Tiptronic Use Advice

Hi, Just bought a 996 C4 tip. Not only is it my 1st Porsche but also my first automatic gearbox. I find myself applying the brakes far more than I used to for my previous manual cars when slowing down. To compensate, I started to flick between Neutral and Drive to prevent the motor applying energy to the transmission. This allowed me to slow down naturally without braking. My question is, is this constant changing between Neutral and Drive going to cause me problems in the future? Cheers, Prav.

Your car is designed to be driven in D. Putting it into N whilst moving is not a smart idea. Use the brakes, the car will sense you want to slow and change down for you to help with engine braking, this will put a lot less stress on teh torque converter than a shift from N to D when you start off again. Also when you are in Neutral you have no control of the car. This might be fine on a dry road but on wet or icy roads you could be getting into horrible problems. If it is your first Tiptronic here is another tip (excuse the pun) that I had to drill into my father in law. When stopped at the lights do not put it in Park. two reasons, firstly it has been known for people to then pull off in R, secondly if you get rear ended at the traffic lights you are possibly looking at an new transmission. If you want to get a good understanding of how good the Tiptronic box is and learn how to drive it consider taking it for a track day. the tippy box will put a smile on your face.

Thanks for the advice Sean. Ah well .. guess I'll just have to add to the Brake Light brigade on motorways (pet hate!) or learn to keep even longer distance from the car in front!

if you have to you can always just hit the downshift and induce some engine braking.

I have to confess that I don't know the details of Porsche tiptronic specifically, but some transmissions have a torque convertor lockup feature when in 'manual' mode. If Tiptronic has this, then use manual mode as a manual gearbox with the steering wheel buttons and have some real fun...!

Was talking to a racing driver recently who used to race for Porsche... he mentioned that when they took tips onto the track they would actually tape down the steering wheel controls so that they'd be stuck in the (-) position! now would never do that to my own car but then again, haven't taken any of mine anywhere near a track yet...

Putting the box in neutral while the car is moving will break the box... rather quickly. While at the traffic lights, putting it in neutral or park will also shorten it's life. Remember than when you are stationary in neutral there is no mechanical wear taking place.

Its also a fact that the inevitably more frequent use of the brakes makes auto box cars less likely to be the victim of a rear-end shunt. You don't need to put the car out of D in normal stop-start driving... it won't do it any harm. The torque converter might overheat if you leave it in D with your foot on the brake but only for a very prolonged period. Putting it into neutral and back into D when you are driving will cause more wear on the box; use the tiptronic gear selectors if you want extra engine braking. The consequences of accidentally selecting reverse or park when going forward will be expensive too...

Are you sure? I'm fairly sure that the manual recommends moving the transmission into neutral when stationary (eg. at the lights), but not into park. I do this all time (and so did the previous owner), otherwise the engine is constantly trying to move the car and you will damage the gearbox / wear out the brakes and engine quicker this way. I agree that you don't flick it into neutral whilst the car is moving and if you brake hard the 'box automatically changes down, so uses engine assisted braking. I also sometimes use the gears to change down when braking...not sure if I should do this with the auto box (there's nothing in the manual to suggest either way). With regards to the original post: Were your previous cars Porsche's? The reason why I say this is that Porsche brakes are well known for their difference to other cars. When I had my Boxster, I was convinced that there was something wrong with the brakes, but the OPC said it was normal. If you brake harder than you are used to, you will get a very aggressive stop, so it's just a question of getting used to it. The reason for the Porshce brakes being different was covered on a thread here previously (search for brakes). If you are just talking about lifting off the accelerator and not having the car slow down quick enough (through engine braking), then you might want to get that checked....although this could also be due to the higher gearing of the Tip's 5 speed box (as opposed to 6-sp manual). Personally, when coming off the accelerator, I also find that the car doesn't slow quite as a quickly as a manual car, but I do need to apply the brakes harder than, say, a BMW. Also, you need to wait for the car to warm up. Once the engine is warm, it should only use "2" (or greater), when in D mode. If the car is in "1" (either cold, or in M mode), you will find that the car hardly slows down when you lift your foot off the accelerator at lower speeds. Thanks, GD

Thanks for all the info guys. Manual mode works great for engine braking on the motorway without applying the brakes! Hopefully flicking between Manual mode and Drive won't cause unnecessary wear! Cheers Prav.

While at the traffic lights, putting it in neutral or park w Manual does say pop it into neutral if stuck at lights for a while so it isn't "straining" for too long. Me - I follow the text book cos I reckon Porsche have good reasons for putting that in the manual! :thumb:

I'm not sure why the manual says put it in Neutral at the traffic lights. I guess it's to stop Porsche being sued by idiots who forget to keep the brake on when stationary in Drive. The fact of the matter is if you're in drive and not moving then there is NO mechanical wear inside the gearbox (remember there is no clutch plate inside an auto); if you move the shift from Drive into Neutral then there IS wear on the box because you're disengaging the torque convertor. As for the brakes, I guess whjat you're referring to is that Porsche (in common with many performance cars) brakes are not servo assisted like mortal cars. When you press your foot on the brake what you're feeling is the calipers gripping the disc, not the activation of a switch that will do it for you. It's to allow the driver to exercise control over the amount of braking being applied. Ask any 2-car driver, where one is a Porker, how often he strangles himself in the seat belt in his daily drive because the servo brakes him too hard.

Yes, agreed. However, the engine is still trying to move the car forward and is being held back by the brakes. This force has to be released somewhere.

Hi Prav Hope your enjoying your 911. I have a C2 tippy and just use the brakes to slow down, or take my foot off the gas. Not very scientific, just working on the basis that pads/discs are much cheaper to replace than parts in the drive train.

On a slightly seperate note, I am having some issue connected with excessive blue smoke following a good "thrash" in the car! Dealer reckons is might be something to do with tiptronics than non tip cars don't experience :?: Car's been in and out of the garage with this and they can't find a reason - has anyone got any issues with blue smoke and tip cars? :frustrated: