997 Turbo - clarifying my claims (again)
Apparently some people have misunderstood my post(s) about my (still somehow) short experience with the 997 Turbo.
Or my English is worse than I actually thought. Take your pick.
1. the Tip is still my favorite choice for this car (and this is my FIRST sportscar EVER with an automatic tranny)
2. the 997 Turbo is indeed more demanding than the 996 Turbo, it is definetely less "GT" (don't like this word but some people came up with it) than the 996 Turbo
3. the 997 Turbo is more difficult to drive at the limit but on the other hand, the reachable limit is much higher than on the 996 Turbo, even if the test values in various car magazines don't seem to indicate that
4. the difference between Tiptronic WITH Sport Chrono active and without is HUGE. I pitty anybody who ordered Tip (or even manual) without the Sport Chrono package. And if I would be Porsche, I would make it a standard option, minus that stupid looking stop watch on the dash.
5. the exhaust sound got a tiny bit throatier, so maybe I should give the Turbo a chance in this department. I still can't believe that it will change drastically (to a better tone) though. My wife started to complaint today, so this is not something I just imagine.
6. the Tip equipped cars don't need LSD, simply because the PTM takes care of a similar function together with the PSM and the Tip. The advantage of a networked design. If somebody claims the Tip equipped 997 Turbo has traction problems in tight bends, he must be nuts (or maybe never heard of a CLEAN DRIVING LINE).
7. I started to worry about the seat quality (or my weight) because my seat made some strange noises today, especially the seatback, like it was too "brake" soon.
8. 997 Turbo Tip is at 300 kph in no time, so I somehow have doubts that the manual version is much faster
9. Tip requires an adapted throttle/shifting style (some sort of "pre-emptive" action), you can't drive Tip like an ordinary automatic tranny, you'll be very disappointed. When you get used to the way, you'll love it since you have both hands free for the fun.
10. Fast Back function of Tip is incredibly effective but you need to get used to it, first it felt like if a gear popped out or the boost pressure was cut off suddenly. Strange feel at first but works like a charm, love it!!!
11. Tip manual mode works as fast and effective as a manual tranny, only difference is the start-off sequence from standstill where you still need the brake/torque trick.
12. with Sport Chrono active, car shows heavy oversteer but as long as PSM is ON, this oversteer is controlled by the electronics. Try it, it is funny when the electronics actually smoothly take back control if you do it the wrong way. Turn PSM off and you better know how to drive this baby.
13. DO NOT turn PSM off, only on the track and only if you really know what you're doing, meaning either having a racedriver license and/or past experience with driving fast 911 Turbos. With Sport Chrono turned ON, the electronics don't do anything as long as you keep it "clean" and fast. Try this: drive at around 80 mph and start turning the steering wheel to the left, to the right, to the left and so on. Do it for a couple of seconds and see what happens. Warning: I don't take any responsibility for any dangerous situation or even crash resulting from that. What happens on my car is simple: suddenly the brake kicks in and tries to stabilize the car. Obviously, of course without me applying the brake.
14. you can be insanely fast with the 997 Turbo in curves. But be careful, the ride is a little bit "nervous" and you shouldn't worry too much about the mentioned oversteer because it is more likely that before you encounter that heavy oversteer, you'll loose control of the steering wheel. Keep a tight grip but not too tight and RESPECT this car. It is capable of incredible things but it can put you in a coffin too in no time.
Since I had the chance today to compare my Turbo Tip to a Turbo manual, here are a few impressions:
1. starting-off from standstill, the manual is faster if the Tip doesn't use the brake/torque trick. But the second time, the manual had a pretty bad smelling clutch and the rear axle was stomping too, so you need a sensitive clutch/throttle foot with manual to achieve a good start-off.
2. Tip is faster than manual under almost any driving conditions with the exception of starting off from standstill. Did up to 250 kph for comparison today, manual couldn't keep up, fell back aprox. five car lengths (acceleration from around 130 kph) and was still falling back at around 250. Of course there is that "magic" overboost thingie on my car where the overboost seems not to disappear after 10 seconds, this is why you should take my experience with caution because it may not be accurate. The manual Turbo had already 4000 km on the speedo, mine slightly less. Driver was pretty frustrated...
3. Strangely enough, the manual car consumed practically the same fuel quantity like mine with Tip. The Trip Computer showed 17.5 litres, mine showed 17.8.
