Makes sense. When I went in ChrisRs wifes car ( same as your) it was doing the oppisite, screaming away and not changing up till over 5000 revs on full throttle, that is why I didn`t take to it,as mine has 332 lb ft of torque so change up at 3500 revs as so much" lug" no need to scream the engine. Hers felt like a non turbo car (Honda vetec Toyota/vvti etc), but I have been in janner Sy and his is stage 2 but felt much more punchy before it changed up( I was a passenger) maybe I will have to go in yours for a spin to see if yours changes up earlier

Mine is the same in sport mode, it just revs the tits out of the car. When i took you out i was using the paddles and changing at 5k. Rarely take it over that

Mine is the same in sport mode, it just revs the tits out of the car. When i took you out i was using the paddles and changing at 5k. Rarely take it over that

all good observations... this is where a forum like this shines, you get way more experiance than you yourself can have, its quite interesting to read others experiance and views.

can't disagree with Sharkrider. And totally agree about 'S' mode, all it's good for is a traffic light grand prix, manual is so much better, far greater control allowing you to drive with the throttle, rather than brakes all the time.

Hay Sharkrider, good points. I was thinking along these lines when mine stays in a higher gear, usually when tooteling along in traffic.

This may be OT for this thread, but how have you found teaching students to reverse/parallel park on hills, or is this avoided?

I can do it perfectly outside my house, as its flat.

My friends house is on a steep hill, so I pull up, come to a stop and engage reverse. Then hill hold comes on. Release the brake and wait for creep mode, and it seems to roll forwards, so give it a bit of gas and it shoots backwards. Panic, and hit the break, repeat. (I admit I was new to the car when this happened, and it was a tight space, with snow and Ice.)

I to have found 'S' mode a little pointless, the high revving constant throttle just seems to have the engine working a lot harder than it needs... the gearbox is so quick at picking another cog that I find I can be tootling along at 2000rpm in 'D' and then a quick flick on the paddles and I have full bore power in a split second.

The full manual mode is great I find for getting a shift on, been able to engine brake and balance the car more through the throttle is great (my new suspension is greatly assisting this mind).

In full manual I also like how it never bogs down if you are hard on the brakes and don't get the gear dropped in time, the car is always at the just about ready revs as it drops through the gears despite me controlling through the paddles. Does that make sense?

The only annoying thing about the whole gearbox experience is that the paddles are a little hard to reach when the wheel is turned beyond 90°, I find I can't quite reach my fingers onto the paddle as I am pulling the wheel round. If the paddles were wider and a little more stuck out towards the rim I think that would solve the problem.

Yeah mine reacts very differently to when I'm driving it than when the wifes driving. Both of us are happy with the way the gearbox reacts. It just adjusts to our driving styles.

Although on a long journey if I drive the last leg the car always surges like crazy for the first few minutes until it realises it's me and settles right down.

I can do it perfectly outside my house, as its flat.

My friends house is on a steep hill, so I pull up, come to a stop and engage reverse. Then hill hold comes on. Release the brake and wait for creep mode, and it seems to roll forwards, so give it a bit of gas and it shoots backwards. Panic, and hit the break, repeat. (I admit I was new to the car when this happened, and it was a tight space, with snow and Ice.)

Mine is the same reversing up hhills. I almost hit a car because of it

I to have found 'S' mode a little pointless, the high revving constant throttle just seems to have the engine working a lot harder than it needs

I only use S mode with the paddles. Gets irritating quite quickly. Even then, I only use S mode around the track and like Sy I change at 5k-5.5k RPM.

The only annoying thing about the whole gearbox experience is that the paddles are a little hard to reach when the wheel is turned beyond 90°, I find I can't quite reach my fingers onto the paddle as I am pulling the wheel round. If the paddles were wider and a little more stuck out towards the rim I think that would solve the problem.

This is very annoying when changing gear going into or out of tight corners Most paddles don't move with the steering wheel I believe, they're static.

Maybe it is the type of roads but I find S mode very useful for hilly or windy A roads because you always get instant response from the throttle. Revs are kept between 2k and 3k (rather than the 1.5k and 2k of D mode). Yes it sounds like the engine is revving too much but seeing as the redline is 6k there is plenty of headroom before a gear change is required.

