Any Tips on Driving a New Golf6 with DSG?

[roy]

Hi guys,
As I'll have my wife's Golf MK6 delivered soon, just wondering is there anything special we need to notice?
because it's the first new car for us and especially it's with DSG so we have a lot of stuff to learn.
any tips and suggestions i'll be most appreciated.
thanks in advance.

Roy

[ricksterrr]

Hi guys,
As I'll have my wife's Golf MK6 delivered soon, just wondering is there anything special we need to notice?
because it's the first new car for us and especially it's with DSG so we have a lot of stuff to learn.
any tips and suggestions i'll be most appreciated.
thanks in advance.

Roy

Found this on the golfmkv forums - great write up on the DSG box and its quirks.

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69511

Give the DSG some time to adapt to your usual driving style and I'm sure you'll be comfortable with it in no time.

[Guest0608]

dont left foot brake, only use 1 foot for both pedals...VW..............

[Nath]

Make sure the dealer shows you all the 'modes' on the DSG, as so many people dont get shown the D, S and M modes.

+1 on the left foot breaking.

[prise]

Found this on the golfmkv forums - great write up on the DSG box and its quirks.

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69511

Give the DSG some time to adapt to your usual driving style and I'm sure you'll be comfortable with it in no time.

Be careful about looking at Mk5 info - The Mk6 1.6 diesel and 1.4 litre petrol models use a 7 speed box with dry plate clutches so the stuff about the oil warming up should not apply. Also to avoid slipping the dry plate clutches on hills, the hill hold function is performed using the brakes. I don't know how much of the other info is applicable - however the owners manual gives a basic set of do's and don'ts.

Waiting for the clutch to engage before applying the accelerator after releasing the brake is a common tip for getting smooth takeoffs.

[coastie]

Be careful about looking at Mk5 info - The Mk6 1.6 diesel and 1.4 litre petrol models use a 7 speed box with dry plate clutches so the stuff about the oil warming up should not apply. Also to avoid slipping the dry plate clutches on hills, the hill hold function is performed using the brakes. I don't know how much of the other info is applicable - however the owners manual gives a basic set of do's and don'ts.

Waiting for the clutch to engage before applying the accelerator after releasing the brake is a common tip for getting smooth takeoffs.

Diesel is a 6 speed DSG there is also oil in a 7speed DSG box just not as much.

If you don't apply something to the accelerator then the clutch will not engage at all the vehicle will roll backwards. This is the information that is confusing people about the DSG you need to apply some accelerator so that the box knows you want to go. It is not like a "normal" auto gearbox

[cktsi]

Waiting for the clutch to engage before applying the accelerator after releasing the brake is a common tip for getting smooth takeoffs.

No...

Diesel is a 6 speed DSG there is also oil in a 7speed DSG box just not as much.

If you don't apply something to the accelerator then the clutch will not engage at all the vehicle will roll backwards. This is the information that is confusing people about the DSG you need to apply some accelerator so that the box knows you want to go. It is not like a "normal" auto gearbox

+1 agree with this. The car CAN roll backwards if you don't apply the accelerator and wait for hill hold to disengage. My dad has driven my car like a torque converter and rolled back. He also thought he could hill hold with the accelerator *tsk tsk* the car ended up bunny hopping.

[prise]

cktsi, you're right - on hill starts applying throttle causes the brake to release and clutch to engage and you've got 2 seconds to do so before the hill hold releases brake pressure anyway and the car starts rolling backwards.

On level ground, the clutch seems to partially engages to creep the car after brake release without applying throttle so you can wait for movement and then gun it.

They seem to require a smoother throttle tip in than I would use for a conventional auto.

coastie - I was talking about the clutch, its a given that the gears needs oil . I've driven both 6 speed and 7 speed DSG's as rental cars in the UK (base spec cars mind you) and the 7 speed seemed to shift smoother when cold (I'm talking north of Manchester in winter type of cold ) which I put down to it being a dry plate clutch but who knows?

[SpeedBird]

dont left foot brake, only use 1 foot for both pedals...VW..............

What will happen if you do left foot brake with a DSG box?

[prise]

I normally use my left foot to brake when driving autos and can confirm that with the UK base model DSG Golf the engine cut the power if braking and accelerator were applied together for more than a second or so. I wonder if a GTI does the same thing given its sporting aspirations ?

Applying both together is proabably not something you would have a legitimate need to do for road use. However I can't see that using the left foot to brake is going to be a problem provided that you don't do both together.

vwtech - was it simultaneous operation of brake and accelerator you were warning about?

[roy]

Found this on the golfmkv forums - great write up on the DSG box and its quirks.

http://www.golfmkv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69511

Give the DSG some time to adapt to your usual driving style and I'm sure you'll be comfortable with it in no time.

thank you for the link and i'll check them out

[roy]

Make sure the dealer shows you all the 'modes' on the DSG, as so many people dont get shown the D, S and M modes.

+1 on the left foot breaking.

not clear about the difference within d,s,m--->need some research.

i always use 1 foot for both pedals on auto..thanks

[roy]

cktsi, you're right - on hill starts applying throttle causes the brake to release and clutch to engage and you've got 2 seconds to do so before the hill hold releases brake pressure anyway and the car starts rolling backwards.

On level ground, the clutch seems to partially engages to creep the car after brake release without applying throttle so you can wait for movement and then gun it.

which means up hill i need to press the accelerator pedal after releasing brake

and on normal level road the pedal can be pressed a little bit late(few seconds)

my understanding is right?

however, when i test drove the car, it seems standing still when i release the brake after stopping at the red light...

[logger]

Give the DSG some time to adapt to your usual driving style....

I have always thought this assertion to be VW marketing hyperbole. Is there a reference somewhere that states the DSG truly adapts to driving style?

My understanding is that a DSG7 continuously adapts the numerous gear selector and clutch positions (and a whole heap of other stuff). In this way it can always know precise points for when;
1) a clutch will be engaged or disengaged or slipping.
2) a gear selector fork is in neutral or has one of its two gears selected. etc.
and it can continue to know this precisely over time, as a brand new gear box beds in or another wears over time.
A side effect of this is that one person drives their DSG7 in a very different manner to another the system will still adapt accordingly and the various points of adaption could be different. But no where in it will the system record the fact that this bloke drives like a pussy and that bloke like a maniac. My take on it is that DSG7 adaption is primarily there to allow the system to always know accurately where all the necessary points are for it to operate correctly. This means there should never be a need to adjust or service any component in the gearbox throughout its life.

I would say give your new DSG7 time to adapt and forget the driving style bit.

[prise]

How do people find the 'creep' behaviour when parking? I found it more clunky than a conventional auto but thought it was a small price to pay for the positives that come with the DSG technology.