Question to those who drive manual

So I recently took a new role that has me back in the office. It has its pros and cons, but one big pro is that I actually get to drive again, which I genuinely enjoy. The Cayman 2.9L has become my daily until my wife’s car is fixed. Something I have noticed about my driving style is that 4th gear is rarely used unless I am pushing hard, making a quick pass, or just ripping through gears for fun. In normal driving and cruising, I typically go from 3rd to 5th and then 6th. When slowing down, I still usually skip 4th. Anyone else consistently skip a specific gear in daily driving?

I personally don’t skip gears, especially during upshifts. Occasionally when slowing rapidly at a turn I may jump from 5th to 3rd or 4th to 2nd, but only because my braking has brought me to a speed that requires an additional downshift. But I can’t recall ever skipping a gear in an upshift. Personal driving styles though, whatever one feels comfortable with.

when third is good to near 100MPH its not a big thing to just slot into the cruise gear when you are done with 3rd.

100% agree.

I sometimes give it a blast in 2nd gear and skip to 4th. Just for something different. Try it, you'll like it !! I have even ripped it in 2nd on a freeway on ramp and gone straight to 6th. It's too easy to grab 3rd at 75mph/120kph and keep accelerating (even with my base engine ). Asking for trouble from an unmarked prowler.😇

This might sound crazy to some of you, but in some ways? I wish I still had my Fiat 124 spider for an occasional rip, why? Because you could ring out every gear without being at jail speeds. Sure it would be a slug by today’s speed standards, but if you’ve never driven one, you don’t know what you’re missing.

I feel ya. I have the Base also. I will give this a try too. It's been fun seeing all of the responses and learning from others. I think one of the biggest differences a lot of people miss about our 2.9L base is how much more different the gearing is in these transmissions. Thanks

Your not crazy. And I agree with you, the less HP can mean the more gearing fun you can have and not worry about the getting into trouble. My neighbor has a Chevy Cruze he loaned it to me for a couple of days when we had that luck of all cars in the shop moment. It's a manual and it was fun gearing pushing on that thing. I really wanted the Porsche again and wanted to try the Cayman . I have had the old school 911 , 944 and now this and too many cars in between. I wanted the 2.9L for the less HP and the more ringing of the gears when I want too. We have the 620+ HP car with nearly 700ftlbs of torque. We almost never get to use the power. It's become more of a, I have it conversation. Sigh.

Having owned a 996 before the Boxster , I actually prefer the 987 over the 911 . Less horsepower, but more fun to drive. More smiles per miles.😎

The old 911 was a 1976 911S , 5 speed about 170hp, even with a complete rebuild and some cams, close to 200hp on ~2500 lbs (accounting for the full stereo and dual subs setup in the "back seats"). That was a car I could just ream out 24/7 and had a blast, and lost the license twice on. 😄 But agree on the new 911s . I was just unamused and almost walked away from them until I drive the Cayman . Hooked ever since.

Not a Mazda, A 1971 flat hood 1600 with chrome bumpers and a Lampredi twin cam. They had the most simple to operate up-and-down top of the era. And I have to take issue with your reliability statement. In the late 60s going into the 70s there were not a lot of mechanics that understood how to work on a twin overhead cam engine with shim and bucket valve adjustment. Fiats were wrenched on so poorly that it was common for us to see calipers damaged by screwdrivers because the shims were not removed first, they never needed a pry hand only and that’s only one example. My dad was a master mechanic and an Italian guy so he dug Fiats. We fixed them right. I sold my spider to a very good friend for 1500 way back when. We are still friends and he told me he drove it for 2 1/2 years and sold it for 1500 again.

Probably, but that's such an automatic muscle memory thing that I couldn't tell you which.

I have a 2.7 981 Boxster , but this made its way to my email notifications and piqued my interest. I do skip gears sometimes when driving normally - sometimes 1st to 3rd if speed is high enough, but more often 2nd to 4th and then to 6th. There is enough power and torque in each gear to respond if the revs are a bit low and, to me, it makes cruising a conscious choice and keeps spirited driving more special. It’s been interesting reading everyone’s replies. I’ve not tried your generation but the gearbox in the 981 is magic and superbly precise. It’s a great tool to work with and you can row the gears very satisfyingly. The only thing I would say is the clutch is a bit heavy when you’re in heavy traffic - but that’s a worthwhile trade off. Thanks to forums like these for reminding me why we enjoy driving these cars!

Run through the gears to keep your memory in tune with the car

I almost never use 5th gear. When shifting up, I'm really done in 3rd, then short shift to 4th, and right to 6th. If I'm in 6th and want power or I'm slowing, I downshift to 4th. I haven't gone from 6th to 3rd or 3rd to 6th, but I will try it.

One of my favorite reasons to own a manual transmission, I can choose any gear I like, going up or coming down, it all depends on the speed and driving dynamic at the moment, heck sometimes I cruise along in 3rd on a smooth twisty road just taking in the curves... as long as the you don't lug the engine of over rev it I value the ability to choose without any predetermined plan and it definitely includes skipping gears.

I have a 981 BS. Haven’t had the opportunity to drive your spec. If there’s any gear that gets skipped it’s 5th during 4 to 6 upshifts when merging on the highway. I agree about power not being everything. My RX-8 was more fun on backroads than my e93 M3 (both MT). You didn’t get too fast too soon. The RX-8 felt like you were pushing the limit at lower speeds while the M3 was always like “you didn’t take that curve fast enough”. Going from the M3 to the 981 was different. The 981 feels more like a go cart. Lighter, more precise. Basically, that special Porsche feeling. M3 was more of a muscle car.

