DSG: What does everyone think

spaceman86

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What do you guys think of the DSG gearbox system? It's a good setup, I have used it on my friends R32 and I was impressed. I can imagine if the gearbox does go wrong though it can be a very expensive and i've heard they are not very reliable.

Personally I prefer a manuel gearbox, more control, more fun, less complicated, and easy to repair :)
 
I'm not a fan, had it in my A3 and it could never make it's mind up round town, and held at the top of the gears to long

As said I prefer the control of a manual But each to there own :)
 
*Drop gear, Double clutch lol

I'm not a fan, had it in my A3 and it could never make it's mind up round town, and held at the top of the gears to long

As said I prefer the control of a manual But each to there own :)
 
I wonder how different it feels on a petrol to a diesel ?

Mine jumped into gear and then kept changing all the time when there was no need and it was a diesel , is it nice and smooth throughout on the petrol?
 
Only used it on a Mk5 R32 and it was good but on a smaller petrol/diesel engines I guess it's not as polished.

I wonder how different it feels on a petrol to a diesel ?

Mine jumped into gear and then kept changing all the time when there was no need and it was a diesel , is it nice and smooth throughout on the petrol?
 
Lol now I get you

Sorry Its been a long day so bare with me :(

I've never replaced a clutch on any of my cars ( touch wood ) but I am expecting to on the S3 due to all the horror stories and my desire to make it faster lol seems the DSG handles power increases a lot better than the manual clutch
 
Mercedes have a similar setup on cars now. Mum's CLK does seem to handle power mapping between gears a lot better then a manuel would, but I guess that's down to how you drive a manuel car lol

Clutch replacement is a walk in the park compared to a gearbox change :) My last Audi A3 1.6 went through 2 gearboxes (no racing around either)

Lol now I get you

Sorry Its been a long day so bare with me :(

I've never replaced a clutch on any of my cars ( touch wood ) but I am expecting to on the S3 due to all the horror stories and my desire to make it faster lol seems the DSG handles power increases a lot better than the manual clutch
 
Mum's CLK does seem to handle power mapping between gears a lot better then a manuel would, but I guess that's down to how you drive a manuel car lol
I think we should all refer to it as the "manuel" from now on.....:yes:
 
Absolutely brilliant, I'd have another DSG car tomorrow. Lightening fast gear changes, smooth and when you have paddle shift (mine did) you can have some great fun on the B roads even in a 140 TDI!
 
The only thing where a manual is better than DSG is if it goes wrong. Everything else the DSG wins.

Stick a manual and a DSG in two equally powered cars on the road and you'll see the difference.
In take off alone DSG will give you at least half a second on a manual up to 60. More if the manual driver fluffs it a bit.
 
I'm on my 3rd A3 with a DSG box and would never want another car without one. I nearly always drive in the tiptronic mode and being able to change gear with just a click of the paddles adds to the enjoyment of driving.
 
Wasn't that interested in specing it on my new A3 until I drove my dads for a week.

Wouldn't buy a manual again tbh.

And as for people saying they are crap round town - If you mash the accelerator to the floor then it holds the gears higher. Drive it gentle and its a pleasure.
 
As I said each to there own but I don't floor it round town, I just drove steady but it kept changing up then down and then up etc

And when you come to a junction to pull out when there was no need to stop it hesitated then changed gear so delayed pulling out so I had to use the paddles in advance just incase, it was on the open road I found it held the top of the gear to long, maybe it was just down to it being in the desiel?
 
As I said each to there own but I don't floor it round town, I just drove steady but it kept changing up then down and then up etc

And when you come to a junction to pull out when there was no need to stop it hesitated then changed gear so delayed pulling out so I had to use the paddles in advance just incase, it was on the open road I found it held the top of the gear to long, maybe it was just down to it being in the desiel?

Maybe this is because it was a diesel. I've had none of these problems with my 2.0T dsg, it always seems to select the correct gear with no hestitations, up or down.

It does change up very quickly on slow driving, but this isn't a problem because I don't need the lower gears for responsiveness when driving slowly. But as soon as it is needed.... a firmer press on the gas pedal and the box wakes up and immediately changes down and holds gears longer.
 
Or maybe I just can't drive, even in an automatic lol
 
Or maybe I just can't drive, even in an automatic lol

Are you sure it was actually DSG? Maybe it was a dual control ex-learner car and your passengers were having a laugh with you by changing up and down when you weren't looking.
 
I did wonder why that old guy sat next to me kept saying mirror , signal , manoeuvre?

