[TheLip]

Yesterday I took in my '18 718C for the squeaky seat issue. They gave me a loaner '18 718C. The only options it had was PDK, 20" turbo wheels, Bose audio, and 14 way adjustable seats. Here is what I learned getting to spend the day with the loaner.

1. PDK will never be for me, but now that I got to play with it a bit, I have a new found respect for it. In regular driving I find the shifts to be annoyingly lazy, whether in full auto or using the paddles. However, drive more aggressively, and the shifts become lightning quick. The paddles were fun to play with, for about 5 minutes, and then I stuck it in Drive and left it there for much of the remainder of the time.

2. I really wish my car had a 7th gear. It makes freeway driving (which I do a lot of) so much more pleasant as the engine hums along at 500 to 750 fewer RPMs, which is so much quieter.

3. Keyless entry and drive (which I have on my car and didn't on the loaner) is worth every penny. I missed it each time I entered or exited the loaner.

4. The 20" turbo wheels are gorgeous! They fill the wheel well so much better than my 18" wheels. However, they definitely made the ride more flinty on uneven pavement, and I thought the car kind of crashed over bumps that my car would take without a problem. Still, it is not as bad as I would have thought, so maybe next time I will go with the larger wheels.

 

[aeronca65tl]

…..4. The 20" turbo wheels are gorgeous! They fill the wheel well so much better than my 18" wheels......

The 20" wheels do look nice.

But the outer diameter of the tires are the same on the 18", 19" and 20" wheels. None of them really fill the wheel wells more than the other sizes. Although it might give that appearance if the car was also lowered.

The larger diameter wheels have shorter sidewalls (and hence, lower aspect ratio numbers) to compensate for the bigger wheel.


I have a PDK car and I agree with you about it's demeanor. It has a sort of "lazy" feel unless you start pushing things....then it gets with the program.

 

[Nithros]

The thing you hate about the PDK - I like. It's laid back when I am just touring (smooth/lazy with no abrupt shifts) and wakes up when I am in the other more aggressive driving mode. I also like like the option of turning off the PASM, PSE and etc. when I am just touring. Two cars in one. It seems to me like this behavior is not a limitation of the PDK but how Porsche programmed it to work.

 

[Porsche2018]

Interesting observations but I am a big PDK fan and I agree Keyless entry and drive is a nice feature. I also had occasion to compare my 19" and 20" wheels on 718s at the dealership and 20" wheels are unquestionably better looking. One thing I can say about the Porsche tires is they wear pretty quickly. I had 7300 miles on my 718 of which 2K was very sedate "break-in" driving and the remaining 5.3K was spirited but no tracking and when I traded my 718 they stated the "rear tires look weak". So I guess in-spite of not tracking the 718 my tires would probably only made it to around the 10K mark.

 

[RussellHodgson]

Did they fix the squeaky seat issue?

 

[TheLip]

Did they fix the squeaky seat issue?

The seat had been squeaking for weeks and this was my first chance to have them look at it. It was squeaking when I drove there. I handed my key to the tech who gave it to an assistant to move. I am by no means tall, but the assistant is a good 3 inches shorter than me. He gets in the car and adjusts the seat forward. When I get in the car to demonstrate the squeaking, it is silent. It will not make the noise, even on a test drive over the same road it squeaked on 5 minutes earlier.

Luckily, another tech had heard the noise on my prior visit so he confirmed that I wasn't crazy (at least about this). They had the car all day and couldn't make the seat squeak. So they checked all the bolts and lubed the key contact points.

As for me, I disabled comfort entry/exit to see if that may be the culprit. But it is good to know that at least a temporary fix is to slide the seat forward.

 

[rdmustang]

Yesterday I took in my '18 718C for the squeaky seat issue. They gave me a loaner '18 718C. The only options it had was PDK, 20" turbo wheels, Bose audio, and 14 way adjustable seats. Here is what I learned getting to spend the day with the loaner.

1. PDK will never be for me, but now that I got to play with it a bit, I have a new found respect for it. In regular driving I find the shifts to be annoyingly lazy, whether in full auto or using the paddles. However, drive more aggressively, and the shifts become lightning quick. The paddles were fun to play with, for about 5 minutes, and then I stuck it in Drive and left it there for much of the remainder of the time.

This! I've been told by so many people to try the PDK. I tried it as manual cars are hard to find. Everyone says to use the paddles. My Acura has paddles and a decent engine but I only used them on the drive home. I haven't found a desire to use them afterwards. Manual 4 life (or at least until they stop making them)

2. I really wish my car had a 7th gear. It makes freeway driving (which I do a lot of) so much more pleasant as the engine hums along at 500 to 750 fewer RPMs, which is so much quieter.

You think so much like I do. 7th gear would make the car much better.

3. Keyless entry and drive (which I have on my car and didn't on the loaner) is worth every penny. I missed it each time I entered or exited the loaner.

I got so many comments that keyless entry is such a bad idea because your car will be stolen. After having it I don't want to live without it.

