CloseI have read here that Porsche has decided to make this standard now on the Boxster as well as the other sports cars for 2014. Can you turn it off? I mean for those of us who do want a manual and want to keep the lost art of heel and toe can you put it in Sport plus or Sport with rev match off?? I'm not better than the software guys at Stuttgart at doing it but I like to try :)
john999s:
I have read here that Porsche has decided to make this standard now on the Boxster as well as the other sports cars for 2014. Can you turn it off? I mean for those of us who do want a manual and want to keep the lost art of heel and toe can you put it in Sport plus or Sport with rev match off?? I'm not better than the software guys at Stuttgart at doing it but I like to try :)
I doubt it but does it really matter? I'm doing the heel and toe thingie since I was young, this is how I learned it and it never occurred to me that it is something special. 
Never bothered to think about it, until I started to read comments on this forum many years ago. Not even sure the blipping really helps anymore if you do it yourself, even with manual, since everything is software controlled and "optimized" now.
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014), BMW X3 35d (2013)
RC you always have an interesting alternative view. It's good to see what you say. However for me it does matter. From my first driving days over 30 years ago I learned to rev match because it was better for the drivetrain and made for a smoother drive. Easy. But to rev match on the brakes was something which wasn't always easy not least because in many cars the brake and throttle position make it hard together with excessive servo assistance.
During my days playing on tracks in the early 90's I spent a full day with a couple of other guys at Hethel in the company of their F1 folks at that time (who redefined 'fast' for me) but the other hosts were the factory development drivers for the road cars. It was one of those hugely experienced guys who advised me that I would never be quick unless I perfected my footwork as well as my lines. So I practised and practised until I perfected my technique. And the pedal position did and does matter and was one of the key things I liked when I came to buy my first 911 a few years later.
I have no objection if Porsche cater to the wider audience and make their cars easier to drive as well as faster and more efficient but in the process they should not forget the minority who buy their cars for the sensation and involvement of the drive itself. Within certain safeguards and limits I want to be able to turn off the software that takes away the interface between me and the mechanicals of the car so that I can enjoy the satisfaction of a well executed gear change or heel and toe braking into a corner. And that goes for PTV too for that matter :)
The problem with software certification is that they cannot allow customers to individually turn on/off features. Unless it was intended that way. This happens for legal reasons (as far as I know).
I understand your point but every car manufacturer has certain priorities and people like you (or even me) are in a minority. Let's take the Sport and Sport Plus mode: I would love to have Sport mode active automatically when I start the car. Not possible...for safety reasons (what if someone forgets about it and crashes?!). Even turning off the start/stop automatic could be deactivated in the software at some point because it is an integral feature of achieving the claimed CO2 values.
Maybe Porsche is more raw than we give them credit for: I could imagine that with PSM turned off, in Sport Plus mode, the rev match auto blip could be deactivated. Could...I don't have a clue if Porsche will do it or has done it. It would make sense though because most people drive in Sport mode or Sport Plus mode but leave PSM turned on, especially on the street. Turning PSM off during street driving is not only dangerous but dumb. Just imagine you forget about it and... It happened to me once, so don't say it cannot happen. I was leaving a fuel station which didn't have the fuel I wanted and when exiting the station, I forgot that PSM was turned off. You can imagine what happened when I fully accelerated to exit the smaller road into the main road. Luckily, there was no other car around.
Playing around with different software settings is something some of us may want and love but it can be dangerous. This is why Porsche needs to find the middle way to make everybody happy. I agree that the rev match auto blip is not really a safety related feature but like I said before, they cannot add another button for it or whatever. I can imagine however that they, as I suggested, turn it off when PSM is off. It would make sense. Not sure however they are going to do it.
RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Turbo S, Porsche Boxster S (981), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014), BMW X3 35d (2013)
I'm not sure I want to play around with all of the software-just to have the ability to turn off specific features which can be unnecessary for a competent driver. I do agree PSM 'on' for the street is a no-brainer. Hence I guess that's the reason on recent cars that even when it is off - if the ABS trips then it comes back on. I always leave it on for street driving. I have no issues if the default for every driving and eco aid is 'on' either. Especially for homologation and compliance purposes.
But they currently do allow drivers to turn off several features or indeed turn them on like PSE. And generally I have no complaints about Porsche's approach to these matters. However intervention in the steering process like PTV, intervention with the throttle like auto-blip, the interlocking and frustrating electronic handbrake seem to me to be answers to questions which most people hadn't asked.
I don't object to autoblip on a PDK at all-after all there's no clutch pedal and existence of the PDK itself removes the reason for the subject of this post! My next car will probably be PDK not because I want it but because the whole car seems to have been designed with that in mind and the manual has become compromised as a result. See handbrake.
Porsche can make everyone pretty happy with their current approach I think if they want to but my sense is that the small minority like me will matter less and less as they mutate into an SUV manufacturer which sells some sports cars with wider appeal than they had in the past - i.e. easy to drive for everyone, safe, well made and comfortable. As they desert their original customer base it won't matter to shareholders or the new generation which drive them. I won't like it much but such is the way of the world!
And I still wonder if anyone knows the answer to the original question who has a new Cayman manual or a 991 manual??
Apr 10, 2014 3:12:30 PM
Wow - John is flirting dangerously with the old manual vs. PDK debate. His is the most diplomatic and soft-spoken approach I have witnessed here. Good going. I am with you, of course - but sadly I do not have the answer to your brilliant and important question. I would hope you could turn it off because if you shift too quickly it might actually accelerate the car more than you would like. (Of course any automated control of the throttle with INCREASES revs might be considered dangerous not just intrusive)
Apr 10, 2014 11:24:43 PM
it is a completly stupid option - they should have left Nissan being the the ones tarting their manuals.
if you don't know how to match a downshift, then i think it is a good sign you should have an auto.
2013 Lotus Evora S/ 2008 Cayenne GTS Manual
2012 991 C2S -PDK / 2010 997.2 turbo cab manual, sold //2008 RS 60 sold /04 C4S sold - 08 Cayenne Turbo PDCC sold
CPA4S:
it is a completly stupid option - they should have left Nissan being the the ones tarting their manuals.
if you don't know how to match a downshift, then i think it is a good sign you should have an auto.
PDK is now the default choice so anyone choosing a manual specifically wants that extra level of interaction and work. It is far more likely they are going to want to heel and toe themselves (and I can't work out why people complain that its difficult in Porsches). So by all means add rev matching but make it switchable in all modes
Gen II Cayman S
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