DSG: Problems, Questions, Likes and Dislikes

[Cossor]

Being a Newbie I greatly appreciate Maverick's frustration and concern re 'done to death threads'
Problem is knowing how to use a forum, and how to search, especially if first use of a forum. BUT, MUST LEARN, NO EXCUSES!!!
(Hey, how do I copy quotes?)

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Ordered 118TSI instead of 103TDI on evaluation of 103TDI DSG. Despite 103TDI surge of power going uphill, (Fantastic) 118TSI much smoother and "more like" standard auto in traffic.
But was only able to test around 3~5km. (Around town and highway). Main beef re 103TDI, and which scared me, was sudden flatout rev starting off from stop. eg, simuilated trafic lights. Was concerned re stress on mechanicals as well as comments from possible passengers!
(But also remembered fun of driving manual instead of auto. DSG best comprmise)
Yes, 118TSI could also 'surge' but to a much lesser degree!
And much better response when wanting to pass anothe vehicle!

[JasonMK6]

Just a suggestion can someone make a poll to see who is happy / unhappy with their DSG

Had my GTI since thursday and the DSG has been perfect (i know it's new but i thought i would still post) never shift's into first unless im almost at a complete stop, never struggles on hills always seems to select the correct gear and when slowing down it change's down it doesn't sit in 6th. Have had no issue with the delay on take off.

Is the DSG 6 speed wet clutch that's in the GTI a better unit than the 7 speed dry clutch?

[Corey_R]

Is the DSG 6 speed wet clutch that's in the GTI a better unit than the 7 speed dry clutch?

It's better in that being a wet clutch it can handle more torque and power etc.

The newer 7sp dry clutch is probably better in that being 7sp allows for more fuel economy, it's a lighter and smaller DSG unit (from what I've been told, I don't actually have the service manual for this one), and it is cheaper to maintain as it doesn't need an oil change (or as much oil changed?) at 60,000km like the "life-time" oil in the 6sp DSG requires.

[ozgti]

I've found mine only shifts back to first at about 3km/h (ie slower than walking pace); anything above that and it remains in second. For many give-way scenarios it's remained in second for me (and you get quite a bit of clutch slip on the subsequent takeoff). I've also been quite impressed by how smoothly it shifts to first (in conjunction with clutch actuation) when decellerating.

If, on the other hand, I'm manually shifting down gears and select first at a higher speed, I find that the clutch actuation isn't so good as I actually come to a stop, and there is some lurch under the moderate brake application required for a gentle stop in traffic - making smooth stops difficult. So while I frequently drive in manual mode, I almost always come to a stop in second gear.

It is when it is in Manual Mode that I'm annoyed about. In D mode, it's fine. Manual mode just irks me!

[Karlosovic]

If you want feedback on the DSG use the search button, there are numerous threads on this forum about it and all your questions will be answered.

Regardless of anything else, you're not a moderator, Maverick, so if you don't want to read a thread on something you've seen before - don't.
It really is that simple.

[Maverick]

Regardless of anything else, you're not a moderator, Maverick, so if you don't want to read a thread on something you've seen before - don't.
It really is that simple.

Regardless of anything else, you're not a moderator either, KARLOSOVIC, so if you don't want to read a thread or something you don't like - don't. It really is that simple.

[prise]

I've got a 118 TSI with the 7spd DSG and the low speed jerkiness and lag on takeoff improved dramatically with use. The gearbox does need a bit of time for the clutches to bed in and the software to adapt to the clutch bite point. With 6500 km on it the lag is now imperceptible to the point where I am comfortable with shooting for the same traffic gaps as with a manual. I also found that when parking it is best to leave the accelerator alone as the sometimes your accelerator input can get out of synch with what the gearbox is trying to achieve with the clutch which results in jerkiness.

I come from a history of mostly manual cars and reckon that the lag is less than the time required for a manual driver to engage the clutch - it's just that when you're waiting for the car to do something it will always seem longer than when you're doing it for yourself.

[Tux]

Regardless of anything else, you're not a moderator either, KARLOSOVIC, so if you don't want to read a thread or something you don't live - don't. It really is that simple.

"read a thread or something you don't live" (sic) ???

Geez, I wish some people would read the dictionary first before posting. After all isn't a dictionary just an owner's manual for english?

[Buller_Scott]

i drove a DSG GTD yesterday- it was pretty nice. didnt really get the whole idea behind S mode, as D+ [gear selectable] mode was more fun, and why would one not use that to change gears at their discretion anyway, when booting it?

in the diesel, i noticed that S mode did the silly thing of holding on till redline, in spite of the car's ability to accelerate quicker if short-shifted manually.

bloody nice car, and i can see why DSG would be the go for many people. i'd still be looking to order a GTD in manual, though. manual would be better suited to deal with moderate diesel tuning [450+nm].

hey coreying, just a question: i heard that the 7 speed DSG's [as about to appear in the new polo gti] are less tolerant of high torque levels than the 6 speed- any insight? as in, from the stuff i've read, chipping the new polo gti will net 300nm, but the 7 speed will be hard pressed to take it?

cheers,

scott

p.s. tux, dont let the trollers on this forum, put you off VW. it's a good community, but just like any online forum, there are those whom you wont be agreeable with..... dont let them put you off what is a very knowledgeable and valuable resource, though!

[Stoney!]

There are already 29 threads with DSG in their title in this forum and 78 threads with DSG in their title in the Mark V forum (and more in the tiguan forum as well).

