Hi all,

 

Does anyone know whether the manual TSI VRS has a torque limiter in 1st and 2nd gear?  My car feels a lot more powerful in 3rd than it does in 2nd. There's still enough torque in 2nd to get the front wheels spinning on wet tarmac, but on good dry tarmac, the car feels rather weak... In 3rd and up, it goes like a rocket. 

Is it a DSG ?

no, it's a manual. I know the DSGs come with a torque limiter to protect them, although IIRC that limit is higher than what a standard car produces, so it's only an issue when putting a new ECU map.

I would imagine most cars are torque limited in 1st & 2nd gear for various reasons; but mainly durability of the drivetrain (DMF (for diesel), driveshifts, gearbox etc)

I found some online references that the Focus ST has a torque limiter in 1st and 2nd, but I found nothing for our VRS. 

 

Can anyone confirm similar experiences, i.e. the car pulling stronger in 3rd than in 2nd? 

I must say, that the setup feels like that to me as well.

The previous focus St limited the amount of boost produced by the turbo in first and possibly second gear. Crude but effective in limiting torque. A remap sorted that right out.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Could be the TC dunno, I tend to be focusing on the road so, difficult to tell.

 

Is it any better in Sport Mode ?

Edited 4 November, 201411 yr by themanwithnoaim

As almost all parts of the engine are now controlled by software there are many ways to easily limit the torque output of an engine (pedal mapping, limiting air flow or boost pressure setpoint, limiting torque output, limiting injected fuel quantity etc etc)

 

Its exactly the same concept as when manufacturers sell exactly the same engine with 2 or 3 different power ratings.

The major difference will just be the calibration of the software.

Nothing for it then, REMAP TIME

I have experienced no such thing (which isn't to say you aren't right in suspecting it though). I can easily grind down my tires in 1st and 2nd gear on dry and wet. 

What I don't have (surprisingly) is torque steer on traffic light sprints. Goes like a rocket, straight ahead. 

My mk2 pre fl diesel vrs feels the same as you describe. 1st/2nd will spin the wheels, but just doesn't fill like there's much oomph there till 3rd.

My (non VRS) feeds pathetic in first and noticeably more power in second.

In fact I'd go so far as to say short shifting into second is quicker than hitting peak power in first.

My car does the same. It has got no power in 2nd gear. It is a DSG.