First mod on new car: buttons bad / paddles good

"NervesOfThrill" (adrenalingus) 11/13/2014 at 23:26 • Filed to: None

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The decision by Porsche to use the push/pull buttons that are both the least intuitive mechanical apparatus I can recall and the source of metric tons of joy kill for new Porsche owners, will go down in the annals of Porsche history as a huge swing and miss up there with the IMS issue and 996 interior.

Swapping out the ugly button based steering wheel for the better looking and performing paddle steering wheel is basically a necessity and one week into my ownership it was 7 days past due.

So tomorrow is the install and I get to put it to the test at an AutoX event this Saturday. Can't wait to feel the difference.

Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney > NervesOfThrill 11/13/2014 at 23:36

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I still have no words for how bafflingly moronic the push/pull system is, especially given that it came from a company with more OEM motorsport experience than pretty much anyone.

Glad to hear there's a plug and play (I presume?) wheel swap to correct that, though.

Arben72 > NervesOfThrill 11/13/2014 at 23:41

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Great first mod. Luckily bmw had the knowledge to set up the paddles on my m3 correctly (unlike previous lesser models), yet I still swapped them out for much larger ones. It feels so much better to have something your whole hand can grab instead of a finger like those tinier oem ones.

Flat Six > NervesOfThrill 11/14/2014 at 00:02

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There is another way to fix that...it is called 6MT ;). Just kidding, enjoy your paddles.

Manuél Ferrari > NervesOfThrill 11/14/2014 at 00:57

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I guess they missed TipTronic so much that they decided its buttons were better than paddles, haha

theloudmouth > NervesOfThrill 11/14/2014 at 06:13

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I'll still never understand why, on top of that, is that when not using the paddles but using the shifter, Porsche makes you shift FORWARD to shift UP.... Seriously, of all the companies to understand the concept of you want knock the selector forward while braking and pull back while pushed into your seat and accelerating.

NervesOfThrill > Bob Loblaw Made Me Make a Phoney Phone Call to Edward Rooney 11/14/2014 at 08:25

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Mostly plug and play. Evidently you still have to pay the dealer their juice to reprogram the ECU to accept the paddles. So there's $125 for a 30 minute job...

NervesOfThrill > theloudmouth 11/14/2014 at 08:26

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Soooo many people hate this as much as you do. I agree. I rarely use the stick but the one time I did I nearly kissed the windshield during hard acceleration. That made me gun shy.

NervesOfThrill > Flat Six 11/14/2014 at 08:30

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I plan to track the car, a bunch, and nearly everyone I talked to said if that was the case then you had to go PDK. Plus when I test drove one it was clear that if I was going to continue to fat around and hit drive throughs during lunch I was going to wear a lot of food in my lap with the 6MT. It's my DD so I figured this made more sense.

Side note: when test driving I actually liked the 5MT in the base better than the 6MT in the S. The 5MT was as good a feeling shifter as I've laid hands on.

NervesOfThrill > NervesOfThrill 11/14/2014 at 14:46

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Just got the car back and the fun factor is 300% higher with the paddles. Cannot wait for the AuotX tomorrow now.

theloudmouth > NervesOfThrill 11/15/2014 at 09:35

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I just don't know why they got into the habit of it, having gotten used to BMW's (loaners, my two cars are both sticks) which have it "correct" I also have the same problem whenever I drive one.