DSG on hills and parking

[bazzle]

I dont know if mine has hill hold or whatever but, driven normally and the use of the handbrake to hold and then released on hills same as a manual I have no issues at all.

Bazzle

[MrGadget]

What if i've never driven a manual before

[giveway]

What if i've never driven a manual before

When you do the license test you are supposed to use the handbrake even in an auto so you would have done it before.


I have an MY07 GTI with DSG and it took me all of 30mins to get used to it. SWMBO took a little longer but once i explained it it took her all of 30mins as well.

I say " Harden up and get one "

Jeff

[gregozedobe]

What if i've never driven a manual before

Then unless you are prepared to learn how to drive a manual (and get your licence upgraded ? ), then you don't really have a choice - it is DSG or auto only for you

[CatonaPC©]

What if i've never driven a manual before

I would suggest to you to get lessons learn to drive a manual car regardless of what transmission you eventually choose. It will always serve you well. It's like riding a bike after a while, you never forget. I had no trouble getting into a left hand drive manual car in Europe after years in an auto. It just came naturally.

However, as has been said. The DSG works fine. Like all things, you'll need a couple of days to get the feel of it and you'll settle in quite nicely.

[Axis]

Dredging up an old thread here but I have a related question - its not about parking on a hill but instead its about parking on the flat.

Yesterday I took a friend of mine for a drive. I've only had my golf 3 days but he has owned cars with a DSG in the past.

When I parked I moved the gear lever into "P" and then pulled on the handbrake. My friend made a bit of a big deal about how its completely unnecessary to use the handbrake when the DSG is in park, providing the car is on a level service.

Yesterday I was reading This Thread and subsequently This Thread as well... which were both very valuable. Somewhere in there it mentioned that when you're in "P" the DSG will engage both 1st and Reverse Gear (I think??) which is similar to leaving a manual car in gear as a failsafe for the handbrake.

The implication is that, on a flat, the DSG can hold the car in place and the handbrake is not required. My friend argued that you may as well leave it off in this scenario to avoid unnecessary wear on the handbrake cable over time.

How does this sound? Do people with DSGs bother with their handbrake on the flat?

[BarneyBoy]

Even with the non hill hold models hill takeoffs can be done smoothly with no rollback. If you 'ease' off the brake the DSG will slowly take up the pressure and hold position or crawl forward. If you lift off the brake quickly the software takes a short time to find the friction point to hold probably 100mm or so? It's discnocerting the first time but you get used to it pretty quickly.

You're dead right, Paul.

It took me quite a while to 'discover' this. I was initially unhappy with the 'snatchiness' of the DSG on uphill starts where you went from 'hard on the brake pedal' to acceleration causing a long pause and a huge jerk of the line (aside from the driver ).

Best thing to do is to ease off the brake to the point where the brakes just hold the car before accelerating. Half brake pedal seems to get the DSG organised for take off, whereas hard on the brake pedal seems to put the DSG into more of a 'sleep' mode. I guess because it's anticipating that the driver may select Reverse OR Drive (1st and Reverse are on the same gear set).

[wokwn]

How does this sound? Do people with DSGs bother with their handbrake on the flat?

Of course, always use hand brake when parking.

1) handbrake is rear wheels, gearbox is front so you have redundant systems
2) If you want to move the car you have to dolly all 4 wheels, not just the front two

I use it like this:
1) foot on brake, move selector into park
2) set hand brake
3) release foot brake

This way there is almost no strain on the gearbox in park and only a holding strain on the handbrake cable as the brakes are set already using the hydraulic system.

In the grand scheme of things, a handbrake cable is a cheap part. Sure the labour would be a bitch but it's cheaper than a gearbox teardown.