With PDK I understand. I never drove in "normal" mode as the shifts are annoyingly slow, as is the throttle response.

After owning a 997S PDK for nearly 3 years, I'm amazed the PDK got the positive press it did. It's no where close to the performance of Audi's DSG which came out in '04 unless you're in sport plus at redline.

With the 981, I finally have the quick shifting PDK I thought I would have with the 997. Although until the car warms up, it purposefully shifts slower. Takes a couple of minutes to warm up. I assume the 991 PDK is similar.

 

of course not, because it is sport/sport+ mode retrofit.
sportchrono watch can be retrofitted, dealer will not do this, ds from all that need from them is programming

 

Yeah, I don't see it that way , the shifts on my car (2012 4s) don't feel slow to me. I guess it depends on what you're used to .



PS---- Audi doesn't do anything better than Porsche. I grew up on Audi , if it wasn't for the Chinese , that company would have gone bust. Just saying .

 

Just speaking from tens of thousands of miles experience driving these cars in Germany and the US. Audi's first consumer DSG effort is much quicker than the 997's PDK, although supposedly couldn't handle 997 levels of power. Audi along with Porsche invented the dual clutch btw, in the 1980s for racing applications. Doubt China was a player in any of that development as China didn't emerge as industrially relevant for years later. You can believe your PDK is quick all you want in modes other than WOT in sport plus. It just isn't. Go drive a Audi TT with DSG, or a Porsche 981/991 and you'll see for yourself. I was ready to never own a Porsche PDK again until I drove my Cayman S with PDK. They are worlds apart in performance. I do think the 981/991 PDK is a fractionally quicker than DSG, once the car warms up fully. The automotive industry doesn't begin and end with the 911, or Porsche for that matter.

P.S. Since Porsche and Audi are both serious about Le Mans as exercises in technological advancement, we'll see them head to head this year. Should be interesting. Audi has owned Le Mans in recent years. I'm hoping Porsche's effort lives up to their heritage and potential.

 

Wonder how much of the quickness discussed here has to do with software and calibration rather than raw technology. I say this since the entire PDK unit in my -09 C4S was replaced under warranty and I got to sample two different units in that car. The original one that crapped out was lightning fast to my senses. In sport plus it snapped through the gears with what had to be millisecond shifts that if improved upon in quickness has to be difficult to actually appreciate. The replacement unit was much different. Even in sport plus the gears rolled over in an almost leisurely manner. Maybe even more so than in plain sport mode in the busted unit.

I told my service advisor that I wasn't happy with the new transmission. He said this is how the replacements are. His theory is that Porsche feels that some or maybe most of the PDK failures have been due to the aggressive mapping of the original units so they dialed it down a bit with the replacements. Whatever they did, the difference is dramatic. I've seen and felt it first hand. This PDK replacement took place 2013 and my current -11 GTS feels very similar to the original -09 in shift patterns so one can guess that the "softer" versions were introduced sometime 2012 or later.

 

We'll let me refresh your memory, if I may. Audi went to China in 1986 about a year after the US government almost kicked them out of the US market for making defective automobiles (A5000 and the A4000). The greatest move in German car history(Audi focuses on China solely) , and it was the Chinese whom single handedly revived Audi . Mercedes Benz and BMW didn't get there until at least 15 years later . In China, BMW is a car of the"corrupt", and Mercedes Benz is a car the "elderly" . You gotta love Audi propaganda. Audi can win the next 15 years of Lemans and still would not have the racing heritage that Porsche brings to the table. The 981 is a downgrade from the 911, you can preach all you want about balance and performance etc. but it is also one of the worst selling sport cars coming out of Porsche. Matter of fact , if this most recent generation, doesn't improve sales, the 981 is going to be a dead car , like some of its predecessors, ( that were "better" cars than the 911).

Steve, you lost perspective and you forgot why the 911 became iconic. There are many cars that can outperform the 911( Stingray,GTR, ...) but very few bring prestige, form,fit,and heritage to the table , as it does, and it shows in the sales numbers. I hope your car , the 981, doesn't die. The Italians did a nice job designing it( if I recall correctly).

Steve, you may be right about the Tt and 981, but the world is not impressed (obviously).

