A3 Drive Select Modes

AngryAudiFace

AngryAudiFace

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Hey guys, just a quick question:

In my A3 1.2 sportback S line, I only have 4 modes in drive select which are Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Individual (they all feel exactly the same, except dynamic has heavier steering and slightly better acceleration)

Is this correct? my owners manual tells me I should also have an efficiency mode too but i'm not sure if that is reserved for A4+ models? can anyone else tell me if they have this efficiency mode that is missing from my car?

cheers
 
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Yeah I read those, unfortunately it doesn't really answer what I was asking...

I know what the modes do, i'm just wondering why "Eco" or "Efficiency" mode is missing from my selection, when many others seem to have it.
 
Mine has efficiency. Maybe it's not on the 1.2 as it's already low power, and they didn't want to limit it further?
 
I think the Efficiency program is only worth having on the larger engines, hence it's missing from yours. If you had a few options you might notice more of a difference between the modes - for example, Comfort puts my Magnetic Ride into soft mode.

Actually, is Efficiency only available on cars with the automatic gearbox? One of the biggest things it does is to dip the clutch automatically when you're coasting, which of course isn't applicable to manual gearboxes.
 
steverobertsbbc said:
Actually, is Efficiency only available on cars with the automatic gearbox? One of the biggest things it does is to dip the clutch automatically when you're coasting, which of course isn't applicable to manual gearboxes.
Click to expand...

No, it's present on our TDI manual.
 
They're all pretty much combinations of steering and throttle response. Eco affects the aircon too.

Dynamic - heavy steering, quick response
Comfort - lighter steering
Auto - average of both
Eco - low response
 
Sorry to hijack the thread. But I've set my individual on Comfort steering and dynamic engine. Yet when choosing dynamic on it's own the car feels faster? Anyone else noticed this or is it just me?
 
Not noticed that, I have the same individual settings as you (everything on dynamic except steering, which is on comfort), but very rarely use drive select to be honest. I'll try switching to dynamic on the way home and see if I notice a difference!
 
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I've got a 1.2 sport as a loaner and it doesn't have an eco mode,the 4 mentioned above.
 
MA3RC said:
Sorry to hijack the thread. But I've set my individual on Comfort steering and dynamic engine. Yet when choosing dynamic on it's own the car feels faster? Anyone else noticed this or is it just me?
Click to expand...

Yes! I have also noticed this. Also, if i put mine in dynamic mode and restart the engine then it seems to limit the throttle response until I press the drive select mode once more to reconfirm dynamic mode.

I wonder if its done deliberately to make sure you know you've selected dynamic throttle response?
 
I forgot to try it with mine! Will try and remember tomorrow.
 
Well I remembered at the last minute on the way into work today, switched to dynamic as I was at a traffic light, but as I was in town thought I wasn't going to get a chance to test it anyway so put it back on individual. Got a bit of a surprise when I pulled away as it certainly felt a lot faster! I guess it does the same with individual too if you have the engine/throttle in 'dynamic' (as I do). Will definitely try more on the way home!
 
mjcourtney said:
Yes! I have also noticed this. Also, if i put mine in dynamic mode and restart the engine then it seems to limit the throttle response until I press the drive select mode once more to reconfirm dynamic mode.

I wonder if its done deliberately to make sure you know you've selected dynamic throttle response?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure that simply pressing drive select button once actually does anything apart from displaying the currently selected mode. My guess is that on the manual there's no obvious display of any change made by drive select, but on the s-tronic if the car is left in dynamic over an engine restart the gearbox returns to 'D' rather than 'S'. Pressing drive select once does not change the gearbox to 'S', but cycling all the way round obviously does.

Of course, puling the gear selector back to engage sport mode also changes the display to 'S', and this is what I usually do (once I've got 4 bars on the temp guage), but now I'm beginning to wonder if anything else, e.g. throttle response, is likewise limited after a restart, unless drive select is cycled.
 
constvoid said:
on the s-tronic if the car is left in dynamic over an engine restart the gearbox returns to 'D' rather than 'S'. Pressing drive select once does not change the gearbox to 'S', but cycling all the way round obviously does.
Click to expand...

Interesting! You're right, there is nothing on the manual to show you what throttle response is set, other than to press the DS button to see what mode you're in. If you have to cycle back round to Dynamic on the DSG then I suspect this may be the same on the manual. I'm almost positive my throttle response returns to normal / auto after a restart. I do wonder whether pressing the accelerator fully down (and activating the button at the end) re-engages dynamic throttle response too?
 
When you say after a restart... do you mean even after stop/start kicks in, or after a 'manual' restart only?
 
This behaviour (if confirmed) is a bit annoying in a way. If I leave the drive select in a certain mode I expected it to stay there until I change it again! Wonder if it can be turned off with VCDS?
 
The gearbox would start in D rather than S when the engine is cold to prevent quick changes and protect against damage until the car warms up.

After a restart, does it go back into S by itself after 5 mins or so?

John.
 
No - not until you manually re-select via driver select or the gear shift.
 
Tried it on the way home - certainly feels faster. I'm going to try half a journey without changing, then the other half after changing tomorrow and just make sure it's not all in my head...
 
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cemerson said:
Well I remembered at the last minute on the way into work today, switched to dynamic as I was at a traffic light, but as I was in town thought I wasn't going to get a chance to test it anyway so put it back on individual. Got a bit of a surprise when I pulled away as it certainly felt a lot faster! I guess it does the same with individual too if you have the engine/throttle in 'dynamic' (as I do). Will definitely try more on the way home!
Click to expand...

Thanks for checking that out for me! Thought it was just my car. It's so strange.
 
You guys that are experiencing the car feeling faster - are you driving a 6sp Manual?

Cos I'm going along changing from Dynamic to Individual (with Dynamic Settings) and can feel absolutely no difference in a S-tronic !!!


If the answer is Yes, Manual, is what you're experiencing the change in throttle mapping?
 
Yeah, 6sp manuals. And it is the change in throttle mapping we're discussing. What we're saying may be happening is that the throttle mapping for dynamic 'resets' back to normal / auto after an engine restart until you re-select Dynamic in the Drive Select mode.
 
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Phew !

For a minute I thought I was going mad ! LoL!
(not for the first time)

(PS. You do know it doesn't actually make the car go faster, it just changes the linear/log relationship of the throttle pedal so you don't have to press it as far ;) )
 
I think mine stayed on dynamic mode between restarts today. It's all very confusing. Is there anything in the manual about it?
 
mjcourtney said:
Yeah, 6sp manuals. And it is the change in throttle mapping we're discussing. What we're saying may be happening is that the throttle mapping for dynamic 'resets' back to normal / auto after an engine restart until you re-select Dynamic in the Drive Select mode.
Click to expand...

Did anyone ever get to the bottom of this ? I have 6SP Manual and just use individual with dynamic everything except ride (Mag Ride) which is set to comfort ... are all these settings remaining then each time I restart car ? If I press the drive select it does still say individual, but I do wonder if steering and throttle both revert back but you just can't tell....
 
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