[R33]

Hi, interesting topic indeed. I heve no experience with Tiptronic/Steptronic etc other then driving a Altezza with their version of Tiptronic and comparing it to another Altezza with manual gear. I must say that the manual Altezza feels a lot more responsive than the Tiptronic version which feels very docile and super smooth not unlike an auto car! A check with several tuners reveal that the Tiptronic Altezza cannot hold much power upgrade while the manual can take more abuse. So, can it be said that the manual gear can give better performance and is more compatible with upgrade? On the Altezza, it seems so.
I am of course mindful that Porsche and Ferrari are also Tiptronic equipped. I have yet to drive the Modena with Tiptronic and therefore could not say that the Tiptronic Modena is slow. Considering, however, that even F1 cars are using Tiptronic gears, it cannot be said for certain that Tiptronic is not good for performance. A real disadvantage of Tiptronic is of course the really high cost of replacement if ever it is needed. Imagine a GTR with stock power equipped with Tiptronic. Do a 500hp job on it and the Tiptronic goes, how much will it be to replace it? I would rather spend less money on a set of Hollinger or HKS Seq. That's my 0.02 cents worth!