 

I'll be nice, but I'm happy I can think for myself. I don't make consumer decisions based on the actions and opinions of others, or Porsche sales figures. My driving experience consists of 5 years living in Germany, so I spent a considerable amount of time driving fast on German B roads where handling and cornering is supreme. The 997 is the downgrade to the 981 when it comes to cornering. That's what I like and prefer, and find the most entertaining. Sure my car is underpowered compared to my 997.2 (not 997.1), but not for long. Considering I don't live in Germany anymore, power is not the main attraction I desire as it's not fully usable in the US anyway. But the Cayman S lacks the low end grunt I was used to with my 997 S. Anyhoo, I can easily afford any 991 variant I wanted, but couldn't ignore the far better balanced 981 any longer. I chose the 981 Cayman S because it's the driver's car in the lineup, and honestly the car gets far more attention than my 997 ever did (either of them). I just picked it up 2 weeks ago. It's getting Fabspeed headers, an IPD competition plenum, 82mm 997 GT3 throttle body, and KW V3 coilovers to start (I chose no PASM or sport suspension). I may add larger 6-piston Carrera front brakes too. I'm not trying to make a Carrera S killer, but it may become one.

Besides, when I need real speed, I can hop on my Italian MV Agusta.

God speed!

 

What is your point Steve? Why come to a 997 forum , to tell the owners that there cars are inferior to the car your driving? What do you stand to gain. And your not the first person nor the last , to engage us 911 guys like this.

Steve , I own many high line cars. I was lucky , I grew up on BMW, Mercedes Benz ,Audi and Range rover. And I enjoyed them all , but my passion is Porsche and Ferrari , they are both great for different reasons. I feel sorry for people whom feel the need to tell others ,that what they have is not that good. (Loss of perspective)

Hey Steve, do you know how many cars were called " 911 killers" over the last 52 years? Yeah, either do I . . Enjoy you Cayman S . Wouldn't you have better off just buying a Cayman R? It sounds like it would of saved you some money, no?

Thanks for"being nice" , that's always appreciated on an Internet forum .

 

There were software updates for the ECU that resolved many of the early oddities in PDK shifting... I wonder if maybe you never got your ECU updated. The number I see most reliably for PDK shift times is 40 milliseconds for upshifts. I know for me the shift time is imperceptible... at least the time for the clutch to switch gears. There is an occasional lag that is notable between my push of the paddle and the shift, I'm guessing that is what you are talking about. My only reference point was my SMG M3 and the PDK certainly blows that away!

 

Up until 2 weeks ago, I was a 997 driver back to back since my 2008 997.1. Just adding some perspective since you invited it with your downgrade comment (stated without any first hand knowledge), and my perspective is relevant considering my mileage in 997s, and where I've driven them. I'm not trashing it by any means. I'm quite fond of 997s, and was still considering another one, just not PDK. Simply I was pointing out the PDK wasn't what it could have been. It certainly isn't what it is now.

The Cayman R is the old 987 version, and had no real performance advantage unless you bought it stripped. The 981 is much improved, as is the 991 over the 997. It's just progress. Currently, there is no Cayman R. There is an upcoming GTS, but the bump in power is minimal, and I didn't want to wait.

Cheers!

Going to put some miles on my 15 pound Cervelo now.

 

Sport without the wart. Cool.

 

what you want from factory - this is so difficult to retrofit - needs to cut a hole in dashboard

 

Huh? Not hardly. A very myopic view of the world.

Audi (of Volkswagen Audi Gruppe) is a major care company in Germany and Europe first and foremost. The are the principle competitor to Daimler Benz in Germany in the luxury market.

The A4000/A5000 acceleration problems were, as with most of the Toyota's, not faults of the vehicles but driver faults where the driver stepped on the gas not the brake.

If Audi left North America that may be the demise of Audi NA, and maybe that external facing company crew went and focused on China .. but that is only a small part of what Audi is and does. Don't let the tail wag the dog here.

 

Power nor cornering matter in the US because for the most part our roads here are such ****e its just an unpleasant hazard to drive them unless you can find and pick out a select stretch when no one is looking.

 

I think the best way to describe the difference with the Sports/Chron button in a manual car is to liken the change to turning the throttle into a "hair trigger". That is the throttle/engine becomes incredibly more sensitive to input.