996 turbo....manual or tiptronic?

[itz_baseline]

Hi all, after a bit of advice. I have decided my next car will be a 996 turbo and will be looking to get one when the right spec comes along. Ideally I'm after one with the X50 and Aero packs but I can't decide if I want a manual or tiptronic. I have always owned manual cars and enjoy the event of clutch and gear change. However with something as high performance as the turbo I'm wondering if tiptronic will be the best way forward.

So over to you, what are the arguments for each? Which is the better car to drive and live with on a general day to day basis and also on track, which is more fun, which has the least problems and more likely to be less costly to own and when I come to sell which will be the most desirable?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[IMI A]

If you enjoy manual cars you've answered your own question. No brainer.

[Martian O]

Have a search on here and you'll find zillions of bun fight threads on this subject from the PH massive!

You'll also find similar punch-ups about N rated tyres, Turbo -v- GT3 and Coupe -v- Cab' subjects!

[anonymous-user]

itz_baseline said:

Hi all, after a bit of advice. I have decided my next car will be a 996 turbo and will be looking to get one when the right spec comes along. Ideally I'm after one with the X50 and Aero packs but I can't decide if I want a manual or tiptronic. I have always owned manual cars and enjoy the event of clutch and gear change. However with something as high performance as the turbo I'm wondering if tiptronic will be the best way forward.

So over to you, what are the arguments for each? Which is the better car to drive and live with on a general day to day basis and also on track, which is more fun, which has the least problems and more likely to be less costly to own and when I come to sell which will be the most desirable?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

If you like manuals, you're most likely best off getting one.

Day to day: the tip defaults to 2 at rest and for pull aways. You can button press down to 1 to override, but 2 is the default. 1 certainly makes for a snappy pull away. I'm not sure whether I might find that a bit wearing in heavy traffic.

Once you're in 2 there's direct drive from the engine. I don't pretend to understand the engineering details, but I'm told its no different a connection than you'd have in a manual. What I noticed in a tip was the retardation when you lifted off at high revs; very much like a manual and not like a torque converter. Tip doesn't lose boost on a gearshift; but then tip doesn't allow you the satisfaction of a gearshift.

The tip has something like 256 maps and selects whichever suits your driving at the time. Do a fast double tap in the throttle and it immediately jumps to the quickest and most aggressive, both in terms of throttle response, gearshift speed and change up. Great fun, but once you back off it will switch to something less full bore.

Clutches and over revs are the obvious things that the manuals suffer that the tips don't. Tips are easier to tune to silly power outputs because the gearbox is tougher than a clutch (see 9Excellence).

However, manuals are undoubtedly perceived to be more desirable, and will therefore be easier to move on.

I didn't track my tip, so can't comment on that aspect.

FWIW, I think a lot of people write off the tip as half a car, or something close to half a car. If you sit there like a pudding and let the auto box do all the work for you, that is probably a fair comment. If, otoh, you drive the tip on the buttons and take time to learn how to get the most from it, it is a satisfying drive. It's just that the satisfaction is something you have to look for.

[balamory]

Manual ! The only 1 to buy

[Harris_I]

Greg66 said:

If, otoh, you drive the tip on the buttons and take time to learn how to get the most from it, it is a satisfying drive. It's just that the satisfaction is something you have to look for.

I'm afraid I never gelled with the tip. Spoils the car, IMO. Response time too slow and lag correspondingly comes into play (though mine was non-X50), and the manual interface is a switch not a paddle which lacks a feeling of engagement.

[itz_baseline]

Thanks for the replies, manual it is then. Just wasn't sure if there was a general agreement that one was light years ahead of the other and thought it was a good chance to try something new.....but I will stick with what I know.

So just one more question. I've heard people mention 'doom blue' a few times. Which colour is this as there's a couple of blues and why is it so 'doomy'? Was it a no cost colour or something?

I'm always very careful about what colour I choose for cars.....I used to own a liquid yellow Clio v6 and it got me probably another £1,500 for the car when I came to sell it as it was such a desirable colour and only 18 were ordered in this colour

[mcbit]

If stirring cogs in a box is your pleasure buy a manual; if you like driving fast, buy either!

[DKL]

itz_baseline said:

Thanks for the replies, manual it is then. Just wasn't sure if there was a general agreement that one was light years ahead of the other and thought it was a good chance to try something new.....but I will stick with what I know.

So just one more question. I've heard people mention 'doom blue' a few times. Which colour is this as there's a couple of blues and why is it so 'doomy'? Was it a no cost colour or something?

I'm always very careful about what colour I choose for cars.....I used to own a liquid yellow Clio v6 and it got me probably another £1,500 for the car when I came to sell it as it was such a desirable colour and only 18 were ordered in this colour

Gearbox - depends how and where you will use it. I tried and dismissed the tip but I use mine in commuter traffic sometimes and don't find the manual box the easiest in the world to use even with a brand new clutch. No doubt someone will say its broken but it really isn't!
For the open road definitely the manual but I'd renivestigate a tip over a longer test drive for daily use. Still might not go that way but I'd look more carefully.
Colour - personal choice but black, grey and silver are the most common and most desired. Blue - lapis, cobalt and midnight are all fine to me but not others. These with grey interiors are less popular it seems.
Red, yellow and green are more marmite but if you like it buy it!

[g7jhp]

Manual, x50, Seal Grey (or Slate)

[stubbsy996]

Harris_I said:

I'm afraid I never gelled with the tip. Spoils the car, IMO. Response time too slow and lag correspondingly comes into play (though mine was non-X50), and the manual interface is a switch not a paddle which lacks a feeling of engagement.

This is what you need on a tip, (with obligatory remap and sports exhaust!). No buttons / what lag?

[Martian O]

Is it just me or does that steering wheel look OTT thick?

[Nobby Diesel]

Martian O said:

Is it just me or does that steering wheel look OTT thick?

It does, but also, it looks brand spanking new, for 49K miles!

[Nobbles]

In the very long term my belief is that the manual will hold its value much better against the tip. All modern cars are switching to automised gearboxes which I am led to believe are very good and immediate (I have never tried). Technology will only get better. On the other hand the early tips will become like the integrated sat nav, VHS etc... In this case the purists will come back to the manual cars.

[anonymous-user]

Nobby Diesel said:

Martian O said:

Is it just me or does that steering wheel look OTT thick?

It does, but also, it looks brand spanking new, for 49K miles!

That's because it is. It's a retro fit; there's a whole thread on it somewhere.

[stubbsy996]

Greg66 said:

Nobby Diesel said:

Martian O said:

Is it just me or does that steering wheel look OTT thick?

It does, but also, it looks brand spanking new, for 49K miles!

That's because it is. It's a retro fit; there's a whole thread on it somewhere.

Quite right Greg!
Here it is
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[foreverme]

stubbsy996 said:

This is what you need on a tip, (with obligatory remap and sports exhaust!). No buttons / what lag?

Still not zero lag though as it's mated to the rubbish slow slush box

[IMI A]

Tip works brill with a turbo. Very well suited to both 996 and 997 turbo. In slow traffic its also more refined than a PDK or automated manual.

[simonriley11]

I have a manual and haven't driven a tiptronic so can't make a comparison, however I can say that that manual is very good indeed and on my car improved significantly when I ditched the sport shift and reverted to standard. These are fantastic cars so if you get a good one you will love it.

[thegoose]

Doom blue is a trade term to reflect the saleability of cars in generally flat dark blue, usually with a dark interior. It's almost impossible to find a non-metallic blue in any water-cooled 911, but if it's say midnight blue & has a black interior then it does still look a bit dull and is harder to shift.