4. in curves in bends, the Tip has a huge advantage of allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel. Especially when closing in to a curve, you just need to brake hard (PCCB works wonders in this domain), the Fast Back function kicks in and you can concentrate on the curve and exiting it (again, pre-emptive throttle action is needed, you need to press the throttle half a second or so earlier than with manual). The other Turbo wasn't able to do the same, the drive is at least at par with my driving skills (he does it for a living). The other Turbo had the original brake and I drove it too, not even close to PCCB feel and performance but still very very good and better than the brake I knew from the 996 Turbo (however a few months have passed since I drove a 996 Turbo, so maybe this is just a false feeling).
5. when the other 997 Turbo passed me once (I had to slow down because of a speed limit, my "friend" apparently overlooked it
) at full throttle, it sounded very nice, almost like a jet taking off but still not the sound I would expect from a sportscar (deep, throaty, etc.).
6. a Cayenne S with S-WM2xxx license plate teamed up with us near Nuernberg, apparently a car from Porsche Germany to drive around VIPs for the Soccer World Championship. This guy was pretty curious, he tried to keep up with us...well...for a second or so...:p but since there was a lot of traffic, he was behind us in no time.
Conclusion: it is difficult to say that Tip is better or Manual is better, you really have to choose what fits YOU best. You can have full control of the car with Tip too, not only with manual but like I said before, it needs some sort of adaptation in throttle/shifting and even driving style. This is actually something I didn't expect in the beginning and it was quite frustrating. But with a few hints and after driving the car for a while, I really like Tip. Honestly. But of course it works completely different than the Tip on my wife's Boxster (which btw. feels more spontaneous from standstill and even at automatic downshifts but is clearly less adaptive and less involving).
A last word regarding LSD because some people seem to expect wonders from it: LSD only is helpful if you already drive a CLEAN LINE and need that extra speed (usually only achievable by somebody like Walter Röhrl) to exit the curve. Meaning: you need to be a 99% driver to profit from it. So forget about the LSD hype, it is nice to have it but better than LSD for the track are...Michelin Cup tires. Just a hint from the "other guy" with manual who btw. had Michelin Cups on his car and still had trouble to keep up with me in curves (he even told me he had to turn PSM off because I was "harming" his clean line due to the different driving style with Tip).
Now if somebody AGAIN reads something in my post which isn't true, I'll give me the bullet.
Or my English is worse than I actually thought. Take your pick.
1. the Tip is still my favorite choice for this car (and this is my FIRST sportscar EVER with an automatic tranny)
2. the 997 Turbo is indeed more demanding than the 996 Turbo, it is definetely less "GT" (don't like this word but some people came up with it) than the 996 Turbo
3. the 997 Turbo is more difficult to drive at the limit but on the other hand, the reachable limit is much higher than on the 996 Turbo, even if the test values in various car magazines don't seem to indicate that
4. the difference between Tiptronic WITH Sport Chrono active and without is HUGE. I pitty anybody who ordered Tip (or even manual) without the Sport Chrono package. And if I would be Porsche, I would make it a standard option, minus that stupid looking stop watch on the dash.
5. the exhaust sound got a tiny bit throatier, so maybe I should give the Turbo a chance in this department. I still can't believe that it will change drastically (to a better tone) though. My wife started to complaint today, so this is not something I just imagine.
6. the Tip equipped cars don't need LSD, simply because the PTM takes care of a similar function together with the PSM and the Tip. The advantage of a networked design. If somebody claims the Tip equipped 997 Turbo has traction problems in tight bends, he must be nuts (or maybe never heard of a CLEAN DRIVING LINE).
7. I started to worry about the seat quality (or my weight
) because my seat made some strange noises today, especially the seatback, like it was too "brake" soon.
8. 997 Turbo Tip is at 300 kph in no time, so I somehow have doubts that the manual version is much faster
9. Tip requires an adapted throttle/shifting style (some sort of "pre-emptive" action), you can't drive Tip like an ordinary automatic tranny, you'll be very disappointed. When you get used to the way, you'll love it since you have both hands free for the fun.
10. Fast Back function of Tip is incredibly effective but you need to get used to it, first it felt like if a gear popped out or the boost pressure was cut off suddenly. Strange feel at first but works like a charm, love it!!!
11. Tip manual mode works as fast and effective as a manual tranny, only difference is the start-off sequence from standstill where you still need the brake/torque trick.
12. with Sport Chrono active, car shows heavy oversteer but as long as PSM is ON, this oversteer is controlled by the electronics. Try it, it is funny when the electronics actually smoothly take back control if you do it the wrong way. Turn PSM off and you better know how to drive this baby.
