[ThreePedalEd]

I will be interested to read your opinion. The 4.0 is the first manual car I have had in about 25 years, so I don't have anything recent to compare it with. I have found absolutely no issue with the clutch engagement in my car.

Same here, no issue with my CGTS 4.0’s clutch engagement. And I don’t think it is significantly different in feel or engagement than my previous 981 Cayman S or 997 911S.

 

[ThreePedalEd]

The clutch is relatively weak on the 4.0, does not like abuse. You can burn it easily.

Curious as to what evidence you have of "relatively weak"? I'd agree that very few clutches like constant abuse or poor driving behavior, but from my nearly half century of manual experience, I found the clotches in my previous 911S and Cayman S to be solid. Much more so than Honda/Acura, Toyota and other Japanese makes. BMW was better, but still seemed too spongy to me. Also, when my 2014 Cayman S came up on its 4 year anniversary and I contemplated getting a CPO warranty, my service manager discouraged it, in part because it had a manual transmission. Even though a clutch is considered a wear item, he saw MORE PDK issues than clutch replacements over his 20+ years with Porsche.

 

[ThreePedalEd]

That's interesting, as the manual take rate in US 911's does not seem to be anywhere near 50% if you go by the for sale ads in Panorama. In the May issue there were 32 991/992 911's for sale. 24 were PDK. This doesn't count the Turbo's, which are all PDK. Maybe manual owners keep them longer, but 80% is pretty convincing.

Oh Steve....

24/32 = 75% not 80%.

Sorry, math police tendencies are hard to overcome. But at least you know I read your posts thoroughly.

 

[ThreePedalEd]

(In re: post #119. See my post "Allocation through Cartelligent" posted 23 hours ago.)

Every one of my cars since the original Mustang (purchased new in '64) has been shift-it-yourself. My '69 Lotus Elan which was my daily driver on a long SoCal commute, had, to put it charitably, a firm clutch action. My '21 Base Boxster is nothing like that. I also had two Elan Series 5's (i. e., Miatas) and I agree those had a rather light clutch action. The Honda S2000 I owned prior to the Boxster had a far better shifter and smoother clutch action than the Boxster. The Boxster's clutch is grabby, finding 1 between R and 3 is a constant problem, and frequent stalls resulting from almost no low end torque (similar to an RX-7) forced me to learn to apply much more throttle than I had been accustomed to needing off the line. Every time I read a reviewer's (and some poster’s here) comments about the Boxster's (insert superlative modifier here) shifter I realize that the writer had never driven an S2000.

I must acknowledge that with those r e a l l y l o n g cables that the Boxster can't possibly have a shifter anywhere near as good as the S2000 with its shifter mounted on the gearbox. The Boxster is, however, much better than my long gone ’56 Bug, and that had solid push rods all the way from the shifter to the transaxle. I compare the Boxster favorably with the Peugeots and Renaults I have driven. 😇

The '25 BGTS 4.0 I have on order will have three pedals so you can safely assume that I am happy with the overall owner experience.

I bought a new Honda S2000 in late 2001....as soon as the 2002 model came out with the glass (vs. plastic) rear window. Had it for 3 years and 24k miles.....wish I had stored it rather than sold it.

I would agree with you that it's **** near impossible to stall a Honda (or Acura) given their relatively soft and manageable clutches. And the super-short throw 6-speed in the Honda S2000 remains the pinnacle of all OEM shifters. However, the S2000's smooth clutch was also a weak point for the car as I could induce slight slippage in 3rd by trying to accelerate too hard from low rpms.

Saw almost an exact replica, including color, of my car at a recent PCA cars and coffee event.

 

[ThreePedalEd]

Same color, except mine was 2006. There have been times that I was sorry I sold it.

Yeah, not to turn this into a S2000 love-fest but a veteran Porsche engineer that I met at a PCA event a couple of years ago spoke extremely highly of the S2000. He said that the engine alone, was worth the price they charged for the car. ($32,600 in 2002). It took Porsche another 15+ years with the 991.2 GT3 to exceed the specific output of Honda's naturally aspirated 2.0 liter 9,000 rpm 240 hp engine (120 hp/liter). Your 2006 had the larger 2.2 liter 240 hp engine that redlined at "only" 8,400 rpm. to make it a little more daily drivable. Oh well, if you are ever in the DC area we can raise a toast to a great car.

Cheers

 

[ThreePedalEd]

There is absolutely no need to replace the shifter assembly, only if you want to keep the plastic factory shifter knob.

You will have better result and feel if you only replace the knob with a weighted aftermarket version that can be lowered to the same level as the GT4.

I am very happy with the GT4 short shift kit I installed in my GTS.

HOWEVER, had I known about simple weighted knob options, I certainly would have considered that alternative. Especially given that my DIY skills and anxiety are such that I had to replay the "Tommy Garage" installation video about a dozen times to make sure I didn't end up with 1-speed forward and 6 in reverse.

 

[ThreePedalEd]

I bought a 2020 with a manual trans three months ago and I'm going to sell it for a PDK for reasons (tall gear, pedal) everyone has mentioned.

You are certainly welcome to do as you wish, but not "everyone" agrees with those reasons.

The "tall gearing" is, IMO, a mostly relatively recently invented echo chamber for ignorance. Even your base Boxster is capable of 170+ mph. The 6-speed manual has the gearing spaced to provide optimal acceleration and maximum performance. As I have pointed out multiple times in various discussions, the manual transmission gear ratios in the 718 are identical to my previous 981 and maximum speeds in each gear are within a few mph of my former 2005 911S. Which, at the time, auto journalists unanimously praised as one of the best manual transmissions - specifically relative to gear ratios - ever made. What's happened since to change this? I'm guessing the new crop of mostly 20 and 30 something auto journalists grew up only being able to afford Miatas with a top speed of 120 and a lower revving engine that required you to hit redline three times on the way to 65.

As for the pedal travel complaint, that is honestly a new one for me. I've been active in my local PCA for 10+ years, been driving manuals since my first new car nearly a half century ago and I've never heard others complain or personally had an issue with clutch pedal or travel in any of my three Porsches. And at 5'7" and with a wife that's 5'1", if there was a too long of travel issue, we would be a test case. But whatever.....I also still can't figure out how somebody half my age finds LWBS difficult to get in and out of.

The good news for you is that you have a gorgeous car that you got at a great price. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, but hopefully it will find it's way to someone that appreciates Porsche's great manual transmissions.

P.S. Before you get the PDK, you might want to talk to "everyone" that has had $20k repairs/replacements. When my GTS was in for its three year service last week, I met one of those everyones with a 5 year old 911. Fortunately for him, the car was still under CPO warranty, but he was lamenting that he didn't get a manual. Maybe you two could do a swap?

Seriously, I wish you the best. If I had room in the garage for another car, I might make you an offer. 😃

 

[ThreePedalEd]

It was measured multiple times that the GT4/Spydere shifter assembly has only a shorter shift rod, nothing else. Mechanics are the same.

From my own observations from replacing the OEM GTS with the GT4 short shifter, I believe that is correct.