997 TURBO... TIPTROIC VS. MANUAL... HELP TO DECIDE

Manual, no question.

Now if you were considering a 2010 with the option of PDK, I may answer a bit differently.

Steve

 

The only reason to ever buy that car in a tip would be you can not or are physically unable to drive a manual

 

Manual.

 

THE TIP IS A JOKE. 6spd.

 

agreed with above ... TIP is horrible ... old, the buttons on steering wheel suck and its easy to change gears by turning wheel.

I tried one with TIP so my wife could drive it too .. big mistake ... got rid of it for a six speed

the new PDK with real paddle shifters may be better from what I hear ..... but stay away from TIP in a 911 unless you are unable to drive a manual.

 

I had a 1996 TT with manual transmission. The control was great but in a full acceleration from start, first gear was a 2 second experience. The rev limiter was always right there and it could make a very embarrassing sound.

I had a 2001 TT with manual transmission. Same good. Same bad.

I had a 2002 TT with automatic transmission. Tiptronic, in normal and even aggressive driving was better than me. I enjoyed it more than I did the 2001.

I had a 2007 TT with automatic transmission. Tiptronic, in automatic mode, was promoted by the factory as faster (with SportChrono Plus) than the manual. The dealer said everyone wanted the Tiptronic but many people turned right around and traded it for a manual.

In between these TT versions, I had several regular 911 Carreras with manual and Tiptronic. Without the turbo boost, the Tiptronic was slow, sluggish and very disappointing.

I just sold a 2009 PDK Carrera S and I would say that was a near-perfect car. I would expect the 2010 TT or TTS with PDK to be the car to own. I can't imagine how you could shift a manual quickly enough to appreciate the massive acceleration of the latest version.

 

I have owned 993 manual transmission cars (TT and C4S) and 996 manuals and Tips (2 TT manual, TT cab Tip, C2 cab manual, C4S cab manual and currently a GT3).

I thought the tips were good if you were using the car to commute with or were frequently stuck in heavy traffic. Given your stated use as a weekend car, I would vote in favor of the manual.

Kirk

 

This.

I've driven a 996 with Tip and it was an unfortunate experience.

 

I had a 997TT ('08) manual. I have driven 911s with tiptronic and PDK.

Absolutely no tiptronic. It was a poor design by Porsche.
I would vote manual, but PDK is a very close option.
The manual turbo is great other than the previously mentioned lack of 1st gear range.
I am a bit of a purist so I think paddles belong in F-cars, not Porsches.

 

I agree. My 993 had a Tiptronic, and it was bog slow -- not sure if they improved it with the 996 and early 997. I don't think Porsche were really trying when it came to the old automatic. I just left it in 'D', because you could read an FChat timing belt post in the time it took for the car to react to your shift command.

The PDK, which I haven't yet driven, is a totally different beast and something I would consider on a daily driver in particular.

 

6 spd for sure. PDK is OK. But no Tip. I've owned 3 different Turbos, loved every one of them. What great cars.

 

I have owned a 5 speed boxster, 6 speed 996, and currently a tip 996. In the 9?6 platform, I find the tip is lethargic in automatic. It, by default, starts the gearbox in 2nd gear and I feel like a camry would beat me to the next red light. In tip-manual, throttle is much improved and I do not feel that I could make a shift as fast as the car can.

I'm in the market for a 996 turbo and will probably take advantage of the price advantage of the tiptronic and buy the automatic. It will be my DD though.

I will add that the goofy little tiptronic buttons are hard to find on the wheel, especially while turning at all. I can toss legacy out the window when it comes to paddles being for Fcars only. Ive had a lexus sedan and a VW SUV with paddles and welcome them on every car.

 

Personally I prefer the buttons on the front of the steering wheel and if F1 cars had been built that way from the beginning guess what...so too would the Ferrari's and all the rest of the cars that now put them behind the wheel...

On the front with up and down on each side, you can have one hand on the wheel (and in my case the other on the brake and gas levers) vs being forced to always have both hands on the wheel because one side is up and the other is down on the paddle shift cars.

If/when I get a 997 PDK I will see if there is ANYWAY to retrofit the old 996 tip wheel to that car... Of course most of you are not paralyzed and in wheelchairs like me, but still it seems to make sense for a street car to have up and down on each side of the wheel...YMMV!

Also, unless you are REALLY a good driver and are willing to BEAT UP your clutch and trans the Tip is probably still faster...even though it may seem less so because you actually get to simply push a button and wait for the shift vs. clutch, shift, declutch... Also on launch you can brake torque the tip to build boost and thus 0-60 times on the Tips are faster than a manual...and as noted above to get the most out of your manual you would have to ABUSE your clutch... just sayin'!

James