4. The 20" turbo wheels are gorgeous! They fill the wheel well so much better than my 18" wheels. However, they definitely made the ride more flinty on uneven pavement, and I thought the car kind of crashed over bumps that my car would take without a problem. Still, it is not as bad as I would have thought, so maybe next time I will go with the larger wheels.

[/QUOTE]
I love all your comments but this one most of all. I ordered 20" wheels on my upcoming car and really hope I don't regret it. I'm sure I won't but it doesn't stop me from worrying.

 

[JakiChan]

This! I've been told by so many people to try the PDK. I tried it as manual cars are hard to find. Everyone says to use the paddles. My Acura has paddles and a decent engine but I only used them on the drive home. I haven't found a desire to use them afterwards. Manual 4 life (or at least until they stop making them)

Depends if you're going to track it. Having driven a PDK car HARD at the PEC LA I found it great. I wouldn't have hard nearly as much fun. It's also a safety issues. If you read the other forums there are always plenty of stories about overrevved cars.

I got so many comments that keyless entry is such a bad idea because your car will be stolen. After having it I don't want to live without it.

I think that risk is overstated. At least in the US.

 

[RGM718]

Thanks sharing your observations. My first two Caymans (08 CS and R) were 6MT, my last two PDK. I much prefer, for my driving, the PDK. I always drive in Sport Mode and find the shifts pretty rapid and crisp. My current Cayman, 2016 Base was ordered with the X73 to gain the 20mm lowered ride height. The 2019 Cayman Base just ordered is with PASM to get lowered ride height.

 

[ZuffenHouseRules]

PDK...laid back when I am just touring (smooth/lazy with no abrupt shifts)

I wonder if this is what many reviewers perceive and (mistakenly) attribute to the turbo-four as lag and/or lack of responsiveness. Because those comments have never made sense to me. Rather my experience matches that of Randy Probst. After tracking an S at Willow Springs for MotorTrend he said "I could not tell it's a turbo engine" (that was a PDK car too although likely he was doing sequential paddle shifts exclusively).

Now, my impressions are formed solely by my manual 2.5/VTG, but try as I might I can't find reported lag (or diminished responsiveness; or 'fall-off' around peak) despite coming off 3 straight n/a flat-sixes in prior 15 years.

 

[RGM718]

I test drove the 718 Base and S before ordering my 2019 Cayman Base. I also found little turbo lag. I drove in Sport mode to get the more aggressive throttle tip in and PDK shifting. In my configuration, I ordered PDK, PASM, Sport Chrono to get maximum flexibility in suspension response, throttle mapping and shifting.

 

[trusted]

PDK will never be for me, but now that I got to play with it a bit, I have a new found respect for it. In regular driving I find the shifts to be annoyingly lazy, whether in full auto or using the paddles. However, drive more aggressively, and the shifts become lightning quick. The paddles were fun to play with, for about 5 minutes, and then I stuck it in Drive and left it there for much of the remainder of the time.

I love the PDK. Just had a 2018 M4 for a week and honestly thought something is broken with the DCT it was so slow...but it's really because the PDK is sooo good the BMW dual clutch feels so bad.


But after over 2 years with PDK Porsches I feel it's getting a little old. I'm missing the manual - hence I'll order a MY'19 6MT 718 Cayman S. I want to keep both the PDK 718 Cayman and the 6MT 718 Cayman S...just waiting for the right moment to run this by my wife

 

[JakiChan]

I've never had PDK before. I've been driving manuals since 1997. My car has PDK and I'm excited for it, but I hope I don't get bored. I keep cars much longer than 2 years.

 

[Charles Brenner]

I,m with you on manual T. My 2 year old M4 has DCK paddles(daily drive) and I’m really not totally thrilled . Whereas my new CS is manual and what a fun ride. I have the 20 inch wheels but no keyless entry ( which I miss). Thanks for the comparison

 

[GTS]

The "comfort access" key never worked reliably on my BMW and I always used the fob to unlock the car, so it was an easy option to skip on my 718. Besides, it makes me grin like a little boy when I turn the key in the 718.

 

[aeronca65tl]

I wonder if this is what many reviewers perceive and (mistakenly) attribute to the turbo-four as lag and/or lack of responsiveness. Because those comments have never made sense to me...…...

I agree. I don't really see it.

If I put my PDK in manual mode and select 3rd at about 20 mph, I can stomp it and it just begins to accelerate. Of course, it gets better as the RPMs rise, but even at modest revs, there isn't really a "lag" per se. It actually feels pretty torquey and robust as if it has at least 4 liters.

I've driven a SAAB 99 Turbo, an Omni GLH and we owned an early WRX. So I know what *real* turbo lag is. The SAAB throttle was like a On/Off switch. It was fun but it seemed to take forever to spool up.

A buddy of mine has a carbureted turbo Corvair engine in a Devin. That thing has painful turbo lag.

 

[ZuffenHouseRules]

I agree. I don't really see it (turbo lag).

