R32 DSG

[ERICHOWE]

Good morning. A bit of info that may interest you. I have just sold a 55 plate Boxster S and was wanting to try a DSG R32. I e-mailed around 50 dealers hoping to get a cancellation, was offered around a dozen cars from all around the country. Strangely enough one of those was a DSG car which I pick up on friday. Most Dealers reckon the first DSG cars are coming around march 06 time, so maybe I have just got lucky and picked up a stray. All the same it sounds like a great car and I will let you know what I feel.

I am a bit of a car buff and over the last two years have personally owned 2 x old boxsters (facelift ones), a new 987 boxster s, A new SLK 350 and SLK 55 and a porsche 911s (997), as well as a new Golf GTI (Mk5). I will give you comparisons next week after I have driven the new R32.

[Mook]

Welcome to Tyresmoke Eric

Sounds like quite an array of cars you've had! I guess you've got the German car bug like a lot of people on TsN.

Have fun in your new toy - let us know how you get on.

[Bungle]

Id be very interested in your thoughts on the SLK350. I understand they depreciate very slowly, go like stink, and are very well made. I am looking for a weekend toy that can be pampered, & enjoyed, do less than 5000 miles a year, and this is one of the cars on my list. The other is the Cayman S, which is more expensive, has similar performance & residuals, but looks a bit odd. Clarkson didn't rate it that highly on top gear either.

Please post a review on the SLK 350 ASAP.

[ashleywater]

hi Eric just out of interest what was the full spec on your car? Have also managed to secure a shadow blue 3 door DSG with leather and also know that Alan Day VW southgate have the same spec of car but in Diamond black, which they are asking £1500 over list for,cheers

[ERICHOWE]

Bungle, the SLK350 was a good car, horrible gearbox because you never really felt in control. Pros: Roof,Satnav, Engine, useability. Cons: Gearbox, quality of leather on seats. It was OK. Not as quick as the SLK55 but still pretty good.

Fagash32, The spec on the car is same as yours plus winter pack and that is about it. I would have maybe specced it a bit higher but I move to the states in April so will be selling it then and wanted a car "yesterday" and had to accept what was on offer. Dont pay over list. The dealers are struggling for sales at the minute and are not discounting R32s, nor are they adding premiums. There are plenty of cars out there available today. I got offered a black one today. If you really want one just e-mail all the dealers and you will be offered loads, at retail.

Does anyone have any comments on the DSG box as I have never driven a DSG equipped car and am taking a risk on this one.

[ashleywater]

Thanks for the info eric, were you offered DSG cars or manuals? There seems to be plenty of manuals about,but not DSG's, a VW Stealer as I understand it, can only charge list price on an unregistered car, the one at Alan Day is pre registered, so they can charge what they like, as the stealers have been doing with used gti's, must admit what swung it for me was the deal I got on my Mk 4, against list on the mk 5, the mk4 is a gem of a car but is much more hardcore than the new version, which is more appealing as it looks like a pretty standard Golf which means I wont have to put up with every chav paxo driver in the county deciding there alfords equipped skate can do an R.

[arg123]

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Does anyone have any comments on the DSG box as I have never driven a DSG equipped car and am taking a risk on this one.

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Personally I think it's marvellous! Read my previous report Here. You won't be disappointed ERICHOWE

[RedRobin]

arg123 sums it up really well but if you want a more technical read to know what's going on....

The first car in the Volkswagen Group, released to the general public, to use the DSG was the Audi TT. The idea of merely automating an otherwise conventional manual gearbox is not new; Indeed many early autos in the USA used hydraulic 'hands' to manipulate a lever-less manual gearbox and clutch. Many automated manual units exist today in cars as diverse as the Smart FourTwo (pretty ugly imo) and Ferrari 360 Modena....The idea being that they are less fuel-thirsty and more sporting than the more common automatic with its torque-converter fluid flywheel. But these, and the ones used in heavy trucks, have one fundamental flaw: They all use one conventional clutch unit. This means that unless the driver or the mechanism deliberately waits for the revs to decay, uphill shifts will be jerky. Waiting is fine in a 44-tonne artic but less so in a Ferrari! It also means that the system must increase the engine speed in downshifts too, but this 'blip' is all part of the attraction in these systems.

