SPORT MODE.

[Ootohere]

Scotlands best driving roads.

Edzell, Fettercairn, to Ballater, South Deeside, to Ballater, Balmoral the the Lecht Ski Centre, & then onto Tomintoul, Grantown on Spey to Nairn.

Similar return but maybe by the A93, Ballmoral, Braemar, Glenshee to Blairgowrie from Gairnshiel.

Mid week, or Early/Late, Out of Season etc.

 

See the 'Driving and Touring Routes' in this Forum, 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/272714-summer-tour-of-scotland

Some good routes for you in this thread.

 

george

[pumpsmynads]

Like others on here I've never used S. 11,000 miles driven now. For me D holds the revs too long past the usable rev range and I find myself flicking the right paddle to change up already.

Using the paddles in manual mode transforms the car when hooning along country roads - you just can't do it in automatic mode.

With regards the hypermiling comments, I sometimes put the box in manual 7 on the motorway so that when you need to accelerate or go up a hill the car doesn't downshift to D6 which I assume must use more fuel. There's more than enough torque in 7 at around the 70mph range.

[OzFabia]

Another vote for "S" for special (and rare) occasions only. I normally find D is sufficiently smart and intuitive, and has enough kick for most situations. Paddles are useful if I feel the need for speed, two down flicks (or three if there's a particularly stubborn overtakee) and away we go... I like the idea the semi-auto stick as well except, as someone noted above, it's still counter-intuitive for me to push forward for higher gear.

 

One good thing about down-shifting in manual mode is that "revvy" overrun sound.

[Ootohere]

Re

'S', 'D', & Manual changes with stick or paddle.

 

 Does anyone else just stick it in 'Manual 1' TC Off, then floor it, and not shift until you need to when its needed to go into 5th?

(someplace around about where there is no 90 mph written on the speedo.)

 

george

 

EDIT, And Answer to lol-lol's question below.

No that is not advice on how to do it.

(for me having timed it, it is quicker to 80mph than in 'S', or me shifting, and i then do the shift to 5th.).

It was a Question, if anyone Timing say for a 1/4 mile time, or when Sprinting or hill climbing has timed in different ways,

quickest off the line type thing..

It would not be a suggested way to drive on road.

*The 7 Speed gearbox is Limited to 6 gears in 'S' Mode , nothing to do with inclines.*

Some DSG Boxes do go into 7th in 'S', around 125 mph plus, they have a different setting from standard.

[lol-lol]

Re

'S', 'D', & Manual changes with stick or paddle.

 

 Does anyone else just stick it in 'Manual 1' TC Off, then floor it, and not shift until you need to when its needed to go into 5th?

(someplace around about where there is no 90 mph written on the speedo.)

 

george

 

Is that your recommended best getaway routine?

 

Tend to just put it in Sports and floor it which I keep feeling is not optimum. 

 

Gets to 120 quite quick and then seems to increase speed quite slowly unlike the VRS Octavia which seems to be still pulling quite well at 140 (on the clock probably only 135 actual).

 

Wen I use to work at Piper we would usually see the actual power measured at the back wheels peak at a revs much lower than the manufacturer's figures ie 500 rpm or so.

 

Being in sports mode contains it to 5 th or 6th gear depending on the incline and I reflect whether that at higher speeds, and therefore gears, it is faster in D and not S.  Thoughts from the Fabia VRS specialist and track users? 

[leevrs180]

I use manual nearlly everyday i find the changing up and down when going up a small hill annoying. Only used S a handfull of times as it holds the gear far too long.

looking at dyno graphs shows the best time to change. You would want to change at about 5200 (If i remember right) to keep in peak performance, so when it changes it drops back into begining of the peak of torque and bhp.

At the end of the day if your booting it then i would go for M then manual shift if you want but it will change up for you anyway incase you miss the change (i.e entering corner and not able to let go of steering wheel to reach paddle shift or stick)

[Didescharlie]

 

Gets to 120 quite quick and then seems to increase speed quite slowly unlike the VRS Octavia which seems to be still pulling quite well at 140 (on the clock probably only 135 actual).

Private runway?

[Ootohere]

Also maybe Mainland Europe, on some of the roads without restrictions.

They do pull much better when on decent fuel unlike some of the rubbish available in the UK.

& Cruise @ lower revs at the same speeds when drinking nice stuff.

 

Official figures may give Maximum Power 180ps @ 6200 rpm

Max Torque Nm/rpm 250 / 2000-4500 rpm

 

That is were the right gear selection to have the Supercharger from 2400-3500 with Turbo

& Turbo from 3500 rpm makes the difference on real roads with inclines and declines

and corners and powering out of corners comes in to things,

Getting up to 5000 rpm & then to higher rpm & Output quickly can mean you are not getting the most from

the torque available when you have both Supercharger and turbo sucking and spinning.

