996 Turbos, manual - vs - tiptronic

[jonny5]

I know it's probably down to a case by case basis asto whether you like tiptronic, but what's the consensus - which is better.

i've always had manuals, bar my sl55 amg - which in the end, i really liked

[johnny senna]

It's got to be a matter of personal preference. I would say drive both.
But I'd take the manual every time. It breaks my heart when I hear a Porker drive past and I hear the slushed noise of an auto gear change.
Just my 2 pence.

[Glenn McMenamin]

I wouldn't touch a tip with a ten foot barge pole, as i believe it takes all the fun out of the driving experience.

I have heard that Tiptronic is particularly popular for people who live in and around the city or built up areas, as they spend more time in standing traffic than they do nailing around countryside, and I must admit that i can understand that to a degree, but then I wouldn't have bought a Porsche for those reasons in the 1st place !!

I have Auto on an AMG Mercedes and hate it, as i feel it strangles the power train and wastes fuel.

But all the above is just my two Penneth anyway !!!

[grant3]

It's a sports car, give me the inter-action & control of a manual box every time !!

[porschegeoff]

Agree with the previous posts. A Porsche is a sports car and a sports car should have a manual box. I can see the case for a tiptronic box if you do a lot of town driving but most of the 996 range including the Turbo have pretty slick gearchanges and not overly heavy clutches.

Personally, I would not choose to drive my 996 GT3 every day though not because of the gearchange/clutch (though the clutch is on the heavy side)but because of the low ride height and speed humps.

If you're after a 996 turbo, go for the manual.

Geoff

[Jonny5]

Funnily enough, i drive my '04 996 gt3 every day - albeit my diffuser got ripped off today going over a speed bump.

I'm test driving a number of cars this weekend - so i guess unless i'm amazed with the tiptronic i'll be going for a manual

[cyrus1971]

Tip' was by a slim margin the choice for me. It was a tough call however. Naturally any spirited driver would want a drivers car in manual but...

(1) I live in London
(2) I bought 2nd hand & tip's are less likely to have been driven hard
(3) The Auto box in 996TT '02 model is one of the best in the world - from the Mercedes SL AMG with a Porsche locking clutch - I.E you get a very minor amount of slip changing gear but in gear response is as per manual.
(4) My car is LHD and tip' gives me more opportunity to concentrate harder on my overtaking in the UK.

When I am in traffic or batting around the UKs clogged motorways I am delighted with my choice. When I am on anything but the above I am appalled at my choice.

Overall the tip' box is better than one would expect. 0-60 time is better in the manual, but I rarely cane my cars in 1st gear so not really an issue for me. In gear performance and accelerating in 2nd - 5th gear is as good in my opinion. Approaching corners is the tip' Achilles heal. You have OK control over gears but it is very annoying having to go through 3rd gear in a 4th to 2nd gear change. But having 2 hands on the wheel is a good thing given the 911’s reluctance to turn in.

As an aside on a twisty track day (Brands Indy) nothing was faster than me on circuit in my group. This included multiple tuned Elsise’s, Imprezza STi’s a Griff 5.0 and race spec Porsche 993 RS + Cossy 500 – so what burden is a tip’ I have to ask when fundamentally a 996TT is one of the best, if not the best car in the world ?

>> Edited by cyrus1971 on Monday 6th September 13:37

[kent993]

cyrus1971 said:

Tip' was by a slim margin the choice for me. It was a tough call however. Naturally any spirited driver would want a drivers car in manual but... As an aside on a twisty track day (Brands Indy) nothing was faster than me on circuit in my group.

As a matter of interest, were you driving on the circuit in auto or were you using the Tiptronic 'manual' changes? Either way, could you give a bit more detail of how you handled the question of being in the right gear for the bit of circuit you were on at any given moment? FWIW, I have a Tiptronic box on a 993 and have wondered about how best to use it on a trackday.

Ken

[cyrus1971]

Yes I definitely had it in "manual" mode as this is the only way to hold the car at high revs without it changing up a gear. In my car Brands Hatch Indy circuit is nicely 2nd gear on all corners except for the bugger with that blind dip at the end of the pit straight, which is a rapid change 4 th down 2 nd gear. So basically I was not changing gear much at all except for a few up shifts to 3rd and 4th on the 2 straights. In your car 993 tip’ with 4 gears I recon on a tight circuit (like Brands Indy) you would only really use 2nd and 3rd. I may stand to be corrected on this but big Porsches on tight circuits are not at their best since their sheer grunt over lighter metal is not fully explored. Having said that the bloke in the race prep 993 RS was always grinning at the end of his run ! As I have said on this forum it is not how fast it goes but how it goes fast that counts. Have fun on your track day.