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DSG

12K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  JamieK  
#1 ·
Hi all

I've ordered a Sport Line DSG but never owned an automatic transmission vehicle before. I saw mention of paddles on the steering wheel and was wondering if some of you DSG owners could give me a rundown on the operation and any tips etc?

Thanks in advance.

Craig
 
#2 ·
I have a Sportline with the flappy paddles. You have one on each side of the wheel to manually shift up and down gears. That can be done on all DSGs via the drive selector anyway. To drop out of manual just hold in the paddle and after a few seconds the DSG will go back into auto.

I have to be honest I really don't use them that often and find them a bit of a gimmick, I have used them in snow when I don't want the DSG to change gear and I want to use engine breaking to maintain speed downhill, just allows you to keep both hands on the wheel whilst you shift gears.

I would probably argue that generally the DSG in auto is far more efficient and faster accelerating than most people trying to change gears using the manual mode although more fun paddling, it's only useful if you want to hold the gears longer but that said Sport mode does that for you. You can change the box into sport mode and back into standard by pulling back the drive selector, also worth noting this only changed the gearbox mode (gearbox mode and be vehicle mode are not the same thing), the cars setting in sport mode changes allot of other things other than the gearbox response including steering , ride, auto start and lighting responses amongst many others.

I personally find ECO mode a waste of time as it doesn't seem to give better economy.
 
#4 ·
Ceemac64 said:
Thanks for that great explanation. Is the sport mode any sorer on juice? I mean noticeably so?
Not in my experience. It will happily shift up to 7th on highways etc. It just makes the transmission more responsive and hold onto gears a bit longer.
 
#5 ·
If you have never used an auto g/box before, a useful tip is to put your left leg out of the way by your seat. You don't realise how hard you press the clutch pedal until you try it in an auto car and stamp the brake. Other than that it's F for forwards and B for backwards ( or D and R if you want to be sensible)
 
#7 ·
I tried to post this yesterday, but the system must have sent it flying into spaceTry this for DSG...
and this for Torque converter...
And CVT....
 
#8 ·
Ceemac64 said:
Thanks for that great explanation. Is the sport mode any sorer on juice? I mean noticeably so?
I've found that around town, sport mode is actually better for economy than Normal or the dreaded 'Eco' modes.

My theory is that as sport will run higher revs at a lower gear, when you are 'off throttle' at higher revs, the fuel cuts off and you are coasting for longer than if you were in normal mode and had changed up a gear.
 
#9 ·
Yes agree. Kodiaq is first DSG car I've had that in sport mode will allow itself to use 7th gear, outside using ACC. All the rest would stop at 5th gear unless you were going very fast.
So apart from sometimes more aggressive blipping downshifting and gear changes, I think if driving normally and not slower stop starts, fuel economy wouldn't necessarily be that different from normal mode.
 
#10 ·
I would agree, you can setup your own individual settings but I tend to use the car in sport mode as I prefer the overall settings not just for the gearbox but also the other stuff. I know I mentioned it but some people I know think that by selecting the sport setting on the gearstick/drive selector the car goes into sport mode, it doesn't only the gearbox does.

I haven't seen huge differences in economy between sport and normal either. I am pretty sure Eco mode only exists to pacify the governmental tree huggers as it's doesn't seem to give any benefits.
 
#12 ·
I've had a DSG for the past 3 years in my superb sportline.. I very rarely use the paddles and it generally stays in D.. I did even buy chrome paddle extensions when I first got the car, but they are never used. I do put the selector into sport the odd time for some fun but also just push it to the left to go into manual mode.. In manual it will allow the car rev to redline and even though it's in manual it will still shift up.. this generally gives a higher speed in each gear even over sport mode.. My superb is the 2.0T 220bhp version, so can shift rightly and eat gears.. very little drama to get into trouble as all you do is move your right foot a bit..
 
#13 ·
FoxtrotAlpha said:
I would agree, you can setup your own individual settings but I tend to use the car in sport mode as I prefer the overall settings not just for the gearbox but also the other stuff. I know I mentioned it but some people I know think that by selecting the sport setting on the gearstick/drive selector the car goes into sport mode, it doesn't only the gearbox does.

I haven't seen huge differences in economy between sport and normal either. I am pretty sure Eco mode only exists to pacify the governmental tree huggers as it's doesn't seem to give any benefits.
Whilst that may be true for the winter months, it won't be for summer. I mostly drive in ECO and I certainly notice just how much more the 2-cyl mode kicks in when the engine is warm. Does it ever use 2-cyl mode in Sport? I setup individual mode on my other cars (using ECO for engine and Sport to add weight to the steering ) but I find the steering in the Kodiaq too heavy in Sport mode.

The only problem with cars built from 2020 onwards is whichever mode you prefer, you have to select it each time you start the car as the default is always Normal. I have very few gripes with my car but that's certainly one of them.