So I've had the car over 3 months now, I've tried Eco, tried Sport, tried Individual.

I must confess I've hardly ever put it in normal as I figured I may as well have it one way or the other, not in the middle suffering all ways.

 

So do most people actually use these modes and notice a difference big enough to justify swapping?

 

Don't get me wrong, it responds quicker in sport, eco seems to ultimately add a lag to the throttle response.  But seeing as my foot and the resultant use of the accelerator is analogue, not digital, this doesn't help me in eco mode.

I don't notice any economy benefits really in eco...  

 

It sounds a bit better (albeit fake) in sport, the dif is set to work better, steering feels better.

 

Basically, I leave it in sport all the time now and can't really see any down side of doing so.

 

Which begs the question, what's the point of the other modes?

Edited 6 October, 20196 yr by Alex-W

Mine is used as a commuting car among it's other duties, so for that it stays in Normal as the DSG works its way up the gears much quicker. 

 

With regards to the diff, bearing in mind it's on a 3 year fluid schedule, I'd be keen to do that earlier if it's being left in a more aggressive setting all the time. 

I have a scout and usually drive it in sport but use off road mode when im on anything that might add additional slip such as gravel roads or grass.

 

The throttle responds better in sport but for eco to work i think you would need dsg so the engine can chose the most efficient gear.

 

Cheers

I used to have mine in Sport but the Fake Engine noise makes the centre vents buzz. I now put into Individual Mode, everything in Sport except Engine noise is Off AC is Normal  ( 245 Manual )

It also depends on options.

 

You will notice a bigger difference with DSG and cars with DCC.

 

For a manual with standard suspension the changes are limited to throttle mapping, steering weight and fake noise.

3 minutes ago, Auric Goldfinger said:

I used to have mine in Sport but the Fake Engine noise makes the centre vents buzz. I now put into Individual Mode, everything in Sport except Engine noise is Off AC is Normal  ( 245 Manual )

I have the same settings as you Auric, as I can't stand the fake engine noise either.

I am assuming my Scout DSG 184 is similar enough to your VRS for the purposes of this discussion. If you have DSG you can use the mode button to select a driving mode that suits you most of the time, either Normal, Eco or Individual, and then quickly switch to Sport by pulling back on the DSG selector when you want a bit of extra poke.

 

Until recently I have been driving in Normal most of the time, but having discovered that Eco allows coasting I am trying that out for a bit. When I first got the car I tried Eco and didn't think it made a noticeable difference in economy compared to Normal, but this time I am trying to adopt a driving style that actively favours coasting. The car will coast when I am not accelerating or braking, but goes into gear as soon as I operate one of the pedals. I am consciously looking ahead for opportunities to coast, which tends to happen either when I am on a slight downhill gradient, or when I have picked up a bit too much speed and need to ease off. When I am going down a steeper hill and need to apply the brakes, the car stops coasting, but a very light touch and easing off of the accelerator is enough to return to coasting mode.

 

I do have a couple of reservations about coasting. Firstly, the car uses less fuel when it is actually coasting, but then uses a bit of extra fuel to get back up to speed after coasting. Secondly, and this does not apply to you guys with petrol engines, I am wondering whether coasting is good or bad for the DPF. (Good because less fuel burned should mean less soot is produced, but bad because a higher temperature would be better for passive regeneration).

 

Same for me too the fake noise is terrible 

Not the octy, but a DSG with the same modes.

 

The DCC also, does make a diff, but not to what matters, fuel.

 

I thought, yeah not using eco, but then actually it makes a huge difference on longer runs. Where you can use. One glaring oversight is in eco it does not seem to work when on cruise/radar. The revs never drop when you or I would be 'coasting'.

 

I'm in two minds, driving around cornwall I was 'manual, so eco was kicking in down all the hills and dips. My passenger didn't notice the difference.

 

On the motorway, eco cruise, yes a few folk snook in, but we didn't really care.

 

However where I'm a little umm... is coasting... the car if it's coasting isn't in control, I was a taught not to dip the clutch and freewheel, the old school way, but this essentially is what it's doing. I hadn't thought about the filters, petrol or diesel. I guess if it's a thing it can do out of the factory, they must of thought, factored for it.

 

The radar cruise is also crippled by only looking at what's in front, not whats 3 or 4 more further on. 

 

So I use all modes except normal

 

Individual I have ac/cruise set to eco, drive on normal, the rest sport. If I get on the motorway, I just switch to comfort, then on the a/b's pop it to individual, or sport if dry. I want sport speed on the dsg, but not the long holding style.

 

I'd like to mention a few things.

 

Coasting wrt fuel: modern injection engines cut the fuel when in-gear coasting. Dip the clutch and the engine effectively goes to tickover which in theory uses more fuel. How any of this works in real world is still a mystery to me.

 

Coasting wrt control: you still have full braking control with modern cars even when out of gear.

 

I find that I am constantly fighting the coasting feature when in eco so I tend to run in normal if looking for an economic drive.

@MarkyG82

?

What is it that at tickover uses more fuel than, is it having the engine turned off and sitting stationary?

ie not moving and not going anywhere.

