does it also sharpen throttle response , or merely upshift earlier ? trying to decide if i should get a pedal box or not 

7 minutes ago, chrisluciofg said:

get a pedal box 

I have quoted and edited accordingly. 😉

 

No VCDS mod, driving mode, profile set up, etc etc compares to a pedal box IME. 

Totally agree. Pedal box is the best way forward 🙂

I suspect if you are asking the question, you will end up with a pedal box, and fair play to you. FWIW I've got used to the throttle lag on my 190TDI, but do use the 'S' for a quick getaway when needed. It does (kind of) sharpen the throttle response and it holds the lower gears longer - up to red-line if you really want to push on.

 

So no pedal box for me. But also FWIW, I'm known to yell at the TV because James May is driving too fast, so that probably gives you an idea of my driving style.

 

Maybe try using 'S' for a bit before deciding? And remember to mention it to your insurance company if you do get a box. Most don't care, but they do want to know. 

4 hours ago, chrisluciofg said:

does it also sharpen throttle response , or merely upshift earlier ? trying to decide if i should get a pedal box or not 

 

Definitely sharpens the throttle response - no "usual" lag.

depends on engine and gearbox -

2.0 TSI 220ps DSG6:
with 'S' it becomes enough jerky for me, that's perfect for sharp start and sometime braking by engine.
BUT unusable in long term, when stay in 'S', third gear "never" shifts up, on 80 km/h that's painful loud

 

while with 1.0 TSI Golf and 1.4 TSI Octavia (service replacement cars) i used 'S' almost all week long
 

7 hours ago, MartiniB said:

depends on engine and gearbox -

2.0 TSI 220ps DSG6:
with 'S' it becomes enough jerky for me, that's perfect for sharp start and sometime braking by engine.
BUT unusable in long term, when stay in 'S', third gear "never" shifts up, on 80 km/h that's painful loud

 

while with 1.0 TSI Golf and 1.4 TSI Octavia (service replacement cars) i used 'S' almost all week long
 

Given that all it takes to swap between D and S is a quick pull on the DSG lever, why leave it in S all the time if the noise bothers you? Leave it in D, when you want to go somwhere quickly shift to S, when you're done shift back to D. Dead easy...

I quite like Sport mode, having inadvertently engaged it the other week due to leaving my hand on the selector lazily.

 

It's made me realise that one of the biggest issues in terms of throttle lag is actually because in D it's too keen to keep to a higher gear, without really prompting it.  I found S still changes up and down at reasonable points (in my BMW I never use it because it just screams away for ages refusing to change up!), and it seemed to almost eliminate the annoying throttle issue for me.

7 speed twin dry clutch DQ200 DSG's is a different thing fitted to engines with 250Nm or less than 192ps.

This is where there will be 7 speed in D and only 6 speed in S.

when I first got my 190 D DSG I wondered about getting the Audi fix or a pedal box. However I have found that I can work around the hesitation by dropping in to sport mode if I want to move away quickly at a junction or roundabout etc. It is so easy to drop into and out of sport mode using the gear lever.

At other times I find it useful to use the paddles on the steering wheel if I want to select a gear and the DSG isn't doing it when I want to.

I find that flicking to S and mashing the pedal to kickdown results in significantly improved velocity 😅

5 hours ago, Skoffski said:

7 speed twin dry clutch DQ200 DSG's is a different thing fitted to engines with 250Nm or less than 192ps.

This is where there will be 7 speed in D and only 6 speed in S.

in other words, low-torque dry clutches are more suited to using S mode as the standard drive mode ? 

That would depend on the engine. 

90-113 ps,  122-150 ps or 180-190 ish.  '

S' can be good for slowing down on winter roads, great for short sprints between corners of country roads if not changing manually.

If your car is not heavy and there is plenty poke 'S' might be redundant for some.