Golf R Observations and Questions

[kaanage]

I picked up my R today after finally deciding that my Polo is no longer enjoyable as a daily driver. It's a MY13 DSG with 19s but without ACC so I was curious to see if the ride was as harsh as I'd read it could be.

The 700km drive from Melbourne

I see you bought it from those clowns at Barloworld Moorabbin. Good thing you won't need them to service it.

[Allegiance]

I see you bought it from those clowns at Barloworld Moorabbin. Good thing you won't need them to service it.

LOL, sounds like they have a happy customer. What's wrong with them?

[adzy]

Red = bloody awesomness, how many red R's in the country now? I know there was a couple in VIC.

[kaanage]

I see you bought it from those clowns at Barloworld Moorabbin. Good thing you won't need them to service it.

LOL, sounds like they have a happy customer. What's wrong with them?

see http://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/...ext-64680.html

BTW you'd better update your sig since you've sold the hamster.

[jamesatfish]

The quickest way for the DSG to figure out you're about to downshift, and to preselect that gear much more quickly, is to back off the throttle (gently is fine) a moment before you downshift. If you pull the down paddle while still accelerating, mine tends to think about it for an age before it finally selects the lower gear and shifts, but if you've backed off first (even if just for a half second or so), it'll have got the message and the shift will be much faster.

Thanks for that advice - I will give that a try and see if that improves things. It might be a case of adapting my driving style to suit how the car works which is perfectly understandable.

Is that VW Moorabbin? If so, I saw that car Looks hot

I see you bought it from those clowns at Barloworld Moorabbin. Good thing you won't need them to service it.

Yes, that's VW Barloworld at Moorabbin. I had no previous dealings with them prior to this car - I was in the market for a Golf R and saw a post from the dealership on this forum advertising the car for sale. I did everything over email and the first time I met the guys there or saw the car was when picking it up yesterday.

If it wasn't for really wanting the Tornado Red I probably wouldn't have purchased from that dealership, but that's mainly from a distance point of view rather than anything else as I've got no previous experience with them for better or worse.

Red = bloody awesomness, how many red R's in the country now? I know there was a couple in VIC.

Apparently this car makes 4 - or at least 4 that the sales guy was aware of. It seems that getting special order Tornado Red is becoming easier so there will most likely be a few more appearing until they stop making Mk6 Rs.

I had asked my local dealers if they could custom order one in red, but both said it wasn't possible - hence snapping up this one when I saw it online.

[Machine]

Drive it like a manual. You might even go so far as pretending to depress a clutch pedal between finger flicks!

[Candyman]

Golf R Observations and Questions

Don't pause between changes, totally messes with the mech unit logic.

Keep power on during changes, the next gear is already at the right speed ready for the change

[Machine]

I think we're talking about downshifting to accelerate, in which case it's a good idea to ease off the accelerator. Kind of like double-clutching in a manual.

[Candyman]

Golf R Observations and Questions

Have driven the 26000 km with throttle on as required

Has never failed to pick up the necessary gear on the down change

Pretty much how I drove my GTI as well

The R is more forgiving than my GTI was in that regard (easing throttle on the change causing unsettling of the chassis)

[jamesatfish]

My observation about the gear changes was more in the situation where you're driving down an urban road at 60kph in 3rd approaching a traffic light. If the light stays green you might change into 4th, but if the light changes you want to grab 2nd as you start braking. If the gear you pick is the one the DSG has pre-selected the shift is very quick, but if it's the 'wrong' gear you have to wait for a second or so for your request to be actioned.

In flowing / spirited driving the actions of the pedals seem to be a far better indicator to the DSG as to your intentions so it seems to get the correct gear pre-selected in those situations.

A few other observations from Day 2 with the car:

•The Bluetooth audio is fantastic. I discovered that I can jump in the car with my iPhone in my pocket, press Play on the touch screen and voila - music. This music / handsfree phone setup is by far the best of any car I've owned.

•After a Stage 1 flash this morning the car is certainly more responsive - probably more in keeping with what I'd expect it to have been from the factory. Big thanks to the CVWC guys - they did the stage 1 flash and the read cycle for the DSG upgrade while I waited and I was out the door in less than 30 minutes. The extra punch at the top end does make the DSG / low RPM 'lag' when moving off more noticeable though - I'm assuming the only way to get power right from a standstill is using the launch control which I haven't done yet.

[Machine]

My observation about the gear changes was more in the situation where you're driving down an urban road at 60kph in 3rd approaching a traffic light. If the light stays green you might change into 4th, but if the light changes you want to grab 2nd as you start braking.

Well in that case, you definitely want to ease off the throttle because you're decelerating. But in the former scenario, I guess it depends on whether you were doing a steady 60 or if you were accelerating or decelerating slightly at the moment you want to change gears. Might also depend on engine speed.

[Candyman]

Golf R Observations and Questions

James

Regarding the gear changes, something isn't right mate with your DSG (infamous mech unit )

I can drop 2 or 3 gears with fast paddle flicks without any pause - same using the stick

Hopefully the DSG tune resolves that as it is abnormal

Regarding "lag" on takeoff after the tune, again, abnormal if it is worse than it was stock

The FBW does induce some "lag" but the tune should help deliver more response low end via timing.

Is this in D or manual mode ?

D can be sluggish off the mark

[AdamD]

James

Regarding the gear changes, something isn't right mate with your DSG (infamous mech unit )

I can drop 2 or 3 gears with fast paddle flicks without any pause - same using the stick

Hopefully the DSG tune resolves that as it is abnormal

James is referring to the delay when selecting the next lower gear in manual mode, when the DSG has already preselected the next upper gear. There is a delay, it's unavoidable, and is present on every DSG I've driven for an extended period (and that'd be 6 or more).

The DSG needs to anticipate the direction of change you intend to make, before you make it. Say you're in 4th and are decelerating (or even cruising), the alternate shaft may have 3rd preselected, and in those cases, you can instantly shift to 3rd (and as soon as you do, the DSG will anticipate the same situation will occur again and will preselect 2nd on the shaft that originally had 4th engaged, and so on, giving you seamless, fast downshifts).

However, if you're accelerating in 4th (and the DSG has anticipated 5th will be required next and has preselected), and you then downshift whilst accelerating, the DSG will need to pause while the secondary shaft changes from 5th to 3rd. Sometimes you may even feel some hesitation in the power delivery when it finally does shift.

I've seen exactly this behaviour from several VW DSGs, and am confident it's not related to any mechatronic fault.

[Candyman]

Golf R Observations and Questions

Sorry, I get no delay, none

[Ideo]

I thought selecting a lower gear was pretty easy and straightfoward.

Clutch in. Move gearshift from fourth to third (other gears available). Clutch out.