118TSI - General Discussion

[cwcarruthers]

yeah, different names for the same thing.

I thought that it was included in DSG cars... but maybe it's only included at the GTI level and higher?! Oh well

Yes, the 7 speed DSG has Hill Start Assist. It holds the brakes for up to 2 seconds after you take your foot off the pedal. It only works on gradients greater than 5%.

[Stelex]

Can this be disabled or reconfigured so it holds on steeper road, e.g. 10% and up?

[gregozedobe]

Yes, the 7 speed DSG has Hill Start Assist. It holds the brakes for up to 2 seconds after you take your foot off the pedal. It only works on gradients greater than 5%.

Can this be disabled or reconfigured so it holds on steeper road, e.g. 10% and up?

I know it is over 45 years since I first learnt percentages, but has the "new math" changed things so much that 10% is no longer "greater than 5%" ?

[Flighter]

I know it is over 45 years since I first learnt percentages, but has the "new math" changed things so much that 10% is no longer "greater than 5%" ?

Perhaps Stelex finds 5% too shallow and would prefer the Hill Start Assist not kick in until about a 10% grade.

[Corey_R]

Perhaps Stelex finds 5% too shallow and would prefer the Hill Start Assist not kick in until about a 10% grade.

Yeah - that's the only way I could think that would make Stelex's question make sense.

[Stelex]

Sorry for the confusion guys, shallow is the best word describing the feeling. So, any idea if this can be changed?

Maybe it's still early (2 weeks and 1300 km) but the 'Not happy, Jen!' feeling is growing with me when it comes to the DSG transmission. I may be wrong, I may learn to like it with the time, but that's how I feel now.

No matter how I treat it, taking off is just way too clunky. There is that 'choke' between the 1st and 2nd gear that is impossible to handle. You don't press hard, it chokes, you press hard - the car runs away from you. Very very frustrating, especially in round-abouts.

Also, the 7th gear, It takes the mortgage on the whole gearbox, it doesn't switch back to the 6th as it should, you really have to press accellerator hard, then goes straight into 4th or so. Frustrating as well. I wish there was something like overdrive-off to disable the 7th. Yes, I know, there is sports mode, but that one is useless for what I'm talking about.

I thought my gearbox is dodgy, so I went to test drive another car (identical to mine) and the DSG behaves exactly the same.

While I had my Magna, the gear box was somewhet clunky and I was always praising my wife's Nissan Tiida, that little automatic gear box is absolutely perfect. Yesterday I drove it for the first time since I got my Golf, and Tiida's gearbox puts the VW DSG to a shame.

So I have to give it some more time (like I have a choice, ey ), but if I were buying Golf now, I'd definitely go for the manual.

[nicandlance]

I've always preferred a manual........

[sillygogo]

Stelex:

The DSG take little to get use to, I used to hated how it hesitate to take off and keep on going to th 7th gear. Now, I am getting better and having it in 7th still have the required power/torque and save fuel..so win win..just little weird at the start but it has grown on me. The quick change from 1st to 2rd still bugs me, maybe they can remap it with the next software upgrade to change around 3000rpm instead of 2000rpm. That would make it smoother.

Manual always more fun, however, I found the Golf V GTi, DSG defininately better. Golf 6 GTi, oh yeah, better than the DSG.

Give it more time and hopefully those bofin at VW will come up with a new update to smooth it out even more, especially from 1st to 2rd.

[logger]

Sorry for the confusion guys, shallow is the best word describing the feeling. So, any idea if this can be changed?

Maybe it's still early (2 weeks and 1300 km) but the 'Not happy, Jen!' feeling is growing with me when it comes to the DSG transmission. I may be wrong, I may learn to like it with the time, but that's how I feel now.

No matter how I treat it, taking off is just way too clunky. There is that 'choke' between the 1st and 2nd gear that is impossible to handle. You don't press hard, it chokes, you press hard - the car runs away from you. Very very frustrating, especially in round-abouts.

Also, the 7th gear, It takes the mortgage on the whole gearbox, it doesn't switch back to the 6th as it should, you really have to press accellerator hard, then goes straight into 4th or so. Frustrating as well. I wish there was something like overdrive-off to disable the 7th. Yes, I know, there is sports mode, but that one is useless for what I'm talking about.

I thought my gearbox is dodgy, so I went to test drive another car (identical to mine) and the DSG behaves exactly the same.