I drive a 987.1 S 3.2 and they have enough torque at low rpm to pull fine on the flats so lately I do find myself trolling around at 2,000 rpm

Interested to hear your thoughts on the gearbox in the 981 vs the M3. I also have an E92 M3 6MT and it really makes me appreciate the box in the 981.

i i have a 987.1 base five speed and i have never skipped a gear on the way up. i have had manusl transmissions i have a 987.1 base five speed . i have had manual transmissions since i learned to drive. i cannot recall any time that i purposely skipped a gear on the way up and i cannot think of any advantage in doing so. good luck figuring it out.

Driving experience in my 2016 MT 2.7 base 981 -18 miles to work at 530am. Speed out my street are 45mph first 3 miles, then onto the highway speed limits of 55/60. I stay in 4th until I approach 60 then 5th & rarely in 6th unless on long drives of 70mph or more. Only 2 quick steer 55 mph S curves on my route. Then just mundane highway driving. Watching the road ragers rush to work. On some weekends we take a spirited drive through 2 lane back roads where up & down 2nd through 5th gives us that flat 6 rev tone we love. To each his or her own. I enjoy the balanced smooth rev of these engines. I get 25.3 mpg during the week. Up to 26.5 on weekend drives. Skipping gears not my style. Maybe if I was a racer I might. I also ride a 111 cu in motorcycle & ride it like I drive. 52 years of driving experience I still appreciate whatever machine I am rolling with. Radio off, phone on mute. I just Drive and enjoy the same as I did back in 1974, the day I “borrowed“ my Dads Dodge Dart after he went to bed-at age 15 to see what it was like surrounded by a chassis, body & listening to the engine and of course staying on the road. After riding bicycles & mini motorbikes as a kid. The next year I had drivers education, but already had “driving experience”

Sort of related to driving and shifting a manual transmission, but while traveling last week I rented a mid-size luxury SUV and was given a Macan at pickup. Loved the ride and even though it was a base with a four banger it was quite peppy and handled well. Since my 987.1 is a 5-spd and I prefer that over an automatic trans I tried playing around with the paddle shifter and found that experience to be disappointing. Maybe the lack of using my left foot in the mix, or my unfamiliarity with the process, but I just did not enjoy downshifting and upshifting in that manner. It was more rewarding to just stomp the accelerator and let the trans do its own thing. Choosing a gear with the paddles always left me feeling that I was in the wrong gear for the speed and revs at the moment. I guess if one drives it daily and gets used to it there is a better connection to the vehicle but after a few tries over my time in it I stopped using the paddles.

I have the same car, I use all the gears, sometimes skipping, but I like all of them, they are there to be used. Enjoy them all, or one day, the fourth won't be there when you need it.

I always keep my rpms optimized for driving condition. Edit: I do routinely skip gears, up and down. Double clutching helps save synchros btw. I use every gear.

I often skip 4th and/or 5th gears. Get up to speed in the lower gears and then cruising in heavy traffic at 50 mph. What is the point of shifting into 4th or 5th only to not accelerate in the gear and then shift into 6th anyway. Might as well get to 6th immediately. The ratio between 3rd and 6th (skiping 4 and 5) is about the same as the ratio between 1st and 2nd.

I’m surprised so many people skip shift. It can be a little harder on your gearbox. Consider that the synchro has to work harder to bridge larger gaps. Not here to judge; just sayin. It’s your car feel free to drive it how you like 🫡

Only if you aren't rev matching.... I've got an old BMW R80 (flat twin!) that I love to flog since you can rip it and not be going that fast. I also have a KLX250 that has maybe 17 HP....revs to 11000 rpm....rip it through 4 gears....red line in each....and be going 45 mph....

Oh to have a garage full of toys ……… Skipping gears is not a speed shift. You can tell the synchro is working harder than normal. So you are right, point taken. Rev matching required, even double de-clutch to spin up the counter-shaft. So extra clutch work, synchro wear and tear, what am I saving actually ? Maybe I’ll stop ….. I think OP’s point was he uses it just occasionally, as do I. Not something you should make a habit of anyway. I’m rambling …..

I never (intentionally) skip a shift and don't really get it since I enjoy the involvement of shifting. I went from an '02 M3 (inline six) to a '10 987.2 Boxster S . The Boxster has the optional Sport Shifter and has a much shorter throw and is far smoother shifting than the M3 . I don't have any experience with newer BMW cars, but the only thing I've ever driven that shifts as well as the Porsche was a Miata .

So, what do people who don't skip gears do when they accelerate normally through first, second, and third, get up to the travel speed, and then wish to drive gently in 6th? Shift to 4th, not accelerate at all, then shift to 5th and not accelerate at all, and then finally shift to 6th?

On the way up, I'll shift sequentially the vast majority of the time. Even if I were to wind a gear out to redline, i'm going to go into the next higher gear rather than skipping. Sometimes on the way back down I might skip, but this will include a double clutch into neutral, and then into whichever gear is appropriate.

You are correct, but I'd suggest that it's probably more relevant to compare the ratios between 2nd and 3rd rather than between 1st and 2nd if your shifting sequence is 1st -> 2nd -> 3rd -> 6th. In this case there's quite a significant difference in the ratio between 3rd and 6th and the ratio between 2nd and 3rd. For the 981 manual the data are as follows: Gear Boxster/Cayman S Ratio Boxster/Cayman Ratio 1 12.863 14.259 2 7.583 7.972 1.696 1.789 3 5.473 5.686 6 3.270 3.270 1.674 1.739 2 7.583 7.972 3 5.473 5.686 1.386 1.402 The jump from 3rd to 6th is quite a bit larger than from 2nd to 3rd. I'll leave it to others to draw conclusions about the merits or otherwise of skipping 4th and 5th based on gear ratio intervals, change in engine load, synchro operation, etc .

I just shift all over the place. Ain't no Bad.