Thanks for the advice. I'll follow up with the dealer soon, and will specifically ask them to look into adjusting the linkage.

 

This was definitely a good read.
I am leaving the car with the dealer tomorrow, overnight, so that they can drive it in the morning and analyze the problem (if Any). I got my fingers crossed.

 

Good luck, and be sure to let us know how it turns out.

Gary

 

So, she is at the dealer's today. Got a nice PDK cayman as a loaner. As always, i love Euroclassics (Richmond, Va).
They are going to drive the car in the morning tomorrow to see what the problem is. I will keep y'all posted.

 

So, they said that the tech drove the car and did not find anything abnormal at all.

They did say that i should not be shifting into 5th gear before i hit like 70-75 miles an hour. i think that is insane.

Thoughts'.... Anybody??

 

Well, that's a reasonable speed to shift into fifth, and it's the speed when I usually do, but that doesn't mean it's when you should shift. 70-75 mph is a nice relaxed shift point and I prefer those for daily driving. In serious acceleration, shifting closer to the redline in track use, second gear goes to that speed before we shift into third. So the natural shift point for getting into third on tracks is a relaxed choice for fifth in road work. I never get into fifth on a track because I don't run at any with speeds that high. Looking for performance we wouldn't get into fifth until 130-135 mph.

Conversely, when we want that relaxed drive, the two to three thousand rpm range is good. I cruise at 2800 rpm on urban freeways and 3000 on rural ones. Those are within the de facto speed limit. That is, they are below the speed where a highway patrol officer has to pay attention if you haven't noticed their approaching or their radar site. In a cruising gear, 2000 rpm is a little low for me. Too much like lugging the engine honestly. That would be 45 mph in fifth, so I guess I could be persuaded to say you should not shift that early, though I wouldn't use that word 'should' myself if your mechanic hadn't put it that way.

At the top end of relaxed cruising we have 3000 rpm and in fifth gear that is 68 mph. From there, fifth goes all the way to 167 mph, so we have a range that is effectively 100 wide if a pass requires serious commitment. The torque available at 3000 rpm is reasonable for ordinary traffic manuevering. Not flashy and certainly not dramatic like using a gear lower at the same speed, but certainly workable. So yes, I'd say shifting into fifth at 70 is perfectly reasonable. But, I also shift into sixth at that speed when all I plan is a cruise along a dead-straight road. It sure as hell isn't mandatory to wait until seventy to hit fifth.

Absorb all that and make up your own mind. I honestly don't stay in fifth long unless I'm cruising a fast freeway and want the extra torque over sixth. If I'm seriously relaxed, I'm likely to go from second to sixth and set the cruise control. That device has saved me more tickets in fast cars than I would have credited before buying my first. It is frighteningly easy in a car like ours to calmly slide up to three-digit speeds while manuevering. Well, not exactly frightening, but easy. Very easy. So I use cruise control a lot to avoid letting myself do that. (Any more. Ahem.)

Gary, who did once get stopped after being paced for twenty miles at 110 mph (from wayyyyy behind me), but the sergeant called to the scene dropped the write-up speed to 90 "because you're a safe driver and wearing a uniform I don't want to disgrace by taking you into custody, which is required if I write you for anything over a hundred." I said thanks. He said: "Yeah. But slow it down, Captain."

 

I don't know all the specific numbers like Gary does, but my experience is similar.

I know I'm in too high a gear if the car is lugging, and it's usually pretty easy to tell when that's the case (the Owner's Manual is very clear about never letting the car lug). You shouldn't be lugging at 70 to 75 mph in 5th unless you're going up a fairly steep hill.

On the highway, I'm usually in 5th, though I shift to 4th if I need to pass quickly, and I use 6th if I'm in cruising mode at close to legal speeds in relatively flat terrain.

 

^ All these suggestions sound pretty reasonable.
Thats what my driving has been like, when i am on a highway, and know that i wont be braking much, i get in to 5th by 55-60 and in 6th by 70. Stay in 6th while cruising unless i need to accelerate. When i need to accelerate, a quick blip of the throttle to rev match and i slip it into 5th. Never lug the engine (Unless i am ignorant and should not be doing 6th at 70).
Having said that, Last evening, on my drive home back from the dealership's, i tried to stay with what my tech had said. I kept the car in 4th until i hit lik 65 mph and then went to 5th. It was an all highway drive again. I must say, that the car sounded and behaved much better than my original driving style. It certainly felt more alive.
But.... My original issue still lives. On a cold transmission, going from 4th into 5th at about 55 makes a grinding noise. once warm, smooth as butter. i wonder if the dealer said all is well to avoid having to do warranty work. I do not think so, but i am weary.
i am probably gonna have my indy take a look at it in the coming few days and see what they say.

