I am placing my order this week, but I am undecided on the color andwhether to go Triptronic or stick. I live in NY and I am usually stuck in traffic, even though the Cayman will not be a daily commuter.What are most people opting for,stick or triptronic?
My other question is color. Although I tend to lean towards the conservative colors, i.e. black or silver.The Guards red has caught my eye recently. It looks really good on the Cayman in the magazine articles.
I opted for the tiptronic S transmission. My wife can drive a manual transmission, but prefers a tiptronic. I also do a lot of stop and go driving. Sometimes it just gets to be a pain. Since I will not track the car a tip will do nicely. One issue with Porsche tiptronic, when it is cold it does not shift out of D1 immediately. It takes 5-10 seconds while waiting for the cat converter to warm up. During winter months I found it easier to start off in manual and shift manually from M1 to M2 while the cat heats up. Usually after 30 seconds it is no problem. It is annoying if you have never had the Porsche tip before.
I would recommend a second car for traffic - really,. A used Buick with the 3.8L V6 gets decent mileage and will be comfortable (day in and day out). Just make sure to remove the AAA sticker and clean the dashboard of traces of 'Blue Rinse'. ; -) No, really - a second car for traffic situations is the way to go. You can actually reduce insurance costs - if the second car is the primary vehicle and you take out liability only on it and then use the Porsche for less than 5K miles a year it may very well be cheaper.
That also allows you to have a manual tranny in the Cayman. The Tiptronic is OK, just OK; I've yet to drive a manumatic that acts like a manual (with the exception of the automanual DSG-like Audi/VW tranny - but that's completely different than the Tiptronic).
last weekend at a club event I saw a Guards Red 997Swith Sand Beige interior, really awesome combo
can't really say about Tiptronic because I've only had manual transmissions but I've heard once you learn how to drive the tiptronic properly they are really slick
If you need the Tip there is nothing wrong with having it. The car should meet your needs, and the loss of performance, particularly in real world driving, is minimal. There is less to do (which is what a lot of people mean by "involvement") but that's about it unless you believe it isn't a sports car without a true manual transmission. The Tip is not as direct as a true "clutchless" manual (Ferrari F1) transmission but it's pretty good. What I don't know is whether the Sport Chrono changes to the mapping and shifting are "must have" features. I think the red goes well on the car.
I spent a bit of time in an Audi TT with the DSG like gearbox at a short lead for the S-Line product in Texas a couple of years back. We did everything in our power to 'fool' the tranny and it just worked. The great thing about the DSG, that every manumatic I've driven (and that's most of them out there) can't do, is that it does not induce any drivetrain 'jerk' during downshifts. Downshifts are smooth and subsequently don't generate any 'uh-oh' momnets. The manumatics just can't match it.
If I needed to drive the Cayman in stop and go traffic conditions, I'd want the DSG and who knows when Porsche will make it available (if they'll make it available).
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<td valign="top"><span class="storytitle">The Dirt Road[/quote]
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<td valign="top" colspan="2"><span class="author">BY TONY QUIROGA[/quote]
<span class="photo">May 2005[/quote]
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Tumid turbos:
A new 911 Turbo will launch early next year. Expect about 480 horsepower from the turboed flat-six, an increase of about 36 over the 444-hp, X50-equipped 911 Turbo. The run from nothing to 60 mph should fall into the mid-three-second range.
This Turbo will mark the debut of Porsche's double-clutch gearbox that is similar to Audi's DSG unit.
The 911 won't be the only turbocharged Porsche to get a power boost. The Cayenne Turbo SUV is also expected to increase its optional horsepower to nearly 540, up from the base 450 horses. And work continues on a hybrid version of the Cayenne expected to bow in 2007.
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Cool! Now hopefully they'll move into the entire lineup. I was really impressed with the Audi DSG implementation; to top it all off, it worked very well in 'D' mode, something that the Toyota MR2 automanual couldn't do.
I've run DSG in my TT for the last 2 years and will severely miss it. As soon as Porsche introduce it as an option on the Cayman I will chop my new one in and re order with the same spe but with DSG. Simply the best box of any type out there manual or not.
Dean
Dean,
Here's snap from the TX trip:
