I have a Skoda Superb Sportline Plus DSG 4x4 ... new 2 months old.... it always seems to be in the wrong gear e.g. when in the 6th it feels sluggish ...use the manual paddle to put it down to 5th and it feels in the correct gear and more responsive ... another example would be going up a hill in a 30mph area and it’s in 6th gear doing 30mph... is this normal? Any advice appreciated

What driving mode are you using? 

I assume its 7 speed dsg - if yes then its normal for any mode apart from S.

 

and its a pita really

2 hours ago, penguin17 said:

What driving mode are you using? 

Normal and eco

No wonder in ECO mode... The engine control mapping is designed to reduce fuel consumption in that mode. Thus reaction times are littele bit lengthned...

However, it shouldn't be that "sluggish" in NORMAL mode.

Thanks ... another example is going uphill in a 30 mph zone it sometimes remains in 6th gear when the car is doing just over 30mph

It's all about emissions and fuel economy.

 

The life of the dual mass flywheel (DMF) is way down the engineers priority list.

Thanks .. but can you explain what is dual mass flywheel is?

2 hours ago, Wlgc66 said:

Thanks ... another example is going uphill in a 30 mph zone it sometimes remains in 6th gear when the car is doing just over 30mph

The control systems manages to lower the fuel consumption (especially in ECO Mode) as much as possible. It's the same with my DSG6 4x4 (MY17) too.

 

1 hour ago, Wlgc66 said:

Thanks .. but can you explain what is dual mass flywheel is?

To be very simple. It's a metallic disc, which is heavy enough to give inertia to the rotating/moving parts (pistons / rods / crankshaft) so that the engine rotation speed doesn't collapse too fast (leading to engine stall) each time the clutch disengages the engine from the drive train.  

Aaaah so it’s not Debbies Massive F*%nny? Well, you learn something every day...

The simplistic description was that of a standard flywheel and not that of a dual mass flywheel which is a very different animal concieved for a very different purpose.

 

Have to leave now, someone else hopefully will explain a DMF.

16 hours ago, penguin17 said:

What driving mode are you using? 

Thanks for the info

5 hours ago, J.R. said:

The simplistic description was that of a standard flywheel and not that of a dual mass flywheel which is a very different animal concieved for a very different purpose.

 

Have to leave now, someone else hopefully will explain a DMF.

OK. To give some more details but still being simple: the DMF can be compared to 2 classical fleywheel, both connected by inner springs.

The main flywheel is connected to the engine and the second flywheel is connected to the clutch.

Since each combustion phase in each cylinder generates immediate acceleration on the crankshaft, which roughly gives a sine wave appereance on the crankshaft rotating speeds. 

The inner springs then damp the sine wave to lower the vibrations and noise on the second / ouput flywheel, which can then have a much more "constant" rotating speed to be transmitted to the clutch and gearbox.

The DMF then enables:

- Damping vibrations ans noise

- Reducing inner friction in the clutch

- Improving gears life in gearbox. 

 

Hope this is now better explained.

Wow ... thank you for the very comprehensive explanation 

cheers

18 hours ago, Wlgc66 said:

Thanks ... another example is going uphill in a 30 mph zone it sometimes remains in 6th gear when the car is doing just over 30mph

Nothing wrong with that, if you're not in a hurry and there's enough torque to carry you on up the hill and the engine isn't grumbling -- so long as when you want to accelerate the DSG changes down swiftly.

 

The normal mode on a DSG (or most mdern autos) tends to keep the revs down because it's more efficient (lower fuel consumption) to have a bigger throttle opening at lower revs than a smaller one at higher revs.

 

If you don't like this switch to sport mode, which keeps the revs up (lower gear) for more immediate response when needed -- and worse fuel consumption, obviously...

39 minutes ago, IanJD said:

Nothing wrong with that, if you're not in a hurry and there's enough torque to carry you on up the hill and the engine isn't grumbling -- so long as when you want to accelerate the DSG changes down swiftly.

