Tiptronic-good or bad

[strupgolf]

I'm thinking of a 98 Boxster with a Tip. Its a base model, 60000 miles. I havent seen it yet in person, but looks good. How does the Tip feel when driving? Should I stay away from these? And the engine sleeved problem makes me suspect on if these cars are a good deal. I cant afford 7K for a new motor. What are your thoughts. Thanks

[MikeBat]

It all depends on what you expect from the car.

If you want a nice car to drive with the top down, after a pre-purchase inspection, it will be a fine cruiser.

If you intend to drive in a sporty manner and possibly on the track... a Tiptronic car (and generally any automatic for that matter) just will not cut it.

As for mechanical problems.... yes these cars have potential pitfalls, but so do all cars.

I do not want to come off as disrespectful, but you must have the proper budget to maintain a car like this.

Porsche's can be expensive to maintain and repair, and they will need proper maintenance and repairs over time. It will burn through tires every year. Go to Tire Rack and look what a proper set of tires (Michelin, Pirelli) will cost you.

Think your "after purchase" budget through properly.

But..... it will be one of the best driving experiences of your life.....that is undeniable and universal.

[strupgolf]

Thanks Mike, I've had many Porsches and other high end cars so I know what to budget for. I was looking for someone who had a Tip to chime in.

[tunnelguy]

I have a 2002 Boxster S with Tiptronic. Personally I would prefer manual but had to compromise with the wife since she has knee problems and doesn't like a clutch. Anyway, it works great - great for shifting quickly off the line and making a fast transition from gear to gear. I prefer to drive it in "manual" mode to control the shifting. In "automatic mode" you can still shift up/down with the tiptronic but it will override and shift up generally at a steady speed after about 5 seconds. The one thing is you have to be careful accelerating and shifting around corners.... If you try to shift up - for example - as you accelerate with the steering wheel turned 120-180 degrees or so, if you thumb shift "up" and aren't watching you could actually shift down a gear (since the tipronic switch is now upside down) by accident and suddenly you are redlining. Anyway, it only happened to me a couple of times and I smartened up.
Have fun whatever you get.
Cheers.

[F350Lawman]

If you have to ask if a Tip is good... you ready know the answer. My buddy rationalized a Tip 993 and then sold and bought almost the same car in stick. Unless the car is going to be a commuter car, the Tip has no advantage and will be harder to sell, JMHO. My buddies Tip got ZERO interest in the U.S. and finally sold to an overseas buyer.

[914helo]

My 996 has a tip and I have no problems with it. My wife can drive it and I even use the auto portion when the whole family is in the car in town. However, on the weekend I can still use the manual portion while driving some canyon roads and still enjoy it.

[cvhs18472]

I have a 98 Tip and could not be happier. Once you get over the macho need to use the clutch, you find out that the tip shifts just as well as a stick. I have had it on the track multiple times and have not had any problems nor was my pleasure diminished. They are easier to drive in the city and because of the different trans mounting there are many fewer episodes of IMS failure RMS leakage. Real men drive Tips and wear pink shirts. Ed

[cvhs18472]

I have a 98 Tip and find it wonderful. It has been on the track and done well in the manual mode. The idea of a stick being necessary is a macho thing along the lines of having to drink shots because your friends are. I have had mine for 22K and have never been sorry, and as a side issue you are LESS likely to get an IMS failure because of the way the tip and engine are mounted. Get a PPI, take it for a spirited test drive and if you like it buy it.

[Wayne 962]

I have both (wife has the tip, I have the stick). It's really a personal preference, I really enjoy driving the tip. It's also great on the track.

-Wayne

[mikefocke]

From the "real men don't drive autos" to the "TIP is actually faster for me at the track".

I've owned a 99 and an 01 both TIPs. I bought them when I lived in crowded NOVA and the traffic was stop and go 16 hours a day. My wife has never driven the car.

I didn't even hesitate to buy a TIP the second time I bought a Boxster which tells you what I think of it. They are reliable too. Almost no maintenance.

(Drove stick for 25 years, Alfas, 914, VWs, etc. Raced stock sedans in the 60s. So it isn't that I can't drive stick, it is just easier in dense traffic not to.)

[96740]

Originally Posted by wayne at pelican parts

i have both (wife has the tip, i have the stick). It's really a personal preference, i really enjoy driving the tip. It's also great on the track.

-wayne

+1

[rfn026]

I have a hot rod 911 with the 915 transmission. If I have to drive around town I prefer my wife's Tip. It's just so much easier.

Richard Newton
Race Cars 360

[orange260z]

I'm a fairly experienced autocrosser and track guy, and most of the cars I've owned over the years have had manual transmissions. However, I have developed arthritis in my knees over the last few years, and when I bought my 2001 2.7L Boxster I decided to go for a Tip so that I could use it as a daily summer driver, as well as the odd track day or autocross.

I've found that even in the 2.7 the Tip provides a very sporty drive, and is pretty adept when the a the driving gets aggressive. Both myself and another experienced autocrosser found the Tip to be very capable on the autocross, much more so than we expected (we both came from 944s and Miatae).

I do miss the satisfaction of a perfectly-executed heel-and-toe downshift, but I'm not convinced that the Tip loses any significant performance to the manual (other than in a straight line)

Just my $0.02!

orange260z

[gerrygug]

My wife has a Tip and loves it. She tracks the car and is faster than 50% of the gentlemen in her class. I prefer to shift, but find the Tip fun to drive because it is easy to control. Also, no over rev. worries.

[cnavarro]

We did a test and found the drivetrain losses for a tip were 14% greater than a manual, just for comparison. Same engine, two cars. It was an eye-opener for sure. That said, my wife is just starting to track her tip and loves the car. As with any automatic, longevity is directly tied to maintenance. I change the ATF usually every 20,000-25,000 miles, or whenever the shifts start getting just barely perceptibly rougher.

[Mike M]

I have a tip and love it!!

Charles...do you just change the filter and the 3 or 4 litres of fluid that is in the pan..or do you drain the torque converter as well?

I'm just about to do this service and don't know what is the proper way to do it.

Cheers
Mike

[cnavarro]

I don't do it myself. The cost of the fluid itself is the majority of the expense and I just have the dealer do it.

Drain & filter change. No real way to "flush" the transmission and torque converter, at least at the VW and Porsche dealerships I frequent with the equipment they have.

If you do the filter and drain every 20k+, there really isn't a need for a flush or to worry about the fluid in the torque converter, since it comes out looking just about as good as the new stuff coming in at that interval.

[Mike M]

Thanks Charles...you have a Private Message!!!

[jjflash]

I'm in the market for an early Boxster and ran across this thread via the "Search" function. I had been figuring I'd end up with a 5-speed, but since the car will be a driver, I thought maybe I'd really be just as happy with a Tip. I don't really do any track driving, but maintain the fantasy of getting out for some beginning Auto-X or DE events.

Sounds like the Tip gets excellent reviews from lots of people here. I seem to recall that there were some notable improvements to the Tip starting in the MY _______??? I'd be interested in that bit of data and also any more feedback on the Tip experience....so here's a bump fir this thread.

[mikefocke]

The improvement I noted was between my 99 and my 01. On the later car, you could use the button shifters to downshift even when the shift lever is in auto mode. With the 99, you had to use the shift lever to get to auto mode before the shift buttons on the steering wheel would work. The change was introduced in the 2000 model year. I find it particularly handy in hilly areas.