The DSG unit has been designed to offer all the advantages of a sporting close-ratio manual gearbox combined with a quick-shifting automatic transmission, with none of the negative aspects of either. It is not a conventional automatic with a fluid coupling but uses traditional friction clutch material just like a manual transmission. The design features twin automated clutches permitting exceptionally rapid 0.02 second manual gear changes via the gear lever or steering wheel paddles, yet it can also behave like a more traditional automatic shift in D-mode for more relaxed driving....Urban or otherwise.

The basis fior the Direct Shift Gearbox is the 6-speed manual gearbox capable of handling up to 350Nm/258 lb ft of torque. We all like that torque, don't we!

The technology of this twin-clutch transmission has its roots in the Audi Quattro's rallying heyday. as far back as 1985, Walter Rohrl successfully tested it in the Audi Sport Quattro S1. At the time its electronics were not always able to withstand the extreme heat and vibration which rallying threw at them but the principle of this gearbox was successful. It was used even earlier by Porsche at Le Mans and, in the Sport Quattro S1, it retained its PDK (Porsche Doppel Kupplung) - double-clutch designation.

The DSG eliminates the break in power flow (something else we all like!) which is normally unavoidable when the clutch is disengaged to operate a conventional manual shift gearbox. The next higher or next lower gear is already pre-engaged before it is selected at the gear lever or shift paddle, so that no interruptions occur under hard acceleration through the gears .

Integrated twin multi-plate clutches with sophisticated electronic control enable two gears to be engaged at the same time. With any given gear engaged, as the next gearshift point is approached, the next appropriate gear is pre-selected but its clutch remains disengaged. The gearshift process opens the clutch of the current gear and closes the clutch of the new gear at the same time known as the 'kiss point'. The gear change takes place under load, with the result that a permanent flow of power is maintained (we like this very much!).

There are three operating modes. Selecting 'D' provides traditional automatic gearshifts; In 'S' mode upshifts are retarded, downshifts advanced and the shifting process accelerated. In manual override the driver can choose which gear to select by means of the gear lever in the manual gate or the shift paddles on the steering wheel, which are standard with the DSG transmission. These paddles also temporarily engage the manual shift function in automatic D and S modes.

Like a conventional manual gearbox, DSG transmission gear wheels are present on input and auxiliary shafts but, in contrast to the manual gearbox, the input shaft is divided into two sections - a hollow outer shaft and an inner shaft. The 1st, 3rd, 5th and reverse gears are located on the inner shaft. The hollow shaft handles the even-numbered gears.

Each of these shafts is selected by means of a separate multi-plate clutch running in oil. The two electronically controlled, hydraulically actuated clutches are packed inside each other and can be controlled in such a way that every conceivable form of pulling away is possible, from a gentle start-off on slippery surfaces to Formula One style 'launch control' acceleration at full throttle.

Special solenoid-operated valves regulate the application pressure of the two clutches. The electronics process signals from 10 individual sensors to claculate which additional gear is to be pre-selected by the corresponding positioning cylinder and selector forks. With DSG transmission the response and fuel economy of a manual is offered with the convenience of an automatic.

DSG offers the ability to both meander through traffic like an auto and blast down a B-road like a close-ratio rally car.

Some of you may think you have already read this article - You have!! All credit must go to Ian Shaw who wrote this in the November issue of Audi Driver magazine. I have only lightly edited it.

Newcomers to this forum naturally consider the DSG option before ordering their GTI or R32. There can be no substitute for hands-on test driving and doing so for as long as you can get away with, but hopefully this post explains a few things. Knowledge is Power!