Coming from BMW, I now prefer automatics.

Main reasons are firstly the computer can shift faster, more accurately, more precisely and less loss of power/traction.

Secondly its nice being able to down shift without needing to heel and toe, the computer matches the revs. And obviously everyone knows if you do not heel and toe, the time you lose coming out of a corner is disastrous. In fact many race results can be determined with the right down shift.

But for some reason when I hear about reviews, everyone hates automatic gears on Porsche?

Is there a reason, or is it just a 'feel' kind of thing?

 

Several things involved.

Some are historical in nature. One is the efficiency. There's some loss associated with the Tip (and automatic) due the fluid coupling though more modern implementations have cut this way down. An automatic tends to blunt the car's feeling of acceleration. This is both real and imagined.

Then there is weight (which relates to efficiency). Generally an automatic is a heavier transmission.

Next comes complexity. Manuals are seen as simpler, thus more reliable, and easier to put right if they go wrong.

The above points were my main objections to an automatic, although I did buy one used pick up truck with an automatic. It was the right truck for me at the right time and I wasn't about to reject it due to its transmission.

Next there is the feeling or loss of feeling of involvement when driving a Tip/automatic. Often I read a reviewer making this comment about a car with an automatic, especially if it is a sporty or "sports" car being reviewed.

Often the reviewer of an automatic equipped car starts out determined to shift the transmission for himself but I sometimes read buried in the review where the reviewer finally let the engine/transmission controllers have their way and handle the shifting and sometimes the reviewer is honest and notes the controllers do a pretty good job, sometimes a better job, then he.

It all still boils down to personal preferences. One should buy the car he wants, that meets his needs. If he feels a Tip is the best choice, he need make no apologies for this. If someone is undecided which type of transmission to get I advise he test drive both examples and make up his own mind.

As for me, only when someone buys cars for me can he then tell me what to buy. In the meantime I'll buy a Tip or a PDK or a manual as I see fit.

As an aside, I'm kind of looking forward to seriously looking into a PDK equipped car for my next car. I have not test driven a car with a PDK yet so if my test drive uncovers anything that I find objectionable I'll change my mind and fall back to a manual equipped car. But barring that possibility I see no reason to avoid a PDK equipped car for the reason it is not a manual.

 

Amen!

 

I didn t like the tiptronic because of it s numb feeling and soft shifts. I do like the PDK.

Enough said, good post!

 

Personally I love the Tiptronic....

for 80% of the time when i am driving it - on normal roads and in town, the auto changes way way faster than I would into a higher gear - in a manual i always tended to be lazy and change up when i had to/felt like it - how many times do you hear a porsche going by in a town and you know it is in 2nd gear just by the engine note at 30MPH? my wife drives mine and I know that in full auto with PSM on it drives like her car.

this has 3 effects -

1. i am sure this is helping fuel economy
2. For my passengers the car is much smoother - a higher gear makes the acceleration less wiplash like

for 15% of the time, I can put it in manual mode and enjoy selecting the gears myself - it change pretty damned quickly.

the remaining 5% of the time I have learnt to rely on the Porsche gearbox in sport mode and let it decide on the gear when I want to fly around - hate to say it but it does a great job of being in the right gear at the right time.

you do lose the "feeling" of changing the gears yourself and this is a joyous thing to do with the Porsche manual gearbox - cerbomark is right, the tip feels a bit soft/numb - but, every day when i sit in a traffic jam i am more than happy with the compromise.

If this was not my daily driver I would have probably bought a manual.

I guess the Auto is a more complicated system - but then again it is a damned sight harder to burn the clutch... And my friends in manual versions rarely beat me at the lights...

the next car I have will have the PDK - for me the best all round choice for a car.

but this is very much a personal opinion - and I guess that is the point, neither is a bad car - we are lucky to be driving a 911.
(you do get a few purists who would never buy an auto because that just isn't right, some of who love to tell Auto drivers what idiots we are... - i ignore them, they aren't driving my car and aren't swaying my decision)

 

Squat where are you? People are dissing tip... :-)

 

I love my tippo. Plus buying a used tip meant I saved 30% of market value. Bonus!

 

I had a tip on a 996 a few years back, and really enjoyed it. I recall reading at the time that it would execute a shift in 0.2 secs. That seemed like a helluva lot faster than I could have done, after years of not having an MT. I thought it would shift pretty aggressively, although 95% of the time I drive it like a regular automatic. I'm sure PDKs will shift circles around them, but I enjoyed it. Now I'm back to a six speed, and found that I've become a born again MT purist. Part of it is probably due to the Impending extinction of manual boxes, along with NA intakes, part nostalgia, and part that I enjoy the higher level of involvement required.

 

So used tiptronic cars are cheaper?

Why?

All cases I have seen are opposite to that, they tend to be more expensive.

 

No way. Pdk now commands a premium over manuals, but a tip is certainly at a discount. Hey, a tip is a slush box, no matter how you frame it and a 911 is a sports car. Enough said?

 

Does PDK command a premium over manuals because they are so new and expensive to build?
I have found 6 speeds are sought after by some and are harder to come by making them hold a better value to the original cost. PDk s certainly cost more but I don t think that is the total story.
As far as tips, IMO they are older technology as far as auto s go. It s just the way things are. I think if I was in the market and the tip was in my price range and the PDK wasn t I would happily drive it.
I ve learned as an older guy that enjoyment is not only determined by the best and most expensive. I have a 6 speed but would buy either auto if the price, car fit my need.
I m just trying to say lets not get all over Tip guys and look down as if there was something wrong with their choice.