It was a beautiful day so I took the car up to Bear Mountain NY. There were no cars around and I had all the twisties on the mountain to myself.

I found the rev-matching (Sport Plus) to be spot on while making downshifts during the descent; the revs were adjusting automatically the moment I depressed the clutch and moved the shifter. In other words, the car was bringing up the proper revs just as I was preparing to do so myself. Weird feeling having the machine think for you.

Traction was also amazing for the mid-forties. My previous car was a ZO6, and it would have killed me today for sure. I guess that's why I never took it to Bear Mountain during the winter.

Anyway, I thought I'd share this tidbit with my fellow manual transmission owners.

 

Awesome and that Bear Mountain drive is one of the best around. Check out the latest issue of Christophorus where they take the 991 to Seven Lakes.
Careful with the summer tires tho in these temps -- the traction is amazing... until it isn't!

 

very nice! I am hoping for a retrofit of rev-matching for the '12 manuals..but even without..whew..too much fun with this manual. Love it!

 

How true, on the stock summer tires at 33F I had the backend slide way out at 85mph on a tight entrance ramp curve, just as I began to accelerate hard for the straight. I have been through this corner dozens of times with no slide, but always at 45+F. My 991 went old school on me...I stayed on the gas, flicked the wheel into the slide and shot down the ramp. Some unexpected fun, but a good warning to me about summer tires in the cold.

 

Thanks guys, I'll keep the "summer tire" warning in mind.

 

I'm starting to think NOT to put winter tires on.....a few places where I went to ask told me that "it's going to be hard to put tires on those rims".....which to me sounds like "we'll scratch the heck out of those rims".....two months until i don't need them anymore, anyway....

 

There's a risk whenever you change tires on custom rims. I'd rather drive slower during the cold weather and avoid the heartache.

But if the car is a DD, you'll need to find a specialty shop that specializes in changing custom wheels. They will most likely have the latest equipment and know all the tricks for avoiding nicks and scratches.

 

Or you just get a 2nd set of wheels... Considering storing winter/summer tires takes up the same amount of space with/without wheels, its a no brainer. Plus its a one time cost to mount rather than 2x mounts per year. Save your precious rims, get yourself a set of 18's or something so you can have a higher sidewall, and call it a day

 

This is definitely the way to go with a DD, as it'll save a lot of grief.

 

Wait, is this "rev-matching" for 2012 991 models as well? So your saying that the car rev matches for you without blipping the throttle yourself, a la nissan 370z?

 

2013's and up I think. But yes.

 

Yes, it matches the revs automatically.

I believe Porsche began including this feature with the the 2013 models.

 

The feature is supposed to be on all C4s, (MT of course) and on some 2013 C2s.
Mine was manufactured in Aug and it does not have it, but some made near to that date do. Perhaps some before.

I have been told by a Porsche person that it is not an upgradable option. In order to have the feature there are sensors in the transmission that are not field installable.
fred

 

Very interesting - this is the first I've heard of some 2013's not having the rev-matching. I also heard of an October build that did have it. So somewhere between August and October 2012 (2013 model year) built cars, Porsche started putting it into all (or some?) their manual shift cars.

 

I have a '13 C2S with sport chrono, July build, and I don't have the rev-matching feature, never even heard of the option so it must have become available after that.