11/06/2008, 5:23 PM
Performance
Truly versatile: Porsche 911 Carrera 4 with PDK allows front wheel disengagement
Porsche’s heavily revised 911 Carrera with the all-new dual-clutch Doppelkupplungsgetriebe transmission (thankfully abbreviated PDK) is a fine performance machine as Leftlane reviewer Mark Elias discovered. And, as our friends at Garage419.com recently pointed out, the all-wheel-drive Carrera 4 makes a further case for itself by allowing drivers to select whether power is distributed to just the rear or all four wheels.
Enthusiasts have long been divided on whether rear-wheel-drive is the ultimate for corner-carving or if having power sent to all four wheels makes rear-wheel-drive a thing of the past. Certainly there are merits for both - rear-wheel-drive in a rear-engined sports car makes it a bit of a handful for novices but rewards seasoned drivers with classic Porsche handling. All-wheel-drive gives a more predictable drive as well as all-weather-capability for those who use their 911s year-round.
Want the best of both worlds? Simply buy a 2009 Carrera 4 with PDK and pull up on the handbrake lever to the first detent. Not only will this not engage the handbrake, it will disengage power to the front wheels, effectively giving you a (slightly heavier) rear-wheel-drive 911.
Thanks to our friends at Garage419.com for the tip.
11/06, 5:33 PM
posted by:
pzimet
Whoa. Nice…too bad it’s only w/ PDK, I’d never get it w/ anything but a stick.
11/06, 5:46 PM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Damn, Porsche offers this? Wheels that disengage?
Honda offered this on their Civics and had to recall 200,000 units for it.
11/06, 5:57 PM
posted by:
christianboy10
Doppwho?Who the hell will be able to prononce that word.
11/06, 5:57 PM
posted by:
MitchL
Thats cuz Honda sucks compared to Porsche + the AWD system on a Porsche distributes 100% of the power to the rear wheels UNTIL there is slippage…
11/06, 6:14 PM
posted by:
928dreamer
Who can pronounce it? LOL I don’t know……Germans maybe?
11/06, 6:17 PM
posted by:
ckron247
Once again Porsche proves to be very initiative and staying at the top of their game. Thats is a fantastic option. AWD for everyday driving, RWD for a day at the track. Porsches Carrera 4 ACTUALLY has full time AWD. Porsche Traction Management (PTM), comprising permanent all-wheel drive with an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch, an automatic brake differential (ABD) and anti-slip regulation (ASR).
Mayer, When did honda ever offer any AWD system on a Civic, or even wheel that disengage? Maybe on the Pilot, not the civic.
11/06, 6:28 PM
posted by:
A4
should have put locking hubs on the front wheels like an 89 F350
11/06, 6:31 PM
posted by:
Rafa LL
Stop complaining about the ridiculous long word… that’s why it is abbreviated to PDK.
· Now that’s technologic evolution.
11/06, 6:38 PM
posted by:
ckron247
Ha HA. That would be funny. Moving forward Porsche is going to use manual locking hubs from the old fords on all AWD cars and SUVs. Now that’s innovation!
11/06, 8:03 PM
posted by:
howsmydriving
I heard a rumor that Audi is going to offer a system that disengages the rear wheels. This is to show their allegiance to torque steer.
11/06, 8:07 PM
posted by:
kitko
What’s new?
Engaging and disengaging front or back wheels on a 4×4 car has been available for ages. Even the Lada Niva had that, acutally an inheritance from old Soviet military vehicles.
Modern systems do the same, transfer traction from and back from 100:0 or 0:100 to 50:50, depending on circumstances….
VW calls the system Haldex clutch, it’s available in VW, Skodas…, Mazda 6 MPS, CX-7 and past JDM-only 4×4 versions of Mazda 3 had similar system…
11/06, 9:00 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
Wow, no one got Mayer’s joke. I nearly fell out my chair with laughter when I read it. That was funny as hell.
It’s not as funny when it has to be explained, but I’ll go ahead and do it:
Honda recently recalled 182,756 Civics because of faulty wheel bearing that could fail and cause a front wheel to fall off, or “disengage.” http://www.leftlanenews.com/honda-recalls-182756-civic-sedans.html
.
.
See? Now, it’s not that funny.
11/06, 9:22 PM
posted by:
ckron247
Whats new is that this technology is now on a high performance sports car. Sure trucks have had it for quite sometime now. But to see that used on a porsche which will now give drivers the option to switch between AWD and RWD is a great feature. Thats great if you have the ability to take it to a track or just open it up on a clear highway somewhere. No one said its brand new technology, its just a new clutch system for porsche. I think its a great advancement for their cars. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Lambo following with similar clutch for the Gallardo.
11/07, 3:50 AM
posted by:
vortec4200
PDK stands for Porsche Doesn’t Know what the hell to call it.
11/07, 10:58 AM
posted by:
mayer_ray_nagin
Thanks Beatus. At least one person got the joke.
By the way, people, seriously, if you all love Porsche’s Bimmers, and Benz’s, learn some german. Doppelkupplungsgetriebe is actually very easy to pronounce and is certainly no tongue-twister. But as a note to LLN and anyone else here, it translates directly as “Double Clutch Transmission” so when you say “dual-clutch Doppelkupplungsgetriebe transmission” you are being redundantly redundant, get the drift?
11/07, 12:43 PM
posted by:
Z06ified
Handbrake activation for this? That’s is WEIRD. Would it kill them to install a button on the console for this feature?
11/07, 7:47 PM
posted by:
brocky
Amazing.
11/08, 6:08 PM
posted by:
silviumc
I can pronounce Doppelkupplungsgetriebe and I’m not German. Not American either
It’s not that hard, it means “double coupling gearbox”, just without the space between the words. And yeah, quite a nice feature.