GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk5 => Topic started by: gjroe78 on 04 June 2009, 23:00
-
I'm lookin at getting rid of my Navara and am goin looking at a 5 door GTI with DSG
I like driving hard and pretty fast, my question is will i be able to do this as well in a DSG as with a Manual ???
Is it good or is it just like the semi auto box that is on the Q7 ?
Cheers for any help
-
Is DSG really any good ?
YES!
is it just like the semi auto box that is on the Q7 ?
NO!
I like driving hard and pretty fast, my question is will i be able to do this as well in a DSG as with a Manual
Better and faster in a DSG!
:cool:
-
What he said ^^
But you're never going to be able to get that 'fully in control' feeling that you get from a manual with a DSG. But no doubt that the DSG is stupendously impressive...each time I go in a GTI with DSG I want one, but then as soon as I get back in my manual I love the total feeling of control!
-
DSG is mint!!! Nothing like any other auto.
Use it on manual with the paddles and its just like a manual anyways. :grin:
-
Hmm think i'll have a serious look at it then as i've found on near me at a really good price.
Cheers guys :wink:
-
I love it and have only just started using manual mode properly :laugh:
I forgot you can use the gearstick (i didnt like not using paddles while turning, the gearstick notching does it though!)
Its very quick this way and completely seemless
-
Erm after living with it now for over a week, i have to say it has its merits. But better than manual..... not even close. I currently have a DSG hire car with a few more extras than mine and have to say it just doesnt give me the anywhere near the same enjoyment mine does.
I dont want to put people off as everyone has different requirements for their car, but I dont spend much time in traffic and use mainly A roads with quite a few round abouts.
PM me for more details if you like, dont want to be slagging it off for those who like it... but what i would say is give it a good try before you do take the plunge. :wink:
-
Well, I'm a die hard manual person, and it has taken me over 2 months to get used to DSG - unless you've driven lots of automatics, it's unlikely that you will have learnt enough about it in a few days to get the best out of it.
There is still room for improvement though IMHO, like when I'm in manual, I don't want it to kick-down EVER! I'm also concerned that in icy / slippery conditions there doesn't seem to be a way to force it into a higher gear to prevent wheelspin (it wants to drop back down into 1st).
Aside from this, I find it very engaging when in manual mode, maybe a bit clinical in the way it changes gear so quickly, but very, very effective! Also, the noise from power shifts going up the box is great and I actually like the way it automatically drops down for you in manual mode.
I occasionaly get the odd clunk when selecting reverse (even when stationary) and 1st to 2nd at slow speeds is a little violent on a few occasions - maybe I should bring the DSG gearbox oil service forward (currently at 35k miles).
I've been considering a DSG remap, but will probably wait until the knowledge of tuners has improved.
HTH.
-
Some of the criticisms of DSG are quite valid.
Auto kickdown in manual mode was one of my major gripes, along with the fact that the K04 in the ED30 makes power up to around 7k revs and the DSG hits a soft limiter at around 6200revs, negating the top end power access. Changedowns at low speed can be a little clunky (but no more so than any manually controlled ones).
Now the good news. I recently had the DSG box remapped and it cured all of the above and even made the upchanges faster. I now get 7k upchanges, so the top end power is there and the manual mode is now what it should have always been. :cool:
A side benefit is that the Torque limiters in 1st and second are uprated and the torque handling capacity is moved from the OEM 350nm to 500nm. :nerd:
-
I think it is fantastic. I live in London so giving my left knee a rest is welcome after 13 years of driving manual cars. When out on the open road you have manual mode and paddles on the steering wheel to give you manual control of gear selection. Plus you get much much smoother gear changes in a DSG than in a manual car. Plus DSG is faster than manual gear changes. Isn't that what the GTI is about?
-
:undecided:
Gonna have to try a manual as well i think just to make sure, can't believe how much the price has come down recently, can find loads now under 10k :shocked:
-
I'm hard-core manual fan.
I have Edition 30 with manual gearbox.
But you know what?
Next car I buy - it'll be DSG.
