Manual driver to Automatic DSG

Skilid

Skilid

Skilid

Soldato
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
2,810
Location
Hampshire
Rroff said:
Personally really hate simulated sound even when it might be convincing, it is still like sitting there with a kids toy going brrrm brrrm. Give me the real thing or not at all.
Click to expand...

jigger said:
The BMW ix1 has a mode that mimics driving an automatic. The piped in sound is a bit much. I’m looking forward to the see what BMW do with the new class. It might put BMW back on the map.
Click to expand...
I have disabled the fake sound in my BMW as the real engine/exhaust sound is so much better. I'd also rather it be perfectly quiet inside than listen to a crap fake sound. The car doesn't even give you the option of disabling it, which is annoying. At least in the Ioniq 5 N you can turn it off if you don't like it.
 

Grim5

Grim5

Grim5

Soldato
Joined
6 Feb 2019
Posts
17,831
Skilid said:
I've had several manuals over my life and thought I'd give auto a go. I've now had two of different types and have some strong opinions:

VAG DSG (Seat Leon) - Only good once you're already moving. Changes are very quick and smooth, car was economical, and it was nice to drive on long journeys. When you're at a standstill or trying to do low speed manouvering it was crap. Jerky and annoying, especially when trying to parallel park on a hill. As it won't slip the clutch the hill hold would keep kicking in and you can't modulate it on the brake very much. The car would either go, or stop. There was also a reasonable delay when trying to pull away quickly. Was also prone to spinning the wheels as it basically dumps the clutch in first gear on quick getaways. Very frustrating in slippery/bad weather conditions.

ZF 8 Speed (BMW M240i) - Excellent at low speed manouvering and town work as it uses a torque converter. This means it's always trying to drive the car forward/backward and you can modulate it easily on the brake. Was also very good on the motorway. Less economical but not by much and the driving experience more than makes up for it. It isn't perfect by any means, when slowing down for a roundabout, if I quickly jump back over to the throttle and it hasn't made up it's mind what gear it wants, there can be a noticable and frustrating delay before it goes. Also the shifts from 1-2 on a cold start and light throttle can be quite jerky, but I've since tuned the gearbox and now in most scenarios it pulls away in 2nd gear, which is better. Pulling away from a stop is so much smoother in a torque converter gearbox.

Skoda Fabia auto (GF car) - This is an older, torque converter box. It's very smooth and has the same benefits at low speed manouvering as the ZF, which is perfect for my other half who isn't the most confident of drivers. I think the DSG would be too jerky at low speed for her to feel comfortable with parking etc. They're just easier and more predictable to drive.

My friend has had a Golf GTI and an RS3 and has the same issues with DSGs as me. Another friend has an A45 with a Mercedes dual clutch, and it definitely seems better than the VAG box, but I've not had any personal experience with it.
Click to expand...

I've driven an A45, 2016 model, and that gearbox felt far more jerky and delayed than a VAG DSG. Though I believe Mercedes updated the A45's gearbox on the 2018/2019 model and so newer versions of the A45 are a little bit smoother now, but the 2014 to 2017/2018 models are pretty bad. The A45 has a really nice interior though, it puts the other hatchbacks to shame, especially the RS3 as the RS3 looks like a slightly better golf interior where as the A45 actually look luxury/premium
 
Last edited:

jpaul

jpaul

jpaul

Soldato
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
22,183
If the dsg has become smoother, isn't that at the expense of clutch wear, it's been permitted to slip more ?
but saying that people can drive manuals smoothly so can't a dsg at least replicate a humans capabilities.

Is a 2nd hand dsg that's been used for towing double trouble.
 

Skilid

Skilid

Skilid

Soldato
Joined
20 Sep 2006
Posts
2,810
Location
Hampshire
jpaul said:
If the dsg has become smoother, isn't that at the expense of clutch wear, it's been permitted to slip more ?
but saying that people can drive manuals smoothly so can't a dsg at least replicate a humans capabilities.

Is a 2nd hand dsg that's been used for towing double trouble.
Click to expand...
No. A DSG cannot modulate a clutch as intuitively as a human.
 

Nasher

Nasher

Nasher

Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2006
Posts
23,568
Yea it's going to be very on/off when it comes to digital controls. The clutch will take more of a hammering than from an analogue human.
 

Simon

Simon

Simon

Caporegime
Joined
21 Oct 2002
Posts
26,447
Location
Here
Nasher said:
Yea it's going to be very on/off when it comes to digital controls. The clutch will take more of a hammering than from an analogue human.
Click to expand...
They are digital controls but not binary.

There is no real slip in my M-DCT. But people will ride clutches all the time. The computer won’t allow this.

DCT clutches last much longer than manual clutches on M3s…
 

Junglist

Junglist

Junglist

Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,354
Location
Bristol
I went auto quite a few years ago with a Golf GTI and I've never looked back. My last 3 cars have all been autos and I can't see myself ever getting a manual again. Then again I'm not a 'drivers driver' so for me it ticks all the boxes.

As others have mentioned, you only make the mistake of trying to change gear once. For me that was on the motorway and changing into 'sport' mode. Lesson learnt immediately :D

I've owned a Golf GTI, A1, S3 all in auto and I suppose the all use the same DSG gearbox?

I've driven a BMW 330e for a few days and that was also fine, I didn't notice anything glaringly bad with it.
 
Last edited:

Simon

Simon

Simon

Caporegime
Joined
21 Oct 2002
Posts
26,447
Location
Here
VW have many DSGs. Including wet and dry clutch versions. The dry clutch ones aren’t very nice in my experience
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom