2002 C2 Tiptronic trans - any programming options?

[p0rsch3]

2002 C2 coupe, tiptronic trans, 29k miles, no mods... yet :)

Under normal "D" mode, I have noticed that by default the car starts out in 2nd gear from a stop. also, when cruising the transmission always rolls up two gears and I find myself on the brakes way too often.

On my now-departed Dinan 330i, I upgraded the tranny with the Dinan software which allowed the car to start from 1st and held the gears until a higher rpm had been obtained, and also downshifted the trans much quicker when slowing down.

Are there any software upgrades or programming tweaks avail for the 996 tiptronic?

I do know that the seller took the car to the local Dallas Porsche dealership for an inspeaction before we completed the sale (I just bought the car), and the dealer discovered that the tip control module was not functioning properly- So they replaced it.

(yeh, yeah.. I know.. A stick woulda been more satisfying, but hey I got a great deal and it's still fun.)

Thanks all in advance for any info that you might have-

Edited May 2, 2007 by p0rsch3

[Richard Hamilton]

There aren't any programming options for tiptronic. You will find that if you are in 'D' and hit the gas pedal fairly hard it WILL pull off in first. The control unit has several drivibg programs, depending on how agressively you are driving. There is some info in the owners manual, but see the excellent Service Information book in the Contributing Members section for a detailed description of the system. I always drive mine on the switches though, unless I am feeling incredibly lazy.

[p0rsch3]

actually- I found this out from the service information manual which describes the tiptronic operational characteristics:

? Warm-up map

A warm-up map which is activated at engine

temperatures < 32 °C is integrated in the

stepless shift map adaptation. In the warmup

map, the shift-up points are offset to

higher engine speeds, the transmission starts

in 1st gear and the torque converter lockup

clutch is opened. If the reverse gear is engaged

during the warm-up phase, the vehicle

starts in a short reverse gear. These measures

result in both the engine and catalytic

converter rapidly reaching their operating

temperatures.

Unlike previous transmissions, the new Tiptronic

transmission shifts back into the first

gear if the vehicle is started in first gear and

then stopped again. (umm, not really...)

In addition, if the selector lever passes

through "N" as it is moved to a different position,

the first gear is always engaged for approx.

one second, irrespective of temperature.

If the vehicle is driven off during this

time, the transmission shifts into the first

gear.

Now, this i have confirmed is a much perkier driving mode, but unfortunately the tip switched back to 'sloggy 2nd gear mode' and did not hold the gears as high after the engine temp gets to 1/4 on the guage.

Ideally, if there is some way to DIY a button that tells the signal wire to place the tip back into warm-up map, this would be stellar.

Try it out with your tip when it is cold- Do a drive-off in D, and you will see what I mean. It is a noticeable difference.

The point that I italicised above does not seem to work for me when the car is warm, only when the car is cold, so I'm not sure if this is really supposed to work or not after the engine temp is over 32c.

Can anyone out there assist with tracking down the signal wire that tells the tip when the engine is over x degrees? also need to know how this wire receives the signal and what type of signal it is..

I'm willing to test this mod out on my car, if it pans out this mod might benefit a lot of tip drivers.

[Richard Hamilton]

The warm-up program is very noticable, and personally I think that the shift to second is at too high an engine speed - I like to keep the engine speed down as I creep out of my road early in the morning - especially with a sports exhaust. Your tip' box is different to mine, and I'm not sure the characteristics or programs are the same in all respects.

I agree that it would be fun to try the same program with a warm engine though. There doesn't seem to be a direct connection to the tiptronic control unit for engine temperature, so I suspect it reads it via the CAN connection to the DME. I checked the wiring diagrams for 1998 and 2002. Nice idea, but I have a feeling it might be a non-starter.

[p0rsch3]

The warm-up program is very noticable, and personally I think that the shift to second is at too high an engine speed - I like to keep the engine speed down as I creep out of my road early in the morning - especially with a sports exhaust. Your tip' box is different to mine, and I'm not sure the characteristics or programs are the same in all respects.

I agree that it would be fun to try the same program with a warm engine though. There doesn't seem to be a direct connection to the tiptronic control unit for engine temperature, so I suspect it reads it via the CAN connection to the DME. I checked the wiring diagrams for 1998 and 2002. Nice idea, but I have a feeling it might be a non-starter.

yep- The tip's installed from MY02 forward are very different from the earlier variety.

IIRC, the '02 and up tiptronic is the same version used in the Turbo. 250 different shift maps vs. the earlier tips' 5 programs.

This is an excerpt from the MY02 service information manual:

"The Tiptronic control unit determines the

driver’s current requirements on the basis of

the incoming information and then changes

to an appropriate map. In contrast to previous

transmissions, the new Tiptronic control

unit has 250 different shift maps instead of

just five. The maps permit virtually step-less

adaptation."

...anyway, yeah it might be a long shot but will still be fun to investigate -

[packetstorm88]

I have a 99 c2 Tip. Can anyone tell me the exact differences in Shift-Mapping between the Tiptronics in MY02+?

5 versus 250 maps? Can anyone tell?

Thanks!

:renntech:

[Loren]

From the MY02 Carrera Technik Service book (available here to Contributing Members)

Porsche A96/50 Tiptronic transmission manufactured by DaimlerChrysler (Mercedes).

"In contrast to previous transmissions, the new Tiptronic control unit has 250 different shift maps instead of just five. The maps permit virtually step-less adaptation. "