Not because manual is no fun, it is just I don't care for manual shifting anymore, I just want to press the fun pedal and turn the wheel, nothing else.
-
:undecided:
Gonna have to try a manual as well i think just to make sure, can't believe how much the price has come down recently, can find loads now under 10k :shocked:
manual is just fine. I don't care for faster acceleration, that is no skill with DSG, any old grandma can keep the pedal pressed to the floor.
DSG just gives you more relaxation, and eventually, maybe that is what you need. (I feel I need that, I want to be lazy behind the wheel).
-
:undecided:
Gonna have to try a manual as well i think just to make sure, can't believe how much the price has come down recently, can find loads now under 10k :shocked:
manual is just fine. I don't care for faster acceleration, that is no skill with DSG, any old grandma can keep the pedal pressed to the floor.
DSG just gives you more relaxation, and eventually, maybe that is what you need. (I feel I need that, I want to be lazy behind the wheel).
I pretty much agree with this ;)
-
Agreed also, its why I was looking for an auto for my next beamer... if you have enough torque you dont need to work the box to make progress also.
DSG would only worry me slightly in its longevity and ultimate very expensive repair costs. A standard Auto would go for centuries, and a manual gearbox is relatively cheap to replace (and clutch)... but a DSG? Thats got to be pricey - anyone know how long they go for?
-
Not sure - havent heard of any that have failed yet!
-
Not sure - havent heard of any that have failed yet!
I remember reading somewhere about problems if you abuse the launch control a lot but unless you drive like a chav who thinks the road to tescos is the Nurburgring then that's not an problem :wink:
-
Yeah i was gonna ask about reliability too as the cars i'm looking at are 50,000+ miles
So has anyone done this sort of milage or more with a DSG ?
-
DSG is really good. But I never considerate to buy one.
Personally I don't trust anything that doesn't have a clutch. I do believe that DSG could do all the jobs for you in a much nicer way. But so what? I know I can't change gear as well as a rally racer and I'm compromsing the real performance of the car. But that's MY car and it is ME who drives it.
With a DSG gearbox, you could run faster, no doubt about it. Manual gti has never beaten dsg in a dogfight as far as I know. But driving is not all about speed and acceleration.
-
I though exactly what alot of you have said about wanting to be a little lazy with a DSG so had considered one for my next car. But I would say try one out for as a period as possible.
I just feel it has taken so much away from the day to day driving and even handling. dont feel comfortable going into corners and cant judge eaxctly when I should be putting the power on... let alone the dsg knowing what it should be doing. I know that the only solution to this is to use the paddles , but they arnt where they should be when the wheel is turned.
I just feel its perfect for a track where you and the car know they should be going flat out all the time... but on the roads where you have to adapt your driving to the conditions (which are constantly changing) there is a little more to it. Its hard to describe but some times putting your foot down confuses the gears slightly... if that makes sense :undecided:
-
Personally I don't trust anything that doesn't have a clutch.
So you should love the fact that the DSG has 2 of them! Or, is it the actual pedal that you mean?
-
I second that, I had 10 years of manual cars, will never go back to manual now I've had DSG for 3 years.
I'm hard-core manual fan.
I have Edition 30 with manual gearbox.
But you know what?
Next car I buy - it'll be DSG.
Not because manual is no fun, it is just I don't care for manual shifting anymore, I just want to press the fun pedal and turn the wheel, nothing else.
-
Personally I don't trust anything that doesn't have a clutch.
So you should love the fact that the DSG has 2 of them! Or, is it the actual pedal that you mean?
Yes mate. Thanks for correcting me. :wink:
I just don't like the idea that some computer thing sits between me and the engine.
-
Has anyone got any pics of the standard paddles on the dsg? Never seen them b4.
-
Personally I don't trust anything that doesn't have a clutch.
So you should love the fact that the DSG has 2 of them! Or, is it the actual pedal that you mean?
