996 turbo tiptr v manual

I'm writing a piece on above for Total 911 and would appreciate comments from 996T owners on why they bought Tip as opposed to manual (or vice versa) and whether driving this auto has converted them if like most of us they were brought up on stick shift; any comments on reliability/maints issues of the Tiptro box also welcome. Many thanks in advance to all who take a moment to offer their thoughts. Kieron Fennelly

My 996T was Tiptronic, and so was my previous 996 Carrera. It was also my daily drive, which involves a cross town commute with lots of stops and starts. That's why I went for Tip, and I don't regret it. It was still great fun on the open road, and I think the Tip suits the Turbo a little better than the Carrera. Although slightly slower than a manual, in the real world it is just as quick unless you are quite brutal with the manual. You just keep the throttle planted, and there is no loss of forward momentum during the changes. I drove it in manual mode almost all the time, as I like to be in control, and in a 'pootling around' Tip program it would change up too quickly for my liking. I did have an ATF weep from one of the main gaskets, but my indy stripped the box and replaced it with a Mercedes item. The Porsche solution was a new box, as they supply virtually no internal parts, bar the pump and some input and output shaft seals. When I bought my 3.2 I used it all summer, and enjoyed the experience of a manual box again. Hence my Cayman is also manual. I would have another Tip though. It never left me feeling I was missing out on anything, and in traffic jams it was great having an auto.

Many thanks Richard. Exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for and I would like to quote you if you've no objection. You put the fluid leak into context very much as Northway described it to me earlier today. Only drawback seems to be a ten hour labour bill for getting the Tip box in and out...but my 993's clutch took almost as long... Best wishes Kieron Fennelly

No problem Kieron, you are welcome to qoute me. Perhaps a few others could chip in?

Although not a turbo my 996 is a tip,same reasons as Richard,traffic and commuting.I've fitted paddle shifters to mine and before these I always felt the tip was a compromise,not now,bloody brilliant,very involving and I wouldn't go back to manual in a modern car.

How do you guys with tips find parking with a combination of alternating between 1st gear and reverse?

I tend to pull shifter from D to R pretty much like a Manual but its in a straight line. [8|] Sorry. I have a Tip because the Wife wont have anything without an auto box. Personally even with Paddle shift on my 996 I have driven better automatic gearboxes. I find it slow and not as knowing in bends or hills as other boxes I have driven but then those had a few years on the 996. Gear ratios are good though and car handle so great it kind of makes up for it.

My Carrera was a tiptronic and so is the current turbo. Not once did I miss the manual box even though I use a manual 106 GTi sometimes during the week. The Porsches are daily drivers and I do the school run in them so the auto box comes into its own in traffic. On B roads I just flick it to manual and use the switches. The changes are slightly slower but you learn to adapt by flicking the switches a few moments earlier than you normally would change gear on a manual box. Like Richard says, in the real world they are as quick as the manual unless you are brutal with the clutch and gear shifts like you don't own the car or its rented. In my case, I wouldn't consider anything but an auto Porsche, for the reason that they are so quick already and you lose little from opting for the auto. They can be surprisingly relaxing cars when you want them to be - best of both worlds.

Its a marmite thing I cant stand auto's I driven tips I've driven the pdk I'd rather have my fingernails pulled out I do 20,000 miles annually a manual keeps me engaged I just cant seem to engine brake and get the car set up for corners properly, for me a manual is for driving driving the turbo in scotland with manual was so pleasurable it is a visceral thing to me autos just feel plain wrong I can understand the logic if you are lumping along in traffic all day but you might as well be lobotomised hows that for a bit of balance[ ]

I've driven tips/PDK/manual but not a turbo so FWIW.... I really liked driving the tiptronic in London (I owned 2) very smooth, very easy, and when I wanted to push on I used to use manual mode and enjoyed the interaction. No clutch to be replaced, no dead leg no miss shifting and blowing the gearbox etc. They are very reliable boxes and neither gave me any problems. They are however slow and slushy compared with a PDK box, but at the same time a PDK box can be jerky. A manual car is good if you want the full fat experience, heel and toe etc, but that can be tiring if all you want to do is potter around or if you're stuck in traffic. I would think a tiptronic box would suit a turbo very nicely, it has so much power that you'd be banging off the limiter very easily in a manual car. But it all depends on what you want out of the car and where you drive it. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again.