@Roottootemoot when in eco mode you lift off the gas the dsg dips the clutch dissengaging the engine from the wheels. To keep the engine running it sits at tickover while coasting. 

 

Edit: when in gear (normal mode) and lifting off the gas the fuel system will shut off therefore using zero fuel.

 

Or am I not understanding the process?

Edited 6 October, 20196 yr by MarkyG82

2 hours ago, logiclee said:

It also depends on options.

 

You will notice a bigger difference with DSG and cars with DCC.

 

For a manual with standard suspension the changes are limited to throttle mapping, steering weight and fake noise.

 

I still get fake noise, usually Mrs G moaning about something.......................

11 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

@Roottootemoot when in eco mode you lift off the gas the dsg dips the clutch dissengaging the engine from the wheels. To keep the engine running it sits at tickover while coasting. 

 

Edit: when in gear (normal mode) and lifting off the gas the fuel system will shut off therefore using zero fuel.

 

Or am I not understanding the process?

 

 

That is correct but with modern direct injection engines using so little fuel on tickover studies have shown that coasting uses less fuel than having the engine reduce vehicle speed when in gear and the fuel is shut off.

 

 

3 minutes ago, logiclee said:

That is correct but with modern direct injection engines using so little fuel on tickover studies have shown that coasting uses less fuel than having the engine reduce vehicle speed when in gear and the fuel is shut off.

That is kind of what I was going to say, but you beat me to it. When you lift off the fuel and you are in gear you get what I would call engine braking. When you are coasting in DSG Eco mode, you don't want braking you want to keep going. They are two different things.

 

51 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

I find that I am constantly fighting the coasting feature when in eco so I tend to run in normal if looking for an economic drive.

If the coasting feature was not an aid to economy, VW would not have made it a feature of Eco mode. Don't try to fight it, go with it.

 

Does the fake noise only happen on the vrs models. ? Dont think its a feature on the scout.

I need to fill up this week so I'll try and manage a whole tank in eco and see how I go. If I can adapt my driving to cope then it might be a good way to counter those times when I live in sport mode for a month 😀

3 minutes ago, 3rdoctavia said:

Does the fake noise only happen on the vrs models. ? Dont think its a feature on the scout.

 

Yes VRS only.

 

Lots of manufacturers do the fake noise thing now but some are much better than others.

Ok, so not convinced about coasting...

Seems a good way to wear out your clutch release bearing to me.  

Certainly would never do that in a manual.

Tbh, when you cruise in gear on the flat, it hardly uses any fuel anyway.  It's acceleration that kills it.

 

My car is a manual, hadn't really considered the additional differences that you get with dsg.

 

13 minutes ago, 3rdoctavia said:

Does the fake noise only happen on the vrs models. ? Dont think its a feature on the scout.

You are correct. I don't have it on my Scout, and don't particularly want it.  Anyway the Scouts are all diesel these days or were until they were discontinued. I hate to think what fake diesel noise would be like. I suppose they could equip the Scouts with fake petrol noise to make them sound more like petrol cars (if they had been still in production). 😉

Edited 6 October, 20196 yr by OldBoyScout
Added a bit about discontinued

6 minutes ago, Alex-W said:

Ok, so not convinced about coasting...

Seems a good way to wear out your clutch release bearing to me.  

Certainly would never do that in a manual.

 

 

Pretty sure the clutch actuator is hydraulic on a dsg so may not have a release bearing. On the wet clutch systems at least. I would still be wary of clutch wear when coming back into gear unless there is good rev matching going on.

Seemless, and between using Coasting function or not on the same trips i can have a range of 730 miles compared to a already rather good 630 miles.

No real effort, journey times take no longer, just need to remember no toe on the accelerator when not needed and speed being maintained.

3 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

Pretty sure the clutch actuator is hydraulic on a dsg so may not have a release bearing. On the wet clutch systems at least. I would still be wary of clutch wear when coming back into gear unless there is good rev matching going on.

My impression is that it works pretty seamlessly on my Scout which has the 6 speed wet clutch system. It seems to me that good rev matching is a main job of the dsg gearbox whether changing from coasting to a gear or from one gear to another.

 

I'll give it another go after having the DSG serviced but the 'rev matching' on mine in Eco coast is dreadful and the main reason I don't use Eco - it noticeably lurches and drops the speed by 2 or 3mph as it re-engages, as the clutches are grabbing way before the revs have increased and then you have to apply more throttle to regain the speed lost. I find i'm better off generally just letting it roll in 7th.

 

Maybe i'm just not giving it enough throttle when I do press the accelerator again and being a bit more heavy handed with it would reduce the lurching?

Edited 6 October, 20196 yr by Kenai

4 hours ago, Alex-W said:

I must confess I've hardly ever put it in normal as I figured I may as well have it one way or the other, not in the middle suffering all ways.

 

Depends on your driving style. The quicker down changes in Sport have me favouring Normal.

 

I look at it differently, rather than your thought of suffering all ways in Normal, I find the laziness of Eco and the overly keen Sport too extreme for normal day-to-day commuting.