S-Tronic Observations - Gearchange points / speeds (2.0TFSI quattro)

Hi, I'm wondering when others S-tronic upshift and downshift in auto.
As mine has just changed when it does it. It just had a gearbox oil and filter change last week. So thought I might feel a wee difference ..

Strangely yesterday on a short run it was going into 6th at 30mph , and holding 4th till 15 mph.
Took it for a longer run and it was upshifting less earlier but earlier than the last month I've had it.

So now it seems more settled and shifts up to 3rd at 18mph, 4rd at 22mph, 5th at 28mph, 6th at 36mph, and 7th sometimes at 43mph.
It will hold on to 4th slowing down till 15mph sometimes , say coming up to a junction , then seamlessly go down to 2nd and first if needed.
And I am getting better MPG around town now , but not on motorway.

Gear changes from 3rd up are seamless, I often can't tell it's changed gear. But 1st to second is always a bit draggy or lumpy compared to other gears (but none worse than any other auto I've driven with ZF box) , Seems like it is riding the clutch / torque converter.

Other observation is in manual it takes a second to change up after tapping the paddle. More like it's thinking , then when change happens it's instant .

I've just ran 1000miles feeding it V power nitro and Momentum 99 , so don't sure if this may have flipped the ECU to produce more torque lower down to enable earlier upshits - does the ECU talk to the gearbox ?

First time with an Auto / S-Tronic so I'm still getting used to it and know it's way different from a manual!

So would like to hear others observations

Cheers

Dippy said:

How old is the car? If it has the DL501 7-speed s-tronic then you should be aware that there are 3 versions: The first was used 2009-11, the second 2011-12 and the third 2012 onwards (as best as I can ascertain). Your description of 1/2 gearchanges matches what I have read from owners of the early cars. A TCU update by an Audi dealer may help.

The shift points seem OK to me. As @Lavis89 stated, it responds to throttle position (so yes the ECU and TCU communicate).

Yes I notice a delay when switching from D or S to M. This is probably a built-in delay whilst the TCU checks that it wasn't just about to auto-change gear, so that the M gear selected is correct. Subsequent flipping of the paddles should then give near-instant changes.

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Thanks Dippy,

It will be the first version 2010 I would imagine. I read on a forum there was an update called "
delayed throttle response at low speeds, with cold engines." Which helps. - I asked Audi service manager , he said they will do a check to see if there are any updates for this gearbox, and he came back saying no ...

I've been searching other forums and there's a couple of posts here about the hesitating of it especially in 1-2nd , and a some complaining of the delay in a Manual paddle upshift . So I think it's prob normal . Before I bought I was aware of the hesitant nature when pulling out of junctions. And would imagine the later and B.5 ones are a bit snappier.

I haven't notice a delay in doing from D-S or M. Just when in M, it's the delay between actual shift and when tapping the paddle, going down seems quicker than shifting up. And like a I mentioned others seems to report this, especially under heavy acceleration .
People reckon it's saving the gearbox and programmed to be kinder to it or smoother change at the expense of timing.

Yeah there's definitely some computer weirdness going on with the accelerator pedal , just something I'll have to get used to.
As pulling away at junction/ roundabout I feel you're better to time it to let pull away slightly without gas then feather the gas pedal in. Not the quickest but smoothest.
OR just floor it! A bit more jumpy, with 2 sec delay then it rockets, and have to back off.

Or just use M when you want more control or to hold it in gear longer as I would in a manual and not change whist turning.

Maybe I'm asking for too much , bit weird how the gas pedal is relative or subjective to your current speed / gear and poss last distance traveled or type of driving.

The fact you have to push gas pedal half way down to pull out from a standstill, then back right off and 10 seconds later a slight touch flies you from 30-40mph, then going from 50-70 you have to floor it again !
And sometimes when reversing , it pulls quicker than I would like with no gas , but a slight uphill or kerb and I have to give push pedal 1/2 half way down , which freaks me out! Ready for it to shoot into the wall behind.. lol.

Why couldn't they have just kept the gas pedal a constant , I like how it matches the revs to the next gear , and can cope with a delay because of that or slight clutch smoothing.

I've read a few times that these boxes ECU learn and sense your driving style .. is that for real ?!

Got to say tho most of the time it drives fine and using M is great , and I was a stickler for trying to drive in town as smooth driving as one can do in a manual with lots of N coasting which I can't do anymore. so I am just being hyper sensitive and comparative about it.

But great to hear of others experiences with it.

Benten69 said:

Was an adaptation done after the oil change? The gearbox oil over time will become dirty and the ECU will adapt to this changing environment. When you change the oil you need to perform an adaptation in order for the ECU to re-learn in the new oil and likely to prevent what you are experiencing.

Sure, over time the box will re-learn as yours has done, but the forced adaptation should make that less noticeable than leaving the car to figure it all out by itself.

Link below explains how the ClutchValve Calibration (adaptation) is done in VCDS on an 0B5 gearbox (there are others like the 0AM with different VCDS procedures).

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/7-Speed_S-Tronic_Direct-Shift_Gearbox_(DSG/0B5)

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Hi, I'm not sure if any VCDS adaption or update was preformed , I'm waiting a call back from the service mananger in the next week so will ask and query the behaviour.
Thanks for the info that's great , I thought there would be some form of auto correction for difference in oil over time and changes .
But wasn't aware that a recalibration was needed to be done afterwards an oil change . Nothing I'd read about the oil change procedure from Audi or independents has mentioned this part before though.

Dippy said:

That description simply matches the characteristic of a turbo. I have never driven a turbo car with auto gearbox, but I am very familiar with turbo cars. To compensate for lag from standstill I would often blip the accelerator as I lifted the clutch. From the descriptions I have read it would seem that smaller engined turbo cars with auto gearboxes are a bit "challenging" for pulling away quickly from standstill.


I have always been cynical about this subject and it is a shame that Audi never really give us details on exactly how much the car's control systems respond to driving style. However my car has ADS with all the bits and I am now fairly convinced that the "balanced" and "auto" modes that I have set for my ADS individual choice do get affected by my driving style. So when I have driven a lot in ADS dynamic and then switch back to individual, the system seem to be closer to what they were in dynamic than what they were before. Of course this is subtle and "seat of the pants" type analysis so I can't be sure. Nevertheless I am open to the possibility that there can be some change in the engine control systems to reflect monitored driving style.

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Yeah I think turbo lag spool comes into it , multiplied with auto box doing its thing . I had a b7 20.T Q previously so used to flooring it then having to wait and back off .. caught me out sometimes!

I don't have ADS but defintley sense there's some computer adaption going on , sometimes it's spot on sensing I am driving more aggressively and holds gears longer or downchanges , and other tines it changes up early for economy and smoothness. I find a few squirts and brakes in a row and it senses that from normal eco mode.

Like you say a explanation or driving guide to how it thinks and responds would be helpful to help us work with its decisions would be great.

And today it's settled down even more and more responsive when pulling away .

I'm now thinking of a remap .. and dreaming of a S4 next for a bit more grunt.. Funny how AUDI get you wanting better each car!
Or maybe I'm reading too many S4 owners posts here..