I only keep the car in S mode for the duration of the particular section of road that requires it (usually less than a mile of driving) or when I am contemplating an overtaking manoeuvre on a stretch of road I know. I would say any situation where you want instant throttle response requires S mode. Maybe it would be different if the Roomster had flappy paddles but you have to take a hand off the wheel to change gear in manual mode so this might be another factor in using S mode.

We have the 7 speed DSG in the 1.6 diesel.

I agree with its early (by some posters reckoning) changeups as this would only reflect my driving style with a manual diesel, use the torque that is inherent to a diesel.Thus providing more relaxed & economic progress.

I very occasionally use "Sport" at the lights after sitting in neutral or for a quick "blip" to overtake........ but regarding the overtaking I cannot actually figure ( as per Ecceleshill assertion)if it could be any quicker than the 7th to 4th gear drop of the "drive" mode IF the throttle is properly "planted" when in drive, or perhaps intutivetly I plant the throttle a split second earlier to compensate, hard to know?

I do hate the slight pause when pulling away across the bypass, undoubtly in this circumstance a manual would be quicker.

Plus plus that bloody uphill reversing thinngy, very very frustrating,

And also three point turning

bloody hell, it is crap, that pause between forward & reverse & back again.

far far slicker with a manual clutch.

For manouvering an old fashioned torque converter with no blinking stupid electronic safet interlocks is much preferable i.e.sommat like an 1990's vintage MB auto box.

Once moving however the DSG is magic.

Well except on those mountain hairpins in Der Alps, where it got a bit confused(once only mind)

Cheers

M

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by dieseldogg

I can do it perfectly outside my house, as its flat.

My friends house is on a steep hill, so I pull up, come to a stop and engage reverse. Then hill hold comes on. Release the brake and wait for creep mode, and it seems to roll forwards, so give it a bit of gas and it shoots backwards. Panic, and hit the break, repeat. (I admit I was new to the car when this happened, and it was a tight space, with snow and Ice.)

I thought the Hill Hold function only activated when you were facing uphill? My friend's new Golf GTI does this but never when facing downhill.

This is a great thread!

Not much I can add to what's already been said, but I have the DSG 7 in the TSI VRS, regarding Sport mode, I tend to use it just to prepare for an overtake, and the gearbox quite often cogs down to 4th from 7th, and within a split second I'm hovering at 3000rpm with plenty of power ready for usage.

I don't think I would ever see Sport mode as a more "permanent" tool and involve it more day-to-day, as for me it just works the engine way too hard. I simply drop into S, complete the overtake, then knock back into D. I have only had the car for 3 days however! Is this bad for the gearbox?

And on another note regarding auto boxes like the DSG, how safe is it to hold on the brake in D at traffic lights, for example? I get paranoid and just knock it into N and put the handbrake on when at lights, as I vaguely remember someone telling me ages ago it's not ideal to hold the car on the brake!

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by George512

This is a great thread!

Not much I can add to what's already been said, but I have the DSG 7 in the TSI VRS, regarding Sport mode, I tend to use it just to prepare for an overtake, and the gearbox quite often cogs down to 4th from 7th, and within a split second I'm hovering at 3000rpm with plenty of power ready for usage.

I don't think I would ever see Sport mode as a more "permanent" tool and involve it more day-to-day, as for me it just works the engine way too hard. I simply drop into S, complete the overtake, then knock back into D. I have only had the car for 3 days however! Is this bad for the gearbox?

And on another note regarding auto boxes like the DSG, how safe is it to hold on the brake in D at traffic lights, for example? I get paranoid and just knock it into N and put the handbrake on when at lights, as I vaguely remember someone telling me ages ago it's not ideal to hold the car on the brake!

Can anyone shed some light on this?

But why bother getting your hand off the wheel, switch to S, overtake, then take it off the wheel again and switch to D? Sounds useless and tiring to me when you can just do Click, Click, Click on the left paddle and off you go, safe and fast... For a momentary manual override as the abovementioned you don't need to actually push the stick to manual, and its not bad for the car, you just click the paddles and you are in a temporary manual mode.