Just assumed it was the auto pilot
 
I was forced to swap for a DSG car through injury and at first I thought I'd never enjoy driving as much ever again. How wrong could I have been, lol? The lightning quick and 'utterly butterly' smooth and seamless gear changes are an absolute joy and I quickly learnt that moving to a DSG box wasn't something I was going to regret for a minute. Wish I had known how good it would be years ago!
 
Intresting read. The DSG gearbox is a good setup. Question is though how reliable are they?
 
Well there are enough DSGs around in all sorts of cars from the A1 and A3 in the Audi range to all models from the Polo to the Passat in the VW range plus Skodas and Seats so I can only assume they are no less reliable than a manual gearbox and clutch. Also with the mechatronic unit controlling what happens there is no chance of a DSG being mis-used like a manual.

Certainly the three I've had so far have been 100% reliable during the approximately 3 years I've owned each car.
 
If you look after your car and service on time I can see the dsg gearbox causing few problems. However I've heard of horrendous elctronic failures on a dsg system and the repair bill could be £2k plus.

Good test will be if you have a dsg system on a high mileage car.

Well there are enough DSGs around in all sorts of cars from the A1 and A3 in the Audi range to all models from the Polo to the Passat in the VW range plus Skodas and Seats so I can only assume they are no less reliable than a manual gearbox and clutch. Also with the mechatronic unit controlling what happens there is no chance of a DSG being mis-used like a manual.

Certainly the three I've had so far have been 100% reliable during the approximately 3 years I've owned each car.
 
If you look after your car and service on time I can see the dsg gearbox causing few problems. However I've heard of horrendous elctronic failures on a dsg system and the repair bill could be £2k plus.

Good test will be if you have a dsg system on a high mileage car.

What do you mean? I plan to keep my car a few years so the mileage will soon stack up! I'll let you know how I get on - no problems so far
 
My old 3.2 was coming up 7 years and 60k miles, DSG did once go into limp mode but Audi recoded a solenoid FOC and off we went again no worries.
No here's the hard sell.............

The Audi DSG is so good that A/ i would never consider a car without it now and B/ Even if it had blown up at 60k miles and presented me with a £2k bill i would have still fixed it and with a smile, a slap of the thigh and a hey nony no rather than have another manual.
 
My 3.2 was hitting 7yrs old and 95k miles, no issues with the DSG to speak of.... recently moved to an S3 manual, I'm missing DSG - cog stirring and constant clutch control in traffic can be a pita

Manual obviously has its pro's but for the majority of your driving time DSG is where its at - in my opinion...
 
My 3.2 was hitting 7yrs old and 95k miles, no issues with the DSG to speak of.... recently moved to an S3 manual, I'm missing DSG - cog stirring and constant clutch control in traffic can be a pita

Manual obviously has its pro's but for the majority of your driving time DSG is where its at - in my opinion...

This is bang on the money! Although I haven't driven a high powered DSG, mine is a diesel and DSG is perfect for pootling around!
 
Oh I forgot to point out that my DSG had been replaced 1 year before I bought the car so to add to my own personal experience of it being a negative one but I am happy to accept that maybe I was just unlucky :p
 
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This is bang on the money! Although I haven't driven a high powered DSG, mine is a diesel and DSG is perfect for pootling around!

The DSG works well with a Diesel engine. With a diesel you generally need to change gear more often because of the narrower rev band and the DSG makes this a pleasure rather than a chore.
 
I found it didn't take advantage of the low down power of the gears, instead it dropped a gear when all I wanted to do was ease forward

On the flip side though I did like the quick response of the flappy paddles :)
 
I found it didn't take advantage of the low down power of the gears, instead it dropped a gear when all I wanted to do was ease forward

On the flip side though I did like the quick response of the flappy paddles :)

I would not have noticed that because I never let the DSG decide when to change gear except perhaps in queueing traffic. I always decide when to change gear by always putting the DSG into 'tiptronic' mode and changing gear with the paddles. The only time I let the DSG do it is when I first pull away and I let it select second and sometimes third because these happen so quickly and then I move it to tiptronic. Also it's nice that when you stop it automatically selects first gear for you whichever mode you are in..

The DSG in fully auto mode does have a tendency to change up a little early for my liking although the engine never seems to complain and still accelerate quickly. It's just much more fun drive using the paddles.
 
Agreed on the first gear selection and I have no doubts its a fantastic bit of kit.

Something I never got over was what to do with my left arm / foot. I found myself tapping to music etc just to give it something to do ( didn't have the arm rest in the A3 so could not perfect the 'gangsta lean' while cruising ).

I may be tempted to try again down the line and maybe its just I wasnt used to it :)
 

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