While I had my Magna, the gear box was somewhet clunky and I was always praising my wife's Nissan Tiida, that little automatic gear box is absolutely perfect. Yesterday I drove it for the first time since I got my Golf, and Tiida's gearbox puts the VW DSG to a shame.

So I have to give it some more time (like I have a choice, ey ), but if I were buying Golf now, I'd definitely go for the manual.

Here's something you can try.

For the 1st to 2nd change try starting off in tiptonic. ie slide the selector to the left. When you are ready for second just flick it to the right (D) and it will take second and continue on its automatic way. I find this works well for stopping and starting in traffic. It avoids some of the jerkiness you can get when you back off the pedal with both clutches simultaneously slipping when creeping slowly in stop start traffic.

My car generally only downshifts to 2nd in most driving and will only drop back to 1st at or near standstill, so a little surprised you are seeing yours in 1st going around roundabouts.

What makes you say the engine is choking? You sure it is not just a perception of choking due what you perceive are low revs for the situation you are in. If it is all working properly the SCharger should be there in a flash to build the revs again. Unlike many other engines it is designed to chug along at low revs and pull away quickly when asked.

[Stelex]

so a little surprised you are seeing yours in 1st going around roundabouts.

No, no, it doesn't go in the first all the way around, he-he, it's when you're entering the roundabout from a stand still, getting into the gap in traffic, it either chokes (see below) or jumps wild.

What makes you say the engine is choking? You sure it is not just a perception of choking due what you perceive are low revs for the situation you are in. If it is all working properly the SCharger should be there in a flash to build the revs again. Unlike many other engines it is designed to chug along at low revs and pull away quickly when asked.

It goes like this. You're standing, then you press accelerator. it pulls normally for a second, then switches into the second gear. When this happens, there is a painful moment of about 1-1.5 second where there is barely any power, it feels as it is litteraly choking, like there is no fuel supply, (yes, it's because the very low revs), but then it goes smoothly afterwards. This is very painful when joining busy traffic. Very frustrating.

If I press the accelerator hard, either from a stand-still or from when I first notice that it's choking, it just goes wild.

[kevin118]

Yes I’m very happy with my 118.

I really like the feel of the car, the power if you want it and how quiet it is. I’ve noticed the fuel economy improving (car settling down? Cooler weather?) over the last 3 weeks and now my 20Km mixed-conditions commute is done at 6.3 to 6.8 L/100Km if no air-con and no drag racing.

Like some of the comments here I am still getting used to the DSG particularly having changed from a manual car. Some of the gear selections are odd, eg today I was cruising at 50-60, foot off the gas down a hill, next thing I know I’m at 3000 Rev/min in 3rd gear!

Only mistake I made was to get MDI. Little did I know that it isn’t compatible with iPod (unless you spend another $80-odd on a VW cable for iPods) but worse than that it takes up nearly all the central ‘stowage’ compartment. I’m wondering how much it would cost to rip the MDI out so that I can use it for putting things in. With the AUX IN jack that every car has I can use my iPod perfectly well. In hindsight it’s all I needed.

[Corey_R]

If I press the accelerator hard, either from a stand-still or from when I first notice that it's choking, it just goes wild.

Seems like you need to find that position between 'normal' and 'hard'

[Stelex]

Hehe, that's the trick, there is none, that's what bugs me

[sillygogo]

Yes I’m very happy with my 118.
Some of the gear selections are odd, eg today I was cruising at 50-60, foot off the gas down a hill, next thing I know I’m at 3000 Rev/min in 3rd gear!

It could be a safety thing. I had a similar experience going down the Toowoomba range. For those who doesn't know it, its a really long and steep descent.

Was going down at 80km/h, then at the steeper part I let go of the accelerator and foot on brake ready. After a few seconds, the car goes into 2nd gears and hold 60km/h. This made going down the range alot easier but so much louder from engine braking. I eventually putting it to manual and stayed in 3rd with some normal braking.

[Corey_R]

Hehe, that's the trick, there is none, that's what bugs me

Aah - you'll get use to it. Time and patience. My Polo GTI with it's APR ECU seems to have a far more sensitive throttle than my Golf GTI with APR ECU update did. It took my a while, and even today if I'm really tired or distracted it can be 'interesting' whilst accelerating, but you get used to it. You'll be happy once you find the balance.