Originally Posted by
corey r.
Useless in the turns?? SMG transmissions eat normal manuals alive on the twisty tracks. Look at the CSL it was only available in SMG.
When I have it in S5 or S6, and I am not careful, my passengers complain its shifting too hard.
The SMG can be adjusted to shift fast (S6) to verrry slow and easy (S1) If the car felt sloppy to you you probably had it in a very low setting.
If I remember right, you said you only took it around the block. Many people that take the car around the block may say the same thing you did. There is a learning curve to the SMG.
Who wins in races is important to me only in judging which is a "superior car"..however if I were to actually own said car, I'd want the most fun I could get out of it.
It was in either shift mode 4 or 5. I had very little time at all and since it wasnt my own personal car, I wasnt going to turn off traction control and be a dumbass with it, just see what it was capable of (so I didnt have it in S6 or whatever). I do approve of the differential though; I really miss having an LSD on my DD.
The funny thing about it all is that I was extremely disappointed about it yet its probably the best all around car I've ever been in..it felt like an extremely refined 5/3s scale Miata with better seats and steering wheel and such, among other things. Its definitely not fair for me to judge it comparatively considering that it had adapted to the owner's driving style, which clearly wasnt the style I was driving it in (though by no means dangerous).
The SMG could be faster, but I still prefer traditional manuals, especially with how often we'd have random SMG cars come in and have to reprogram it (and listen to it destroy syncros) and/or replace the hydraulic clutch actuator thing...
But yeah, the 997 Turbo tiptronic's 0-60 is 3.4 instead of the manual's 3.7..so its clear that manuals are at a disadvantage now.