drove a 2014 Boxster tiptronic for most of the week.

[masraum]

So I had a loaner car from Mon until this morning. It was a new 2014 Boxster with automatic headlights, wipers, dimming mirrors, the full Bose/PCM touchscreen bluetooth stereo, power seats with memory.... and a PDK (not tiptronic) trans.

The car was nice, sounded good and drove very well. The stereo sounded good. When I turned the car off, it would raise the steering wheel, then when I openend the door, it would move the seat back to make it easier to get out. Then, when I got into the car, it would put the seat, steering wheel, mirrors, stereo and AC back to the settings that I had pregrammed into the car. That was very nice.

I didn't care for the PDK trans at all. I guess as you drive it more it would adapt to your driving habits, but I felt like it was shifting a bit too early in the lower gears. You can use the buttons on the front and back of the steering wheel to manually shift at any time whether in manual mode or not which is nice. In sport mode it was a bit better, but it was definitely not my cup of tea. The car was very nice, but would have been even better with a manual.

I'm glad to be back in my slightly older Boxster S with PASM, PSE and a 6 spd. My car also has the auto-dimming mirrors and rain sensor which are very nice features. I would like to have the Bose stereo, but since I don't I may add the Dension unit or just talk to the guys at audioinnovations for a kit to do a full upgrade. I've got the sport seats which I prefer to the full power non-sport seats (which aren't bad). I don't know that I want or feel the need for the "adaptive sport seats - 18-way" I'm just not sure that I need the bolsters and thigh support and everything else to be powered. I think before I went that route I'd just go with a set of recaro fixed back buckets.

[javadog]

That was a PDK transmission, not a Tiptronic.

I don't like them either. I suspect the reason for the aggressive up shifting strategy is the federal fuel economy crap. It's going to get much worse.

JR

[masraum]

Originally Posted by javadog

That was a PDK transmission, not a Tiptronic.

I don't like them either. I suspect the reason for the aggressive up shifting strategy is the federal fuel economy crap. It's going to get much worse.

JR

Really, wow, I was thinking that the tip sucked, but I would probably like the pdk. I was also surprised that occasionally, I would hit the gas and it would take a bit for the trans to engage so I could start moving. I also seemed to have some sort of hill assist (which seemed weird for an auto, but not for a pdk) because when pulling out of the parking garage at home with the car pointed uphill, some brakes were definitely engaged. The car also had an electronic P brake. which was interesting, but makes more sense now. Well, a lot of the behavior that I experienced makes a lot more sense now.

Wow, I'm completely shocked that I didn't like the PDK trans. I wonder if I would have preferred the tip.

I did notice that some of the time and under certain conditions, the trans shifted really well, but when starting off and at speeds <30 or 40mph unless I was heavy on the throttle, I didn't like it one bit. I guess I would have preferred it in manual mode full time. I didn't really try that.

Color me shocked!

[masraum]

Wish I could fix the thread title to say PDK instead of tiptronic

[gprsh924]

Interesting, I drove a 2011 PDK Boxster a while back and absolute loved it. Seemed like the perfect compromise between stick and auto. I did only drive it in manual mode.

It's the only major thing holding me back from a 997...I need it to be new enough to have pdk vs tip and those are just out of my price range. And my fiancé won't go for a full stick that she can't drive

[masraum]

Originally Posted by gprsh924

Interesting, I drove a 2011 PDK Boxster a while back and absolute loved it. Seemed like the perfect compromise between stick and auto. I did only drive it in manual mode.

I didn't ever drive the thing in full manual mode. I think if I had realized that it was a PDK, I would have and I would have enjoyed it more. But I also think that I would still prefer a regular manual trans. I like having the control whether I'm just putting around or acting like speed racer. My ability to go from one to another and back again at will seems like it's better on the street. Now on the track, I'm sure the PDK would win hands down.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by gprsh924

Interesting, I drove a 2011 PDK Boxster a while back and absolute loved it. Seemed like the perfect compromise between stick and auto. I did only drive it in manual mode.

It's the only major thing holding me back from a 997...I need it to be new enough to have pdk vs tip and those are just out of my price range. And my fiancé won't go for a full stick that she can't drive

Teach her to drive a stick. It's not that hard, a couple hours of good instruction and she should be well on her way.

[speeder]

Originally Posted by masraum

I didn't ever drive the thing in full manual mode. I think if I had realized that it was a PDK, I would have and I would have enjoyed it more. But I also think that I would still prefer a regular manual trans. I like having the control whether I'm just putting around or acting like speed racer. My ability to go from one to another and back again at will seems like it's better on the street. Now on the track, I'm sure the PDK would win hands down.

You cannot appreciate a PDK by driving it in full auto mode. They suck ass in auto mode. Short-shifting, everything in eco mode, blech...

They are made to be paddle shifted and they are faster than you can think. Go drive one as intended and then get back to us with a review. It sounds like you did not even know what you were driving from your report.

[afterburn 549]

http://press.porsche.com/vehicles/08_press_kits/pdf/2008_Cayman_Cayman_S/2008_Cayman_Cayman_S_Long.pdf

Drop dwn a few pararaphs to Page 12 "shift gears" Pretty interesting read.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

http://press.porsche.com/vehicles/08_press_kits/pdf/2008_Cayman_Cayman_S/2008_Cayman_Cayman_S_Long.pdf

Drop dwn a few pararaphs to Page 12 "shift gears" Pretty interesting read.

What's the point of that? It describes a completely different car and transmission...

JR

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by speeder

You cannot appreciate a PDK by driving it in full auto mode. They suck ass in auto mode. Short-shifting, everything in eco mode, blech...

