Click above to watch Porsche's PDK gear box in action
Porsche's unveiling of the 2009 911 Carrera also came with the introduction of the new PDK seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox. It can shift 60-percent faster than the Tiptronic system, and reportedly helps the 911 S lap the Nurburgring eight seconds faster than the six-speed variant. Porsche has released a video explaining more about how the PDK works, showing off the dual wet clutches that are simultaneously connected to two gears so that when gear is engaged the next gear has been selected, essentially providing instantaneous shifts. Follow the jump to watch the PDK gear box in action and learn more about how the dual clutch system works.
[Source: Autoblog.it]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Henry @ Jul 17th 2008 9:10AM
Why is Porsche sticking to their guns on the buttons vs paddles? The most annoying thing about tiptronics (other than being slushboxes) are the buttons for changing gears instead of paddles. Are paddles at least going to be an option?
John R @ Jul 17th 2008 9:27AM
http://www.autocar.co.uk/VideosWallpapers/Videos.aspx?AR=233451&CT=V
Me too. Autocar wishes there were paddles also.
Dan @ Jul 17th 2008 2:05PM
In that video, in the cutaway view, what is that rectangular grated thing at the front right of the car? a heat exchanger?
gage @ Jul 18th 2008 3:37AM
No kidding, what's up with those oh-so-dainty girlie push buttons on the steering wheel?! Don't want to break a finger nail now, don't we. The perfect car for Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.
Paddles, man, that's what a real performance car would have with a double-clutch.
Porsche - the car (and SUV) for every woman.
John R @ Jul 17th 2008 9:21AM
"Now you see here 007, this may look like an ordinary Mont Blanc pen, however, you pull this lever..."
Brad @ Jul 17th 2008 9:22AM
I've never had the experience of using buttons rather than paddles, but I have to say that the buttons look awefully small. On a track it may be easy to miss the button.
Also if they're right where you rest your thumbs on the wheel, couldn't you end up shifting by mistake durring quick cornering?
dac @ Jul 17th 2008 10:54AM
Oddly enough you might actually be in automatic on the track anyways. At least with the GT-R and EVO's DCT's, many reviewers found it impossible to shift better than the computer and it's one less thing to worry about.
Cue the "enthusiasts" crying over the loss of driving skill and "feel."
Chase @ Jul 17th 2008 1:30PM
I use the sport mode with my DSG at the track. Its hard to do better than it, so I don't bother.
The only issue I've ever had with it is if you stomp the throttle coming out turn, it'll often shift down a gear and end up at 5,000 RPM or higher, which sucks because it only stays in that gear for half a second before switching back up. -- This can be mitigated by being softer on the throttle.
The buttons do suck though. I'd never use them at a track. My car, and I'd assume the Porsches, can manually shift with the gear lever, so if I used this feature at a track, that's the way I'd use it.
Tom DiBlasi @ Jul 17th 2008 9:34AM
If it selects the next gear while engaging the current gear what happens when you downshift?
Matt @ Jul 17th 2008 9:49AM
Same thing, just the next lower gear rather than the next higher. One clutch does the odd gears, the other does the evens. The computer pre-selects the "next" gear based on if you're accelerating or decelerating. It's pretty clever.
CH @ Jul 17th 2008 9:53AM
It's magic, it knows always what you going to do next even if you don't know yourself...
Tom DiBlasi @ Jul 17th 2008 10:19AM
Very cool. Thanks for the reply guys.
BigMcLargeHuge @ Jul 17th 2008 9:53AM
It feels like that guy's voice could successfully be used to sell you car insurance while you were having teeth drilled.
Quattrofan @ Jul 17th 2008 11:24AM
That Euro production values for ya!
Bob @ Jul 17th 2008 7:15PM
"It feels like that guy's voice could successfully be used to sell you car insurance while you were having teeth drilled. "
No no , that's the elf guy from the Matrix, "it will be hard to shift when you have no clutch Mr. Anderson".....
Alex @ Jul 17th 2008 10:10AM
I always thought Doppelkupplung was a tough one to pronounce, but i assumed that was because i'm a slack jaw from the states who learned Spanish in school. Then i head the narrator on the video mush-mouth through it and it made me feel better.
MyOpel @ Jul 17th 2008 11:27AM
The narrator pronounced it correctly.
Declan Moran @ Jul 17th 2008 10:34AM
stuipid buttons - 2 years there will be paddle behind the wheel, if not 1 year for the GT2/3 models
Porsche is, if nothing else, a dedicated follower of fashion
I think I might even avoid the purchase because of the steering wheel, knowing that Porsche would have to fix it eventually and deciding to wait for the inevitable replacement.
I've always thought that the perfect modern Porsche would be a Carrera S with a DCT set up, racy for the track, breeze around LA kind of car. But I'd want paddles, not buttons designed by the Covenant.
mk @ Jul 17th 2008 11:32AM
Actually, the buttons on the wheel seem different than the +- buttons from the tiptronic.
The PDK buttons have almost the shape of "paddles" where they extend above the wheel spokes.
and it looks like one is up, the other is down, instead of both on both sides.
so it kind of splits the difference between tip's buttons, and the F1-style paddles.
Paddles would still be cooler. Would not surprise me to see them possibly arrive in the aftermarket.
But the transaxle itself is bloody fantastic. Nothing truly revolutionary from Audis, and other dual-clutch automated transmissions (as opposed to automatic Automated isn't quite the same.)
But to see this on a Porsche, with a boxer engine, and everything else good about Porsche... it will likely be quite a hit.
I've thought this was the way to go for some time, on sporty cars. Manual transmission or automated transmission in place of hydraulic automatic transmissions. Leave the hydra-matics to luxury cars and appliances that don't ellicit such enthusiasm.
Have to say, the footage of the 911 cruising on that empty road... the 911 still looks bloody fantastic after all of these years.
Jon Brewer @ Jul 17th 2008 5:08PM
It's the same thing as the Audi/VW DSG(Direct Shift Gearbox). They just call it Porsche Doppel Kupplungen to make it sound 10000x more German or something. But honestly, if you look at it, same thing from the same company w/ two diff names.