[artsbest]

Are these GM people testing these units or outside personnel?

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by carsismeZ06

Matching the PDK on manually-selected shifts would only be possible with a dual clutch unit, of which GM currently doesn't offer. They say that the 8L90 transmission is as fast as the PDK, but I am doubtful. At the end of the day it's still a traditional automatic unit.

Using a conventional automatic makes sense for the Corvette's and some automatic Camaro's as you gain some smoothness over a DCT, but you sacrifice the immediacy of manually-selected shifts.

The PDK truly is an incredible transmission, and I hope in the near future GM can come up with their own DCT to match other manufacturers. Manual transmissions are great and almost everyone is going to prefer them, DCT's are faster and make for faster lap times on track.

OMG...I haven't seen one of my concept photoshops in forever...

In on-topic news...does Porsche's PDK suffer from that low-speed jutter than many DCTs experience?

[GrimReaperSS]

Mr. Wyndham: I spoke with the Porsche tech at my shop, he stated that he doesn't get any complaints of that. Only that on a lot of earlier cars, like a '10 Panamera, that customers feel like the car rolls back too much before moving. It doesn't engage fast enough for them, like an automatic trans would that they are used to. That also falls into what I stated earlier how it seems to wind out the RPM's quite a bit before moving. Just the way it is.....

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by GrimReaperSS

Mr. Wyndham: I spoke with the Porsche tech at my shop, he stated that he doesn't get any complaints of that. Only that on a lot of earlier cars, like a '10 Panamera, that customers feel like the car rolls back too much before moving. It doesn't engage fast enough for them, like an automatic trans would that they are used to. That also falls into what I stated earlier how it seems to wind out the RPM's quite a bit before moving. Just the way it is.....

Grim Reaper, thanks for the input. There are many cases of a DCT (perhaps not Porche's) stuttering at low speeds because it doesn't have the smooth engagement of a torque converter. It's one of the reasons some companies aren't using them across the board, just yet.

In fact, I remember watching Top Gear USA, and Rutledge was driving a white Lamborghini through NYC. Every time he left a stop sign, or a light with a gradient..the car shook and jolted violently as the DCT was engaging from 0 mph. That's one of the reasons I thought to ask.

[GrimReaperSS]

I know the VW techs here have said they had complaints of their DSG transmission with a "clutch chatter" on take off.

[6spdhyperblue]

wasnt the DSG basically a pilot for the PDK?