13. DO NOT turn PSM off, only on the track and only if you really know what you're doing, meaning either having a racedriver license and/or past experience with driving fast 911 Turbos. With Sport Chrono turned ON, the electronics don't do anything as long as you keep it "clean" and fast. Try this: drive at around 80 mph and start turning the steering wheel to the left, to the right, to the left and so on. Do it for a couple of seconds and see what happens. Warning: I don't take any responsibility for any dangerous situation or even crash resulting from that. What happens on my car is simple: suddenly the brake kicks in and tries to stabilize the car.
Obviously, of course without me applying the brake.
14. you can be insanely fast with the 997 Turbo in curves. But be careful, the ride is a little bit "nervous" and you shouldn't worry too much about the mentioned oversteer because it is more likely that before you encounter that heavy oversteer, you'll loose control of the steering wheel.
Keep a tight grip but not too tight and RESPECT this car. It is capable of incredible things but it can put you in a coffin too in no time.
Since I had the chance today to compare my Turbo Tip to a Turbo manual, here are a few impressions:
1. starting-off from standstill, the manual is faster if the Tip doesn't use the brake/torque trick. But the second time, the manual had a pretty bad smelling clutch and the rear axle was stomping too, so you need a sensitive clutch/throttle foot with manual to achieve a good start-off.
2. Tip is faster than manual under almost any driving conditions with the exception of starting off from standstill. Did up to 250 kph for comparison today, manual couldn't keep up, fell back aprox. five car lengths (acceleration from around 130 kph) and was still falling back at around 250. Of course there is that "magic" overboost thingie on my car where the overboost seems not to disappear after 10 seconds, this is why you should take my experience with caution because it may not be accurate. The manual Turbo had already 4000 km on the speedo, mine slightly less. Driver was pretty frustrated...
3. Strangely enough, the manual car consumed practically the same fuel quantity like mine with Tip. The Trip Computer showed 17.5 litres, mine showed 17.8.
4. in curves in bends, the Tip has a huge advantage of allowing the driver to keep both hands on the wheel. Especially when closing in to a curve, you just need to brake hard (PCCB works wonders in this domain), the Fast Back function kicks in and you can concentrate on the curve and exiting it (again, pre-emptive throttle action is needed, you need to press the throttle half a second or so earlier than with manual). The other Turbo wasn't able to do the same, the drive is at least at par with my driving skills (he does it for a living
). The other Turbo had the original brake and I drove it too, not even close to PCCB feel and performance but still very very good and better than the brake I knew from the 996 Turbo (however a few months have passed since I drove a 996 Turbo, so maybe this is just a false feeling).
5. when the other 997 Turbo passed me once (I had to slow down because of a speed limit, my "friend" apparently overlooked it
) at full throttle, it sounded very nice, almost like a jet taking off but still not the sound I would expect from a sportscar (deep, throaty, etc.).
6. a Cayenne S with S-WM2xxx license plate teamed up with us near Nuernberg, apparently a car from Porsche Germany to drive around VIPs for the Soccer World Championship. This guy was pretty curious, he tried to keep up with us...well...for a second or so...:p but since there was a lot of traffic, he was behind us in no time.
Conclusion: it is difficult to say that Tip is better or Manual is better, you really have to choose what fits YOU best. You can have full control of the car with Tip too, not only with manual but like I said before, it needs some sort of adaptation in throttle/shifting and even driving style. This is actually something I didn't expect in the beginning and it was quite frustrating. But with a few hints and after driving the car for a while, I really like Tip. Honestly. But of course it works completely different than the Tip on my wife's Boxster (which btw. feels more spontaneous from standstill and even at automatic downshifts but is clearly less adaptive and less involving).
A last word regarding LSD because some people seem to expect wonders from it: LSD only is helpful if you already drive a CLEAN LINE and need that extra speed (usually only achievable by somebody like Walter Röhrl
) to exit the curve. Meaning: you need to be a 99% driver to profit from it. So forget about the LSD hype, it is nice to have it but better than LSD for the track are...Michelin Cup tires. Just a hint from the "other guy" with manual who btw. had Michelin Cups on his car and still had trouble to keep up with me in curves (he even told me he had to turn PSM off because I was "harming" his clean line due to the different driving style with Tip).
Now if somebody AGAIN reads something in my post which isn't true, I'll give me the bullet.
i bought a manual! haha your booster is working bad?(better! but bad)? if u have this on always u have a big advantage, u know that.. what do u think about it? do u feel the difference with booster?
Like I said though: ONLY in comparison with the Sport Chrono OFF and full throttle and Sport Chrono ON and full throttle. You don't feel much difference when overboost kicks in and raises the boost from 1.0 to 1.2 bar.
Your post is very helpful! It is not your English that is the problem. 
to comprehend the driving experience of the new 997TT. 
