I have been driving my 997 TT for about 6 months and notice some significant differences between engine performance and my 03 M5. I was looking for some " explanations" and some suggestions.

I live in a very hilly/ mountainous area. Lots of curves too. The behavior regards how to best shift. The M5 on a steep hill just requires that you let the clutch out slowly, and it just goes. However when shifting on the move, unless you match revs perfectly, the car will shudder a little as you let out the clutch. It as if the inertia of the current speed is high.

The TT is tricky on the hills. If you let out the clutch slowly it stalls. If it you touch the accelerator even a little, it sometimes shoots to 3500 rpm ...BAM, fast. I have started to let the clutch out just a tiny bit, just a hair of friction, and then gas clutch out rest of the way. Note this is only on really steep hills at lights or corners where you must stop. Also I note that shifting gears is much easier than the M5, and rev matching is not so critical. No bucking at all on 1-2 and 2-3 shifts.

Is this all because of the engine, when off boost essentially has minimal torque? I am not new to manuals, and in fact have driven cars to 70K + without needing a new clutch. Just trying to educate myself, and become a better driver. Any comments or explanations would be appreciated.

 

The M5 has certainly a much larger and torqueir engine then the turbo. The TT has a comparably small 3.6l 6 cylinder engine. Many people have to get used to driving a P-car from stand still. You will find many threads where people are either stalling (and cannot re-start the engine) or rev to high to get going only then to make the engine studder. As with everything practice makes perfect, find a nice ramp or hill with little traffic and just try it.

 

Morgantown is all hills, with almost no traffic, so I get plenty of practice. It is not that I am sliding down hills backwards, or stalling. I am just trying to improve my game.

It's not Porsche, because my 928 is more akin to the M5. With the less torquey engine of the TT (turbos not spooling) will 2000 revs damage the clutch?? I know on the M5, that 2000+ revs is really hard on the clutch. I was able to abuse an M5 at a BMW course so I know what the clutch smells like .

In some ways the TT is like launching my Jeep, gutless wonder that it is (for acceleration).

 

the other problem is they hydraulic clutch assist (not sure what M5 has or how it feels) - you lose a lot of feel in the clutch and it's much harder to modulate correctly - there's seemingly much less resolution than without it.

- chuck

 

didn't even think about that. Don't know the answer re the M5.

 

or you can toss it for a GT3

 

nah, wife says as long as it has backseats I can buy what ever I want.

 

I rarely start with a constant preasure on the throttle is more of a feather/blipping and let the clutch out. Same here with the backseats, the Cayman S as a toy was only acceptable by buying her the RS60 and both kids can go with us.

 

I think some of what you're seeing with the M5 comes from it being a heavier car (i.e. any shock to the drivetrain from the rev mismatch causes less of a transient acceleration to the car). Also, IIRC, there's a feature on the older M5s (and maybe newer too) that slows down the clutch as it re-engages, no matter how quickly you take your foot off the clutch. It was done specifically to make shifting smoother. Those combined make it a fairly buttery ride when you change gear.

On steep hills, are you holding the car on the handbrake? I always found the best hill-starts come from holding the handbrake, putting 1,500-2,000 rpm on the gas, ease out the clutch until I feel the car bite a little (and the revs dip), smoothly let down the handbrake, then gradually and simultaneously add gas and release the clutch. The last part is a muscle memory thing, so it just takes practice.

Try this: prop a matchstick behind your back wheel on a hill. If you can take off without snapping it, you're doing it right.

 

P-Mac, I disagree, about the heavier issue. The slowing or speeding up if revs aren't matched imply that the speed of the car will quikly mirror engine speed, rather than forcing engine speed to match car speed. I also notice this with engine breaking. When going down a hill, the M5 travels at whatever speed I hold the accelerator to. If I lift up on a steep hill, in low in 2nd or third gear, the cars slows down very quickly. The TT doesn't.

Also when in second gear, a hard push of the throttle, really jars you forward, much harder than the TT.