718 review - test drove today

[Si-3PO]

Just do what I've done with my PDK cars Pinball, manual mode 95% of the time, much more satisfying!

[ORD]

Si-3PO said:

Just do what I've done with my PDK cars Pinball, manual mode 95% of the time, much more satisfying!

Quite. It's not an auto barge for motorway cruising.

[Pinball]

Yes. I'm going to avoid the auto option for a good while and have more of a play with the paddles.

[bcr5784]

Pinball said:

Seems like there's a lot to learn regarding getting the most out of PDK.

Absolutely! Take advantage of what it can do better than a manual (faster, smoother changes) and learn to avoid/circumvent/override it when you can make or anticipate a better choice of gear.

All that said, even if you are lazy, it makes better choices than most autos.

[HighwayStar]

bcr5784 said:

HighwayStar said:

In normal auto mode PDK is about economy... it's the way it's set up so it won't be in what you feel is the right gear as you approach a corner and probably change up when you don't want it to. Going to the paddles or full manual gives you control of proceedings. Sport auto is a decent halfway house I guess but when pressing on the paddles are the way to go... PDK is my first DCT box and there did come a point where I felt I really needed to make a conscious effort to learn how to get the best from it and therefore the car. Sport and manual, fabulous... I'll have to drive a proper manual one day though.

I've no doubt the shift algorithm will be modified from 981 but I suspect it will have similar characteristics. In Normal it will change up rather early and you'll need to do downshift overrides, in Sport it'll suit sporty motoring much better, but hang on to the lower gears just a bit too long when you've regained cruising speed. A point to note Sport disables coast mode - and many will prefer to have engine braking when pressing on. HOWEVER on the motorway coast mode does yield significant economy benefits, so it may be better to use Normal.

Yep, that fairly much covers it and how I see it. For general pootling around and motorways it's Auto & Normal. In those scenarios PDK does it's thing perfectly, never in the wrong gear and yes, with coasting the economy benefits are easy to see.
Once the road becomes a bit more interesting and the opportunity to make more meaningful progress presents itself manual mode in either Normal/Sport is the more rewarding way for me... I know some like to leave it in full auto and just hang on but that doesn't work for me. Though not the ultimate involvement of an actually manual box the paddles do give more control and put you in the mix.

[Pinball]

I went out for a B road spin after work and stuck to the manual mode. Certainly far more enjoyable than running in auto and opened up a bit more character from the engine. Got a lot more bangs and blips on downshifts than I would in auto and had a better sense of involvement. Definitely need to spend more time getting more out of it though. First time I've bought a non manual car, but I'm very happy with my decision to do that. Didn't make the change in my order until I'd driven a PDK and manual back to back at PEC. I remember the instructor saying PDK gives you more options and I can see his point now. You can cruise on auto or have some involvement. Sure it's not the same as rowing your own gears but very enjoyable all the same.

[LiamH66]

PDK is just so ludicrously good that sometimes I can't believe I didn't go with it. Invited my best mate to the PEC for my 1/2 day experience, and foolishly didn't tell him to make sure he spent the afternoon in a PDK car. By the time we thought about it he was already booked in a manual 718 Cayman S. There are definitely a lot of options for the way you can drive with it, and as you get used to them I am not sure any one of them has a downside.

Having said that, after my first few drives of manual Caymans and Boxsters I said it was the second nicest manual 'box I had had the pleasure of. Nearly 3 months and nearly 3500 miles into daily driving, I had underrated it (and maybe run it in and got used to it a little). Best manual gearbox in a road car I have experienced.

Liam

[nickfrog]

bcr5784 said:

Absolutely! Take advantage of what it can do better than a manual (faster, smoother changes)

What is also does is allow you to keep two hands on the wheel which is particularly good on track. Many track regulars I know like that, so not just for motorway barges.

[bcr5784]

nickfrog said:

What is also does is allow you to keep two hands on the wheel which is particularly good on track. Many track regulars I know like that, so not just for motorway barges.

True - that's a result of moving the paddles with the wheel Unfortunately on the road it would be better if the paddles were fixed to the column.

[Carl_Manchester]

Jefferson Steelflex said:

True story this - a good friend of mine has a particularly attractive wife, stunning body and she (allegedly) is happy to please in the bedroom. She has a very strange lisp with a speech impediment so speaks from the side of her mouth. She is also nags a lot. When I first met her I was amazed at the contradiction. A bit like the new 718, the most important bits are so good that you could live with the rest.

LOL

[HighwayStar]

bcr5784 said:

nickfrog said:

What is also does is allow you to keep two hands on the wheel which is particularly good on track. Many track regulars I know like that, so not just for motorway barges.

