PDK vs Manual

[Deleted User 1874]

PDK gives the best of both worlds, cool or sporty driving - also if manual gear boxes were so great on track , why Formula one don t use them anymore?
Having say that, it s great to still have the choice as in 10yrs time , e-cars will not offer any options...

But F1 cars still have manually operated clutches, no ABS, no traction control and manual diff settings.
So your point is not well made. F1 is all about sporting regulations, nothing about how "great" it is.

Some people just like having some significant involvement in the driving experience. Driver aids and smart automatic gearboxes leave you with very little.

In F1, the "manual" clutch is only used for starts, not gear changes either up or down - which are sequential paddle shift. There is no skill in changing gear in an F1 car, but that doesn't necessarily make them any less involving to drive. I don't think any current F1 driver would prefer to have an H pattern manual box. All it would do is effectively slow the cars down. The skill is not in changing gear, but driving the thing right on the very limit everywhere. Back in the days of fully manual F1 cars, there was a different skill set required in using the manual gearbox and clutch. Chariot racing also required very different skill sets! Which technology appeals more is just a personal thing. I quite enjoy driving classic sportscars with manual gearboxes (often quirky like the Porsche 915 box) and modern sportscars with sequential boxes/paddles. Both are fun in different ways.

Other driver aids like traction/stability control do take away significantly from the skill of driving, but it's hard to imagine letting the public loose in 500+ hp cars without them. There would be a lot of accidents!

[Wing Commander]

Drove another 80 miles or so around Wiltshire today and I'm really enjoying stirring the gearstick! Loving the interaction!

My girlfriend's son-in-law saw my car and asked if that was my yellow Porsche. I confirmed it was. "Brave colour choice" he said "Very brave".

[Virage11]

^^
This....for everyday driving, today’s “auto” boxes are without eqaul.
Now, if you have a “ proper” sports car, and wish to retain the pureist appeal, then a manual may be the best residual bet (Arif)
But in everyday, and even track use, a PDK would be my personal choice.

Mirrors my thoughts. PDK undoubtedly easier and quicker.

PDK does provide the best of both worlds given you have the option of controlling it yourself so the only thing really it doesn't have is a 3rd pedal nor any need for skill with gear changing.

Everything I have had recently up until now (excluding run-abouts - am thinking the manual Mini JCW I had last year) has been PDK or equivalent - Panamera, Mclaren, Ferrari, 991.1 Turbo S, AMG GT R etc. - the latest Porsche PDK has to be the best of these.

However, I don't need this kind of car for everyday use and I don't track my own cars so for me the GT3 was always going to be manual, particularly after my very positive ownership period with the Boxster Spyder which was epic. Might be slower but more fun for me to drive on fast countryside roads - don't need to go so quickly to be engaged either.

[happy days]

I'm very lucky. Where I live the traffic is relatively light - my 7.2 mile commute in the morning takes me 10 minutes. I drive a manual 718S as the daily user. However when I travel to Dublin or Belfast or any other city, I prefer to use the McCann with its PDK box.

I bought a manual 718 because - as many have said - I think a sports car should be manual. However if I lived in a city with heavy traffic it would be PDK all the way. All day.

[Taz]

Quote "There is no skill in changing gear in an F1 car"

May I suggest otherwise ...

My son races in the UK and with a sequential gearbox - admittedly not to F1 standard, but nonetheless, going down the box especially is not just a question of banging the paddle a few times, but rather a skill to time the changes with the braking and engine speed. If you listen carefully next time you watch F1 on TV you will hear that the drivers leave a slight gap between some of the down changes.

[BigPhil]

I was a die hard manual gearbox guy.

My Macan is the first auto I've ever owned and I'll never go back now for a daily driver, the PDK is just so good. Mostly leave it in Auto and blip it down a couple of gears with the accelerator or use the paddles now and again. In traffic it is just so much nicer.

I'm toying with the idea of getting myself a Cayman for a bit of weekend fun and now I'm torn between a manual for a bit of B road fun or another PDK as it is just so good!

Decisions, decisions...

[nsm3]

I went from a manual GT3 to a PDK Cayman S with slight trepidation, but my concerns were unfounded. The PDK box shows its talent much more in the sports cars, than it does in an SUV. I rarely drove the Cayman without using the paddles, but in the Macan, I barely use them at all, maybe occasionally when slowing quickly?

That may be a result of the Diesel engine characteristics though?

[Frenchy]

As French, there is an other benefit with the PDK... I don't need to use my left hand to change the gear, which is, believe me, a relief as it feels very very unnatural....

[Macananon]

If you are driving fast, PDK is much safer. Hands can be on the wheel all the time .

Manual is fun in lower powered cars where you have to drag out every last bit of hp. But the power porches have make manual less attractive to me.

[BigPhil]

As French, there is an other benefit with the PDK... I don't need to use my left hand to change the gear, which is, believe me, a relief as it feels very very unnatural....

Just the opposite for me, I'm left handed so in a manual when the steering wheel is on the correct side is completely natural to me, hence my hesitation to give up manual gearboxes. In a LHD car however I'm as awful as the Yanks on 'Star In A Reasonably priced Car'.