And on another note regarding auto boxes like the DSG, how safe is it to hold on the brake in D at traffic lights, for example? I get paranoid and just knock it into N and put the handbrake on when at lights, as I vaguely remember someone telling me ages ago it's not ideal to hold the car on the brake!

Can anyone shed some light on this?

It's completely fine to site in D once you use the foot brake as the clutches are disengaged. Essentially you are in neutral.

But why bother getting your hand off the wheel, switch to S, overtake, then take it off the wheel again and switch to D? Sounds useless and tiring to me when you can just do Click, Click, Click on the left paddle and off you go, safe and fast... For a momentary manual override as the abovementioned you don't need to actually push the stick to manual, and its not bad for the car, you just click the paddles and you are in a temporary manual mode.

I tend to pop it into manual before any overtake....nothing more annoying than flapping the paddles to change down a few gears and just as you are about to start overtaking, the system goes back into D and goes up to 7th gear.

In relation to 3 point turns, I can nearly be as smooth as a manual. While the car is still rolling, I gently touch the brakes (not enough to bring the car to a stop) which allows me to shift into R, then while still rolling in R, just knock the stick into D (no need for brakes)...the clutch engages and slips the gearbox into first and the car pulls away smoothly.

I tend to pop it into manual before any overtake....nothing more annoying than flapping the paddles to change down a few gears and just as you are about to start overtaking, the system goes back into D and goes up to 7th gear.

Well, how long does it take to overtake? Usually I begin the overtake as soon as I've shifted down. The DSG does not switch back to auto that quickly, at least not in my car, it takes more than 10 seconds for it to go back to automatic so I cannot recall a case where this happened. But then, everybody has its own driving style.

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by newbie69

Well, how long does it take to overtake? Usually I begin the overtake as soon as I've shifted down. The DSG does not switch back to auto that quickly, at least not in my car, it takes more than 10 seconds for it to go back to automatic so I cannot recall a case where this happened. But then, everybody has its own driving style.

I suppose I am referring to driving on roads I know, where I know there is a straight coming up around a corner so I like to be in the gear I want to overtake well in advance...

Overtaking is the one application for which I find the DSG faultless.

Even when in "drive"

Simples!

Plant the throttle to the floor and concentrate on the other traffic.

Not that I overtake that much but when I do I cannot fault the DSG box, I think I observed a drop from 7th to 4th, when I "gunned" her from pootling about 50, (if I recall correctly), in this respect the DSG box is well matched to the wee 1.6 diesel.

M

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by dieseldogg

Hay Sharkrider, good points. I was thinking along these lines when mine stays in a higher gear, usually when tooteling along in traffic.

This may be OT for this thread, but how have you found teaching students to reverse/parallel park on hills, or is this avoided?

I can do it perfectly outside my house, as its flat.

My friends house is on a steep hill, so I pull up, come to a stop and engage reverse. Then hill hold comes on. Release the brake and wait for creep mode, and it seems to roll forwards, so give it a bit of gas and it shoots backwards. Panic, and hit the break, repeat. (I admit I was new to the car when this happened, and it was a tight space, with snow and Ice.)

Hi, I'll answer this, and the (several others about three point turns, as I obviously teach these all the time...)

I understand what you are describing with the hill holder, if there is enough of a hill , and you wait for the hill holder to disengage, the "normal" creep is sometimes not enough to hold it, and it will roll.... the way around this is to press the throttle VERY gently before the system disengages... the touch of the throttle will disengage the brake early, and if you are gentl enough, it will move forward easily as controlled as a clutch with a manual.... from my point of view as a teacher, its exactly the same as teaching someone clutch control, i.e. to use just enough clutch bite and throttle balance to move forward gently without rolling back... a little easier with the DSG, as you just have to get the right gentle throttle before the hill hold disengages to move forward gently without rolling back , give it some practice if you wait for the brake to disengage it will roll back... too much throttle and you will go too fast...

as for the three point turns, I have absolutley no problem at all, and I do them on practically every drivivng lesson! including on hills that operate the hill holder! however I am teaching it in a way that will pass a driving test, and I bet you guys arn't using the handbrake properly.... pupils would fail the test if they didn't have the handbrake on while changing gears between drive and reverse. (the reason being, just a wet foot, car pointing forward against a kerb, child walking along, NO handbrake while changing gear, foot slips off brake = disaster... fail on a potential safety issue) so try applying the handbrake while still in drive, then moving to reverse, then taking the handbrake off, and same when going from reverse to drive...