Yes mate. Thanks for correcting me. :wink:
I just don't like the idea that some computer thing sits between me and the engine.
there is an ECU already :smug:
-
The Ed 30 is the wife's car & a bit of fun for me (when she actually lets me have the keys).
The whole ethos of a fun quick car I feel, is the fact that YOU are in control and the drive and that whole back to nature thrash thing and throwing a lever.
I feel DSG (and I have experience) just takes this away a tad. I also have a Westfield (175bhp from 580kg) and lever throwing is all part of the fun.
Its just not cricket IMO.
Having said all that...........sitting in traffic for major parts of your journeys..........then auto is nice.
Perhaps the whole DSG v Manual thing depends on where you live & the type of driving you live with.
Fortunatly I live in sunny Suffolk which in the main is quite nice driving :wink:
Manual all the way for me sirs :smiley: :smiley:
NB.....apart for the New A4 S-Line of course. :smug:
-
you can also change gear using the gear stick, it then becomes a sequential gear box. When in D move the gear stick to the left and push forward to change up, pull back to change down.
For those who find the paddles hard to use.
-
I just feel it has taken so much away from the day to day driving and even handling. dont feel comfortable going into corners and cant judge eaxctly when I should be putting the power on... let alone the dsg knowing what it should be doing. I know that the only solution to this is to use the paddles , but they arnt where they should be when the wheel is turned.
I understand what you say about cornering....basically in D mode you will not be in the right gear when pressing on through corners on A Roads and B roads and you really have to use the paddles (or stick) in manual mode to maintain the revs and get the same feel as a manual car.
In the R32, in D mode, it will try and enter corners in 6th when you really need 3rd or 4th. I therfeore never ever use D or S mode on these types of roads anymore. If you practice with the paddles (and the stick when the paddles are difficult to use on tight turns) in M mode you will start to enjoy the car a lot more :evil:
Try the road from Slaid Hill to East Keswick as a practice :evil: :laugh: keep in 3rd or 4th all the way using the paddles.
-
Yes mate. Thanks for correcting me. :wink:
I just don't like the idea that some computer thing sits between me and the engine.
Yes, even in manual cars, the max throttle position is 'limited' in some gears until certain rpms - this might not apply to the gti, but it certainly does with other vag cars I've had mapped.
-
i tried it,was impressed but i didn't feel conected to the car
-
i tried it,was impressed but i didn't feel conected to the car
Thats a very good way of putting it........and agreed :wink:
-
I just feel it has taken so much away from the day to day driving and even handling. dont feel comfortable going into corners and cant judge eaxctly when I should be putting the power on... let alone the dsg knowing what it should be doing. I know that the only solution to this is to use the paddles , but they arnt where they should be when the wheel is turned.
I understand what you say about cornering....basically in D mode you will not be in the right gear when pressing on through corners on A Roads and B roads and you really have to use the paddles (or stick) in manual mode to maintain the revs and get the same feel as a manual car.
In the R32, in D mode, it will try and enter corners in 6th when you really need 3rd or 4th. I therfeore never ever use D or S mode on these types of roads anymore. If you practice with the paddles (and the stick when the paddles are difficult to use on tight turns) in M mode you will start to enjoy the car a lot more :evil:
Try the road from Slaid Hill to East Keswick as a practice :evil: :laugh: keep in 3rd or 4th all the way using the paddles.
I live round the corner from slaid hill and regularily use the little drive to east keswick... about 3x a week just for a little blast :evil:
There is a nice turn off behind Leeds Golf course too :wink:
I know what you mean about cornering and the gear the dsg selects... when you try to get it to shift down with the accelerator it just wants to drop into second, sound like its dropped a bomb and go!! Scares the sh1t out of anyone stood around :grin:
The paddles are just too small so i can see why a few have fitted the extended cf ones. might try playing with the stick a little more.. see if that cures things.
-
The stick will give you a 'eureka' moment mate. All made sense after i found it out after struggling to hit the paddles while turning :wink:
You need a good couple of months to really get on with DSG, once you do it is so much better than a manual. I had a civic with a brilliant shift (one f the best in any car) and dont miss it!