Improving the tiptronic and gear ratio question

Alright, please don't roast me. I know I should have gotten a manual but I found a great deal on a base model 987.1 . This is my first mid/rear engine vehicle and my previous car was a 2006 Mustang GT (and all but one vehicle has been front engine/rear wheel drive). I've been enjoying the car but the transmission response is killing me some days. I've searched the forums but it seems like the general response is typically "Buy a manual." I do enjoy driving it in sport mode to alleviate some of my issues but here are my questions. 1. I changed the rear gears on my Mustang from 3.55's to 3.73's. Can something similar be done with the Cayman ? 2. With a number of older American cars, you could buy a shift kit from B&M, which would improve the shift points , making them more precise and quicker (less lag time between the shift points ). Anything similar available or is this something that would/could be programmed? Really looking for some ideas for improving the response from the transmission. Any help is greatly appreciated.

The 2.7L engine version of the tiptronic already has the shortest 4.38 final drive. You'd be looking at custom/expensive beyond that. The tiptronic is a 5 speed ZF used in a lot of cars from the 2000s. It's all electronic control so you can't just drop the pan and change a few springs or turn a screw, but someone out there can probably reprogram them to be a bit less lazy. They're popular with the 911 Turbo owners that upgrade them for big power, so you might look in those groups for more info.

If you want to wake the car up, the best thing to do with a base 2.7 is headers and a tune ( softronic ) Once that’s been sorted, those stupid thumb shifters will drive you mental - the upgrade to PDK paddles is there.... expensive but it’s an option. You will need 997 steering wheel and airbag 997 steering column control module Foxwell took to re-code the column It makes for a slightly less boring experience, but at great cost. Buying a “good deal” tiptronic car isn’t much of a deal in the long run if you want it to be less boring to drive.

Before and after Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

You might look into installing a Sprint Booster to your throttle. I'm doing same with my '08 CS tiptronic. Doesn't 'add hp' but modifies the curve to how its applied.

Sprint Booster also allows your tiptronic to start in 1st gear at stop signs, rather than 2nd. For a couple of hundred dollars, you will get the feeling of more power for a few months. Then you will see that the SB is actually just adding to what your right foot would be doing all along, just quicker and you do not need to shift into 2nd, like you would with the manual settings. I agree that after the SB , then comes long tube catless headers and a Softronic tune . Forget the IPD plenum , your 2.7 l motor does not need the 82 mm throttle body. You might first ask Scott at Softronics about a 74mm throttle/plenum or 78 mm GT3 throttle body /plenum from a 2007 model, use him as your guide to extract as much torque as possible from my motor, he will instruct you on which parts to buy. You have got to tie the intake to the exhaust to make the tune work best in your 2.7 engine. The good news is these is relatively few reports of bore scoring or rod bearing scarring or rod bolts breaking in the 2.7 engine.

Do others not just drop the tranny into 1st gear at stops like I do (when operating manually)?

This. Driving it in "D"..... well, you may as well have bought a miata [emoji1787] Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Headers and an exhaust are planned for a future upgrade. I want to go with catless headers and also add an intake setup. The plan is to do a tune after those changes.

Hadn't heard of that. Looks promising. Thanks. Will have to do some more research on that.

Hmmmm...on my '08 CS as long as its in manual, it waits for you to decide when to shift (on decel it will downshift on its own, but not upshift) And you have to manually select 1st gear. And first gear is VERY short.

Weird. Maybe they changed something for the '08. Mine shifts out of first and I can tell it still has a little headroom left before it needs to shift out of 1st.

mfergel, maybe the previous owner did you a favor and installed Sprint Booster . You can see it as its attached at the base of the throttle pedal. Usually if you are in manual mode, you will need to nudge you shifter to get 2nd gear. With SB , it will automatically shift into 2nd and downshift back into first when stopping. Not only that but you can select different throttle mapping as assist your right foot. Its a great tool for tiptronic transmissions. Scott at Softronics will help coach you on your next plenum and long tube headers selections, as he has a formula he has developed over the years. He targets the higher volumetric efficiency of the intake and engine by completely retuning the remaining intake resonance valve, Vario Cam Plus, Ignition, and Fuel delivery maps. I and many others on P9 have used his service very effectively. His race tune has so many points of reference for the engine to follow, it simply runs much smoother from startup to 7000.