They are made to be paddle shifted and they are faster than you can think. Go drive one as intended and then get back to us with a review. It sounds like you did not even know what you were driving from your report.

Which is my problem with all the auto-manual transmissions. Most people buy one because they either don't drive stick or don't want to drive a stick in urban traffic, i.e. they want an automatic. But in automatic mode they aren't as good as a true torque converter automatic transmission.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by gprsh924

And my fiancé won't go for a full stick that she can't drive

Some day she'll get a vote about the family finances, after she's actually family...

Setting a dangerous precedent here...

JR

[afterburn 549]

Originally Posted by javadog

What's the point of that? It describes a completely different car and transmission...

JR

I thought it was a good explanation of the two transmissions system......sorry if it wrong.

[javadog]

The tiptronic was just a regular automatic transmission. The PDK is a twin clutch, manual transmission that is capable of shifting itself automatically.

The issue is the shift programming. In auto mode, a PDK shifts early and often.

JR

[afterburn 549]

Originally Posted by javadog

The tiptronic was just a regular automatic transmission. The PDK is a twin clutch, manual transmission that is capable of shifting itself automatically.

The issue is the shift programming. In auto mode, a PDK shifts early and often.

JR

Yes, that article described the two very nicley and the benefits.
I was ignorant. I thought the auto was just an other slush box. The PDK is described as not so bad as it enhances the whole system(s) brake throttle steering, suspension

[javadog]

The transmission in your article is a slushbox, not the PDK.

Those came along in 2009.

JR

[afterburn 549]

PDK Transmission

Even more exciting than the changes made to the engine in 2009 are the changes made to the automatic transmission choice. This was the first year that the Cayman would be available with the PDK transmission. PDK is an abbreviation for Porsche Doppelkupplung, or 'Dual Clutch' gearbox.

Calling the PDK an automatic transmission is like calling Ludwig van Beethoven just another pianist. The PDK is actually a 7 speed manual transmission that is computer controlled and is capable of shifting automatically. The technology used to create this transmission doesn't have anything at all in common with technology used in the automatic transmissions of the past 50 years. The PDK was first used over 25 years ago in the Porsche 956 and 962 race cars. Only back then this technology was far too expensive to be applied to any street car. Thanks to modern day computer progress, that limitation no longer applies.

How PDK works



*The PDK used in the Cayman models is no different
than the PDK used in the 911 Carrera.

With a conventional manual transmission, there are several gear selectors that can connect the output shaft to one of the many constantly meshed gears. The PDK works in the same way, only the PDK has two input shafts. There is one input shaft for all of the odd numbered gears (1,3,5,7), and there is another input shaft for all of the even numbered gears (2,4,6). This allows the transmission to be in two gears at one time, a task that would lock up and/or destroy a single input shaft gearbox. So, when 1st gear is selected, 2nd gear is also selected. When it's time to shift, the clutch that is supplying power to the odd gear input shaft is disengaged, and the clutch that provides power to the even gear input shaft is engaged - making an immediate shift to 2nd gear. As soon as that transition has been completed, the PDK control disengages 1st gear on the odd gear input shaft and engages 3rd gear. Now the gearbox is in both 2nd and 3rd gear while 2nd gear is being used to propel the car. When it's time to shift to 3rd, the system makes another transition from one clutch to the other, and the routine continues. The PDK computer is always reading the driver's inputs, anticipating which gear will be needed next and preselecting it.

In the past, a car equipped with an automatic transmissions would accelerate significantly slower and use more fuel than the same car would with a manual transmission. Those days are gone. The PDK shifts so well, so fast and so seamlessly that the PDK equipped Cayman S can sprint from 0-60 in 0.4 seconds less than the 6 speed equipped version.

Because the PDK is computer controlled, Sport Chrono and Sport Chrono Plus become even more beneficial, offering different sport shifting maps and electronic launch control. Practically overnight, the PDK has made the old slush box automatic transmissions of our childhood extinct. The next generation of Porsche fans will never know what a 'torque converter' is, and in my book, that's a good thing.

Sport Chrono Package (Plus)
The Tiptronic S offers greater performance for the enthusiast driver when utilized with the optional
Sport Chrono Package (Plus), available as an option on both Cayman models. The Sport Chrono
Package (Plus) allows more aggressive control maps for the engine speed limiter, Porsche
Stability Management (PSM), Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM), and the Tiptronic S.
The feature is activated by pressing a button on the center console. The package also includes a
separate stopwatch gauge on top of the instrument panel.


I know nothing about them, just copy past what i found there.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by speeder

You cannot appreciate a PDK by driving it in full auto mode. They suck ass in auto mode. Short-shifting, everything in eco mode, blech...

They are made to be paddle shifted and they are faster than you can think. Go drive one as intended and then get back to us with a review. It sounds like you did not even know what you were driving from your report.

Yes, exactly. If I had known that it was a PDK, I would have had the thing in manual mode all of the time. Wish I had. I suspect I would have enjoyed it much more. They are very moderate in auto mode. If you are in sport mode and fairly heavy on the throttle, it's ok, but you need to start out heavy on the throttle, if you are in auto mode and you start out light on the throttle, lets say, pulling out of a side street or parking lot, and you wait to get into the gas until you've gotten out into your lane, you'll probably be in 3rd gear at 1500 or 2000, and you'll have to boot the gas to get the thing to downshift which means you'll REALLY be into the gas, probably more than you would have otherwise. Like I said, I wish I had known.

I'll stick with a stick and three pedals for now. I may not be nearly as fast as a PDK, but I am instantly and infinitely adjustable from sport to casual mode and back.