 

george

[leevrs180]

whats with 100 mph exceed. cruise control?? seeing s7 reminds me of a topic on here a while back saying S (sports mode) wouldn't go in to 7th. and at 70/80 mph sounds like it wasnt being driven hard

[Ootohere]

That is just a cheat 'S' 7,  it is actually in Cruise Control, so only doing the same RPM of 'D' 7, it does not change as you move the stick back, no real point to it.

 

 I have a box that does do 'S7' but only shifts up above about 125 mph on full throttle,

Some vRS Twinchargers do it, and most do not.

 

'100 mph exceed' is just the Winter Tyres warning Setting at 100mph & as a 'Ban reminder'.

 then you can also set the 'Speed limit warning'. at what ever you choose.

 

george

[newbie69]

I only use paddles. S mode is a waste of time and just holds on to gears for too long

 

 

As others have said - use D for normal daily use and paddles/stick for fun as S just revs the nuts off it.

The ONLY time I use S is when I'm sat in the passenger seat....... If Wifester is driving too slow for my taste and needs abit of a boost I'll knock it back into S until she starts complaining lol!

 

As above, I find S is completely useless (except the wife-case! thumbs up to that )  when you've understood how the car and the box work. I drive in manual around 70-80% of the time because even when I'm not rushing I like to exploit the gears just that little longer and not feel like I'm driving my old 75ps Renault... I can think of several cases where Manual is better than S (eg. when I go for my weekly spirited hill-climb) but not one where S is actually doing the job any better than a paddle flick... Actually, whenever I've put it in S, I've always felt I was sounding/looking like an idiot that was revving the nuts off the car with no apparent reason. Imho it's only there for silly marketing purposes.

[XK140]

When Mercedes introduced the ""tiptronic" manual control on their auto boxes ( quite a long time ago) they deleted the sportsmode button since they thought it unnecessary....and rightly so IMO.

[Ootohere]

If people do not like or want 'S' mode then no need to use it.

 

It is pretty good in winter or poor traction roads for decelerating even at slow speeds, just drop the stick back and come down 2 gears.

 

Many drivers of automatics are quite  used to switching on and off the 'Overdrive button', not shifting the gear selector,

the 'S mode is very similar when used for slowing on back roads, even just in town or any place, as said before approaching roundabouts,.

Quicker and straightforward than shifting to manual or going to shifts with the paddles,

one movement back into 'S' slow down/decelerate, then back into 'D' no brakes used. seems simple.

 

george

[XK140]

Getting into the right gear for a bend or roundabout beforehand is one thing,but I believe the brakes are there to slow the car down, not the gearbox,so I would not use it in that way.

[Ootohere]

Its good when you have choices, & each to their own.

thats how i have driven ever since i have been driving and only crashes i ever have had in cars years ago have been when on the brakes and lost traction and control, or slid off the road.

We maybe get a bit more experience of winter driving up here more regularly.

or its me just never going to get into the IAM. due to being a hopeless driver.

 

But i have only ever driven automatics, (apart from a Servo Clutch.) so never had proper engine braking on an automatic gear box before DSG's other than on CVT's.

 

george

[Didescharlie]

But i have only ever driven automatics, (apart from a Servo Clutch.) so never had proper engine braking on an automatic gear box before DSG's other than on CVT's.

 

george

 

Just asking George, but is the auto thing out of choice or necessity? I've flipped between the two over the years.

[lol-lol]

That is just a cheat 'S' 7,  it is actually in Cruise Control, so only doing the same RPM of 'D' 7, it does not change as you move the stick back, no real point to it.

 

 I have a box that does do 'S7' but only shifts up above about 125 mph on full throttle,

Some vRS Twinchargers do it, and most do not.

 

'100 mph exceed' is just the Winter Tyres warning Setting at 100mph & as a 'Ban reminder'.

 then you can also set the 'Speed limit warning'. at what ever you choose.

 

george

 

I have my speed warning set at 83 mph.  This seems to correspond to about 80 mph actual.

 

I have worked on quite a few traffic exercises with the police and speed trap use to be set a genuine 10% plus 2 mph or 10% plus 4 mph but it seems even this is gone by the book for much more selective speeds by the police ie only 10% and no extra 2 mph or sometimes ignoring people doing a genuine over 90 mph if they feel they are driving safely.

 

Watching one of the recent Top Gear episodes they seem to advocate driving at 95 was no issue! Not sure if that is a speedometer 95 which may well be upper 80s geniune or what.  Quite surprising.  

[lol-lol]

Also maybe Mainland Europe, on some of the roads without restrictions.

They do pull much better when on decent fuel unlike some of the rubbish available in the UK.

& Cruise @ lower revs at the same speeds when drinking nice stuff.