NOTE: this may not cure your issues, but I have no problems with hesitation,as soon as my footbrake is released, the car will start to creep... no delay ... and I know some people suffer this 'hesitation' that is often quoted.... the way I teach my pupils, this never happens. it would be helpful for me to understand if those people with problems with three point turns, could describe in more detail exactly what is happening, i.e foot positions, time between engaging gear and releasing footbrake ect ect as there are too many variabls for me to comment without actually watching the drive!

all good stuff again!

as for the overtaking, I always spot the gap, then drop three gears on the paddles so I have instant throttle response

as for the overtaking, I always spot the gap, then drop three gears on the paddles so I have instant throttle response

Same here although the kickdown is fun. Feels like a slingshot being pulled back and let go. Paddles are safer though

Hi, I'll answer this, and the --- Trimmed to shorten thread -----throttle response

Thanks Sharkrider, I dont actually do enough of this reverse hill stuff, Not many hills near my usual commute/parking route, but I will find one and follow your lesson. Will soon have it licked.

I have no issues with 3 pointers, Even doing it the naughty way without the handbreak!

Overtaking wise, Im in D for my motorway commute, plenty of power and respons for Motorways. I never had an issue with lag approaching Roundabouts. I think this all depends on the approach speed and which gear you are in when you give it loud pedal. I use Manual when having a play on A and B roads or when the Nova brigade want traffic light GP.

It's completely fine to site in D once you use the foot brake as the clutches are disengaged. Essentially you are in neutral.

Cool thank you . I thought this would be the case but didn't want to risk without confirmation!

I tend to pop it into manual before any overtake....nothing more annoying than flapping the paddles to change down a few gears and just as you are about to start overtaking, the system goes back into D and goes up to 7th gear.

In relation to 3 point turns, I can nearly be as smooth as a manual. While the car is still rolling, I gently touch the brakes (not enough to bring the car to a stop) which allows me to shift into R, then while still rolling in R, just knock the stick into D (no need for brakes)...the clutch engages and slips the gearbox into first and the car pulls away smoothly.

Yeah what he said. I find if I click down a few gears sometimes the ECU decides I should be in a different gear. Not the kind of thing I want as about to overtake! And taking hand off steering wheel? Really? That's hardly too much work is it, after driving a manual?

Overtaking is the one application for which I find the DSG faultless.

Even when in "drive"

Simples!

Plant the throttle to the floor and concentrate on the other traffic.

Not that I overtake that much but when I do I cannot fault the DSG box, I think I observed a drop from 7th to 4th, when I "gunned" her from pootling about 50, (if I recall correctly), in this respect the DSG box is well matched to the wee 1.6 diesel.

M

shame the dsg is not in the cr 1.6 fabia but is in the octavia

The dry clutch dsg does require carefull throttle control when reversing up an incline from a hill hold situation. It's the only situation where my mum can fault the tsi. The wet clutch dsg fitted to higher torque vag models are much smoother as the clutches are allowed to slip for much longer. In slower speed traffic the wet clutch box will slip the clutch in second rather than changing down to first, makes the box act more like a conventional auto.

I do wish Skoda had fitted full auto hold rath er than just hill hold. With full auto hold as soon as you have stopped the car will maintain brake pressure and the car will not move. With dsg you just pull up at the lights in drive and take your foot of the pedals. To move away just touch the throttle, saves having to keep your foot on the brake pedal or putting the dsg in neutral and pulling on the handbrake

Cheers

Lee

on another note regarding auto boxes like the DSG, how safe is it to hold on the brake in D at traffic lights

As George mentioned this is technically not a problem but as a courtesy to drivers behind me I put the car in N and use the handbrake, that way you don't have your brake lights on while sitting at traffic lights.