Does Tiptronic suit the Turbo???

[TGJR]

I have been offered a very nicely priced 02 996 turbo with great spec, low miles, one owner and a bargain price. The only snag is it has the tiptronic box which is certainly not something I would have chosen. I've never driven a tip but had three manual 911's and this is probably a much covered topic in the past but does it work on the turbo? I would be using this car for fun and lots of country road driving and I guess the tip was more designed for the city dwelling driver. Can you still have fun in these or is the manual the only way to go for true driving pleasure!?

[jonny996]

I had a 996 c2 tip and it was great, there where times when I wanted it to kick down and it never, but then I learnt how to drive it, you have to put the throttel past its sticking point right into the carpet & it will drop striaght away. I would imagine that coupled to a TT it would be a perfect car

[paul0843]

up until a year ago i would never had dreamt of tip 911 and even considered having a 964 converted to manual a few years back,but now if a car was to be more than a quick blast weekend toy,i think a tip is the way i would go...when the time comes to sell it ,i am sure their wont be a lack of buyers because its a tip....good luck

[wrn]

I don't mean to sound like a miserable git but there are soooooooo many threads on the 'to tip or not to tip' debate... it's worth searching through those. There's no right or wrong answer - but people tend to sit firmly in one camp or the other and won't be swayed.

[flattotheboards]

if its a really good price that youve been offered thn buy and sell it and buy a manual one

[chillerman]

bobjebb said:

Sorry, but will be shot down here, and I don't know about the 996, but I just don't get this "let's all hate the tiptronic" attitude. Of course if you are purist and spend much of your time on a track or drive as a proffession, then sure, manual for obvious reasons. But I have noticed that this forum in particular (nothing so opinionated on other Porsche boards I look at) people seem to have a playground mentality - almost as if one 'hero' has slammed it therefore evryone else has to follow. Perhaps P. Header Porsche owners are unanimously the best drivers on the planet, so good in fact that a 997 turbo tip is boring and beneath people's capabilities as drivers. It's well known that any modern car has to be driven to extremes to achieve its full potential, (don't F1 drivers take out Mondeos to practice that dicipline?) and 99% of owners fall WAAAY below that. What about those people, (or am I the only one?) that appreciate a car they can drive everyday in comfort and have a LOT of fun in, and that's the most devastating overtaking tool there is. All that and I can enjoy a Ginsters at the same time.

I'd like to see anyone sit in a 997tt tip with Walter Rohl and come out the other end and say 'boring Tiptronic', 'shit', 'gay', and all the other endless insults banded about on here...

Well said. IMO my 996 tt X50 does everything I want, whether traffic is heavy or roads are clear. I owned a manual, (964) 911 and in heavy traffic it was basically a pain in the arse. IMO the later cars are better but still a pain when traffic in heavy in/around London.

It does seem there are a few driving gods on this forum that presumably wear full race suits when popping to the shops who are on a mission to slag off tiptronics and, on occasion, their owners, I laugh at damn near all of the comments, granted, but it is one dimensional boocks and boring when all said and done.

Maybe the thousands of tiptronic tt owners are all wearing slippers and smoking a pipe whilst pondering their sexual orientation, but I personally doubt it.

I reckon the 996 tt tip is a better all rounder than the manual and if you want to track/race a car then buy a GT3. So there.

[Vr6-er]

If you like auto's its the way to go. Otherwise avoid.

[Scarpia]

Having a preference for a manual gearbox has nothing to do with driving ability or how often you drive on the track. It's about control, driving enjoyment, and lifestyle. If you use the car every day in heavy traffic, then an automatic is more comfortable. On the other hand, if you drive less frequently and like to have full control of which gear the car is in and when gears are changed, then there is no substitute for manual. Changing gears is an important part of how the driver interacts with and controls the car, so taking it away makes the whole experience less rewarding and fast driving less appealing.