 

Official figures may give Maximum Power 180ps @ 6200 rpm

Max Torque Nm/rpm 250 / 2000-4500 rpm

 

That is were the right gear selection to have the Supercharger from 2400-3500 with Turbo

& Turbo from 3500 rpm makes the difference on real roads with inclines and declines

and corners and powering out of corners comes in to things,

Getting up to 5000 rpm & then to higher rpm & Output quickly can mean you are not getting the most from

the torque available when you have both Supercharger and turbo sucking and spinning.

 

george

 

if I have told you once I have told you a million times stop exaggerating, it only has 240 Nm of torque

 

Youtube "VW TSI twincharger"

 

http://youtu.be/20qqavckWdw

 

It is so good doing the lower revving in 7th.  The Octavia VRS is 25 mph/1000 revs where the Fabia is more like 27 mph/ 1000 ie barely half way up the rev range at 100 mph!

[Ootohere]

The One in the Youtube vid is maybe N/m 240, but it is a 125 kw engine.

but then they were supposed to be max power at 6000 rpm then. 2009.

 

The VW Polo GTI Brochures give then as Max Torque lbs/ft/Nm 184/250  180ps/178 bhp *132kw*

The Fabia as Max Torque Nm 250.180ps/178bhp *132 kw*

The Ibiza as Max Torque Nm 250 180ps/178bhp *132 kw*

The Audi A1 185 ps as Max Torque lbs/ft/Nm 184.4/250 & 182 bhp *136kw*

 

Its only figures but it is the Official Figures that VAG put out as being what you are buying.

 

george

[logiclee]

I've driven a lot of DSG cars petrol and diesel, dry and wet clutch, low and high powered.

 

In all of them S mode is rubbish, holds gears far too long on a light throttle, diesels will hit redline at half throttle way above their torque band. TSi's and TDi's have great midrange, S mode prevents you from using it.

 

Whoever signed off the mapping wants sacking.

 

S mode in my wife's BMW with the new 8 speed ZF box works great.

 

Cheers

Lee

[newbie69]

Plus, pushing the level from D to S and back to D for a slight engine-braking is like 3 times slower a procedure than a paddle pull (assuming we all drive with our hands on the wheel...!). I really fail to understand how George finds that quicker/more convenient but if that suits him... I find the temporary manual override great in that respect.

[lol-lol]

250 Nm of torque, my bad.

This works out at 160 PS hp at 4500 rpm, wow !

I am even more sure I hang on to or probably should not bother with Sports mode.

Should simply put it in to manual and try and keep between 4500 and 6200.

What is the ratio between 1st and second as I suspect that is the only gear that it may be worth revving to 6500 or 7000 so it drops to no less than 4500 rpm as the rest will drop from 6200 and still be above 4500?

[philhoward]

I've had "conventional" autos with a Sport setting and its usually been quite good but having tried it a few times, don't use the DSG one; paddles and use the temporary override facility (don't move lever from D and it goes back after about 20-30 seconds of no paddle action).  "-" twice is very handy for pulling out to overtake rather than wait for possible downshifting; the gearbox doesn't know I want to accelerate quickly until I press the pedal - at which point I want it to accelerate, not think what to do first.

 

Yep - mine is (was) one of those that would change up to S7 on full throttle, but that was over 200kph at the time.  Pulled right up to 225 (SatNav registered the max speed - my eyes were on the stretch of autobahn) in D no problem; changed into 7th somewhere between 180 and 200kph I think.

 

If you're not a lover of metric, sorry but had switched the SatNav over to kph for driving through Europe.  225 is the quoted max speed of the Estate though

[Ootohere]

Re 'Driving with both hands on the wheel, and using the paddles rather than the stick.

 

Not many driving a manual gearbox can be driving with both hands on the steering wheel at all times,

at least every gear change will have a hand going to the gear stick,

if its not sitting resting there most of the time anyway.

 

Not comparing us with Rally Drivers but many top drivers do seem to like their sequential changes on the stick in many cases,

sometimes paddles, then their handbrakes/fiddles as well.

 

george

[logiclee]

Re 'Driving with both hands on the wheel, and using the paddles rather than the stick.

 

Not many driving a manual gearbox can be driving with both hands on the steering wheel at all times,

at least every gear change will have a hand going to the gear stick,

if its not sitting resting there most of the time anyway.

 

Not comparing us with Rally Drivers but many top drivers do seem to like their sequential changes on the stick in many cases,

sometimes paddles, then their handbrakes/fiddles as well.

 

george

 

 

I prefer using stick to paddles but not in VAG models the +/- is back to front. + should be pull back and change down push forward the same as nearly every competition car.

 

I drive Fords and BMWs that have manual selection the right way round, My Passat and our Fabia feel back to front and counterintuitive.

 

Cheers

Lee