True - that's a result of moving the paddles with the wheel Unfortunately on the road it would be better if the paddles were fixed to the column.

I've been thinking the same thing re the paddles or longer paddles on the wheel. I've had a search not found anything.

[Si-3PO]

Unless I'm parking or negotiating tight manoeuvres my hands stay fixed in one position on the steering wheel, I'd be seriously pissed off if Porsche moved to fixed position paddles on the steering column.

[HighwayStar]

Si-3PO said:

Unless I'm parking or negotiating tight manoeuvres my hands stay fixed in one position on the steering wheel, I'd be seriously pissed off if Porsche moved to fixed position paddles on the steering column.

Overall I think slightly longer paddles on the wheel be ideal... well for me, for those tight manoeuvres, arms proper crossed up.

[bcr5784]

HighwayStar said:

I've been thinking the same thing re the paddles or longer paddles on the wheel. I've had a search not found anything.

I found these when I was last looking - but sit down before opening the link. https://www.agency-power.com/shop/agency-power-car...

[HighwayStar]

bcr5784 said:

HighwayStar said:

I've been thinking the same thing re the paddles or longer paddles on the wheel. I've had a search not found anything.

I found these when I was last looking - but sit down before opening the link. https://www.agency-power.com/shop/agency-power-car...

Holy sh!t... I see what you mean. That's a lot of cheddar for a couple of bit's of carbon. I like the concept but not the execution, double sided tap or a small screw to install doesn't appeal. Having gone PDK and after a while deciding I needed to take time to really learn how to get the best out of it, I'll just work more on technique in the tighter corners. Of course I could go to the gear stick but with the + & - being not what is natural I won't be doing that.

[bcr5784]

HighwayStar said:

Of course I could go to the gear stick but with the + & - being not what is natural I won't be doing that.

I too wish it was the other way round - but having ridden motorbikes with up for up and down for up gearchanges on both sides of the bike - often in fairly quick succession - I'm sure you can get used to it.

[HighwayStar]

bcr5784 said:

HighwayStar said:

Of course I could go to the gear stick but with the + & - being not what is natural I won't be doing that.

I too wish it was the other way round - but having ridden motorbikes with up for up and down for up gearchanges on both sides of the bike - often in fairly quick succession - I'm sure you can get used to it.

I might give it go then... general driving for a while to get into the habit, muscle memory blah blah, then give it a go on a more spirited drive once it feels natural. After all I've got used to PDK.

[DJMC]

HighwayStar said:

I might give it go then... general driving for a while to get into the habit, muscle memory blah blah, then give it a go on a more spirited drive once it feels natural. After all I've got used to PDK.

Do you have Cruise fitted? Push to go faster, pull for slower.
i.e. the same as the gear lever.

Apart from F1 cars etc, why is "pull to change up" the natural way? Surely, as with Cruise, if you want to push on, you push on the lever?

Perhaps it's due to the impetus of forward motion making it more difficult to add a forward hand movement, and under braking your momentum would naturally be inclined to push on the gear lever? Hmmm... I don't think the G forces are that strong. Anyway, this has been done to death before...

[HighwayStar]

DJMC said:

HighwayStar said:

I might give it go then... general driving for a while to get into the habit, muscle memory blah blah, then give it a go on a more spirited drive once it feels natural. After all I've got used to PDK.

Do you have Cruise fitted? Push to go faster, pull for slower.
i.e. the same as the gear lever.

Apart from F1 cars etc, why is "pull to change up" the natural way? Surely, as with Cruise, if you want to push on, you push on the lever?

Perhaps it's due to the impetus of forward motion making it more difficult to add a forward hand movement, and under braking your momentum would naturally be inclined to push on the gear lever? Hmmm... I don't think the G forces are that strong. Anyway, this has been done to death before...

Hey... how's you?

Yes, I have cruise... never used it when I had the TTS and not now...
No idea why pull to change up is the natural way. The WRC, BTTC and anything with a sequential box seems to work in that manner so fairly much standard protocol so much so that Porsche have righted that wrong on the 718.

[Bubbledragon]

Having said that, after my first few drives of manual Caymans and Boxsters I said it was the second nicest manual 'box I had had the pleasure of. Nearly 3 months and nearly 3500 miles into daily driving, I had underrated it (and maybe run it in and got used to it a little). Best manual gearbox in a road car I have experienced.

Liam
[/quote]

I suspect part of the fun in the manual base cayman is the underpower below 3000 revs， as I have noted in many comments of the S that the consistant presence of power allllllll the time in any gear at any revs removed the fun and the pedal feels like a PS4 acceleration button. Have you driven （or anyone else here）the Manual Base vs S back to back and whats your view comparing the two， with respect to the manual gear change experience only.