[craig66]

I am new to Porsche and boxsters and recently approximately 3 months ago took possession of a base boxster I am having the most amazing time and in three months have clicked on 3000 miles. I broke in very conservatively and now as long as oil >180 degrees I am having amazingly spirited drives.
I do have a couple of questions regarding regarding the engine performance.

I am driving a base PDK

In second, third and fourth gear especially I find that above 3000 RPM acceleration kicks in in parabolic fashion and at 5000 RPM and above I am sucked back into my seat. In first gear however 80% of the time acceleration is fast but mundane and is linear and not parabolic and I don't get that thrown into my seat feeling. 20% of the time that will happen and I'm wondering how to use the Power curve to maximize more spirited acceleration in first gear. Interestingly in second gear I will occasionally get that same mundane feeling although 85% of the time it is parabolic and amazing.
I can really figure out what I am doing differently in the two situations to result in those different responses but especially first I find besides getting me moving such that second can take over all it does is make a lot of noise without much passion




Engine breaking:
Led to believe that this was something really important in days gone by and that with newer brakes that it is not only not needed but actually stresses the engine.
Since Brake pads are a lot cheaper than engine parts should not be done excessively
Is this Fact or fiction.
If Fact I am assuming that downshifting at 3-4 K to be ready to accelerate if traffic moves or lights change would not constitute engine breaking and on the contrary is healthy to prevent lugging or being out of gear when the lights change
My personal thought is fiction and that the engine can more than handle breaking but yes it is also more than acceptable to rely on breaks alone

PDK down shifting in manual.
As stated above I when driving and slowing I will usually downshift in the 3K range to aid with engine breaking and also to be ready to accelerate when traffic opens up or if light changes but occasionally if I am coming to a red light that is going to be a long wait and I am essentially free wheeling and rolling to the light I will allow the PDK to drift down by itself. At those times I am ALWAYS OFF the throttle and always breaking and so I am not lugging the engine and so revs are at around 500to 1000 and essentially free wheeling. Is it okay to let the PDK drift down by itself to 1 or should I be either going into neutral or down shifting myself. The PDK is presumably downshifting to prevent as stall.

Thanks

Craig

 

[JazzCatGab]

I think what you are feeling in first and sometimes second gears are the lack of turbocharger torque below 2.4K RPMs (or where ever the turbo kicks in) that is typical for our 2.0 engines. I have a manual so I blip the throttle just before taking off in first and it helps, but not sure what PDK folks do, or can do. For second gear, you can just be consistent in winding out first a little further so second comes in when you get to the better torque range.

As far as your engine braking questions, our engines and brakes are so much more sophisticated than when you HAD to engine brake on the race course, particularly, but also around town. I think the issue is that brakes are so much better now that you don't need to add additional engine wear to the mix by engine braking, so why do it? However, I think it is a lot less harmful to modern engines to use engine braking than with cruder engines of the past. To me, the question is somewhat moot because of this. Being relatively ancient, old habits die hard and I like a little trail braking on the race course, AND on the street when a hairpin lures me in.

Regards your third observation on downshifting at lights etc., I'm with you on thinking downshifting earlier than the PDK isn't a bad thing, for as I noted above, you will get quicker, more satifying response if your RPMs are already up.

All of this is IMHO and so the important thing is to do what you think best. I, personally, wouldn't sweat it.

 

[DriveInHouston]

You will not break the engine by engine braking. Downshifting the PDK in preparation for stopping at the light is a personal preference. Just be careful NOT to downshift a fraction of a second after the PDK does... A few times I downshifted, but the PDK beat me to it and ended up from 3d to 1st with a pretty impressive rev-up to remember, so I won't do it again. If you beat the PDK to it, the PDK is not that dumb, it will not try to downshift...

 

[BlueNorther]

I've posted this on this forum before (and been lambasted by a couple of folks thinking I am dissing the car) but IMHO the base 718 MT is a dawg below 2.5K RPM, acceptable b/w 2.5 and 3 and is a hoot above 3K RPM (when aggressively pushing the throttle). And it sounds best up there. So I agree with your impressions. I just keep the RPMs up whenever I think I might need/want to accelerate quickly. I even down shift into 1st on slow corners to avoid the dead zone (my heal toe skills have definitely improved with this car!).

I like to to engine break just for the sound of it, PSE and sport mode activated of course. The engines are robust, I wouldn't worry about it, just keep on on the maintenance/oil changes. Have fun ... and don't check your gas milage

 

[craig66]

Thanks all for the responses:
I do agree that below 2K it is unusable and that above 3K is a total dream and since I live in the supra 2.5K range I have nothing but admiration and love for the car and the way it handles and my only regret is waiting so long to get one.

DriveinHouston, I know what you mean about the PDK taking me down at the same time I did and a couple of times landed up scaring the **** out of me as it shot the revs and noise up to 5K when I was not expecting it.

Jazzcatgab you are probably correct about it being a turbo issue and certainly the couple of times I have had it happen in second it was because it was an awkward shift or miss timed shift and perhaps had not maximized my first gear. First gear I am going to play around with and see if I can figure out why I get different responses but I do agree in it is likely just the turbo lag. If so I can totally live with it as I am only ever in first gear for 1% of my drive

Craig

 

[[email protected]]

In the lower gear you may be running into ECU based torque limiting, which can be changed with an AccessPort tune. The PDK can be reprogrammed to delete the kick down function as well as autoshiting.

 

[DriveInHouston]

...The PDK can be reprogrammed to delete the kick down function as well as autoshiting.

My gawd! They think of everything, don't they?

I think I'd prefer the privacy of my own throne, PDK or not...

 

[craig66]

So been playing around on an empty industrial site.

