Gear indicator on MFD

[nau]

same complain, I guess good solution would be to have gear number separate to MDF sign (let it still over right it but let the user know whats happening)

[mudguts]

You should be using the tacho and feel of the engine to tell you you need to use a higher or lower gear. With a sequential shift selector, knowing the gear number is not required.

maybe not required but still handy.


I find it annoying that if you have cruise control on the MFD hides your ODOMETER. I like to take pictures of my odometer when I reach milestones such as 50 000, 100 000 etc and I missed the 1000 milestone due to this.

I know this is picky just thought i would share

[elephino]

maybe not required but still handy.


I find it annoying that if you have cruise control on the MFD hides your ODOMETER. I like to take pictures of my odometer when I reach milestones such as 50 000, 100 000 etc and I missed the 1000 milestone due to this.

I know this is picky just thought i would share

I don't take pics but I do like to know when they come up too.

[ozgti]

yabba yabba yabba...

If I wanted to ask how to drive a car, I would. I just want the gear display on. If you have nothing nice to add Bugger off!

[mudguts]

yabba yabba yabba...

If I wanted to ask how to drive a car, I would. I just want the gear display on. If you have nothing nice to add Bugger off!

I second that. Just because you want to know what gear you are in does not mean you don't know how to drive properly.

Also at 100km/hr not much difference between 6th and 7th gear in terms of RPM, so yeah it does help to know if you have another gear up your sleeve

[sillygogo]

Hmm, have you ever consider buying a Manual version? would be cheaper and surely you would know which gear you are in then.

[Corey_R]

Ok.... so I don't mean to upset anyone by this post, but......

A good (enthusiast?) driver should know:
- Roughly what speed they're doing without looking at the speedo (just from how fast things are moving outside their car)
- The revs that they're doing by the sound of the engine.
- The speed that is equated by the RPMs whilst in the different gears in their car

So in that last point, I know that my Polo GTI does 1500rpm at 60kph in 5th gear. Drop it to 4th gear and it's doing 2000rpm.
Race car drivers don't even have speedos, they know whether they're doing "pit road speedo limit" by this method - gear and RPMs.

So I'm still confused, if you change from D/S to M, why you wouldn't know what gear you're in by the speed and sound of the engine.
Even if you can't tell exactly what speed you're doing or what revs you're doing (engine is too quiet etc), you still have a speedo and a taco in front of you... so I still don't understand.

On a similar topic, I have a deaf friend who can tell me what speed and revs my Polo GTI is doing through the vibrations he feels through his foot resting on the clutch pedal! Even if I block his vision to the speedo and taco he's accurate within a few hundred RPM/few kph.

[ozgti]

Hmm, have you ever consider buying a Manual version? would be cheaper and surely you would know which gear you are in then.

I would have as I prefer Manual, but the GF can only drive Auto.

Ok.... so I don't mean to upset anyone by this post, but......

A good (enthusiast?) driver should know:
- Roughly what speed they're doing without looking at the speedo (just from how fast things are moving outside their car)
- The revs that they're doing by the sound of the engine.
- The speed that is equated by the RPMs whilst in the different gears in their car

So in that last point, I know that my Polo GTI does 1500rpm at 60kph in 5th gear. Drop it to 4th gear and it's doing 2000rpm.
Race car drivers don't even have speedos, they know whether they're doing "pit road speedo limit" by this method - gear and RPMs.

So I'm still confused, if you change from D/S to M, why you wouldn't know what gear you're in by the speed and sound of the engine.
Even if you can't tell exactly what speed you're doing or what revs you're doing (engine is too quiet etc), you still have a speedo and a taco in front of you... so I still don't understand.

On a similar topic, I havve a deaf friend who can tell me what speed and revs my Polo GTI is doing through the vibrations he feels through his foot resting on the clutch pedal! Even if I block his vision to the speedo and taco he's accurate within a few hundred RPM/few kph.

Give me a manual and I can tell you exactly what gear and revs etc. I haven't driven an auto since I was 18 (17 yrs ago) and I've driven all manner of vehicles from mini buses to a V8 BMW E30 track beast.

