[kmacuk]

[FONT=&quot]We are still waiting on our Cayman and have had only had 3 extended drives, however I drive an S-Tronic (nothing like PDK) dual clutch Audi and it took me many months to get used to the switch from a manual, which I had resisted chaging to for a long time, however the desire for all wheel drive Quattro pushed me down this road. I am still not 100% converted, but eventually I have found a semi-auto driving style I am happy with; typically using the paddles for downshifts rather than heavy braking and using full locked manual on the motorway. For spirited driving I go mostly paddle over-rides, again mostly for downshifts into corners etc, then allowing the auto to take on the up-shifts. I love it for crawling traffic and normal day to day A to B driving.
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[FONT=&quot]I am interested to hear from those who have much greater experience than me with PDK as to how they typically drive. Have you accepted PDK knows best or adopted a sinilar approach to me? If you came from manual did you too you struggle with the change?
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[FONT=&quot]Those who have had extended ownership - have you changed over time how you drive a PDK?
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[RGM718]

My first Cayman was an 08 Cayman S 6MT, my second was a 2012 Cayman R 6MT, my third was a 2014 Cayman PDK, my fourth was a 2016 Cayman PDK, and I recently took delivery of my 2019 Cayman, a PDK. My wife and I were long time manual transmission people..............I/we have never looked back. I generally leave it in auto mode but do occasionally do a down shift with the paddles. I rarely use manual mode except during break in when I want to do some spirited acceleration and have control over staying under 4,000 RsPM. I ran the 14 and 16 for some laps at Sebring and in those cases, I did use manual and paddles. For what it is worth.......

 

[johan]

My CS is my DD and i am in manual mode 90% of the time and i mostly use the stick for shifting.
If 718 had a 7 gear manual i would have bought that and i love the 7 gear!
For spirited driving i use the paddles and auto to the point when the engine is warm.

 

[kmacuk]

[FONT=&quot]My wife was dead set against a dual clutch and said her next car must be a manual or she would just keep the TT, so we went to see the Cayman - no manuals available, but because my wife loved the look of the car so much we went for a PDK test drive. After the drive the manual never mentioned again, the PDK was just so great. That’s what we have ordered and can’t wait. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]One downside for me with PDK is that it wants to change gear with only the slightest bit of throttle encouragement, sometimes I am happy to use the torque rather than the revs and a downshift when looking for a more relaxed drive, it has loads of mid range and manual mode gives more access to it.[/FONT]

 

[duegatti]

I paddle shift almost exclusively, in manual mode. If I need a hand for something, I'll flip it into automatic Drive mode, which never quite does things exactly as I would. I found it very easy to transition from a conventional manual transmission car. I have never owned a conventional automatic (I have a Murano with CVT).

 

[GregW]

I was a manual driver for 50+ years and have had no trouble adapting to the PDK.
I use Normal for city and motorway, Sport for fun with occasional manual over-ride when I can anticipate I'll want a lower gear but don't want to push the accelerator enough to shift down. This is also smoother than a kick down shift.

It did take a while to know how much 'extra' I could get without the PDK downshifting. I also appreciate the extra hand on the wheel and the focus on the road and steering that the PDK allows.

 

[Scubaregs]

I always swore I would only have a manual. When buying mine I was either looking at the 718, new, or a used 981. Plan was to drive the 718 PDK and a manual 981. Drove the PDK and that was it, decision made.

Have the mini as a DD, so still drive manual. Not long after getting the 718 I did stall the mini approaching a set of lights as I forgot to use the clutch.

 

[Beardy]

I leave mine in auto and then just tap in with the paddles when I feel like it . That PDK box is a beautiful thing
My daily driver is a manual though.

 

[My718isPorsche#5]

I use auto but use the downshift paddle to keep out of 7TH gear unless I'm cruising above 75 mph.

 

[GGG]

For normal driving the PDK is in the right gear 99% of the time.
The two "problems"
1. I find it to be a bit too soon in 7th sometimes (think at 1700 rpm, that's just too little revs for comfort)
2. Very occasionally it guesses wrong at what you want to do. Like change lane and floor it. Sometimes it just takes like half a second to select a lower gear and get going. I think this is caused because you don't give enough throttle and the car just wanted to upshift at that exact moment you gave throttle...

Anyhow, you can overcome it easily by occasionally pulling on of the pedals.
A PDK can be a bit jerky when comming to a halt and is not as smooth as some auto's when you creep along. You need to alter your driving style a bit, but it's very natural and the jerkyness will stop.



That all being said, it is by far the best gearbox I have ever driven. The downsides are so small compared to other auto boxes and can be overcome by you learning to drive it. It's a living thing, a brilliant one.

 

[nineball]

coming from a long line of manuals the pdk beats them all (and i still have 3 other vehicles that are manual). i have run on several tracks and let the pdk do it's thing - it can shift faster, and better, than any human ever could. it does learn though as i have, from time to time, changed the gears while on track using the paddles and the pdk will go into the same gear the next time i go around that spot on the track, even if it is not the optimum gear for that moment in time.