I know this will cause many of you to bend over laughing but I admit I am a total Porsche noob so I thought I would pose this for the experts here at my new favorite site. Apologies if this has already been covered.

I don't know how to operate my PDK. My new cab shifts too soon when in automatic, thus lugging the engine a tad. I don't mind manually shifting but after all I did pay (too much) for the automatic option and would like to use it most of the time. Will it get better over time (I just bought it last week)? I think I read that the shifter actually "learns" one's style of driving? Oh and I do not have the sport chrono option if that matters.

 

I would start by reading that book in the glove box! Place the gear select lever in the manual position and use the buttons on the steering wheel.....push to shift up pull towards you to shift down...In auto it will run to the highest gear quickly for the best mileage returns. Also if you drive more "spirited" while in auto mode, such as getting into the throttle deeper at start off it will hold a lower gear longer. But when it senses you are finished dirving in a sporting manner it will then revert to the "best mileage" shift map and you will find yourself in 6th or 7th quickly.

 

It's not lugging the engine - you are just not used to it. SC would help since Sport mode tends towards higher rev shift points, but you can achieve that with Manual shifting if you need it.

As for learning the driving style - PDK is very dynamic versus long-term based - it takes into account not only how you are driving at the moment but also road resistance, altitude, etc - the idea is for real-time optimal performance (in normal mode without SC, that means quick enough while being as miserly as possible with the gas).

PDK takes some getting used to I think. What we are used to trying to manage in our brains, PDK is usually a few steps ahead with, so it can seem strange. At high track speeds that could be just one less thing to have to worry over, but for us puttering around town, it can create a lack of involvement in auto. If you are bored, try to make a game out of shifting in manual as well as the car can do it in auto - very hard to out-shift PDK so far for me.

For a relaxed, effortless, and relatively economical drive, let PDK take over.

 

Ok I am not laughing...well maybe a little...so hey WTF I'm honest at least!

Is this really a serious question? You really cannot figure out how to drive the PDK?

 

Well, I was basically asking why the PDK shifts so soon (e.g. 40mph in 7th gear) but based on the responses and other stuff I'm gleaning on the Web it appears to be operating as intended - gas economy.

I was also asking about "how to operate it" because I've seen some comments about tips/tricks and secrets of the PDK.

 

It is very unfortunate that the normal auto mode does lug the engine. It is equally unfortunate that the sport auto mode jerks the car to a stop and blips into 6th gear at 55 mph (highway speeds on many roads) .

So what I do is a variety of swtiching selections ro suit that moment .
In gridlock traffic normal auto is ideal .
On the highwy I use sport auto and find it better for highways where 65mph are the limit but have accepted that on the 55 highways I will burn more gas .

On regular driving I use manual sport . I like shifting the gears but also realize that the auto selections are useful because since the car has 7 speeds instead of 6 I would rather not be shifting all day.

 

For grid-lock traffic, Auto/Sport+ works well too - hardly ever shifts.

I have yet to experience true engine lugging in my car - and I cannot believe that Porsche would design the car that way. But maybe I don't really know what "lugging" is...20+ years with a stick, you'd think I would. I always considered lugging to be very undesirable - got the wrong gear/quick shift to correct . Now I ride around every day doing it half the time - - weird.

 

Bu "lugging" I believe he means that it's too high of a gear selection to produce low RPM fuel economy. The idea of a car that reaches 6th gear under 40 MPH is unfathomable for a Porsche 911 . Normal auto does do that.

What's really needed is something in between normal and sport combining the best of both and eliminating the worst of each.

 

Yeah, in normal auto mode PDK will upshift and try to keep the car running for the best fuel mileage. You CAN give the throttle a quick push all the way down...like a quick blip and PDK will downshift but if you continue to drive slow it will upshift back to the high gear. The more agressive you drive over time PDK will learn somewhat. My wife drive the car in auto but she puts PDK into sport mode. She like the shifts there better. I personally drive in manual mode.

Hope this helps...Mike

 

what's crazy for me is that by the time I get a mile from my neighborhood, i am in 7th gear under 40 in the normal mode. I actually have been driving in the sport manual mode and I am getting closer to the 2000 break in miles! I even drive in the manual only mode and it's the best!

 

If it's not in Sport Mode, and you're in auto not manual, in my experience it will always get into 7th gear 'too early'... basically it's going for fuel efficiency at the cost of performance.

If you want to drive it 'sporty style' either: 1) put it in sport mode + automatic OR 2) shift it manually (my own favorite)

 

OK, I just did about 30miles of city (35-40) and highway (50-85) in Auto/Normal.

7th NEVER kicked in under 52mph and never on the city streets at 40+ - even when loafing in traffic. And in 6th, the slightest urgency on the pedal got 5th instantly and anything more aggressive would get 4th and hold the sportier shift program for as long as I didn't fall back into a loaf along driving style (unfortunately not too long in 4pm ATL traffic ).

Maybe the "S" cars are different - that would be a bummer.

Some of what PDK does is hard to notice unless you get into just the right conditions, like downshifting while braking is very different when just creeping to a stop versus quickly changing between acceleration and braking - but is very cool and very smart.

There's a link to a really good tech document on the 997.2 that has a great section on PDK with info that should be in the owner's manual, but I think a good bit more detail is in that tech doc - for the definitive on "How do I work my...em...PDK?", go here: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-question.html

I think the evolution of transmission is more gears for better efficiency - but even with 7, managing them manually and optimally could become tedious and with PDK, I think it is just better informed, faster, and certainly more focused on gear changes than most drivers will or could be. That it drops into 6th at 35 or so, and still is ready to sprint in a instant's notice, I think is really impressive - I'd have never thought to do that - or I'd be too lazy to shift to optimal gears in such subtly changing conditions. PDK is some high-tech brilliant gear...but I could see how it might be boring for some...even me eventually.

 

I drove the car this morning in 'auto' mode until the oil warmed up... True to form, I pulled out of the neighborhood onto a road that allows 55 driving and yes, it was in 7th gear by the time I got to a 4 way stop at exactly 1 mile from the entrance to my neighborhood. Flash forward to 10 miles later when getting on the interstate and in the sport auto mode...never made it to 6th gear @top speed of 78 MPH. Our speed limit is 70 until you get a few miles from town! Anyway, my point is that when I drive manual mode, I rarely ever get to 6th gear at 4k rpm @70 mph. I love hearing the sound of the engine as it drives and revs!!! The car just begs for me to drive it harder and faster...I still have not reached 2000 miles yet. I am at 1704, so just a few more break in miles and I am going to drive it hard in the manual sport mode!