Anyone moved from manual to PDK here? - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I moved my Cayman S design edition 1 on recently and picked up a beautiful 2010 Gen 2 S with all the trimmings, inc PDK with the sports steering wheel and sport+ mode. I would rather the flappy paddle than the buttons on the wheel. If truth be told I am enjoying it so far but am struggling to get used to not feeling so much in control as I did with the manual. Also, everything just seems a bit tight (if you know what I mean). I would welcome comments from anyone else who made this transition. Did you eventually feel that the PDK was a far better drive or did you hanker after the manual again? I think I may need a trip to some serious European twisties to really experience the joy! At the moment it feels a little like driving my wife's Megane around town, albeit with a lot more oomph!

I did exactly this last year. Previously had manual Boxster and Cayman. PDK on the new Cayman took some getting used to but I find that using sport mode and manually changing gear restores some of the connection. What would I choose for my next Porsche? Well, I do about 20k miles per year of mixed driving and on balance would probably go PDK again. If the car was a weekend toy then probably manual.The driving gods will tell you that manual is the only way for a sports car and I would agree if your mileage is low. However, for every day, high annual mileage of mixed driving I would possibly err on the side of PDK. Not sure that helps you much just my take on things.

not exactly the same move, but close - moved from a manual Porsche to a Ferrari double clutch box - I really miss the manual and next car I buy will be manual again. Edit: And I drive it everywhere in "manual" mode - even in the city / traffic, but without a clutch I can operate, it is still not even close to being the same Edited by MDL111 on Wednesday 24th February 08:57

Johnniem said: I moved my Cayman S design edition 1 on recently and picked up a beautiful 2010 Gen 2 S with all the trimmings, inc PDK with the sports steering wheel and sport+ mode. I would rather the flappy paddle than the buttons on the wheel. If truth be told I am enjoying it so far but am struggling to get used to not feeling so much in control as I did with the manual. Also, everything just seems a bit tight (if you know what I mean). I would welcome comments from anyone else who made this transition. Did you eventually feel that the PDK was a far better drive or did you hanker after the manual again? I think I may need a trip to some serious European twisties to really experience the joy! At the moment it feels a little like driving my wife's Megane around town, albeit with a lot more oomph! If you have a quick search this topic has been done to death a few times and always goes the same way! PDK is a fantastic box and if you want an auto its pretty much as good as you will get , its faster than the manual, better gear ratios but it is still an auto and that was my problem with it, I went from manual to Pdk then after about 6 months I switched back , I initially I enjoyed the PDK, my car had the switches on the wheel which I hated and the gearstick manual controls are backside first which I found frustrating so I bought the sports wheel with the paddle change, that was much better and held my attention for a while , was great on back lanes up and down the box , but I found after a few month or so I tired of the Auto and I kept wishing I had bought a manual car,It irritated me how in drive it wants to get into 7th and in sport it hung on too long and I never liked the noise of the sports exhaust on gear changes when driving normal (was great in sports plus when nailing it ) eventually I gave in and bought a 981 manual, I have that car still and have never once wished it was auto , I recently was looking at B GTS but were all pdk which was a deal breaker for me and I have just managed to buy a Spyder which again is manual . If I ever loose my left leg I will buy an auto but for me while I have both limbs 3 pedals for the win !

MDL111 said: ..... I drive it everywhere in "manual" mode - even in the city / traffic, but without a clutch I can operate, it is still not even close to being the same PDK, and its like, are the future. I have it on mine and it is very good. But agree, a really good 'manual' gearbox is still an absolute joy, especially in a Porsche.

Koln-RS said: PDK, and its like, are the future. I have it on mine and it is very good. But agree, a really good 'manual' gearbox is still an absolute joy, especially in a Porsche. Driverless cars are also the future...