It appears that I am getting to around 7000 RPM at around 39 MPH in first gear. At that point, shifting into second the acceleration for second and third is sublime and parabolic.

Searched to find what sort of a reference there is for what speed is attainable in first gear but could not find that.

I want to attribute it to turbo lag but at the same time not sure why I should not feel it "kick in" like it does at >3K revs in second, third and above. Maybe that is just a feature of first as it is a gear aimed mainly at breaking the inertia of a non moving 2 ton car.

Joshua: is that a setting that Porsche could change, look into or is that an after market change.

DriveinHouston: I wonder if that options comes with alcantera toilet seats

Thanks

 

[DriveInHouston]

DriveinHouston: I wonder if that options comes with alcantera toilet seats

The auto feature can give nightmares just thinking about it...

 

[[email protected]]

My gawd! They think of everything, don't they?

I think I'd prefer the privacy of my own throne, PDK or not...

LOL

 

[[email protected]]

Joshua: is that a setting that Porsche could change, look into or is that an after market change.

DriveinHouston: I wonder if that options comes with alcantera toilet seats

Thanks

One misspelled word... you guys!

This is something we can tune with the COBB AccessPort:

Cobb Access Port

DESCRIPTION Throw away your gauges!! The new in-cabin mountable Accessport V3 has a large, full color, higher resolution screen which allows you to monitor up to six parameters in real time. Fully customizable from the look (multiple bezel colors), layout (set up a race, street or dyno gauge...

www.arcflashllc.com

 

[Viffermike]

I'm just throwing this out there as a potential cause for the 'lag' you describe, @craig66 :

Might it be traction control? One of the onboard 'nannies' that can't be defeated?

Think about it: In first gear, the 718 produces a boatload of torque. The PDK slips to get the car underway already as part of its design -- and some of the uneducated out there think this is 'lag', too.
(I'm not saying you're one of those at all; I'm just saying some think ANY perceptible drivability cushion that they can't control is because of the turbo system not being as responsive as they'd like).

Also, the 'standard' turbo in the 2.0 doesn't have the 'mild' boost capabilities that the VTG turbo in the 2.5 has -- which, I might add, only provides less than 30 ft. lbs more torque and boost levels that are 6-8 PSI below the 2.0 turbo's peak.

Remember that Porsche designs these cars to perform at high levels, but also designs them to be operated by relatively naive drivers on public roads. These are not track-prepped cars. These are commercial road cars. it only makes sense that Porsche make them as tractable as possible for drivers who don't know, and don't care, what the heck 'lag' is.

 

[craig66]

Mike, that definitely makes sense. Truth of the matter is that it is something I can live with but more wanted to understand what was happening and also make sure that there was no defect in the car.

Truth be told I am in first gear for 1% of my drive and so I can live with subpar "off the line" acceleration. As others have stated we did not necessarily buy these cars to be the fastest off the line. The rest of my drive is spent in gears 2-6 and with Revs greater than 3K and in that spot it becomes very apparent to me why not only I bought a porsche but also why for most of us the 2.0 is more than adequate.

I am actually spending the day at the porsche experience in Atlanta next week and will have the chance to learn a bit more about my car and also speak to the "experts" and will report back anything of note

 

[GregW]

<snips>
Truth be told I am in first gear for 1% of my drive and so I can live with subpar "off the line" acceleration. As others have stated we did not necessarily buy these cars to be the fastest off the line.

If you look at the torque and power curves you will see that neither really develops much under 2000 rpm. If you want fast off the line, then give it revs.

In terms of why 1st and 2nd don't come on strong later, I'll suggest that in those gears the basic acceleration is so good and the time in gear so short that the increase just isn't that noticeable.

Car & Driver got a 0-60mph time of 4 seconds for the base Boxster PDK (no SC) and that really doesn't leave much time to notice anything but "CHANGE GEARS NOW". ?

 

[Viffermike]

I am actually spending the day at the porsche experience in Atlanta next week and will have the chance to learn a bit more about my car and also speak to the "experts" and will report back anything of note

I did the PE at PEC Atlanta, too. It's a HOOT. You'll love it. (And learn a boatload about your car, too!)

 

[DriveInHouston]

Can you go to a PEC post facto or do you have to arrange the event on purchase day?

 

[craig66]

It does not have to have anything to do with a car purchase.
There are several slots per day, each and every day and anyone with a license can come and drive.
You choose the day you want to come, what time slot(s) you want and what car you want to drive
The Boxster and Caymans run $365 for 90 mins and the higher the performance of the car the higher the price.
They suggest doing one slot a day but I am flying in from NJ and want to maximixe my time and so I am doing two slots.

I am doing the Boxster base and the Cayman GTS to get a sense of how to handle the extra power and in turth how that power plays out. I was thinking of doing the Base and Carrera but in reality I really think I am a boxster/cayman kind of guy both from a mid engine and price point of view and so for the moment dont want to muddy the waters

When you tie it in with a purchase you essentially are just buying a slot prior to or after getting your car but by no means is it restricted to car buyers only.

 

[hume]

I've heard that engine breaking generates less wear and strain on an engine than simply accelerating so if you are comfortable accelerating hard then engine breaking should not worry you at all. Any experts willing to chime in on this?

 

[DriveInHouston]

I've heard that engine breaking generates less wear and strain on an engine than simply accelerating so if you are comfortable accelerating hard then engine breaking should not worry you at all. Any experts willing to chime in on this?

Depends on how aggressively you downshift. I had a room-mate in the 70s who would throw his VW Beetle in a drift by downshfting to 1st when starting a turn to break adhesion (no power to power slide). He did it beautifully until the time that a rod went through the piston and the Beetle was sold for parts!

'It just had a new battery...' he lamented!