997 Turbo - is a Tiptronic gearbox really that bad?
Discussion
I had a Gen 1 Turbo tip for 2 years and 25K miles.
It was brilliant.
I changed it for a Gen 2 Turbo S PDK which is better.
The tip is fine so long as you adjust your driving to suit it.They like to be driven hard once warm and the box will react to the manner in which it is driven.
They have a memory and if you waft in it the box will become wafty.
If you use more throttle the box will hold gears for longer and change down earlier when braking.
If you want to re-set the tips memory stamp on the accelerator twice,momentarily but in quick succession when the engine is idling in Park.Then the box will wipe its memory of previous driving habits.
This was my methodology when going for a spirited weekend drive after M25 drudgery all week and it worked.
Search the forum for more info.
I think a lot of people test drive a Tip which has a wafty response without re-setting the memory but i could be wrong.
From Ken at 9E on a 2012 thread-
"The problem is that most people don't understand how to drive the tiptronic. To be fair that is partly Porsche fault by lack of instructions in the manual.
In a 996 turbo 2002 onwards the control unit has 250 driving programs - when you first start the car, it is in its slowest setting e.g. For smoothness and economy. After a spirited drive it will move into different programs. In order to shift the fastest you have to put it into the top program and this can be done by double stamping on the accelerator quickly.
Turbos have adaption values for boost as well so a car that is driven slowly will respond slower as well until it has been given the beans.
Take a manual and a tiptronic same turbo and I bet I will beat the manual car driving a tiptronic.
We upgrade them to take more power and quicken the shifts as well.
Remember the 997 turbo tiptronic is faster than a manual.
In the end it comes down to personal choice, but it does help to know how to drive one first.
Ken"
It was brilliant.
I changed it for a Gen 2 Turbo S PDK which is better.
The tip is fine so long as you adjust your driving to suit it.They like to be driven hard once warm and the box will react to the manner in which it is driven.
They have a memory and if you waft in it the box will become wafty.
If you use more throttle the box will hold gears for longer and change down earlier when braking.
If you want to re-set the tips memory stamp on the accelerator twice,momentarily but in quick succession when the engine is idling in Park.Then the box will wipe its memory of previous driving habits.
This was my methodology when going for a spirited weekend drive after M25 drudgery all week and it worked.
Search the forum for more info.
I think a lot of people test drive a Tip which has a wafty response without re-setting the memory but i could be wrong.
From Ken at 9E on a 2012 thread-
"The problem is that most people don't understand how to drive the tiptronic. To be fair that is partly Porsche fault by lack of instructions in the manual.
In a 996 turbo 2002 onwards the control unit has 250 driving programs - when you first start the car, it is in its slowest setting e.g. For smoothness and economy. After a spirited drive it will move into different programs. In order to shift the fastest you have to put it into the top program and this can be done by double stamping on the accelerator quickly.
Turbos have adaption values for boost as well so a car that is driven slowly will respond slower as well until it has been given the beans.
Take a manual and a tiptronic same turbo and I bet I will beat the manual car driving a tiptronic.
We upgrade them to take more power and quicken the shifts as well.
Remember the 997 turbo tiptronic is faster than a manual.
In the end it comes down to personal choice, but it does help to know how to drive one first.
Ken"
t out of me. You really can work the engine and the chassis with that gearbox. Carlson W6 said:
In a manual it is not possible to change gear without losing boost.
It is my understanding a tip can change on full boost.
maybe so, it was the implication that you couldn't "work the engine and the chassis" if you had a manual that I though was oddIt is my understanding a tip can change on full boost.
Agree with cmoose's summary ^^
[quote=Vroom2]Hi Folks,
I am currently in the market for a 997 Turbo.
The benefits of manual and PDK gearboxes are well documented. However I am curious to know, for general road use (i.e. I am not a track rat) would a Tiptronic gearbox really be that bad? There is a serious difference in price for otherwise like for like second hand cars.
I have a friend who is an ex Porsche salesman and he thinks the 997 Tip boxes get an overly harsh reputation. He tells me the reality is that 997 Turbos go through the gears so quickly, most people end of driving them as an auto anyway! (in any event, a manual will have slower gear changes).
It would not be the first time I have noticed the car market herd like sheep on an idea or myth.
