

I agree that it is heavy, but thats just exotic/performance car territory. Ended up test driving a new sti with a buddy for him and couldnt get use to the non existant feel of the clutch, felt like I was going to go through the floor.

 

A Porsche for your first car ever? Not too shabby!

 

+1 Thanks for the memories: My first muscle car was a 65 Chevy Impala 327 with a Muncie 4-speed, and no power steering. Heavy everything.


FYI, the notchy shifting dissipates as the P-car warms up, and my spring squeaks too. A piece of cheese may solve the issue.

 

I've driven dozens of manual transmissions from many different brands and I agree with all of the above, and will add some of my own thoughts.

My first car was an '87 Jeep Cherokee with the 4.0L "high output" (though they didn't call it H.O. at the time) and a 5 speed - very heavy clutch and shifted like, well, a truck. It was fun to let a friend try to drive it when they'd learned on a car. Yeah, the motions were the same but WAY different to drive and very hard to drive smoothly.

Based entirely on my experience:

In general Japanese cars have much lighter clutches and arguably the easiest shifting (low effort) transmissions. Feel is in between American and German.
Based on: RX8, MX6, WRX, STI, Many Honda's/Acura's, Toyota 4Runner, some small trucks.

German cars have heavier clutches and more "notchy" (higher effort) transmissions. I think this comes from the general higher output of many German cars and tendency to build heavier duty. Clutch feel is highest for me here.
Based on: variety of Audi's, BMW's, Jetta, GTI - mostly from the late 90's onward

American cars are somewhere in between. Shifting feel is probably lowest here, effort is somewhere in between German and Japanese and clutch effort is in between as well. Clutch feel is lowest here.
Based on: Corvette C5, C6, C5 Z06, Camaro 6 cyl., Mustang GT 5.0, various trucks

This is based solely on my experience, your results may vary...

 

@ Dans911, I don't mean to make you nervous, but the clutch will get harder to press as it wears down I have been told. Not quiet sure if it's the clutch or throw bearing. Mine is a little hard to press but not too bad. I recently drove one with a very soft clutch pedal with only 15k miles on it.

LOS

 

If I remember correctly, there is a clutch assist type spring by the clutch pedal which makes it easier to push the clutch pedal towards the floor.

It's relatively common for this spring to break, and many people don't even realize it. Getting it fixed will make a noticeable difference in how hard it is to push the clutch pedal all the way.

b-man