Porsche 996 Turbo Tiptronic Gearbox
Discussion
I must confess my total ignorance here.
Is this type of gearbox just an automatic, or can it be compared to the F1 systems on 355's and other Feraris?
Is there a drop in performance compared to manual? Is the car still a balls out performer or do you find a lack of torque if the car is caught in an awkward rev band?
In sum, I have no idea what the gearbox is! Enlighten me!
These questions are phrased with particular reference to a 996 Turbo.
Is this type of gearbox just an automatic, or can it be compared to the F1 systems on 355's and other Feraris?
Is there a drop in performance compared to manual? Is the car still a balls out performer or do you find a lack of torque if the car is caught in an awkward rev band?
In sum, I have no idea what the gearbox is! Enlighten me!
These questions are phrased with particular reference to a 996 Turbo.
AdvocatusDiaboli said:
dazren said:
The same auto gearbox fitted to SL55AMGs. With switches on the steering wheel allowing you to change gear.
Does that mean you HAVE to change gears, or it has the option of being either auto or "manual". I presume there is no clutch.
Never driven a sl55...
No, you have the choice to drive in full auto mode which includes all the usual features of kickdown and adaptive driving style (e.g. when you use a lot of throttle the box will hold each gear longer - works extremely well on trackdays
) or to use a manual mode. For the latter you shift the gear selector across and then change up and down with the steering wheel buttons. There is no clutch and therefore it's not a semi-automatic like say the AM Vanquish S.
And of course, you will soon find that many Porsche owners loathe very existence of the tiptronic S
AdvocatusDiaboli said:
Is this type of gearbox just an automatic, or can it be compared to the F1 systems on 355's and other Feraris?
Is there a drop in performance compared to manual? Is the car still a balls out performer or do you find a lack of torque if the car is caught in an awkward rev band?
In sum, I have no idea what the gearbox is! Enlighten me!
These questions are phrased with particular reference to a 996 Turbo.
Whooo hooo hooo.
Where do I start? Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. Crap. It's crap. Fine - Tip seems to do far more to denigrate the all-'round fabness of a TT more than it does to hobble the other Porsche models. If you've never tried a manual TT, you'll think the Tip is ace. And it's grand in isolation. If I may be so bold, think of it as sex au naturel compared to sex with the relevant appendage coved in a thick prophylactic. Tip just spoils the mood...very much a torque converter sludgematic type box from a Merc (didn't Merc upgrade from this box some time ago? I sit really still used in SL?), rather than a manual without a clutch - which I believe the F1, SMG and DSG are.
F1, SMG and DSG I could live with, tip I would not so please try before you buy.
F1, SMG and DSG I could live with, tip I would not so please try before you buy.
This is a joke right?
Not another opportunity for those who have never really driven a Turbo Tip to never the less berate it?
Surely not.
Turbo tip in manual mode is fantastic. Same as manual with two advantages: 1. you don't need to take one hand off the wheel to change gear 2. it automatically changes up when you hit the rev limiter
One disadvantage: the mis-informed bollox you have to read on here frmo people with no more idea than a fly in the air.
Not another opportunity for those who have never really driven a Turbo Tip to never the less berate it?
Surely not.
Turbo tip in manual mode is fantastic. Same as manual with two advantages: 1. you don't need to take one hand off the wheel to change gear 2. it automatically changes up when you hit the rev limiter
One disadvantage: the mis-informed bollox you have to read on here frmo people with no more idea than a fly in the air.
Not an option! I was just curious as to how it compared to a manual.
I have come down to these three for the big upgrade in 11 months time (yes, am counting!)... Not sure which car I will let go, or whether I will at all yet. The Lancia has been sitting on its ar*e with carb problems so I though maybe that, but when I look at it... its too beautiful!
1. Ferrari F355 GTS (Finally did a test drive... magic)
2. Porsche 993 Turbo (My favourite 911 shape.)
3. Porsche 996 Turbo (Good value at the mo, because considering the build quality, mileage means very little!)
Researching and test driving in the meantime will be fun!
I have come down to these three for the big upgrade in 11 months time (yes, am counting!)... Not sure which car I will let go, or whether I will at all yet. The Lancia has been sitting on its ar*e with carb problems so I though maybe that, but when I look at it... its too beautiful!
