Honestly not very impressed... It is 100% improved over tiptronic and is going in the right direction, but compared to the new M3 with DCT (which I have driven only on the street) it was not that impressive. Shifts did not feel quite as crisp and the "paddles" suck... They are very hard to find during cornering... A friend of mine drove it on the street after and said though its better than Tip, it was pretty rough (especially on the downshifts). He also said in auto mode that it shifts up WAY too quick! He went from 1st to 5th by the time he crossed a (large) intersection accelerating normally and the car just had no power to continue accross when he went to speed up just a bit... Though it sounds like we are "*******" PDK, its a pretty good transmission and I think over time it will evolve to where Audi and BMW are already...

As for the 09, the power is quite nice and the increase is noticeable. Feels quite nice!! The looks are a nice subtle improvement especially the tail lights. When the brakes come on it looks just like a Carrera GT

Well I thought I would post up a review, as I am not sure how many have been on a track with PDK (or even driven it).
Regards,
Evan

 

interesting. this is the first negative review i've heard about the pdk.

 

Overall I think its a good transmission, just when compared to DCT or DSG I think BMW and Audi are a bit ahead of the curve here... Like I said, its 10x better than tiptronic (which was pretty much the worst transmission in a sports car).
Evan

 

don't know but them brit mags have given it great reviews as good or better than bmw's dct

 

Rough on down shifts? PDK rev matches and is not rough on down shifts. Put it in sport mode when letting PDK shift in auto and it shifts all by it's self very well. I agree in normal mode it up shifts very fast keeping the rpm's too low for my liking but they are trying to meet a certain EPA reg.

 

I sat in one yesterday. Although the paddles didn't feel great, I'm sure it's something you get used to, and I like the fact that you can shift up and down with with either side. I didn't get to drive it so I have no comments on how it really works.

 

interesting- Thanks for posting the info. First negative review I've heard as well.

 

I have a friend with a V8 M3, he has the DSG (or what ever else they call it) and he has shifting issues with it. It shifts from 5 to 2 mid way through his turn (on the track) and won't down shift under heavy braking. I would say that this system is far from perfect.

BTW my 06 C2S with an old school 6MT outperforms his M3 on every track, in both wet and dry. I think I have him thinking about buying a Porsche.

 

I had a few hiccups when driving the PDK and some at very low speeds...

When in the right mode the gear shifts were very quick.

The paddles are a bit counter-intuative and are supposed to be changed in the future so I've been told.

 

My friend is a pro-race car driver (though he doesn't race anymore) so I trust his judgement on that, but like I said, I have not driven it on the street yet... He said it was just really jerky and rough and certainally did not sound like it was rev-matching (I am sure he would have noticed). It was for sure in sport mode as well...

Evan

 

That is weird my PDK rev matches and is not jerky on down shifts.

 

bmws dct is garbage...it lags like crazy on upshifts. remember that Porsche was the first one to even come up with this technology in the 80's! PDK IMO from my experience so far is the best double clutch out there, which is right in line with what all the mags are saying. it blows away dct and even dsg IMO. i think without a doubt bmw is the one with a lot of work to do on their transmission. PDK is far superior to dct. not only much more agressive and faster on upshifts, but also the down shifts are lightning quick and perfectly rev matched.

 

I have an M3 and opted NOT to get the DCT. I have read both postive and negative reviews . A friend of mine just got his DCT and he felt that after some practive and setting adjustments he really likes it. The deterrent for him was that the BMW manual gearbox lacks the precision of Porsche and with that i completely agree . I am not the primary driver of the M3 (girlfriend is) but with gas consumption being an issue I have been driving it a lot lately as her distance of travel exceeds mine . I have adjusted to the "sloppy" gearbox which in part is coupled with poor shifter position.

The Porsche DCT I would pass up even faster only because the manual gearbox in the Porsche is that amazing !!! No matter what car i drive there isn;t a time that I climb back into my Porsche and appreciate how smoothly it shifts .

If I were to buy a high technology new transmission car I might opt for the GTR . I am impressed with the car as I rolled with one the other day but have yet to drive it. Nissan has placed a lot of technological effort into that car and it may very well become my third car when my Civic Si (third car) faces trade in time a year or two from now .

 

Saw my first GTR in traffic yesterday and it was in a color very similar to Meteor Gray...when looking at the car from my car (at eye level) I have to admit the car looks pretty interesting and quite menacing...just a shame a car of that caliber is going to be serviced at a Nissan dealership...should have been an Infiniti.

 

Same color I saw . It was quite impressive but as you stated I also felt that badging it as an Infiniti with special attention given to interior upgrades and offering a high end service experience would be appealing yet the car would cost more .

The GTR launched as a Nissan with a few less bells and whistles allowed the price point to make this drivers car a great value considering it's capability .

I felt that on the brief sprint (3rd gear) I would say it's faster than my M3 ,faster than a 997S, faster than a stock 997tt , but not as fast as my Evt700 in a straight line roll .

Bone stock the GTR offers performance and has a very sophisticated technology .

I actually wish it came with a manual gearbox (I prefer shifting) but if DCT type transmission is a priority this car has a lot to offer .