I agree with your assessment about shifting being automatic even when the transmission is not. I would say it was an integral part of the fun factor in the original Mini Cooper along with the darty handling and other traits I wouldn't accept in a Porsche. Shifting still has a sensual benefit when I slow down and think about it. That's rare, I agree, but I love the bite of a good clutch and the smooth movement of the linkages as I shift.

That pleasure is uniquely the contribution of a manual, but the PDK provides its own unique pleasures. Nice to have a choice these days.

Gary

 

Actually, manual gearboxes are less involving. With a manual, you can't do so many things necessary for optimum performance driving so you need not waste the brain bites. For example, short shifting in turns to optimize fill throttle upon exit, down shifting during turns, and my favorite, downshifting under extreme braking (straight or while turning). Truth is, manual gearboxes are so inefficient you spend most your time trying to ensure you're precise with the shifts rather than optimizing car placement and gear selection for the exact condition. One needs to shift far more often than a manual gearbox car driver is willing to do. Given the same route/distance, any driver would shift more often and therefore drive in the optimum gear more often using the PDK vs. manual. It's simply a more usable tool and therefore the driver is more involved. Please don't tell me you think left foot usage qualifies as more involved vs. your brain? It's left foot/right hand vs. 2 hands so that's equal in terms of appendages. Ultimately PDK is the thinking man's gearbox. All I know is I'm much quicker around Nurburgring using PDK than a manual. It's more fun too.

 

Boxers or briefs?

(I've got to look up who said that, here in this forum in another thread... classic)

 

[quote=Steve997S;3306085]Ultimately PDK is the thinking man's gearbox. quote]


First Porsche tells me that the manual is for comfort driving and that PDK is for performance driving, and now Steve tells me that PDK is the thinking man's gearbox. So if I don't have a PDK, I don't think, but I'm comfortable. Sounds like a Pink Floyd cut.

 

I think that is an accurate observation. PDK (and all of the other variations of the dual-clutch gearbox) are still relatively new to the non-supercar buyer and I think people are still hesitant to buy into it. So I'd say for the immediate future (next 3 or 4 years) the traditional manual will likely outsell the PDK. But once people see that they are the next evolution in transmissions and here to stay, we will see a large sway the other direction in just a short time span.

 

Maybe most of us could agree that both manual and PDK are great, but in different ways and for different reasons? I have manual in my 911, and automatic with paddle shifters in my C63, and am glad to have this variety, since each lends itself to a different sort of driving experience.

 

Well, since PDK is a crossover between the two transmissions, I would think the correct answer would be boxer-briefs (which BTW are the only correct choice in underwear)

 

LOL

 

nice.

 

And they still do, speaking as professional mathematician who drove manual all his life until he drove a PDK. Never going back to manual or a slide rule.

 

I say drive whatever you want, but I hope that they keep the manual as an option

One of the biggest reasons I choose an Aston over a Maserati, was the lack of a manual in the Maserati.

 

MY error. I meant interface issues NEVER reliability.

 

Not accurate. PDK far outsells manual - today.

For someone else, Porsche doesnt sell PDK in the GT cars due to it not working with the GT1 Mezger engine, not because of HP or track reliability. It is offered in the Turbo S which has more HP. You will see PDK in the 991 GT cars for sure.

 

Question, the PDK transmission in the Turbo S the same as the one in the C2 and C4? Hopefully it is because then if you want to add forced induction, it will easily handle the power.

 

whewww! Just read all 4 pages of this and boy is there a lot of mis-information about how PDK works. Search back at some of our threads if you want a little closer look at the PDK in general.

One comment sort of caught my attention right on page 1.

adias....we're based in Florida and I'm not familiar with this race team. More interestingly, I'd love to know how they simply "open the tranny and close the tranny", as the Porsche PDK is a non-serviceable unit. This means that is literally has to be CUT open in order to inspect the clutch packs. You can not open it like a GTR tranny or even the Audi/VW DSG. I wasn't aware that there was anyone else out there who has done this besides us, let alone right in our back yard.