I took a tip 996t out yesterday as I hadn't driven one before. Not for me. The main issue in both auto and manual was the pause before the gear engaged - I'm sure the car was ok. And on planting your foot in auto there did seem a distinct pause before it decided which gear to use and fling you up the road. I can cope with auto in my old range rover but not in a performance car. I can see the advantage for city drives but as I don't do that (much) then no. So manual it is.

I think that pause must have been the delay inherent in the 'kickdown' feature. If you don't depress the accelerator pedal fully it won't activate the button and this feature and you should get instant acceleration.

My 996 turbo is a Tiptronic but my other cars (M3, Caterham 7, etc) are manuals. In the turbo, I went for a Tip because (a) it's b***** powerful anyway, (b) it suits the turbo engine and (c) mine's LHD (bought for Continental tours) so I don't have to bother teaching my right hand to change gear. Regarding the niggle of the 'delay' on gear changes, John Lyon (he of HPC fame) taught me the thing to do: learn to match the engine speed with the new gear speed using the throttle while operating the change button. It's a bit like heel & toeing, giving a slight blip on downchanges, etc. It removes your perception of delay and reminds you that the gear change is actually quite fast. As you may have guessed, mostly I use manual mode, but the option of putting it into drive and being lazy when in traffic is just great, especially when in foreign cities and you're busy reading road signs, checking for one-way streets, looking for the hotel or such ... then you just use the kick-down if you need to swap lanes quickly. Easy. To answer your question about parking, it's not a problem shifting between forward and reverse; the car is very well-behaved, as the engine doesn't tick over too high, so no clunking or lurching. It's a lovely box. And you don't have to save up to replace a clutch.

Hi Kieron! I bought the manual - I always do. I want to drive the car, I don't like the feeling the car is driving me! My decision for a daily drive might be a diesel auto, but for when it comes to driving a serious car, I'm the boss!!! Manual every time! Neil.

i have the tiptronic and love it - it makes driving so easy !

Unfortunately it appears you and your wife are in the minority. The new GT3 might not even come with a manual gearbox and all new Ferraris don't.

If you have your 996 as your sunny-Sunday-only car and really want to connect with the driving experience, than the manual is great. But for me, my 996 was just bought as a cheap, practical but fun daily hack-about, so the tiptornic box was far easier and more convenient. And my wife is another who can only drive auto. Which is ideal, as it keeps her away from the more exotic offerings in the garage. I sold my 996 two weeks ago, so am now on the look out for a 996 Turbo tip. The problem I have is my preferred colour is dark green. Has anyone got one they want to sell?!

My C4S was a TIP and so is my current Turbo. TBH I feel the TIP is far more suited to the Turbo given the extra power but I didn't regret a TIP in the C4S either. I always drive mine on the buttons, not sure why, possible due to the fact that I'm Playstation generation! Had a manual Aston Vantage in between and hated the manual when stuck in traffic, I'd imagine I'd feel the same in a MAN Porka too, especially if the clutch was heavy. I use my cars everyday, shop runs, business, etc so the TIP is the logical choice for me. Weekend car I would consider a MAN though

There's a green one for sale Ewan http://www.portiacraft.com/cardetail.asp?make=01_Porsche_996&id=1883 but what happened to the 928 option?

Damn you David! That's exactly what I'm looking for but, for the sake of my wallet, didn't want to find! The 928 I tried to buy fell through. I'd still like one, and there are a couple of absolute belters available at the moment. But I'd need to sell the 951 if I was to buy a 928 and another 996, and we can't have that now can we?