Hey Guys,

Just bought a 997 Turbo with 7k miles. Its been fully checked out and looks to be in mint condition. The only thing that concerns me though is when crusing in stop n go traffic, between 8-13mph in 1st gear, it seems there is a bit of slack and the car has trouble maintaining a smooth cruise. Its right where the gear is loaded/unloaded but the backlash seems a bit much and it can be choppy to drive.. Im not sure if this is a normal characteristic or not. Im used to the flappy paddle system, so my 6speed is something I havent had in a few years.. Everything else seems dead on solid, should I worry?

 

Congrats on your purchase.

Was sports mode on? I found the best way to drive in heavy traffic is to leave sports mode off and stay in 2nd if the car is moving at around 10mph.

 

i have the same problem with my gt2 , and i dont think i can take the sport button off.. and i live in a little city called LA...

 

You may just need to get familiar with the car more and its characteristics. 1st gear is not that smooth IMO. I prefer 2nd when possible. You could have the dealer take a peak but I don't think you have anything to worry about if the car feels great otherwise...

 

So the choppyness and light backlash when on and off the gas at such slow speeds is normal? The car has no signs of abuse or wear at all, I thought maybe an inexperienced driver may have been ruff on first, but then I think im just being paranoid and since it is a sports car.. seems a bit much for stop n go traffic

 

At that speed, the turbos are generating little if any pressure in the intake. I believe that is what you are experiencing. It's normal.

 

thanks for the good question porsche951s , i just bought my first stick porsche a few days ago and noticed the same thing, im glad that someone else brought it up. enjoy your car in good health. i have been only using 1st gear at lights and stop signs ...

 

you're prob OK, may just be getting used to the manual

in 1st at your speed range (8-13mph) can be a bit touchy no matter what car you're driving as the compression of the motor will want to slow you down (especially with the gearing in 1st) and the low rev range you'll be at doesn't really give the motor a lot of power to pull the car when you step on the gas

as others have suggested, when decelerating get the car into 2nd and then take it as low as you can speed wise, will make for a much smoother and less "jerky" driving experience

Also - be sure "Sport" is turned off when in traffic, very difficult to drive stop-and-go with the throttle response so sensitive

Dukekid

 

this will happen with any manual automobile.. 1st gear ratio is very short and the abruptness in deceleration @ throttle lift is commonly referred as "engine braking."

Perfectly normal. You can "emulate" an automatic by cruising in 2nd and 3rd as others have mentioned.

There are quite a few Euro-car veterans that eliminate using 1st gear altogether in their daily drive...

 

Thanks for the replies.. I also notice during slow 1st gear speed that if im off the gas and the engine is pulling me, when depressing the clutch, the tranny seems to have a thunk of release.. I found that by lightly applying gas right before i throw her in neutral, the tension on the tranny is removed..

 

1st really only to get off the line, while in city traffic go into 2nd asap, good enough even down to a crawl. 1st and second are extremely short on the tts. Really unless you go up a steep incline, say in a parking garage, at a very slow speed there is really never a need to stay in first other than to get rolling.