 

Though the official torque curve seems to suggest otherwise, my experience has been that the car begins to come alive at about 3K rpm, with a further awakening at about 4K or 4.5K rpm.

Good luck with resolving the problem.

 

Only If there actually is a problem. I am just going with the philosophy of better being safe than sorry.

 

I realize this is an older thread but I thought I would jump in as I have the same issue. I have a 997.2 4S (2009). I have become frustrated by my shifting problems and the response from my Porsche dealer. This post is not about my car when it is cold as I do not believe this is a good time to evaluate an issue. I actually think it is good that it needs to be warmed up before it performs. "Clunky" is a good word for the feeling. I came to this site to learn what to say to the dealer when I take it in for the 4th time with this problem when I found this thread. I knew I found the post I was looking for as soon as I read the subject line. Here is what it feels like to me in addition to "clunky". It feels as if the clutch is not pressed in all the way when I switch gears yet I have it to the floor. I asked the dealer about this on my first visit and he admitted that it was close. He said he has injected a bubble in someones car and that worked but the bubble will go away and I will be back. The next visit I was told they didn't experience a problem. The third time they said they looked at it and told me my transmission was very strong. What??? The strange this is that the dealer described my issue perfectly when I dropped it off as if he knew what was going on. He suggested I have a brake flush as the clutch fluid is related to the brake fluid.
The gear switch problem is a real burden. I do not get excited about driving the car as I know that I will really have to work when driving the car. I spend more time making sure I have the clutch all the way to the floor and that I am smooth as silk to prevent any damage to the car. If you do not understand what I am talking about, you don't have the same problem.
Does anyone have any suggestions for my next visit to the dealer. I was thinking that if they say it is normal, I would ask if they had any cars with the problem on their lot for sale. If so, I would like to drive it. If they don't, it is not normal.

 

He "injected a bubble" in someone's car... I can't think of any good thing to do to the car that would be described that way. My grandfather did break an egg into the radiator when my Mercury coupe had a leak, but that was in 1959. This sounds like a similar home remedy and probably also works. For awhile. But I'm a little surprised to hear a Porsche dealer admit to trying it, whatever 'it' may be in this case.

Assuming you've read the rest of what we said about this already, I strongly suggest you try the other Cincinatti dealer and begin by asking for a test drive in another 997.2 so you can personally judge whether "they all do it". Clearly, it is not our experience that they all do it. Quite the contrary.

Again, you need first to read what we more experienced sports car drivers have said about how these transmissions feel when you try to drive them like a sedan, but assuming those explanations don't clear things up, two possibilities come to mind, and they both require dealer attention:

• The selector shafts and/or the shift actuator cables need adjusting;
• The clutch is nearly worn out and needs replacing.

I usually get about 85,000 on a clutch, which is pretty high mileage for a 2009 like mine and yours. Mine only has 33,000, which is probably about average, and the clutch feels like new. On the other hand, you don't say whether this has been your car from new. Have you been putting up with this for that long? Maybe the original owner abused the clutch. With 385 hp you can go through a clutch in 8500 miles or even 850 miles if you're a bad enough driver.

Again, don't make a big deal out of it when you make the appointment, but I'd definitely try the other dealer because your current one has committed to the non-diagnosis of "they all do it." I would not even mention the other dealer. Just make an appointment. Driving one or two other 997.2's is also good. It will give you the personal experience to refute that assertion if you run into it again.

Gary

 

After having gone through with about 4-5 months of unnecessary worrying, I have come to terms with my car.
I was over analyzing this issue during the winters where the transmission becomes really cold.
Now, the car warms up quicker so, the transmission shifts smoother much sooner after starts than it did in winters. My Car has a Short Shifter Kit and i guess that makes some difference too.

 

My '09 is smooth sailing except on occasion when going to first at a stop. Sometimes I have to do 2nd then first or let the clutch out and back in for it to slide into gear. I never force a shift. I'm going to have the dealer look at it next time I'm in for service next, but it doesn't bother me. Just want to make sure there isn't a brewing issue.

I don't notice it to be notchy at all on upshifts or downshifts once warmed up.

That said, the transmission isn't nearly as precise as the one on my old S2000 but that was often rated by reviewers of one of the best manual transmissions ever produced.

 

I'd say that is my only disappointment with driving my 997.1 (not 997.2 like everyone else in this thread): the notchyness of the tranny. I've driven a 911 915 transmission for years and I was longing for a nice, smooth shifting experience when I switched to the 997. No such thing 1st and 2nd are annoying when cold. 3rd and up are great. But, I have gotten used to it and maybe it's an universal manual transmission phenomenon.