I've never previously owned a car with manual transmission, and only occasionally drove my wife's manual Nissan more than a decade ago, so I assumed that if was to get a Porsche, it had to be PDK (and did many test drives with PDK cars).

But then I ran across a beautiful Boxster RS60 with manual transmission, and I thought I should at least try it. I approached it with serious hesitation, but within 5 minutes I was in love with the manual transmission, considering it a must-have in any sports car, hence our decision to get manual in our new 911S cab.

So I've gone against the trend, and am wondering what you all think about manual versus PDK in a Porsche.

 

In my opinion, manual is the only way to go. You get the actual feel for the car, you get to be in control, and its more fun to row through the gears yourself. I don't judge anyone who wants a PDK, to each their own, i'm a manual guy always have been.

 

I love my 6MT, the PDK may ship faster, however the manual is more involved.

 

I love the idea of a manual car in principle, but found that using it as a DD into NYC every day was just too annoying. Damn that West Side Highway! '09 PDK car is a completely different experience. Looking forward to the PDK PTT arriving next month...

 

been discussed so many time here..bottom line is that it's a personal choice

 

Topic always come up, manual for me, involvement and fun > faster shifts. Unless every milliseconds count (only on the race track) and or if you live in LA (poor souls ), you should drive a manual sports car.

 

I certainly agree with preferring an automatic in areas with heavy traffic, or in situations when one has to fumble around a lot with GPS, etc.

 

Thought that might be the case, but I'm new to this forum, new to Porsche, and essentially new to manual transmission, so I thought I'd inititiate a live discussion to hear whether the majority of 911 people prefer manual or PDK, and the reasons why. To me, the type and character of the transmission is key part of the experience with any car.

 

While I do sometime miss the manual experience I also remember how much it sucks in traffic. PDK is amazing in every way. Have it now and wouldn't look back. This is definitely subjective to one's own opinions. I personally love paddle shifting more than regular shifting. I think older guys really don't like manuals but again it's a preference. No way is wrong. As a side note Porsche predicts sometime in the near future that a vast majority of their sales will be the PDK. I'm almost sure they will never completely phase out the manual. However, I do imagine that the manuals of the future will be less manual and more pdk style with some sort of dummy clutch pedal system. All speculation on my part.

 

do yourself and your car a favor and join the local PCA. It's about $40/yr and worth every cent. It'll save you that many times over in discounts at the dealer.
I also contacted my local chapter and asked for a ride along to help with my clutch technique. It cost me a cup of coffee to spend two hours with a DE instructor with decades of porsche driving under his belt. They also put on fun events to enjoy with your car.

 

I've talked with the sales rep at my local Porsche dealer about this and he said it's becoming really difficult for him to guess how to order cars because preferences are comparably divided between manual and PDK, and people who prefer one usually are unwilling to accept the other.

My speculation is that manual will continue to be offered for many years, but PDK is certainly giving it serious competition. By contrast, I've tried the tiptronic in several Porsches and didn't like it all (no offense to those who have it), so I think PDK is quantum leap forward in that regard.

 

Will do, thanks!

 

spot on...i dont think you will get an agrument from anyone on that...but there is no right or wrong tranny for personal enjoyment....

 

pdk if you do a lot of city driving (stop and go) or if you have one leg.

 

I have tried to love PDK, and I certainly appreciate the technology and think it's kinda cool hearing the little throttle blips on downshifts, I don't get the same feel driving it. I would consider it more seriously if the car was strictly for track, but even then... not sure. I love a stick and clutch, much more interactive, more sense of control. Paddles feel somewhat redundant, like the driver doesn't really matter as much. Just my feeling, all the respect to PDK owners out there. I'm sure they would smoke me on the track.

Cheers

Ross