I have owned and enjoyed manual 996 C4S and 997 C2S in the past. However I have a suspicion regarding value for money a 997 Tip Turbo is worth considering.
Any feedback much appreciated!
Hi - did you buy a Tip in the end ? As have the same decision to make myself
I am currently in the market for a 997 Turbo.
The benefits of manual and PDK gearboxes are well documented. However I am curious to know, for general road use (i.e. I am not a track rat) would a Tiptronic gearbox really be that bad? There is a serious difference in price for otherwise like for like second hand cars.
I have a friend who is an ex Porsche salesman and he thinks the 997 Tip boxes get an overly harsh reputation. He tells me the reality is that 997 Turbos go through the gears so quickly, most people end of driving them as an auto anyway! (in any event, a manual will have slower gear changes).
It would not be the first time I have noticed the car market herd like sheep on an idea or myth.
I have owned and enjoyed manual 996 C4S and 997 C2S in the past. However I have a suspicion regarding value for money a 997 Tip Turbo is worth considering.
Any feedback much appreciated!
Hi - did you buy a Tip in the end ? As have the same decision to make myself
So we have tip (in AMGs same box), PDK and manual. For day to day driving tip the most refined and works very well with the mezger turbo which is last of the line turbo engine which can trace ancestry all the way back to GT1. Newer DFI engines with PDK can be a bit jerky occasionally in stop start traffic even the latest 991.2 turbo s.
Theres a red 997 turbo tip for sale on 911UK in red which belongs to one of the moderators which is very well priced and a fully loaded black car at 911 Virgin. You could buy any of those cars with your eyes closed and I doubt they'll cost too much to run as both owners very fastidious so their cars are in A1 condition. I know the owner of the black one who's member on here.
Theres a red 997 turbo tip for sale on 911UK in red which belongs to one of the moderators which is very well priced and a fully loaded black car at 911 Virgin. You could buy any of those cars with your eyes closed and I doubt they'll cost too much to run as both owners very fastidious so their cars are in A1 condition. I know the owner of the black one who's member on here.
997 1.5 Turbo Tip here. It's a monstrously capable car. You want to waft, it's an iron fist in a velvet glove with very deliberate steering. The moment you give it some beans, you'd better hang on. The shifts will be quick, and it will hold gears for a looooong time. As others have said, how you drive it affects the gearbox and other mapping.
Or you could just move the lever to the left, and hey presto you have a sequential gearbox. Which oddly, purists don't seem to mind even though it amounts to the same thing.
Buy on condition, enjoy it, and you're likely to make your money back. I'm using mine as a daily driver. It's about to hit 50k miles. But it's a 10 year old car. At that age, would you prefer to buy a garage queen, or something that's been driven regularly (and sensitively)?
Or you could just move the lever to the left, and hey presto you have a sequential gearbox. Which oddly, purists don't seem to mind even though it amounts to the same thing.
Buy on condition, enjoy it, and you're likely to make your money back. I'm using mine as a daily driver. It's about to hit 50k miles. But it's a 10 year old car. At that age, would you prefer to buy a garage queen, or something that's been driven regularly (and sensitively)?
Hello All
Stumbled across this post and I am currently looking at a 997.1 Turbo as a weekend car.
Just a few questions please : I dont mind a Tiptronic actually prefer it as I am not a boy racer anymore but is it as good as the ZF torque converters found in BMW's ?
The car I am looking at is fairly high mileage @ 92k miles but the seller has priced accordingly so going to see it next week.
Anything I should watch out for?
He says he has regularly had it serviced at Zentrum Nottingham (who are a Porsche specialist) but to be honest I do not trust anything or take with a pinch of salt what a prospective seller may say.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
Stumbled across this post and I am currently looking at a 997.1 Turbo as a weekend car.
Just a few questions please : I dont mind a Tiptronic actually prefer it as I am not a boy racer anymore but is it as good as the ZF torque converters found in BMW's ?
The car I am looking at is fairly high mileage @ 92k miles but the seller has priced accordingly so going to see it next week.
Anything I should watch out for?
He says he has regularly had it serviced at Zentrum Nottingham (who are a Porsche specialist) but to be honest I do not trust anything or take with a pinch of salt what a prospective seller may say.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
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