Tiptronic shifting

Hello everyone, I wanted to see if there is way to have the Tiptronic skip a gear while downshifting? For example, is there a method to have it go from 5th gear DIRECTLY to third? My previous car, a 2006 Mercedes S430, did this, so how come a Porsche doesn't? Or is there a way of doing this that I am not aware of? It seems the only way I can get it to downshift is to go from 5th, then 4th, then 3rd, when going from 5th to 3rd would save the time of having to go to 4th gear.

Not that I know of. I don't recall ever reading in the owners manual about the ability to skip gears while down shifting a tip.

If you are in D mode and you use the throttle pedal kick-down function, by quickly jabbing the throttle (you don't need to mash it all the way to the floor), you can get it to downshift from 5th to 3rd immediately - you might also be able to get it to go from 4th to 2nd, but I can't recall offhand if I've tried that yet. This doesn't work if you have it in M mode, though you can push the downshift button twice and it will downshift 2 gears, but sequentially.

Downshifting with Tip S Can't speak for the CS (yet - mine is on order), but in the 911 Turbo, yes you can definitely get down from 4th to 2nd by hitting the throttle. Didn't put it through the floor, and got a nice boost. And you can downshift with the multifunction steering wheel fast enough to get the same results - and still keep both hands on the wheel. Advisor told us that at least in the Turbo, the Tip S made more sense than the 6M transmission - let the onboard computers keep the turbos pumped up to appropriate and responsive levels, rather than YOU having to watch the RPM's. In city traffic (over 90% of our daily driving here), the Tip S is a gift from the engineers! You still get the wonder of driving a real performance machine without the headaches of constant shifting and clutching.

I am also a city driver in the DC area and am amazed Porsche does not include such a thing on the Tips while in M mode. The more I drive this car, the more I realize the things I used to take for granted in others cars are just not available in the CS. This was my first Porsche purchase and will most likely be my last.

there is always room for improvement. Porsche will definitely improve their cars as time goes by. There is a rumor about Audi 's excellent Tip being introduced to Porsche . Only time will tell.

My concern is that Porsche seems to be a few years behind on bringing things to market. This simple ability to skip a gear while shifting has been around for ages, but somehow fails to show up on a $65K Porsche ? My Merc. S430 which was a boat by performance standards even had this feature! You are right, the PDK should be coming soon, but who knows when it will reach the Cayman , perhaps a year after the Carrera ? Ali M, are you from Qatar?

When I did my driving experience day the instructor told me a quick double tap of the accelerator should do it.

... ok call me crazy... but if you are trying to be sporty and have it in manual mode.... what the heck would you be doing in fifth gear to begin w/... wouldn't you be in fourth gear? I drive my tip in manual mode nearly 100% of the time.. All I can say is when I am driving "spirited-ly" I never need to skip a gear. I am always in the lowest gear that i can be in for that speed range. I down shift through each gear (similar to how many racers would go through each gear on a sequential...). Sounds like it would only be an issue if you wanted to instantly switch from town cruising to racer and back and forth... but maybe i am missing the point?

Exactly, let go of the accelerator and then jab it close to its mid point, it will instantly shift to 3rd. Also, you can accumulate shifts using the rocker switches, just press down twice and u'll be in 3rd in no time! Good point, would you complain from sequentials?? that would mean that the Veyron wont satisfy you then? ________________________ "Sir! We're surrounded!" - "Excellent! We can shoot in any direction!" A good car will get you from point A to point B. A great car... will just get you into trouble!

Actually, the reason why I was asking is because at Summit Point, there is a long stretch of road that you can take at 125+ MPH which is followed by a hairpin turn, so the ability to go from 5th (at 125+ MPH) to third gear would be nice during hard braking in order to pull out of the apex in the best gear, since you never want to shift gears in the middle of the turn. This is why I am so surprised as to why a Porsche , which is seemed as a great track car, does not have such a feature in the M mode.

Well, I might be wrong, but I think that most people with a manual would downshift thru 4th gear while braking, rather than go straight to 3rd and risk over-revving the engine or unsettling the car. Similarly, the Tip isn't going to complete the downshift until it's safe for the engine to do so - in that time you can just push the downshift button twice and it will progress to 3rd while you are braking. At my local track, there is a stretch where you are going downhill at 90 (in 4th) and have to brake and downshift to 2nd for a tight left-hander at the end - it really is no problem to accomplish a quick downshift of 2 gears with the steering buttons while braking.

Perhaps this will help... Driving Porsche Tiptronic at track days - Trackpedia ________________________ "Sir! We're surrounded!" - "Excellent! We can shoot in any direction!" A good car will get you from point A to point B. A great car... will just get you into trouble!

...great link ... thanks Nitro .....

I will try and get the foot jabbing method to work in D mode when I head back to Summit Point in July.

Glad to help ________________________ "Sir! We're surrounded!" - "Excellent! We can shoot in any direction!" A good car will get you from point A to point B. A great car... will just get you into trouble!

Yep from Nitro's recommended link, "Remember, the trick is to jab it quickly and then get off the gas. This will cause the shift. This is faster than using the buttons as the car will drop as many gears as needed to get to 5k at the current speed..." I always drive in M mode. When I'm at a high gear and need to slow down for a turn that requires a drop of 2 gears, I just brake and tap the (-) button twice. The computer memorizes that I want a double downshift so by the time I enter the turn at my lower speed, it drops from the higher gear I entered with to the one that I requested. This "build up" of downshifts is an awesome feature and works every time. I can even recall watching the little red light at 4th gear skip to and light up 2nd gear by the time I enter the turn, without even lighting up the 3rd gear.

if you still have the owners manual you can look up the Kick-down function, downshifting two gears is definately possble, there is no reason for porsche not to allow this, its not a sequential gear box

I have had no problems going from 5th gear down to 3rd for a quick turn. I am lucky enough to live near the Santa Monica Mountains which make for excellent driving. I find a quik double tap on the tip lever on the wheel and I am good to go.

There is an interesting article on the Tiptronic transmission in the May issue of Panorama. The article references history, enhancements, design features and maintenance. Also, it references future developments of upgrading to a DSG transmission.

Manual mode on the Tip is great once you master it. The computer does a great job memorising your gearshift clicks and executing them at the optimal rev. I tried going down from 5th to 2nd by clicking three times in succession. The shifts were smooth as I slowed the car down enough to actualise the shift safely. The computer protects the engine from over-revving.

I recently tried the double tapping method, but I guess even the the 4th gear indicator lights up, it quickly goes to third gear instead of fourth? In reading the manual, it states the kickdown feature only works when in D mode. My reason is based on no speed reduction or RPM change occurs during the brief period the 4th gear light is on, but the aformentioned RPM and speed reductions arise when I go to third after the double tap. Am I correct in assuming that it is actually skipping 4th gear in M mode even though its respective indicator lights up? In a previous thread, somebody mentioned they actually recalled getting it to skip the 4th gear light by quickly pressing the downshift buttons in M mode, I am unable to replicate this.