I have driven the future. Its PDK

I have driven the future, and it is full of PDK. I have been a staunch manual transmission defender till about 3:00 this afternoon. PDK is the future and the future is good, 4 gear skips at a time, in 100 millisecond good. Like always in boost, always in the right gear, put your foot down and go perfect.

Basically this

In this

Is perfect, its fully 100%.

153K new but I had a crisis. Still not as fun as a manual but if you think that you can shift faster then the computer can I flat out do not believe it.

My next Porsche will 100% be PDK I am completely sold.

My condolences.

I think Woody came to the same conclusion with his recent experience. I really need to drive one.

I don't care how much faster it is. I don't care if it sounds like I double clutch and blip the throttle every time. I REALLY don't care if it's more efficient and gets better mileage.

I care that I know the computer is making me look good. No amount of computer goodness will replace the feeling of the perfect downshift as I accelerate out of a corner. So what if I can only do it half the time. Or even 1 out of 10 times. I did it. The fact that it is hard to do and doesn't always work is what makes it special. That is what makes it so satisfying to do right.

You can have my stick shift when you pry it out of my cold dead hands.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: I don't care how much faster it is. I don't care if it sounds like I double clutch and blip the throttle every time. I REALLY don't care if it's more efficient and gets better mileage. I care that I know the computer is making me look good. No amount of computer goodness will replace the feeling of the perfect downshift as I accelerate out of a corner. So what if I can only do it half the time. Or even 1 out of 10 times. I did it. The fact that it is hard to do and doesn't always work is what makes it special. That is what makes it so satisfying to do right. You can have my stick shift when you pry it out of my cold dead hands.

This

I loved the Cayman S PDK that I drove. Throttle/off throttle inputs felt like a manual transmission car.

You're not losing anything by not having to use your left foot.

This is not a thread about Philip K. Dick.

Sorry, I just don't buy it.

If we're talking competition car, yes, by all means tenths and hundredths count and I fully support using whatever gets you from point A to point B as quickly and consistently as possible.

But my ass can't even tell the difference between 6 and 7 seconds in zero-60 time. Yet I sure can tell the feeling when I nail a nice simple heel-toe on an entertaining corner. No, it doesn't make me a driving hero. But hell YES it makes me happy!

File it under Slow Car Fast for me.

I never understood people that hate stuff they never tried.

Those people are commonly called haters. I'm broke so I'm afraid that the Porsche salesmen will tell me to get the berkeley out if I go to test drive one of their PDK 911s.

I've driven them. I've driven the Jag version. I've driven the BMW version. It's not something I am interested in for an entertainment car. For a daily cruiser, fine. But I'd never drive a 911 for a cruiser.

And before anybody trots out the same old chestnut about having to manually adjust spark advance, forget it. That's not a real or important part of the 3-footed dance.

Slippery wrote: I never understood people that hate stuff they never tried.

This.^^^^^ I am also a staunch manual/stick shift kind of guy but I have never driven a true PDK and would really like to. I could totally see going for it if it felt good. I gotta try me one, ASAP!!

Duke wrote: I've driven them. I've driven the Jag version. I've driven the BMW version. It's not something I am interested in for an entertainment car. For a daily cruiser, fine. But I'd never drive a 911 for a cruiser. And before anybody trots out the same old chestnut about having to manually adjust spark advance, forget it. That's not a real or important part of the 3-footed dance.

So you have not driven the Porsche PDK ...

I've driven flappy paddle cars before. None were Porches. I'm sure Porches are wonderful. They could be the most wonderful flappy paddles ever, they still aren't a stick and three pedals.

Some of you are inferring that I just don't get it because I haven't driven a Porsche with PDK. I counter that it is you who don't get it, and once you go PDK you never will.

For the record, I'm not a fan of automatic climate control either.

I hate automatic climate control and I hate auto dimming rearview mirrors. For the last 30 years, most of my vehicles have had manual transmissions.

I own a six speed Cayman S. The power that the engine makes is fantastic. The handling is phenomenal. But there is nothing terribly special about the way it shifts. PDK is quite possibly more engaging.

I was on the fence about them until I drove a newer v8 M3 with the flappy paddels. It was REALLY good. I still love my good old manual trans, but I could certainly see myself living with one of those.

PDK makes all other flappy paddle gearboxes feel slow and sluggish. It is truly the best transmission ever to be in a car ever.

I love my manual Boxster, but would trade for PDK in a heartbeat.

I love the nostalgia of a manual.

I race a 5 speed ZF car... the finesse of snapping off quick shifts was something that took time to learn so I have a vested interest in preserving it... but... for racing? Gimme paddle shifters that queue up and snik in at EXACTLY the right RPM in nanoseconds any day.

I'll buy a vintage car to shift for myself. PDK all the way.

I would drive a dual clutch car if they were more common. IDK why the Focus ST and cars like that don't have them.

kanaric wrote: I would drive a dual clutch car if they were more common. IDK why the Focus ST and cars like that don't have them.

VW GTi has it.

Maroon92 wrote:

kanaric wrote: I would drive a dual clutch car if they were more common. IDK why the Focus ST and cars like that don't have them.

VW GTi has it.

Yes I know about that. It's had it for a while which makes it all the more weird that it's competition hasn't offered a similar option. Kind of silly that the WRX went with a CVT over one.

Imagine a world of sports cars where the two options were "traditional" manual and PDK (which have auto modes). I think that would be a good scenario.

kanaric wrote:

Maroon92 wrote:

kanaric wrote: I would drive a dual clutch car if they were more common. IDK why the Focus ST and cars like that don't have them.

VW GTi has it.

Yes I know about that. It's had it for a while which makes it all the more weird that it's competition hasn't offered a similar option. Kind of silly that the WRX went with a CVT over one.

Isn't cost a factor here too? I don't know but it seems like at the higher end (Porsche) a few thousand won't make a huge difference, but at the lower end (WRX, ST), it will.

Slippery wrote:

Duke wrote: I've driven them. I've driven the Jag version. I've driven the BMW version. It's not something I am interested in for an entertainment car. For a daily cruiser, fine. But I'd never drive a 911 for a cruiser. And before anybody trots out the same old chestnut about having to manually adjust spark advance, forget it. That's not a real or important part of the 3-footed dance.

So you have not driven the Porsche PDK ...

Yes, I have. I said I had driven them, in addition to Jag and BMWs. I have never driven a PDK in competition, but I have driven one. I'm not arguing about the quality of the transmission. I'm arguing about the quality of the drive.