I admit, yes I should be able to, but with the Golf being so NVH friendly and the fact that during spirited driving, I don't look at the clocks, I do know what gear I am in if I start off in M mode or consciously look at the gear indicator when I switch modes. The other point is that the clock isn't displayed all the time which kinda annoys the crap out of me.

I admit that in a manual, it's easier as you can just touch the gear knob and you know what gear you are in as well as being able to feel the revs through the clutch pedal.

Pit lane- = rev limit button on the steering wheel.

Racing wheels also tell you what gear you are in, not just revs. It's a backup in case you have a brain fart- seen many professional drivers mis a shift or be in the wrong gear because of this too.


Rant mode:
Maybe I should have titled it How to keep the time display instead of gear indicator, but the fact of the matter is, I WANT THE GEAR DISPLAY ON THE MFD.

I don't really care about all your opinions on how I should drive or how could a driver I should be to know things. I just want the frickin' gear/time display to stay on all the time!

Rant over.

[Corey_R]

Pit lane- = rev limit button on the steering wheel.

Racing wheels also tell you what gear you are in, not just revs. It's a backup in case you have a brain fart- seen many professional drivers mis a shift or be in the wrong gear because of this too.

Not in any NASCAR sanctioned events my friend! There is no "pit speed button"... in fact, the only thing on those wheels apart from the padding in the centre, is a kill switch and a "radio button".

Anyway... just spend some more time in manual, get used to the speed vs RPM, and get more familiar with the car, and you'll come to know what gear you're in

[cameronp]

I admit, yes I should be able to, but with the Golf being so NVH friendly and the fact that during spirited driving, I don't look at the clocks, I do know what gear I am in if I start off in M mode or consciously look at the gear indicator when I switch modes. The other point is that the clock isn't displayed all the time which kinda annoys the crap out of me.

FWIW I'm in complete agreement with your points above. I don't find this to be a huge issue in practice, but it's definitely a design flaw in the MFD, and one of the things that makes the Golf stand out from other cars is attention to detail in design.

Actually, I'd go one step further from the premise of this thread: manual mode is just a huge pain in the Golf TSI unless you're blasting down a country road wannabe-rally-driver-stylez. The engine is so ridiculously quiet, it's next to impossible to tell what speed you're doing from engine revs. If you try to use manual mode for ordinary driving, there's a huge lag between when you try to upshift and when the DSG finally gets around to changing gear - the DSG only anticipates an upshift when you get close to the redline. Seven gears is also one gear too many.

My feeling is that if I'm going to be changing gears by hand, I'd much prefer to do it with a clutch pedal and a proper manual gearbox. And this is despite me being a member of the Nintendo generation, having learnt to change gears using buttons on game consoles before ever driving a car! Perhaps trying a GTI with a 6-DSG and proper flappy paddles would change my mind on this.

[Corey_R]

Yeah - the flappy paddles help heaps... especially since the DSG's manual selector is upside-down!

[FJ Steve]

Trade it in on a MKV...no issues there.

[HPSOV]

Yep, I'm another who has been annoyed by the gear disappearing from the mfd whenever anything else happens. I don't get why they would have it do that? It's not like the little gear number takes up much space on the display!!

[ozgti]

Yeah - the flappy paddles help heaps... especially since the DSG's manual selector is upside-down!

I'd retrofit it if I could. It annoys the crap out of me! Thought about modifying one from the EU, the gate is towards the driver placing it in a better position, Swith the +/_ the right way round and then use a manual boot to cover it all, hence the need for the gear display to always be shown no matter if it's D/S/M modes.

[sillygogo]

"I would have as I prefer Manual, but the GF can only drive Auto."

Aarrrg..thats a bummer..have you consider a new GF? ....Just kidding, I am in a simular situation.

Well, lets try to drive in D when you cruise around and when you see a girl in another lane that you want to impress, make sure your GF is not looking. Then put the car into S, step on it and go for it. OR step on the gas till you hit the switch and it will drop 2 gears for you...enjoy.

Cruise around in D, comfort and fuel economy. When you want to brake for a corner then put into S and go for it. Once you are out then back to D. Nice and easy. If you are really really keen then from D put into manual drop 2 gears and fly.

About the clock..well goto crazy clark and buy one on those stick on clock..sure it wont be hard to fit. There is another post on the forum to retrofit a REV/gear change lights..maybe that would help you out.