Manual or Tip
- Thread starter Guest
- Start date
Grant
New member
Come on, do you need to ask this one. If you want a "DRIVERS" car get a manual 996 TT, if you want a cruiser with grunt get an auto AMG Merc. etc.
Or wait until Porsche launch their new dual clutch "F1" system , which seems to offer the best of both worlds & has received much praise on the Audi TT.
Or wait until Porsche launch their new dual clutch "F1" system , which seems to offer the best of both worlds & has received much praise on the Audi TT.
Dapster
New member
Merc is about to launch the 7 speed semi auto - apparently the CL65 AMG was limited to 612bhp and 730 lb/ft of torque because the 5 speed auto wasn't man enough to handle any more. Should make the forthcoming SL65 AMG quite interesting.....
ps I agree with Grant. Manual all the way!
ps I agree with Grant. Manual all the way!
Guest
New member
sounds like a comment from someone who has never driven a Tiptronic perhaps? Driving a Tip is just as exciting as driving a manual but with more control (upchanges on full throttle at exactly the right point - can you always do that with a manual?) and greater safety (impossible to over-rev or under-rev the engine).
Someone at Stutgart told me that the published figures showing a manual is faster than a tip are largley theoretical and might be achieved by one or two works drivers...
In interviews the likes of Walter Rhorl have stated the tiptronic is likely to be faster for the "average" driver. Why? Because the average driver fluffs the shift now and again, and the tip shifts faster than the average driver can manage (compensating for the slower acceleration figures that are published).
Having said that, I like a stick-shift myself - at the moment.
Having said that, I like a stick-shift myself - at the moment.
Having recently changed from a 6sp Carrera to a Tip. Turbo I can say that in general terms the Tip. is better to drive. Yes I believe the acceleration is quicker through the Tip than the manual in terms of gear changes, and the drive is very involving. The technique is very different though, the right foot becomes very involved in activating gear changes.
Also the Tiptronic is predictive, it adapts to suit the style of driving, so twisty roads result in fast down changes, and lower gears are held longer. When in the cruise the box tries to upchange to 5th as quickly as possible. Apoint that several motoring journalists have missed I think.
Finally, when using the manual mode, you do have the option of immediate downchanges, gfood for fast overtaking, but you have to pre-empt the upchange slightly.
As for on the track, as yet I don't know, but I suspect it could be less involving.
In conclusion, for road use particularly in the SE, I find the Tiptronic makes the car a beter drive.
Also the Tiptronic is predictive, it adapts to suit the style of driving, so twisty roads result in fast down changes, and lower gears are held longer. When in the cruise the box tries to upchange to 5th as quickly as possible. Apoint that several motoring journalists have missed I think.
Finally, when using the manual mode, you do have the option of immediate downchanges, gfood for fast overtaking, but you have to pre-empt the upchange slightly.
As for on the track, as yet I don't know, but I suspect it could be less involving.
In conclusion, for road use particularly in the SE, I find the Tiptronic makes the car a beter drive.
Grant
New member
I have driven a tiptronic car & in honesty didn't really enjoy the experience as much as a manual, aside from when I was in stop start traffic, when it was much more relaxed and a manual is quite obstructive.
The reason I didn't enjoy the experience as much is because I lost some control. When you approach a corner in a manual you can select the gear you want to be in & decide when you want to change up or down again, I didn't find this in the Tip, on a twisty road it hunted around from gear to gear, changed up before I wanted it too & even in Tiptronic mode( I found those buttons hard to bond with & difficult to control) it was reluctant to change down quite often & would change up anyway if I was right on the rev limiter approaching a corner where I may have chosen to retain the gear in the manual. It also seemed to feel a little slower, particularly in 2nd where the manual car flies, although I appreciate that with the Turbos huge torque it can mask some of the loss made by loosing a gear ratio. I am sure more time in an automatic would improve my opinion, but I also like the challenge of getting the gear change just right & feeling that alloy lever in my left hand, you know man & machine bonding type stuff, revs/gear lever/clutch....kinky !!
I am not knocking the Tip. cars they are still fantastic machines , but you do loose some control & you do loose a little grunt, although to offset this it is easier to drive in stop start & motorway cruise mode. Evo & Autocar test drivers seem to agree with my thoughts & again more recently when they tested the 996TT Cab Tip against an AMG55SL !!!
Having said this one mans meat is anothers poison, if you enjoy & prefer a tiptronic , good on you, enjoy.
Guest
New member
I only find this a problem in auto - if you override the auto with the paddles, the gear is only held for 15 seconds or so. In manual, I rarely find the forced change annoying although my first track day was a problem because I was concentrating so hard on the line that I failed to notice the odd up change when the rev limit was reached; as with most things, practice helps...
bizarely, I never use auto now even in heavy traffic!
Took the 996TT to Goodwood yesterday for a track-day.
I can now say that the Tiptronic was every bit as good as amanual, if not better!!
In terms of control, I had IMO more control of the car, with the Tip. selecting each gear precisely on time, leaving me to concentrate on getting around Lavant corner with a smooth application of power.
I understand there are those who would prefer to have a manual shift, it may give you more control over the car, but it does not necessarily give you more control of the car!!!
I can now say that the Tiptronic was every bit as good as amanual, if not better!!
In terms of control, I had IMO more control of the car, with the Tip. selecting each gear precisely on time, leaving me to concentrate on getting around Lavant corner with a smooth application of power.
I understand there are those who would prefer to have a manual shift, it may give you more control over the car, but it does not necessarily give you more control of the car!!!
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