Gosh, I hope it isn't already installed as I'd hate to imagine the tiptronic could be worse than it already is. Plus I haven't seen a remote to change settings.

Order the Sprint Booster yesterday after checking out some online reviews/videos. Hoping that helps wake the car up a little.

I'm seeing some good responses. Let me share my situation. My wife wanted a Boxster but needed a Tip. I reluctantly shopped and found a good car. Since I am crazy enough to have several performance Porsches [yes-all with manual clutches] I wasn't that worked up about this car. We have owned it over 10 years now. The steering wheel control buttons can be a real pain, yet they are kinda fun if you enjoy a challenge. I bought a set of Mercedes steering wheel paddles but haven't bothered installing them. Much cheaper than the Porsche parts. DIY instructions are out there- try Google for more info. Meanwhile I discovered that if you drive it like an old fart, it acts like a poser car. Yes, slow and early shifts, etc. IF you put it in Manual and drive it like a real sports car, the Tip responds suitably and is way better than I ever expected! Having to manually shift into 1st after a complete stop is a bit annoying but learning to do that manual shift into 1st -just- before a complete stop eliminates that silly "clunk" you otherwise get. I've also discovered that when it's used to being driven with plenty of revs the Tip remembers this and it will downshift by itself when you approach a corner hard on the brakes and HOLD that lower gear through a long corner without fail- even if you are in the Automatic mode. Amazing. Is the double clutch superior? Absolutely, but not as dramatically as most think. The real problem with Tip is it was presented as an option for gentler and many times less skilled drivers. Combine this with lazy road testers who never read the manuals before driving and writing/talking about the cars and you end up with a reputation of it being a lazy unit only suitable to brain dead dopes. There was even a PCA racer who ran one of these. When we first got this it acted lazy but I realized it was easy to reset the trans ECU and drive it as an enthusiast and it quickly woke up. I think it's a shame that so few P car guys and gals have much clue how well these can work. SO- I urge the OP to read your owner's manual and then proceed to DRIVE it like a Porsche , in Manual mode, and you will discover your Tip will respond to this and "get it". We don't put that many miles on this Porsche and the miles/condition are good enough that I've felt no desire to replace it with a later PDK version. Perhaps someday.

Warning: If you think you are going to just bolt on a PKD wheel you may be in for a very expensive lesson. This has been tried and discussed many times with a variety of results. Sometimes it works. Sometimes not. Try Googling your question and check results- I recall the best information was on 6speed or ********.

I don't disagree with some of this but remember.........I've been driving a manual transmission vehicle with 100hp more, so yeah, I realize my expectations are a little high. Also, as mentioned, I don't know what the deal is but even in manual mode it's shifting out of first on it's own, and I can tell there is room for it to go. I'll need to pay a little more attention to where it is in the rev's to see if it's redlining/etc. It sure doesn't feel like it is though. Paddles may be in my future, but I really don't think I struggle with the buttons too much. I have read the manual and understand how it works in terms of stepping on the gas to trigger shift changes/etc. The issue is that this is a daily driver and I don't ALWAYS drive it like I stole it, so the damn thing keeps trying to relearn. I did do a reset after I bought it and yeah, it was great at first but normal/daily driving erased some of those gains. I have a feeling a tune is in my future. I don't know if the tune can include a way of shutting that off and just allow me to set shift points/etc.

This tune isn't programmable. You are making this way more complicated then it is. Relearn itself? Your car sounds like it has something wrong with it. What is relearning itself, the tranny or the throttle body? Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

I should probably rephrase what I said. Relearn is a bad choice of words. It would probably be better to say adapting to my driving style. My guess is it's probably not the tranny that is doing this but the ECU controlling the throttle body. Of note, I did just install the Sprint Booster V3 last night and just had time to take it up and down the road a few times. So far I just did some testing of green and red mode (both at 9) with both normal and sport mode and with PSM on and off. It is more responsive and does liven things up. Initially one thing I don't like it that it doesn't shift down into 1st until you step on the gas, so there is a little lag when it makes that change. Would be nice to have it dip down into 1st as soon as I come to a stop. I haven't messed around with it in manual mode yet. My guess is that I may have to look into the Softtronic.