I (as a dyed in the wool manual man) went PDK when I was blown away by how good the demo car was - they didn't have a manual demo car. My car has flappy paddles so can-t really comment on the flippers - though I found the button on a tiptronic I drove a PITA. I am still a big fan - its just so fast and smooth. (And I still dislike, sometimes hate, other autos I drive). BUT (and this is just a personal but) I don't find much fun in it as an auto - I always use manual when hurrying and do a lot of overriding the rest of the time. Normal mode is too keen to change up and Sport holds onto gears too long for me - and neither can anticipate the road or traffic ahead. I find I initiate gear changes far more than I would with a manual. Unlike Jeff I don't like the overblipping on downchanges in sport mode - and another reason I avoid it. (we are all different). Personally not keen (on a road car) of paddles which turn with the wheel - if you shuffle the wheel you can find the paddle in the wrong place. I used the gearstick almost exclusively initially - I have taken to use the paddles normally, but in twirly wheel situations the lever is more convenient (and has a more satisfying "feel" - even if it is only a switch). If I had flippers I suspect I'd use the gearstick more - but change gear less - though, as has been said it works the wrong way. I've had it over a year now and wouldn't go back. That said the auto would have to be as good as PDK - I've driven DSG (though it may have improved since I drove it) and not found it as satisfying, so it's not just a dual clutch thing.

Koln-RS said: MDL111 said: ..... I drive it everywhere in "manual" mode - even in the city / traffic, but without a clutch I can operate, it is still not even close to being the same PDK, and its like, are the future. I have it on mine and it is very good. But agree, a really good 'manual' gearbox is still an absolute joy, especially in a Porsche. I agree with you in terms of it being the future, will just mean that I will not buy new cars (at least as weekend cars I guess) - should save me money, so all good :-)

OP - this topic has been discussed at great length on various forums and there is no 'correct' answer as some will always prefer manual while others (the majority I would say) love the PDK and learn to take control of it when having fun then letting it do it's own thing when cruising or just pottering in traffic. Me? love my BGTS with PDK, but I'm still getting to grips with 'learning' to use the paddles effectively when pressing on through twisty roads. As you've already bought a car with PDK it's probably a bit late to suggest that you try both then decide, but really that's the only way - as good as it is to hear what everyone thinks it is very much a personal choice. But to go back to my point about learning - if you're new to it (like me) a test drive doesn't give you time to adapt to using a PDK manually in an effective way and therefore getting the most pleasure from it.

Gorsh said: ....If you're new to it (like me) a test drive doesn't give you time to adapt to using a PDK manually in an effective way and therefore getting the most pleasure from it. When I took an R-Tronic R8 into Wales with a few friends a while back, you had to adapt your driving to the gearbox as it was a single clutch affair and it resulted in you having to lift off the throttle, pull the paddle, wait for the gear to engage and then get back on the throttle. Downshifts were fine as the software blipped the throttle for you so you could hard brake and pull the paddle and then get back on the throttle. It was fun but a different kind of fun - not (IMO) better than a manual, just different. As the Porsche PDK is a double clutch system, I am not sure how you have to adapt your driving style to fit it, can it not do full-throttle upshifts?

I find the secret to "fun" driving in my PDK is to use the gear stick, not the paddles, in manual mode. I had a manual Boxster as a courtesy car and used my PDK the next day as a manual with the gear stick. Not having done this in any car before I didn't have a problem with the so called "back to front" shift and found it great to change up or down without any pedals (yes to full throttle upshifts), or paddles, being used. I'm fairly sure I could shift up/down two gears quicker this way too. I tend to use the paddles just for overtaking when in auto mode. Driving a manual box for 35+ years, the PDK does take a little getting used to as a manual but as a daily driver the PDK box does 90% of its work in auto mode for me and when roads allow I can revert to manual for fun.

I was lucky enough to have a brand new Cayman with PDK sport as a courtesy car from OPC for a day last week when they had my 996 in. Totally loved the PDK box and found the flappy paddles in sport mode brilliant. Definitely more digital than analogue, but it suited me.

Some interesting and diverse views here. Thanks all. I guess that there is no real answer other than to get out there and learn how to play in a different way! I may return here in a few months (after the next Eurohoon) and give some feedback myself. Thanks again. JM

When I bought my 981 I wanted a manual, as I came from a tiptronic 987. This was my first none manual car since I passed my test all those years ago!. Wasn't easy to find one in the spec/colour I wanted. But once I had driven the PDK version with sport mode and the paddle shift, I am more than happy to have not found a manual. If I change in the future I will definitely go PDK again.