When was the option of the S Tronic brought in for the S3 Model? Was this only introduced for the facelift vehicles?
Thanks chris
Thanks chris
S Tronic option on the S3
- Thread starter Hirsty9159
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Very droll!!........I appreciate the response and i'm glad my preeemptive "thank's" gave you slight amusement. Nice plate.
No problem dude, must've woke up on the right side of bed this morning! Yer I love my plate, took me six hours of refreshing the page on dvla day of release to secure it!
And go for the s-tronic - it's epic
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S-Tronic on the S3 is just a completley different driving experience, its a must have!
Anyone care to give some proper justification?!
Proper justification? How do you mean?
I have S-Tronic and it is the first time i have ever used anything like it. I think it is awesome. My old Subaru was rapid but with auto gear changes my S3 would p**s all over it in that sense. Manuals have to be treated with mechanical sympathy on the changes if you want your clutch and gearbox to last. DSG has no such worries. In my Subaru, fast moves from a standstill were a waste of time as i have to sit there at 5k revs so it does not bog down when you pull off. S3 and DSG? LOL, silent at the lights and foot down and you're gone rapid style whilst the car next to you selects 2nd gear. Awesome. Launch control? WOW, epic. Even my missus loves that! lol.
There is nothing bad about the DSG S3. Manual mode - again, superb. The car will not let you wreck it or the box only changing up a gear if you don't. I like that as well. The fact you can use the paddles when you want a proper drive is just superb, the whole way the DSG works and changes is superb. I cannot find anything wrong with it. Notts ring road and traffic? Auto mode. Let it do all the work.
A614 and further North? Manual mode and have some fun! Just watch out for them damn pesky SPECS cameras now on the A614 LOL.
I mean, *engage rant mode* that A614 was 60 or 70 mph all day long and they have made it 50 mph and SPECS cameras ***.
I don't have an S3 but I am on my 8th A3. The last four including my current one have all be 2.0 TDIs, both 140 and 170 and have all been fitted with the s-tronic gearbox.
To me the s-tronic can be BOTH an automatic and a manual.
If you want to be lazy and just let the car drive itself then a s-tronic will make an excellent job of this.
If you want to do things 'manually' then again the s-tronic can do this as well. In manual mode you decide when to change up and down according to the type of driving you are doing and the road situations. To change gear you just click a paddle or move the centre lever forward or back. If you are accelerating hard and want to change up you just click the paddle. No need to ease of the power and depress the clutch, move the gear lever and then release the clutch again. This particular part of the s-tronic experience still brings a smile to my face even though I've been driving an A3 with a s-tronic for the past 8 years.
The s-tronic is the best of both worlds. Auto when you want it and also manual when you want it.
To me the s-tronic can be BOTH an automatic and a manual.
If you want to be lazy and just let the car drive itself then a s-tronic will make an excellent job of this.
If you want to do things 'manually' then again the s-tronic can do this as well. In manual mode you decide when to change up and down according to the type of driving you are doing and the road situations. To change gear you just click a paddle or move the centre lever forward or back. If you are accelerating hard and want to change up you just click the paddle. No need to ease of the power and depress the clutch, move the gear lever and then release the clutch again. This particular part of the s-tronic experience still brings a smile to my face even though I've been driving an A3 with a s-tronic for the past 8 years.
The s-tronic is the best of both worlds. Auto when you want it and also manual when you want it.
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It was introduced in autumn 2008. I got mine delivered early Dec that year and it was one of the first orders in UK.
Love the S3/DSG/Mag Ride suspension combo.....
Love the S3/DSG/Mag Ride suspension combo.....
PaulAr
S3 (8P)
This is my first DSG and its very impressive.
I use it in D mode most of the time as I do a lot of lazy town driving often with the family on board.
Because of this alone it would difficult to go back to manual now.
If there is a downside, then its the fact you need `learn` how to drive it fast, however for me I quite like the learning process as I have had an S3 before so the DSG brings something new to the S3 ownership experience second time around.
Driving DSG fast in manual mode can mean using the paddles and the stick if you need to change gear mid corner as the paddles can be out of reach.
Love the `pop` on flat upchanges too, everyone does.
Big DSG thumbs up from me.
cheers
Paul
I use it in D mode most of the time as I do a lot of lazy town driving often with the family on board.
Because of this alone it would difficult to go back to manual now.
If there is a downside, then its the fact you need `learn` how to drive it fast, however for me I quite like the learning process as I have had an S3 before so the DSG brings something new to the S3 ownership experience second time around.
Driving DSG fast in manual mode can mean using the paddles and the stick if you need to change gear mid corner as the paddles can be out of reach.
Love the `pop` on flat upchanges too, everyone does.
Big DSG thumbs up from me.
cheers
Paul
I have the DSG also, and I love it too...
But I have to take issue with changing gear mid-corner while 'driving fast'.
EVERY driver education class and track instructor will tell you to get into the gear BEFORE you turn-in.
You DON'T shift gears mid-corner. Not when you're driving fast. Nossir.
Plus, if you keep your hands at the correct position, you'll still be right with the paddles. -If you've got so much lock on the wheel that you HAVE to 'pass the wheel' between your hands and change positions... then it's unlikely that you'll be going very fast. -High speeds typically mean smaller steering inputs.
But yes. This is the first 'self-shifter' I've ever owned, after ~30 years of driving. I've driven slush-box auto tranny cars before; rentals, loaners etc... but this is the first time I've ever been able to drive an auto and say "that'll do for me". -It's a marvellous transmission system. (2.0T/DSG)
PaulAr
S3 (8P)
No formal racing driver training here unfortunately, 21 years driving experience though. Exit a rounbabout with some lock on looking to change up and the paddles arent always where you (I) want them. Maybe 'mid exit' would have been a better description than 'mid corner'. But anyhow,thats my personal experience so far with 900 mile on the clock and very little hoonage yet.
The reason advanced driving instructors will tell you not do this is that lifting off and then re applying power whilst shifting can upset the balance of a car when you're 'on the limit'. This doesn't happen with DSG gearboxes as the shifts happen so fast the balance of the car is unaffected.
Agree with finding the paddles at times is difficult, but that's only normally first to second with a lot of lock on. If you keep your hands at 1/4 to 3 and keep them there lock to lock you will find it solves your problem (and yes, that does mean you will cross arms sometimes). You will only need to adopt a different steering wheel grip on slow roundabouts, anything over about 30mph and you should never need to change hand positioning.
Agree with finding the paddles at times is difficult, but that's only normally first to second with a lot of lock on. If you keep your hands at 1/4 to 3 and keep them there lock to lock you will find it solves your problem (and yes, that does mean you will cross arms sometimes). You will only need to adopt a different steering wheel grip on slow roundabouts, anything over about 30mph and you should never need to change hand positioning.
