RE: 2019 Porsche 718 Boxster Spyder | Driven
Discussion
Magnum 475 said:
To those complaining about the ratios, take it on to a track or an autobahn with no restrictions. Then they make perfect sense, as they give the car optimal acceleration from rest to top speed. Following usual Porsche form, they'll get closer as you work your way up the box to allow you to keep the engine in a more focused power band as speed increases.
Perhaps they don't make sense for UK roads, with our absurdly low speed limits. But that's not really what this car is about, is it?
That is the shame as, living in the UK near some wonderful country roads, I buy a car to use regularly. No use me buying a car set up for the autobahn- I've already got one of those.Perhaps they don't make sense for UK roads, with our absurdly low speed limits. But that's not really what this car is about, is it?
Like many 981 GT4 owners, I find the gear ratios are just fine. Second becomes a gear with real usability. It's non-issue for me.
The new GT4 and Spyder look great but I like so much about my 981 so much I won't upgrade for now. On the right road, it's more involving than anything else in the garage.
The new GT4 and Spyder look great but I like so much about my 981 so much I won't upgrade for now. On the right road, it's more involving than anything else in the garage.
mhh said:
Like many 981 GT4 owners, I find the gear ratios are just fine. Second becomes a gear with real usability. It's non-issue for me.
The new GT4 and Spyder look great but I like so much about my 981 so much I won't upgrade for now. On the right road, it's more involving than anything else in the garage.
I don’t think people are saying it isn’t useable- 2nd gear clearly is. The discussion comes from people bemoaning PDK and the like on the basis that a manual is more engaging/involving when the reality of the situation in the UK that a dsg / pdk system is arguably more engaging as four gears are used rather than one. People talk about rowing a manual box when in reality that doesn’t really happen with such a wide 2nd gear.The new GT4 and Spyder look great but I like so much about my 981 so much I won't upgrade for now. On the right road, it's more involving than anything else in the garage.
Miserablegit said:
The discussion comes from people bemoaning PDK and the like on the basis that a manual is more engaging/involving when the reality of the situation in the UK that a dsg / pdk system is arguably more engaging as four gears are used rather than one.
if you are revving through 4 gears on the pdk gearbox, I can guarantee you'll need more than one manual gearchange......Miserablegit said:
isaldiri said:
if you are revving through 4 gears on the pdk gearbox, I can guarantee you'll need more than one manual gearchange......
Not with the sensible ratios in the Alpine gearbox. 60mph is 4th/5th so still 2nd gear in a cayster.And the Alpine at max revs in 4th is seriously at 60mph?
mstrbkr said:
If you like changing gears often, get a diesel 
Conversely why didn't Porsche just fit a CVT in this ? 
I've heard two things now why it is fitted, to save money and alternatively because Andreas Preuninger likes longer gearing, from journos. I doubt it is the first because they took the 3.0 litre engine and enlarged it, fitted fancy forged parts and even more fancy injectors, so I guess it is the latter.
Nothing to do with emissions or fuel consumption.
It's still out of step though with a car most likely to be used on trips out on normal roads with a fantastic manual gearshift.
"Go on then, have a manual gearbox, we give in" ( sniggering in the background as it is used twice a day from the PDK department ).
Why is it so heavy? Even if you take in to account the particulate filter which weighs 35kg where has the additional 42kg over the 981 Spyder (which was no lightweight itself) came from? Christ, it's 179kg heavier than the original 987 Spyder.
987 Spyder - 1275kg (manual, buckets and no air con)
981 Spyder - 1377kg (buckets and no air con)
918 Spyder - 1454kg
Where has all this weight come from? Could it possibly be the steel chassis components Porsche now use instead of aluminium as per the 987/997 models?
Stunning looking machine though and I'm sure they'll fly out of the showrooms.
It truly has turned in to a porker!
987 Spyder - 1275kg (manual, buckets and no air con)
981 Spyder - 1377kg (buckets and no air con)
918 Spyder - 1454kg
Where has all this weight come from? Could it possibly be the steel chassis components Porsche now use instead of aluminium as per the 987/997 models?
Stunning looking machine though and I'm sure they'll fly out of the showrooms.
It truly has turned in to a porker!
toys said:
Really Porsche... is it that hard to install a different final drive ratio? An 'entirely new set of ratios' is not required - the gearbox could be left as is.
Complete BS from Porsche, truth is that they would not let it impact on their enormous profit margin, so would push 150% of all costs onto the customer, making it expensive.At a Lotus tour of Hethel last year, I was speaking with one of the engineers on gearboxes; Lotus buys complete gearboxes from Toyota, then removes gears, and installs its own ratios (also beefed up), the Toyota contract with Lotus forbids selling parts, so they have to be scrapped!!
Still, goes to explain why Porsche is so profitable, and unfortunately Lotus less so.
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