Softronic isn't going to shift into first either if you just drive it in "D" Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

As mentioned earlier, the Tiptronic transmission will 'learn' your driving habits. When I purchased my used '08 CS, it drove like a granny's car (if ever a Porsche could). I always drive in Manual mode and, after a few days, it was shifting much sharper when I clicked the buttons. And my son drove it in Automatic mode and the shift points changed much higher in the rev range. I still plan to install a Sprint Booster , but there is some fun to be had with the Tip tranny.

Yeah, what John said. At a bare minimum, the PDK steering wheels are the "sport" airbag enclosed in the rounding housing. The original poster probably has the regular wheel with the triangular airbag housing. So, you'll be looking at the expense of the wheel AND the proper airbag for that wheel. ($1000 or something). Airbags are something I'd rather not mess with — at the very least, it can make installation exciting (and dangerous).

With all the suggested hardware upgrades, I'm surprised nobody suggested swapping the transmission for either the 5-speed or 6-speed manual. I'm not sure what software changes need to be made (or if it's even possible), but I'd assume that from a hardware perspective the work would be difficult but straightforward. Note that the 6-speed was an option for the 2.7L car; you're not limited to the 5-speed that was standard. I don't know if the 6-speed from a scrap 3.4L car would have a taller final gear ratio than the 6-speed for the 2.7L, but you could still enjoy the manual shifting (and the better fuel economy on the highway). Bottom line is that the 2.7L — with the ZF, 5-speed, or 6-speed — isn't going to be blazingly fast straight-line compared to a modern V8 Mustang . The Caymans are more finesse cars.

Steering Wheel - Paddle Check out the deal on Steering Wheel - Paddle at Suncoast Porsche Parts & Accessories www.suncoastparts.com Replacement Airbag (997.2/987.2) Check out the deal on Replacement Airbag (997.2/987.2) at Suncoast Porsche Parts & Accessories www.suncoastparts.com Steering Column Control Unit Check out the deal on Steering Column Control Unit at Suncoast Porsche Parts & Accessories www.suncoastparts.com Foxwell NT530 Multi-System Scanner with 1 Free Car Make with SRS EPB SAS TPS BRT NT530 Multi-System Scanner is a unique tool that delivers OE-level diagnosis for different car brands and supports the most commonly required service and coding features. Through hardware and software upgrades, technical staff and enthusiasts can now approach problems with greater speed and... www.foxwelleshop.com Expect 3hrs install. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Thanks for the very detailed reply. Just what I need. Do you think I would need a Foxwell if I'm paying a shop to do the work?

Great advice on the Foxwell . Do you know by chance if the Foxwell can also turn off the seatbelt dinging sound?

There's this thing called Google. Its new. Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

So I'm the bad guy because you are too lazy to look? Uhhuh

Look guys, the tiptronic is what it is. They used the internals in whole bunch of cars and chose those ratios as a one size fits all. It is essentially a 3 speed automatic. 1st is so low it is worthless for street use and 5th is so tall it is useless except above 70 mph. YOU have to learn how to get the most out of it. It will work well but you have to put your foot in it in auto /sport. It does learn and it can been taught to hold the gears instead of the short shift into 5that 1700 rpm or less. In manual it can really work well especially in the 3rd to second downshift as you trail brake into a sharp corner. My 07 cs was bought with a ZF factory rebuild 2016 and 144K miles. I installed Softronic last year and built my own stainless cat back system. Also put in Ohlens coil overs with ride height and rebound adjust. It rides better, handles better and sounds better and makes me smile every time I get in it.Sure, it is not a PDK but it can be made to work. It does need a limited slip differential though and I plan to fab up headers after I finish the 2014CS PDK salvage car we just got. Lots of good advice here, keep up the good work.

...