vanHunks

Please forgive me if this topic has been covered before but I wasn't able to come up with a suitable search string.

I want to change the gear selection in manual mode on my PDK so that pulling the lever back changes up and pushing forward changes down - the way everybody else does it (including Porsche themselves, in their later models). Is there a simple means of achieving this ? In my mind's eye I see it as a matter of swapping two wires or connecters but I'm confident it's not that simple. I drive other vehicles which use the conventional approach and want to stop having to worry about this.

wjk_glynn

Can't specifically help you, but it sounds like an interesting project.

In the US, new PDK shifter assemblies run about $700, but are in the low $200 range (used) on eBay.

You could try sourcing a used one from a dismantler/breaker in SA, and experiment on it without huge financial investment.

Karl.

Tj40

Simple answer is no it's not that simple.
The PDK shifter senses shifts with some hall effect (magnetic) sensors, the ECU then sends a CAN bus message to the PDK controller to make the shift.

There is no way to just swap a couple of wires around without screwing up the rest of the shifter functions the only way you can do it is to either;
Replace it with a GT3 shifter as I believe these had the shift pattern the other way around - expensive but I think at least one person has tried this.
Reprogram the ECU - if you can get in and hack the codebase this could be done by just changing the 2 lines of code relating to the up down shifting - unless you are a coder/hacker pretty difficult to do and no-one has publicly tried this to my knowledge
Third you could try to intercept the CAN bus outlets and inset a small programmable controller to send the opposite command to the PDK controller. Some simple programming but you would need to sniff the commands going over the CAN bus to make sure you were doing the right thing. Again no-one has tried this as far as I am aware but it's probably easier and cheaper than the options above.

I just fitted the sport steering wheel and use the paddles - much easier!!

vanHunks

Thanks for the responses. I did some more searching and found a thread on Rennlist from 2016, including the contribution from Tj40 - apologies for making you have to repeat yourself.

I should perhaps have made it clear the car is a 2011 GTS and has the sports (?) steering wheel, with paddles. I normally change up with the paddle but like to use the lever to go down, particularly when turning the wheel sharply - too many years of driving manuals.

PV997 on this forum suggested Cobb might have something that works - I couldn't see anything specific on their Website so have asked for their assistance. If anything useful transpires I shall add to this thread.

It's odd that Porsche, who normally get so many things right, dropped the ball on this one - the original ridiculous steering-wheel buttons, the problem I'm having here and now the absurd gear-"switch" on the 992.

Astur

As they say "Different Strokes for Different Folks" since I'm quite happy with my 2009 C2 with PDK that forward shifts up and back shifts down. Maybe it's because from the beginning and until I got used to it I just visualized the shifter as being on a vertical plane where "UP" shifts up and "Down" shifts down.

I also like the shift buttons better than the paddles because it allows to have all my fingers on the steering wheel all the time.

Here's what I do: While hooking both my thumbs on the steering wheel, I use my left fingers on the BACK LEFT shift button to downshift and my right thumb over the FRONT RIGHT shift button to upshift. Needless to say both these options work for me and I wouldn't change them at all... but hey, that's just me!

Ironman88

No offense to the OP, but the key limiting factor in all of this is not the design of the component in question - it's the reluctance to adapt by the driver.

Devote a little bit of time to train yourself to adapt.

Will cost you zero money.

Astur

Ahhh, Albert would be proud of you for those words of wisdom!

BucketList

Until you have multiple cars that are all different. For instance my Acuras are like the Porsche, back=down, fwd=up, then I get in one of the Mazda's and it's backward. If you drove the same call all the time, then sure, learning it is fine. But it would be nice if the manufacturers all let you program the direction. It couldn't be that hard.

lexhair

I'm a recent convert to driving the buttons on the pdk. At least in my 997.2. I only drive the buttons in my 2014 Panamera 4 if it's snowing out (and with winter tires, of course).

It seems like the best of both worlds to me. Auto shifting into 1st at stops is a really nice feature IMO. Shifting when I want to when driving. As this is my first 911 and driving pretty much automatic exclusively, I'm not used to seeing the tach needle on the right side, even in sport mode. I don't even bother with the sport mode button much anymore because the roads around the metro NYC area are bad to the point where regular PASM is stiff enough for my joints. I'm getting more adventurous and the 911 seems happy to wind out. Who am I to argue?

1990nein

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Tj40

No problem, happy to help, its what makes these forums great :-)

jayzbird

I researched this extensively, contacted Cobb (“No”). Never found a solution. Retraining your brain is easy if you have just one. I’ve got an M3 that shifts the right way, and going back and forth is tricky. First world problems...