Tips to Make Your Porsche PDK Dual-Clutch Transmission Last
The PDK automated, dual clutch manual transmission can shift much quicker than you could hope to with a conventional stick. But don't be the guy who blows his tranny because he doesn't know the proper way to treat it.
1. Don't Put It in Neutral When You Stop
Dual-clutch transmissions are different than the traditional manuals and automatics we're used to, and if you drive a Porsche with one of these new transmissions, your bad habits might result in an expensive repair bill down the road. Thankfully, our friends over at Engineering Explained put together this handy video outlining five things you should never do in a dual-clutch transmission equipped vehicle.
The first tip? You might think that you need to shift into neutral when you come to a stop sign or red light, but you don't. It seems to make sense, because you'd think motor can't rotate with it in gear and the wheels not turning, but engineers are smart enough to have the computer disengage both clutches automatically as you slow down and stop. Neutral is totally unnecessary.
2. Don't Take Your Foot off the Brake on a Hill
With a traditional automatic transmission, it's perfectly fine to take your foot off the brake on an incline, because the torque converter keeps spinning and there's usually enough torque at idle to keep the vehicle from moving. With a dual-clutch transmission, the clutches will slip if you try to use the motor to overcome gravity, which generates heat in the clutch pack. This can lead to premature wear. Multi-plate and wet clutches tend to do a better job of absorbing heat, but it's still unnecessary, so just keep your foot on the brakes and let them do their job!
3. Don't Creep in Traffic
For those who drive traditional manuals, you know how much inching forward in traffic sucks. For those who drive a normal automatic, you probably let your foot off the brake every time the car in front of you moves an inch. If you have a dual-clutch transmission, however, this is a bad idea. Slowly creeping forward means that the clutch might not fully engage, which again can lead to premature wear. Obviously if there is traffic, you have to inch forward, but if you're looking to maximize your transmission's life span, try not to do it as much. Wait until there is a substantial gap, so you can drive a few feet and let the clutch engage fully.
4. Don't Shift While on the Gas or Brakes
With a dual clutch transmission, don't manually upshift with your foot on the brake pedal, or downshift with your foot on the gas. This won't cause damage, but it won't necessarily help matters either and may confuse the computers. This is because dual-clutch transmissions are able to preselect the next gear, and anticipate which it thinks you're going to choose. So for example, if you are accelerating in second gear, the transmission has already cued up third, and is just waiting to crossfade the clutches. This is why dual-clutch transmissions are so fast, but they also need to be able to predict which gear you're going to shift into next. So if you go against the norm, the transmission will get confused and a delay in gear changes occurs.
5. Be Careful When Launching Your Vehicle
This doesn't apply to all dual-clutch transmission equipped vehicles, but in some cases, you don't want to keep your foot simultaneously on the gas and brake pedal any longer than necessary. Once you get your revs up, you'll want to release the brake as soon as possible. Otherwise, the clutch may be trying to engage and heat builds up fairly quickly.
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