Took a buddy for a ride yesterday afternoon.. out in the middle of nowhere, so we had a chance to 'play'..

Came around a long sweeper onto a long straight stretch, with unlimited visibility - so I stopped the car.. I told him what I was about to do, but neither of us was prepared for the intensity of the launch. I put the car (PDK, of course, you can't do 'launch control' with a 6-speed), in "D", put my left foot on the brake, mashed the 'go pedal' to the floor, and when the revs hit the limiter, I side-stepped the brake pedal..

My buddy, who'd been leaning fwd just a bit, whacked the back of the seat with his punkin'.. I did the same. I kept the pedal to the floor, and watched the speedo as it quickly climbed to a buck-thirty-three.. I figured it might be time to ease out of it..

My car is a 'base' Carrera.. I can only imagine how hard a "S" car, or a Turbo with the PDK must launch.. If you have a buddy with a PDK car, ask him to show you how the launch control works. It's impressive.

Kudos to the P-car company.. this thing makes me smile more every time I park my butt in it.

 

Sweet! That's the way to use it!!!

 

Sounds awesome I have to give it a try..

 

haha, what other cars have you driven / pulled?

 

not all of us get to drive quick cars or even be in them.

 

Well... lessee.. I've owned a '57 Olds Canardly (canardly make it up the next hill..), a '63 Karman Ghia.. and that's about it..

 

i can do all sorts of launch control with my 6 speeds

 

Exactly the same mate... I have the 'base' 3.6L with PDK. I did it last night and was probably the 4th time I've done it. Every time I use it I need a month or two to gather enough courage to try it the next time.

Good to hear you had a blast and kept it safe while being responsible.

You know, even when on a rolling start in Sport mode, you mash the throttle; you stabilise your body with your abdominals and head with neck muscles as the G-force rapidly builds... Then, depending on your speed, throttle position and load/rpm the PDK will decide to upshift... You can never really prepare yourself for the PDK-flatshift-induced-head-smack-into-the-headrest. Thankfully the 997 seats are great; the cushions are offset at just the right point to catch your bowling ball. I find it every time!

 

But is it art ???

 

Sure. A masterpiece by the physicists and engineers of Porsche!

 

but I don't find it earth shattering. Don't get me wrong, its fun but not intimidating at all.

Maybe there is something wrong with my car, or maybe there is just something wrong with me

 

It is my understanding, and I could be wrong here, that the ECU will keep a record of each instance of a sport mode/PDK launch. Even though it is something that the car is designed to do, I wonder if a dealer could use such information gleaned from the ECU memory to deny coverage for a PDK or drivetrain failure.

 

Good question.. next time I'm at the dealer, I'll ask the Service Mgr. I assume I'll get the straight answer..

 

No. I agree. I am not that impresed either

 

I agree. I got to try launch control on an S coupe last week while on a test drive. First, for the record the salesman is the one who insisted I give it a try. I'm usually pretty easy on cars that don't belong to me. Anyways, I used the launch control and felt a bit underwhelmed. The car definitely got off the line quickly, but it was nothing earth shattering. I'm guessing a TT would be a whole different experience.