[jonny996]

Scarpia said:

Having a preference for a manual gearbox has nothing to do with driving ability or how often you drive on the track. It's about control, driving enjoyment, and lifestyle. If you use the car every day in heavy traffic, then an automatic is more comfortable. On the other hand, if you drive less frequently and like to have full control of which gear the car is in and when gears are changed, then there is no substitute for manual. Changing gears is an important part of how the driver interacts with and controls the car, so taking it away makes the whole experience less rewarding and fast driving less appealing.

so in a tip you can say what gear you want to be in ?, can you explaine what the m made is for then.

[TGJR]

As long as the tip box is'nt a complete spoiler of the car (which it does not sound like from the general consensous) then I will probably have a punt at this car as it is cheap enough to sell on without loss after a few months. I will then be qualified to come back onto this forum and give the definitive opinion on the topic of to tip or not to tip!!! Sounds to me though like its a case of 'horses for courses'. Cheers

[Murray993]

bobjebb said:

I'd like to sit in a 997tt tip and say 'boring Tiptronic', 'shit', 'gay', and all the other endless insults banded about on here...

I agree with that.

[andy tims]

As kayc would tell you. The turbo requires virtually no effort to "drive" very fast in most conditions. Why NOT get a tip?
If you actually want to drive (rather than travel) there are other models in the range that are better suited.

[kayc]

andy tims said:

As kayc would tell you. The turbo requires virtually no effort to "drive" very fast in most conditions. Why NOT get a tip?
If you actually want to drive (rather than travel) there are other models in the range that are better suited.

I dont recall saying that the tt needs no effort to drive fast..its just capable of going really fast before any drama occurs unlike most other cars where the cars' lack of ability makes you 'feel' like you are going quick when you arent..going back to the op..the tt is best suited to the tip box because of the tt's torque,however not very much fun to drive with an auto box and the tip cars even sound horrible..all imho of course.

[Don1]

Having driven one for the first time over the weekend, it's an easy experience. Try it - if you like it, why not. It's still a bloomin' great car.

[ph123]

I think TT suits a Turbo motor very well; great for every-day motoring. Less so if circuit or very keen driving is involved. Devastating car imho.

[rubystone]

Scarpia said:

so in a tip you can say what gear you want to be in ?, can you explaine what the m made is for then.

Yes. The "m" mode is to allow the driver to select the gear, rather than the gearbox...although there is an override to prevent the driver from selecting an inappropriate gear. But that isn't the same as driving a car with a manual gearbox, where one might gain satisfaction from a well timed gearchange or "heel and toed" downchange or the immediacy in response that the lack of a torque converter brings to the pleasure of driving a manual car.

As someone else said, if you only ever drive in heavy and/or stop/start traffic, buy an automatic/tiptronic, I certainly would.

[anonymous-user]

LOL. the reason the tip gets slagged off is that its just not very good! doh. yeah sure you can get away with it in a tt and yes its relaxing to drive in town but for anyone who really enjoys attacking a nice road its a pretty crap slushbox by any standards, that changes gear at weird times, the kick down is horrible and it blunts the driving experience more than any auto in any other decent car. no heroics. but for many of us completely ruining the fun bits just to save your poor ikkle left leg some work in traffic just isnt why we drive 911's

[clorenzen]

fbrs said:

LOL. the reason the tip gets slagged off is that its just not very good! doh. yeah sure you can get away with it in a tt and yes its relaxing to drive in town but for anyone who really enjoys attacking a nice road its a pretty crap slushbox by any standards, that changes gear at weird times, the kick down is horrible and it blunts the driving experience more than any auto in any other decent car. no heroics. but for many of us completely ruining the fun bits just to save your poor ikkle left leg some work in traffic just isnt why we drive 911's

Hear, Hear. The Porsche Tiptronic is poor by all standards. Yes - it does work a bit better in the tt as the turbo will compensate for the box always being in the "wrong" gear but it is still a letdown compared to the ZF produced touchtronic in the DB9, as an example, which is much more refined blipping the throttle on downshifts. The torque of the V12 in the DB9 "saves the day" in that car but in a Porsche nothing happens. Having had a 996 tipS and now have a 997 tt manual, I would never ever go back to the TipS. Yes it is practical but if you look for a practical car there are probably other cars that fill that space better than Porsches. Have a testdrive and you will see.