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W8MM said:
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zzboba said:PAG could have saved us from this dilemma with the timely introduction of the PDK.



I'm not sure I can agree.

Twin-clutch, double-gear-shaft style transmission setups have some serious heat dissipation challenges since (as I understand it) simultaneous slip of both clutches necessarily substitutes for the action of the torque converter in the Tip to arrive at acceptably smooth gear changes.

Twin clutches need to be packaged in the space ordinarily devoted to only one. They might each have to be smaller in order that both have an acceptably small combined packaging volume. Smaller, while simultaneously more powerful, seems hard to do.

The Veyron seems to have conquered this problem at a high power level, but we're talking here about a Porsche at 10 times lower cost. How many PDKs would be sold for a $40,000 option price?

What if one wants to "chip" ones new 997TT? How robust do the new double-shaft twin-clutches have to be? How much safety margin is built in for the "tuners" to use up?

I can just hear it now; "Why didn't they make the PDK able to stand adequate power? Now, I'll have to buy a (insert other transmission here) so I can get what I want in the way of even higher power level!"

The posts I especially love are the accusations that Porsche is not really an engineering company at heart, but rather a slimy, manipulative marketer of less than optimum, over-hyped hardware pandered to a bunch of image-conscious know-nothings that crowd out the needs of the truly worthy, who deserve much better.

Tell me, which company is serving the needs of car enthusiasts so much better than Porsche?



Mike,

I wonder if a tranny coooling system could handle the tranny heat dissipation, with circulating oil/coolant that communicates with a radiator for convection, separate from the rest of the car's cooling system, whether NA or T-charged.

I also bet that titanium or other amalga can be manufactured to handle the torque requirements-upwards of 800Nm+ if needed. It's likely a matter of cost-and I doubt it's a matter of building in "reserve" so the tuners have more wiggle room. Although I wouldn't mind if you are correct on that point.

Do you (or anyone) know if the Veyron's DSG has a liquid-based tranny cooling system, and what their DSG is made of to handle the beast's humongous torque requirements?

My inkling still is that Porsche CAN make a PDK that can keep cool and work fast, but I suspect they are working on a design that allows more control over the gear selection versus the competition's offerings. It will have to be faster than the other systems around, able to handle all the torque, be reliable as h---, and have an auto program that the masses can use mindlessly. And who knows, perhaps it will have eight gears.