1. Ferrari F355 GTS (Finally did a test drive... magic)
2. Porsche 993 Turbo (My favourite 911 shape.)
3. Porsche 996 Turbo (Good value at the mo, because considering the build quality, mileage means very little!)
Researching and test driving in the meantime will be fun!
ballast said:
This is a joke right?
Not another opportunity for those who have never really driven a Turbo Tip to never the less berate it?
Surely not.
Turbo tip in manual mode is fantastic. Same as manual with two advantages: 1. you don't need to take one hand off the wheel to change gear 2. it automatically changes up when you hit the rev limiter
One disadvantage: the mis-informed bollox you have to read on here frmo people with no more idea than a fly in the air.
Not another opportunity for those who have never really driven a Turbo Tip to never the less berate it?
Surely not.
Turbo tip in manual mode is fantastic. Same as manual with two advantages: 1. you don't need to take one hand off the wheel to change gear 2. it automatically changes up when you hit the rev limiter
One disadvantage: the mis-informed bollox you have to read on here frmo people with no more idea than a fly in the air.
In total, I've at least 10,000 Tip miles under my belt - around 3,000 of which were in 996 TT Tips, with a further few in the 997TT Tip (which I conceed is a bit of an improvement over the 996 Auto effort). Why assume I don't like Tiptronic because I don't know it or how to get the best from it? If you think a 996TT Tip is the 'same as a manual with two advantages...', then perhaps you need to have another crack at a manual? Perhaps you carry a few uninformed prejudices of your own? If you spend a lot of time in traffic and aren't bothered with the hassle of a manual gearbox, then fine. But don't expect some of the rest of us to buy the notion that slapping an automatic gearbox into a TT's drivetrain somehow gives the best of all worlds. It'd be history's first free lunch if it did. My judgement on Tiptronic is one borne out of my own experience, and I wouldn't voluntarily buy one even if Tiptronic was a no-cost option. Reducing the pedal count in a TT (or any Porsche) to two - one for stop and one for go, saps power, has an adverse effect on fuel economy, blunts the car's edge, makes the engine sound laboured, can be very clunky in operation when the car has a few miles on the clock, gives you one less gear ratio to play with (996), is prone to kill-joy when you feel like show-boating, and can be a right pain when you're constantly trying to keep ahead of it and second-guess what it might be about to do to spoil your buzz. Why bother when a manual box simply lets the driver make all the calls? If I didn't want to be a part of the process, I'd buy a saloon.
Edited by loach on Monday 13th November 16:29
ballast said:
hope I am too
Your opinion certainly is valid and welcome, maybe allow others do have a different opinion without calling it "misinformed bollox". And yes I have driven a 996TT tip and in my opinion I thought it was awful for all the reasons loach explains so well. Its just my opinion and is as valid as yours.
Hearing both sides, the OP will realise its a love/hate thing so they shoudl certainly suck it and see (how awful they are
)
ballast said:
you're right; I'm sorry.
Happier though in the knowledge that my opinions may be valid too.
I think I'll sleep better now.
Must buy manual; must buy manual; must buy manual
That's it; I've said it enough times; it must be true
Happier though in the knowledge that my opinions may be valid too.
I think I'll sleep better now.
Must buy manual; must buy manual; must buy manual
That's it; I've said it enough times; it must be true
Don't worry about it Ballast, you're not the only one. I've tried many times on other forums to persuade (spelling?) others that tiptronic is a good thing to have but only ended up being persuaded that I should get a manual next time round
. I guess I also have to give in. 
boxsey said:
ballast said:
you're right; I'm sorry.
Happier though in the knowledge that my opinions may be valid too.
I think I'll sleep better now.
Must buy manual; must buy manual; must buy manual
That's it; I've said it enough times; it must be true
Happier though in the knowledge that my opinions may be valid too.
I think I'll sleep better now.
Must buy manual; must buy manual; must buy manual
That's it; I've said it enough times; it must be true
Don't worry about it Ballast, you're not the only one. I've tried many times on other forums to persuade (spelling?) others that tiptronic is a good thing to have but only ended up being persuaded that I should get a manual next time round
. I guess I also have to give in. isn't the 997 tip Turbo faster than the manual version???
so we should all go out and buy 997 turbo tips!
Edited by tara911 on Tuesday 14th November 00:33
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