Well I trust that a real racing driver (Probst) is going to have a better sense of this than the average YouTube reviewer. Still, most curious as to the experience/impressions of others here.

But here's a scenario that may explain the recurring turbo-lag chatter in media:

Reviewer (or n/a Porsche owner on test drive) pulls out of the dealer lot onto urban streets or suburban roads. 718 is in Normal mode with PDK in full-automatic (defaulting to its Mild un-aggressive profile). At some point driver suddenly punches the throttle from low rpms, and PDK responds with a smooth/lazy downshift per current profile. Driver thinks "ah, there's the turbo lag we know all turbos have" and goes on to reach the track or rural roads where PDK self-selects aggressive profile as driver switches to Sport mode and manual sequential paddle-shifts. Razor-sharp PDK shifts and overall performance fail to dispel that early first impression of 'turbo-lag' (first impressions last!).

Of course this doesn't explain a perception of lag on manual cars; and based on my experience limited to manual S I can't help but wonder if the 2.5/VTG behaves slightly differently than 2.0 in this context.

But hey, in the whole world *we* are in the best position (as a forum of hundreds of full-time 718 drivers) to suss out the truest, most nuanced, best understanding of the 718's driving character by model and transmission. I've always felt that living with a car, over a long period of time, with lots of driving in different conditions and circumstances (with no agenda to entertain or impress readers/viewers), yields a deeper insight than even the most astute reviewer can glean from one drive. Same as acoustic guitars actually (my other passion thing) so maybe it's not so much a car thing as it is a phenomenon of The Review process.

 

[rdmustang]

Well I trust that a real racing driver (Probst) is going to have a better sense of this than the average YouTube reviewer. Still, most curious as to the experience/impressions of others here.

But here's a scenario that may explain the recurring turbo-lag chatter in media:

Reviewer (or n/a Porsche owner on test drive) pulls out of the dealer lot onto urban streets or suburban roads. 718 is in Normal mode with PDK in full-automatic (defaulting to its Mild un-aggressive profile). At some point driver suddenly punches the throttle from low rpms, and PDK responds with a smooth/lazy downshift per current profile. Driver thinks "ah, there's the turbo lag we know all turbos have" and goes on to reach the track or rural roads where PDK self-selects aggressive profile as driver switches to Sport mode and manual sequential paddle-shifts. Razor-sharp PDK shifts and overall performance fail to dispel that early first impression of 'turbo-lag' (first impressions last!).

Of course this doesn't explain a perception of lag on manual cars; and based on my experience limited to manual S I can't help but wonder if the 2.5/VTG behaves slightly differently than 2.0 in this context.

But hey, in the whole world *we* are in the best position (as a forum of hundreds of full-time 718 drivers) to suss out the truest, most nuanced, best understanding of the 718's driving character by model and transmission. I've always felt that living with a car, over a long period of time, with lots of driving in different conditions and circumstances (with no agenda to entertain or impress readers/viewers), yields a deeper insight than even the most astute reviewer can glean from one drive. Same as acoustic guitars actually (my other passion thing) so maybe it's not so much a car thing as it is a phenomenon of The Review process.

I'm no car expert but I was very put off by the 718 base and the amount of lag. I then drove a 718 S and felt no lag at all. I wanted to get a base but don't think I would have been happy with the lag I thought I noticed so I decided to get an S and eventually a GTS. I didn't even realize it was lag until after the test drive and I asked the dealer if what I experienced was lag and he confirmed it.

 

[GTS]

I think this is a complicated issue, particularly in a 6MT car. I can easily induce "lag" in my GTS, but it has more to do with poor gear selection than the turbo.

For instance, when approaching a round-about / traffic circle and yielding to other traffic, I might be barely rolling (~5 - 7 mph) when it's my turn to enter the round-about. Using first gear would mean a quick take off, but neccessitates a mid round-about shift to second if I don't want to be a jerk. Heading into that round-about in second gear means the car bogs or lags a for a few seconds while it builds revs. It's the same issue if I pass in 6th gear on the highway. Perhaps that's what some reviewers are sensing.

I can't speak about on-track performance, though I suspect none of this is an issue when you're running WOT on a closed circuit.

 

[RGM718]

Driving my 2014 Cayman Base and now my 2016 Cayman Base in 'normal' (non Sport) with the PDK and they are two completely different cars. For the performance I want, I always drive in Sport mode - no issues. So, when I test drove the 718 Base and S models, I tried 'normal' and S. Guess what........similar experiences in how they respond ala my 14 and 16. Thus, my 2019 ordered Cayman Base is optioned with PDK, PASM, Sport Chrono. I fully plan to use the Individual mode in SC to tailor the suspension and throttle/shift to my preference and will fully enjoy the spirited drive each and every time. Said another way, when driving my 2016 Base back to back with the 718 Base..........I had to depress the throttle further in the 2016 Base to approach the acceleration that I had with the 718 with much less throttle applied. This with both in Sport mode.