So what's not to like about a Tiptronic???

R22tech · R22tech's Garage

Obviously, shifting with a clutch is my idea of "sports car driving", but the 993 Tiptronic cars are selling for low $$$$ now and I can't help but be curious. What's your opinion of Tip. cars? Have you driven one? If so, what was it like? It's getting hard not to bite at these low priced, low mileage Tip. cars!

Jim T · 10-15-2002, 04:43 PM

"Tiptronic" is just a fancy name for a regular, slushbox automatic with a little gimmicky way of "manually" shifting it. Salesmen love to lie and claim its "just like a Formula 1 transmission." Yeah, right. It has zero mechanical relationship to an F1 transmission.

A slushbox torque converter would seem to me to simply emasculate a 911 and make it a car that I would not even want to own at all.

But then again, I am a big direct-mechanical-connection-between-crank-and-wheels kind of guy. To me, ANY automatic is merely an applicance.

But I am kind of extreme, I guess. Even my 4 door MBs and BMWs are manual transmissions.

Whatever extra money a manual 993 commands seems like money well spent to me. You'll get it back when you sell the car.

Just my opinion.

Randy W · Randy W's Garage

If you spend lots of time in traffic, the Tip S is not a bad way to go. Still, it is a bit like "taking a shower with your shoes on."

rstoll · 10-15-2002, 05:08 PM

Yeah, just imagine showing off your new car to your friends and have them say....Oh it's an automatic...

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

I've driven one or two, and the wife's A8 is tip. Great if you don't want to spill your latte, or are recovering from that nasty partial lobotomy. I've driven in the absolute worst LA traffic with a manual transmission. Even those hours of hell couldn't convince me to buy a car with a slushbox. Maybe when I get old...and I don't care how good the writers at Excellence say it is, or even if I could go faster with a tip. Shifting is part of the driving experience, and part of feeling connected with the car. Until I want to further isolate myself from the road, I'm clutch-bound.

ZAMIRZ · ZAMIRZ's Garage

It's actually not that bad, I've heard the Tip is the most advanced traditional torque-convertor automatic on the market. Yes, salesmen love it because they can sew all kinds of BS into their sales pitch but in actuallity it isn't all that bad. I haven't driven a 993 Tip but I did drive a 996 cab tip and IMHO it wasn't all that bad. I'd spring for the 6-speed myself but if there is a deal you can't pass up on a tip it shouldn't sway you from buying it.........go drive a tip and see how you like it yourself.

later,

amir

Jack Olsen · 10-15-2002, 05:54 PM

Youd hate it on the track. But my daily driver is an automatic, and I appreciate it when I'm in stop-and-go traffic. The Jaguar has more power than my 911 -- close to 300 -- but even in 'sport' shifting mode (where it grabs gears at 6700 rpm under full throttle) it can't compare to the feel or performance of the manual 911.

emcon5 · emcon5's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Jerry Seinfeld

Not that there is anything wrong with that.

Tom

weber92037 · weber92037's Garage

Same thing as buying an old Jeep with an automatic. Great if you are delivering mail.

Bill Douglas · 10-15-2002, 07:29 PM

A buddy of mine has a Nissan 300 Z car with twin turbos and all that stuff, and it's an auto. It's absolutely hilarious at the track, with it's shocking turbo lag and the auto transmission deciding to shift down a gear half way around a particually hairy corner, you haven't got a clue what's going on. Down the straight as the turbos come in it shifts down a gear, winds up for a few moments, shifts up a gear, then the power band dies, shifts down - gawd knows what it's up to. The Tiptronic may be a little better, but not much better.

88911coupe · 10-15-2002, 08:36 PM

A good friend got a 95 993 Tip to replace his 88 Turbo Cab (still for sale) and I tried to talk him out of it. He's in LA and got tired of shifting. I had the chance to drive it over a weekend and really got to like it. The car seems rock solid and it was not like any auto I've ever driven. I had to keep telling myself it was a sacrilege....
Later

ZAMIRZ · ZAMIRZ's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Bill Douglas
A buddy of mine has a Nissan 300 Z car with twin turbos and all that stuff, and it's an auto. It's absolutely hilarious at the track, with it's shocking turbo lag and the auto transmission deciding to shift down a gear half way around a particually hairy corner, you haven't got a clue what's going on. Down the straight as the turbos come in it shifts down a gear, winds up for a few moments, shifts up a gear, then the power band dies, shifts down - gawd knows what it's up to. The Tiptronic may be a little better, but not much better.

The 300ZX automatic tranny is known to actually perform better for straight-line speed than the 5-speed, not sure what's wrong with your friends. The fastest Zs in the states all use the auto (Kyle Puckett, Tim Liess and PowerSupply Racings car to name a few) and most run in the 11s but have made mid-low 10 second passes. Hmm, now that I read your post again it seems as though you're talking about circuit racing......

That's funny you mention too, my friend and I were coming home in his Twinturbo Z last Friday and ran into a 993 Carrera 6-speed whose owner was acting particularly cocky. Needless to say, my friend bumped up the boost to 1.00 bar and promptly smoked the poor fella by about 8 car lengths all the way up to about 75 when out of the rear-view mirror he admitted defeat by slowing and turning off onto a side street. As a parting shot, he is planning a 5-speed conversion when he pulls the motor/tranny out to add bigger turbos.

later,

amir

Victor · 10-15-2002, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim T
"Tiptronic" is just a fancy name for a regular, slushbox automatic with a little gimmicky way of "manually" shifting it.

How many slushboxes have a lateral shift motion sensor? HA!

JasonAndreas · 10-15-2002, 11:33 PM

You could always reprogram the tip controller and then shift (up or down) at whatever RPM you choosed to.

jason andreas
1993 964RSA

Bill Douglas · 10-16-2002, 12:17 AM

Amir, yep it's got good down the line sort of speed. When we race together, me in the SC, we are about the same lap times. I brake way later than him and corner faster and out of the corners faster, but he blasts away down the straight. In defence of the 300ZX, his one has been hotted up with so many aftermarket bits that it barely goes. Horrific bills to get anything fixed as the onboard diagnostics doesn't talk to the aftermarket parts, so everything is guesswork to a point. He has just spent thousands getting all the water hoses replaced. But it is fast I have to admit.

Jgordon · 10-16-2002, 06:05 AM

Jason, if you can reprogram the Tip, what about a dial to set it on the fly?

Jared

Elombard · 10-16-2002, 06:35 AM

I drove a boxster with Tip.....

Not in my garage!!! If you are commuting????? buy something cheaper -- If it is a third car, a sports car.... skip the tip.

Joe Bob · Joe Bob's Garage

Tip=Chick Car.....

yelcab1 · 10-16-2002, 07:17 AM

What's wrong with a tip?

It is not a manual stick.

nostatic · nostatic's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by Jgordon
if you can reprogram the Tip, what about a dial to set it on the fly?

Well now you're on to something. How about this...you make it so the lever can occupy different positions that relate to engine and vehicle speed. Your hand operates this. Then you use a foot-controlled apparatus that controls the engagement on the fly. That would be cool...total control over gearing using your hands and feet.

Oh wait...that's a manual transmission. DOH!