Tiptronic Transmission Fluid Service

Porsche calls the transmission fluid in Tiptronic equipped Boxters and 996s "lifetime" and doesn't recommend a service interval. The word lifetime when applied to automobiles usually covers the time a manufacturer warrantees their car, or at most seven years.

left: and above: Tony pumps fluid into the transmission with a special heated Porsche pump and nozzle.

Heyer Performance recommends a tiptronic service that not only changes the fluid, but removes the transmission oil pan and cleans the metal shavings from the unit at 60k miles. Refilling the unit takes a special Porsche nozzle, and the fluid needs to be exactly 180 degrees to obtain the proper viscosity to enter the unit. Tony recently performed this procedure on a 76k mile Boxter, and both shifting smoothness and speed noticeably improved.

Porsche's Hybrid Future

Porsche will first come to market with the Cayenne Hybrid SUV by the end of this decade to be followed by the Panamera Hybrid. After they introduce the much anticipated four-door sedan in 2009, Porsche intends to achieve their environmental goal of a 30 percent decrease in fuel consumption with a hybrid version, while offering the expected Porsche high-performance attributes in a four door sedan. Both the SUV and sedan's parallel hybrid system is configured with the battery

unit positioned below the luggage compartment. The hybrid module, consisting of an additional clutch and electric motor, will be located between the engine and transmission. Depending on driving conditions, the hybrid module can disengage either the combustion engine or the electric motor or can combine both drive systems as one joint power unit. This flexibility results in benefits such as a zero emissions driving mode, fuel savings in both city and highway driving, and maximum performance when needed. Coordinating the hybrid system's three main components - the combustion engine,

the electric motor and the battery - takes some serious computing Porsche calls the Hybrid Manager. It oversees some 20,000 data parameters as compared to only 6,000 data parameters for a conventional engine, and the Hybrid Manager is one of the most powerful (and complex) technologies found in any hybrid vehicle.