 

The normal mode on a DSG (or most mdern autos) tends to keep the revs down because it's more efficient (lower fuel consumption) to have a bigger throttle opening at lower revs than a smaller one at higher revs.

 

If you don't like this switch to sport mode, which keeps the revs up (lower gear) for more immediate response when needed -- and worse fuel consumption, obviously...

That’s not always true because in normal mode dsg in Skoda reacts with a delay and often on small hills forgets that it would be better to switch than strain the engine with low revs and damage crankshaft bearings. So in most scenarios you’re saving some small amount of fuel but you’ll loose more later when engine needs repair  

Edited 2 February, 20197 yr by JamesEnfield

Having just switched from a 6 speed 170bhp to a 7 speed 150 bhp I feel the newer car changes up sooner and feels livelier (in normal) 

Edited 2 February, 20197 yr by Mph25

Thanks guys I’m getting a clear picture... seems like DSG is something I just need to get used to

I'm assuming you've got the 190bhp diesel not the 280bhp petrol? (I'm viewing on Tapatalk so can't see your whole profile).

 

I only ask as I don't think the petrol has a DMF, but the diesel does.

 

Mine's the iccle 1.4 petrol 2wd, but I'll echo the comments of the others. The set up is configured to minimise fuel consumption which isn't always ideal for driving. 

 

In eco, I don't have enough power to overtake without mashing the pedal into the carpet, at which point it kicks down and all gets a bit frantic. I have to prepare by knocking the dsg lever back to put it in sport before hand and knock it again to put it back into eco again afterwards.

 

Normal is generally ok for, err, normal driving and I suspect out of town it's actually more economical than eco as it doesn't have the ridiculous free-wheel feature.

 

Annoyingly, I find I leave it in sport a lot in town where eco should be the preferred option as I don't like to hold up bicycles, milk floats and funeral cortèges

I have the  Sportline Plus 280bhp 4x4 ... I take on board your comments about using Sport when overtaking

22 hours ago, JamesEnfield said:

That’s not always true because in normal mode dsg in Skoda reacts with a delay and often on small hills forgets that it would be better to switch than strain the engine with low revs and damage crankshaft bearings. So in most scenarios you’re saving some small amount of fuel but you’ll loose more later when engine needs repair  

Nope, don't believe the bit about damage one little bit. It only keeps the revs low (anything down to 1000rpm or so) at low throttle openings, as soon as you ask for significant oomph it changes down. It's probably lower stress on the engine (high torque at low revs) than the way a lot of people drive manual cars.

 

I never use eco mode, normal mode works just fine for normal driving. If you want to go fast, all you have to do is flick the DSG lever towards you and you're in sports mode, it's very simple and easy to do, quicker than changing down in a manual...

Edited 3 February, 20197 yr by IanJD

23 minutes ago, IanJD said:

Nope, don't believe the bit about damage one little bit. It only keeps the revs low (anything down to 1000rpm or so) at low throttle openings, as soon as you ask for significant oomph it changes down. It's probably lower stress on the engine (high torque at low revs) than the way a lot of people drive manual cars.

 

I never use eco mode, normal mode works just fine for normal driving. If you want to go fast, all you have to do is flick the DSG lever towards you and you're in sports mode, it's very simple and easy to do, quicker than changing down in a manual...

There is no scientific proof that low rpm equals lower strain really. Rather other way around.

I don't know if anybody else would agree, but I am finding that my 190 Tdi DSG is taking a very long time loosen up. On 6500 miles now and it still getting better. When new it suffered with lack of pull and gave the impression of being in too higher a gear. As above I use the quick flick of the gearstick into sports mode to drop a gear.

 

I found my Mk2 (170) changed up sooner than I would have liked - my new Mk3 (150) seems better in that regard. Not tried the eco mode yet as I doubt it’s ideal when running in.