Gen 2 PDK
- Thread starter cayman
- Start date
I spent time concentrating on the 7th gear and how it reacts over the weekend. a) If in 7th cruising at 70mph then floor the accelerator it goes straight to 4th at 5500 revs and flies. b) In 7th at say 50mph then floor the accelerator then goes to 3rd and simply takes off, on a couple of occasions it went straight to 2nd and great fun. The above are in normal mode and not sport. Drove it hardon a mixture of motorway and then great A / B roads and all I can say is that it does everytthing you ask of it. It loves to sit up and beg for you to hit the floor and hold on. Derek is right when he says hit the accelerator and hold on. Martin
So with PASM you get the "damper" button as well as "Sport" and "Sport +" buttons (with Sport Chrono option), could be confusing all those buttons? I will ask if its the same set up on the Cayman, as I you run a 997.2 PDK. I am borrowing a PDK for 24 hrs tomorrow and will try out as many of these points as possible.
The data you attached shows manual quicker than PDK with Sports + and isn't what Porsche says on the UK site as shown below, LH column is Manual and RH column is PDK: Acceleration from 0 - 100 km/h (0 - 62 mph) 5.2 s 5.1 s (4.9 s Sport+) Acceleration from 0 - 160 km/h (0 - 99 mph) 11.4 s 11.2 s (10.9 s Sport+)
[link=http://fwd.five.tv/videos/porsche-shootout]http://fwd.five.tv/videos/porsche-shootout[/link] Porsche Shootout ![[FONT=verdana,geneva"]](/forum/styles/default/pcgb/space.gif ". [FONT=verdana,geneva\"]")
[link=http://fwd.five.tv/fifth-gear/videos/shoot-outs]Shoot-Outs[/link] | Two almost identical Porsche Caymans are the subject of this week’s shootout – one with a traditional manual gearbox, the other with Porsche’s new PDK double clutch system. Save £2k have a lot more fun and go quicker [
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[link=http://fwd.five.tv/fifth-gear/videos/shoot-outs]Shoot-Outs[/link] | Two almost identical Porsche Caymans are the subject of this week’s shootout – one with a traditional manual gearbox, the other with Porsche’s new PDK double clutch system. Save £2k have a lot more fun and go quicker []
Having had a Gen.2 Cayman S on loan today from OPC Silverstone (while my Boxster was having an oil change) I can now give a first-hand opinion rather than simply spouting gibberish (no tittering at the back there).
Let me start by saying that I don't actually like the Cayman (bad start in this particular section) - to me its "fastback" makes it look a bit of a cludge. I'm much more a Boxster man (having said that, if I were to buy a 911, it would be a coupe since the back end of a 911 cab also looks at bit naff). This was the first Cayman I'd ever driven, and it certainly has the same rock-steady poise as the Boxster.
This particular sample lacked full leather, so in today's 30 deg.C-plus heat, you got the smell of hot plastic over that of hot leather (which is what I'd personally spec.). The sports seats are less figure-hugging than those from my 2004 986 too, but still very comfortable. There's masses of headroom, I note.
This car came with 19" Carrera S II wheels shod with the obligatory Michelin Pilot Sport tyres and I was very happy to find that the ride over a variety of surfaces was quite acceptable - certainly not enough to warrant the extra cost of PASM.
From a previous view of a Caymen, I knew the storage space was a bit - shall we say - different from the Boxster. Not as deep, but it does extend further front-to-back. Can't see you getting a bulky set of golf clubs in here. The little cubby hole in the photo houses the oil and coolant filler caps - no dipstick here (you're tittering again).
And so to PDK. As you already know, it has an amazing seven forward gears and is able to change incredibly smoothly - far smoother than I ever can. Very handy that an LED numberal indicates the current gear because I certainly couldn't tell which gear I was in at any one time without it. Each mode is also indicated by a little red LED - personally I think this should be green for all settings except 'M', which is its manual (still clutch-less) mode.
Given I'd never driven an auto of any description before, I was able to test the controversial steering wheel change buttons without any preconceptions and to my mind, they actually work the right way round!
The big, chunky chrome buttons are very easy to use and don't cause you any problems when you just want to drive and relax your hands on the wheel; in this case the standard PDK 3-spoke wheel. A multi-function wheel, to control the audio system, is also available if you have PCM - but I can't help feeling that its extra buttons could be a little awkward. Incidentally, the shot above shows the wheel from the side and the chrome area is the rear of the right-side changer button. So, what is it like to actually drive? Well, I'm sorry to say that in full auto 'D'-mode, because of its desire to make the vehicle as economical as possible, it really takes the performance out of the car. To start with, I thought they'd lent me a standard (2.9) Cayman instead of the DFI-engined 3.4 - it really did feel like it should have Walnut inlays and a Rover badge! As soon as you've gone ten yards, you're already in third and heading rapidly towards fifth and beyond. This isn't they way I like to drive my Porsche. The buttons are always active (you don't have to change to 'M') so you can quickly apply some more 'go' to the car when you want to get a shift on, but before long, its 'economy mindset' takes over and you're back in high-number/low-revs territory. In 'M', you're obviously in far more control. Even with the windows down, with no sports exhaust you're got to really rev it to get sound from the engine (its noticeably quieter than my 986), so you tend to rely on the rev counter more when searching for the power band. As some others have mentioned, its other little foible is the delay between applying gas and actually getting some movement from the car - this can be quite disconcerting at the lights and you really need to be ready for it, otherwise be prepared for a hoot in a New York Minute from the BMW driver behind. Changing gearbox mode isn't going to help you here. From my drive today, I therefore personally conclude that a combination of PDK with the Sport Chrono option would be essential if you want to avoid Rover territory. Don't get me wrong - PDK is a superb gearbox when it comes to the smoothness and speed of change. However, I wouldn't describe myself as the sportiest of drivers, but I really do feel its desire for economy subtracts considerably from the overall Porsche experience. My thanks to Andy and Mark OPC Silverstone for the loan of the Cayman S.
i have driven the new gen 2 pdk on 2 extended 48 hr tests and have to say that with use the pdk box certainly grows on you and the problems mentioned actually recede beyond notice.it is nothing short of brilliant and no surprise that racing drivers(with the exception of JP!)all think its streets ahead of the manual.overall performance(not just 0-60)is some way better than manual(in their opinion).
I agree that PDK is something else. For me driving in london traffic jams makes auto a must, with motorway driving its about comfort driving until you want that extra to fly by and pdk delivers that with a squeeze of the fingers or tap of the foot. For aggressive driving then sport mode with the ability to change manually with a squeeze of the fingers or push of the thumb whilst keeping both hands on the wheel is just so much safer and far quicker than the manual box. The ability to either kick down one or two gears of floor it and watch it leap 2,500 revs and drop two gears is so much fun. Sport button tweaks the PSM so ability to push it a bit more and by keeping the gear down the revs stay high so responsiveness is there. As Richard said in Porsche Post the Cayman.2 is more of a step forward than you would think. If dealers are offering 24 or 48 hour test drives then take the opportunity and try it.
Well finally drove a PDK/DSG boxed car on a track. Ok, so it was a 420bhp M3 rather than a 911 but, +ve Undoubtedly faster than a manual Blindingly quick shifts when it shifts No unsettling of the car -ve Small lag between clicking and shifting (bet the PDK does'nt do that though) Can't remember what gear Im in ! and have to look at the dash Lost 10% of the fun of driving Still would buy a manual with a user controlled clutch.
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