Edit: No. Now just let this thread die already.

 

It is not healthy to NOT discuss these things. Not everyone participates in every thread since the beginning of 6speedonline or the advent of the dual-clutch era.

Some enthusiasts approach these philosophies (and purchasing decisions) in their own time. Please don't be intolerant of those who approach these ideas at a different rate (i.e., someone that wasn't ready to purchase and become active online until recently, after the previous threads were closed).

Hopefully we should have all learned something about either perspective (or else - what's the point?), and should be able to provide better feedback for those seeking advice, etc...

 

Agreed and thank you. It's not constructive to open the thread to just post "Not again." If the subject is so abhorrent to you, simply click the back button on the upper left of your browser window.

 

Your point is well taken..

Perhaps instead of "not again", we can provide links on well worn(out) subjects and encourage the use of the search function.

But it isn't the OP that I think anyone has a problem with.. It's the digression of others into childish arguing that gets very personal at time that is unfortunate. That said it is the moderater job to squash that kind of thing and everyone should be able to debate as they see fit..

 

I was just driving down a twisty road and greatly enjoyed having the manual transmission. Especially the downshifts. To me that's part of staying in the lane. Some people said they prefer to get PDK so they can "concentrate on the driving line" and my point is simply in non track driving that's just about impossible. Even on twisty mountain roads you can't indiscriminately cut across 3 lanes. So left driving watching the automatic shift for you or pushing/pulling flappy paddles just like on many luxury sends and SUVs.

Just couldn't let that incorrect characterization be the last word. Now I feel better about letting this thread die.

 

I agree, though there are certain topics that have simply been beaten far past death.

 

I agree with Jaspergtr's comments. I remember coming to this forum as a newbie looking for info and wanted current feedback and engage the forum. I've learned over the years that if I see a post I know may have been beaten to death, I pass rather than feign frustration just to post.
On the subject. I trembler my dad had a car when I was a kid that had push button gear selection. Thought it was cool at the time. My first ride was a Triumph TR3 almost older than I was when I bought it but my first manual. That's what got me hooked. Have owned several Porsche cars and other with various trans and didn't hate one of them. Before getting back into a manual 911 I drove a Pana4 for 2 year and can see why the PDK guys really like it. Hope Porsche keeps making both so we all have choices as that's what it's really about not which is better but instead which is better for you.

 

just dont ever buy a button steering wheel PDK car off the lot , as a sales guy told me that on nearly every test drive , the driver correctly pulls the left hand button to downshift but then also PULLS ( instead of pushes ) the right side one to upshift, only to have motor bang the rev limiter in first or second gear on a cold brand new engine. Usually the driver will accidentally do this a few times due to muscle memory of their other paddleshift cars which are pull left one down, pull right one up , despite knowing proper push/pull procedure. Pattern repeats every test drive....with .." whoops ..sorry " ...heard every time , lol.

good reason to only buy a non-ordered PDK that has sport design flappy paddle wheel, imo

 

My Porsches have always been weekend/pleasure cars for me. Which is why I've never owned an automatic and never will when it comes to a Porsche. And just like the pleasure of seeing so many dials and gauges on the dash, there's also a pleasure in seeing 3 pedals on the floor in a sports car versus 2, and with it the concomitant satisfaction in knowing the number of drivers who can wield all three is dwindling. I think someone mentioned a manual tranny being a theft deterrent in and of itself. There's some merit in that.

On a positive note this is the smoothest shifting manual tranny on any Porsche I've ever owned. Can't believe how effortless and smooth and crisp and precise the shift gates are on this well-engineered 7-speed manual. It's absolutely a pure pleasure to drive. I would pay a premium of 3 grand or more to be able to opt for such an optimized gearbox as this one. And the best part of it all is I got it for free!

 

There's only ONE thing you can't do with PDK that you can do with a manual, and that's blow up the motor

 

That depends on where you live ! Over here everyone drives stick ! So wielding all three pedals is considered rather trivial in my neck of the woods !

I have an incling that most MT lovers / pdk haters on RL associate the MT with something special, a special skill to master and to be proud of. Where I live that's obviously not the case. Here gear heads pride themselves on mastering Double de clutching (just for fun, technologically obsolete) and H&T. And when those skills are mastered, natural progression is the PDK.

 

Exactly, theres nothing special in driving a manual in this part of the world, all cars have a boring manual tranny, even my grandmother can heel and toe
Drive a PDK in sport plus with manual paddle shifting, now that is fun!, closest thing to a F1 race car.
To each its own, I guess.

 

i honestly don't think they will ever get rid of the manual transmission in a Carrera.


i thought about this for a long time..
the name " Carrera " has been used for too many decades with a manual transmission.
"GT3" is a new era name. it means it should outperform all the other 911 variants on the track, which means it's going to need a PDK transmission.


Carrera will be the last of the pure manual Sports Cars.

 

This is all about money and it depends on how well they sell in the future, It seems to me that manuals have certain aura of exclusivity in America, it would be interesting to know what percentage of 991 Carrera offered are manuals. Here in Brasil there is not even one, none, zero. With tiptronic, manual was the logical choice, but after PDK no one wants a manual, they simply dont sell. I guess this is the tendency in most parts of the world, and considering that America no longer has the largest piece of Porsche market share, my prediction is that its days are counted.

 

The vast majority of Americans don't want manuals anymore. That's why they're so rare. If they did, dealers would order their lot stock with manuals, which they don't. I don't know what the median age is for buyers of new Porsches, but I suspect it's north of 40. Age can be a factor. But ultimately the day the dual clutch gearbox arrived which easily outperformed manuals in every aspect that could represent (acceleration, aggressive downshifting, fuel economy, short shifting, canyon carving, etc.), the demise of the manual gearbox was set in motion. For me it's simple. Pre 2009, manual gearbox all the way. 2009 and newer, PDK is the choice if you want the most performance out of your car.

Keep in mind this forum represents a vast minority of Porsche owners. So here if you think manuals are the choice gearbox, it doesn't represent the mindset of the new car buyer, which matters most to Porsche.

Personally I think PDK is fun if you drive in manual mode 100% of the time. Just my opinion, but manuals can make for quite lazy driving as most won't make every ideal shift. PDK makes shifting so effortless that you find yourself shifting as needed so you're always in the ideal gear. PDK can allow you to skip gears too, which I'm not sure everyone knows. If you pull the paddle twice quickly, it'll go straight to the second gear selected.