But the tiguan has a conventional Auto?

Stoney!

[Maverick]

But the tiguan has a conventional Auto?

Stoney!

Doesn't mean it doesn't get discussed!

[Stoney!]

Strange... anyway.

Couple of Q's seeing the threads here and I'm looking at an R36, which well, has to be DSG.

Is it true even in D mode you can still change down with paddle shifter?

Has anyone else driven the R36 and noticed how much smoother this car is with dsg than anything else? on both take off and shifting (mind you most DSG's shift really well)

I took one for a test drive recently, and drove the Passat CC 3.6 at the VW day eat eastern creek, I noticed it tends to ride the clutch a bit on full throttle take off's, any one else noticed this? or can confirm others don't do it. I certainly don't remember it on the 103tdi courtesy car POS I've been driving the many times my cars been in for warranty work lol.

Which leads me to my story. I got so annoyed with how rough the transmission in this car was, sometimes even banging into a gear like a conventional auto in some EA falcon. I looked up online how to do a 'quick reset' with holding the throttle down and it worked!

But I find the combination of the slight turbo lag and gearbox pause is not only dangerous but just plain bloody annoying. The pause to me seems to be the clutch engaging before it will give it any revs, meaning no boost on a hurried launch at all!. I thought being a manual in disguise they would program it to be capable of such things, like the R36 does.

I have however noticed in the 118tsi I drove, it will actually rev a litte before it engages the clutch, I'm assuming this is because of the smaller engine, with stuff all power down low? I did however still find the DSG in that buggy and annoying in stop start traffic. I noticed that the 118tsi will launch at full power (thanks to teh S/C0 spinning the wheels and all with barely a delay to be noticed when flattening it.

I learnt to take my foot off the brake and let it start to roll before i pushed the go pedal at all, still not so smooth but didn't Leap like sharkie described. However if you off/on the brake then take off she's already engaged and worked ok, prob similar to sharkie saying to tap the throttle, which to me as a professional driver of all sorts of weird and wonderful buses, doesn't seem silly at all, the things you have to do in some of them to make them drive smoothly would astound people, specially the newer buses.

If anyone else who's driven the DSG with the 3.6 knows of anything else worthy of talking about lemmie know, I'll be very interested.

Stoney!

[simonm]

The only issue I have with the DSG is that the tiptronic +/- selector on the shifter is the wrong way around. + should be towards the back of the car, and - should be towards the front. The first shift with a manual box is always towards the back of the car, and a gearbox with an even number of speeds (4,6, has more front to back shifts on the way up the gears (an odd number of speeds results in the same amount of shifts in each direction).

Lancer Ralliart/Evo and apparently auto Falcons, get this right, Holden/Subaru/VW/Audi get it the wrong way around. Fortunately, paddles mean I don't have to use the tiptronic function, so I have ordered a DSG.

[Corey_R]

hey coreying, just a question: i heard that the 7 speed DSG's [as about to appear in the new polo gti] are less tolerant of high torque levels than the 6 speed- any insight? as in, from the stuff i've read, chipping the new polo gti will net 300nm, but the 7 speed will be hard pressed to take it?

Yeah, the 7sp DSG is a dry clutch model, whereas the 6sp DSG is a wet clutch model. There are many other differences too.
Some history, when the 6sp DSG came out, VW put a "350Nm maximum" on it. So initially aftermarket tuners would limit the DSG ECU's to 350Nm for fear of breaking the gearbox and the customers being up for HUGE amounts to replace it (replacement costs were many times the $2500 option cost initially). Over time they've realised it can take a heap more torque than that. There are many Stage III cars running around with 515NM. The Scirocco 24 hour race cars that VW run have DSGs. Even the APR Stage IV dev car has a DSG (no idea what the torque is, just that it's presumably more than 515NM). With this much power you need to be careful how absuive you are on stationary take-offs, but other than that it's fine. You could always upgrade the clutches though to help...

So with the 7sp DSG, VW put a "250Nm maximum" rating on it. How much can it take? Who knows! APR's 118TSI update gives 317Nm and I've yet to hear any APR customer complain of DSG failures related to that....

Is it true even in D mode you can still change down with paddle shifter?

Yes. Even in D you can override it and start shifting with the paddles. Once you've done shifting with the paddles, it will either put itself back into D after 15 seconds, or if you hold the right paddle (+ / Off) it will go back into D quicker.

The only issue I have with the DSG is that the tiptronic +/- selector on the shifter is the wrong way around. + should be towards the back of the car, and - should be towards the front.

Very true! This is a frustration of mine. There should be some way to reverse the DSG tiptronic so it matches the direction that a traditional sequential gearbox uses as you mention (as with race cars and motorcycles etc).

[AdamD]

I took one for a test drive recently, and drove the Passat CC 3.6 at the VW day eat eastern creek, I noticed it tends to ride the clutch a bit on full throttle take off's, any one else noticed this? or can confirm others don't do it.

I've driven several CC V6s, and quite hard (including full throttle takeoffs, with and without launch control). There certainly does appear to be a little slip in the clutch on takeoff - even on a very gentle throttle in fact, when I find it more noticable - but I wouldn't call it bad. It's quite a different feeling to the same gearbox in my GTI. But remember that the CC and R36 are much heavier cars than a FWD Golf, and have huge 4Motion traction, so it's understandable that VW would calibrate the gearbox in that application to induce some clutch slip in the interests of driveline longevity. Remember also that the 6 speed uses wet clutches that are designed to slip.