After reading the great press about "the fastest shift ever" - I had to go try for myself. I went and tested an Audi A3 with DSG. I'm very impressed with the performance of the shifter. The dual-clutch 6-speed transmission is seemless. Up-shifts are very smooth, and better all around than the BMW SMG, which I've driven on track before. The absolute precision of the rev-matching is what impressed me the most. Albeit the shifts may be quiker than an F430, so they say, but I still wont be awed by the speed of a shift, until it becomes racelike (instant). At 60mph, in 6, you can downshift to 5,4,3, and because the system rev-matches the gear-speeds (blips the throttle) so well - you can't even tell you've dropped gears. And because the car/engine is so quiet, you cant hear it either; a dissapointment to me, but likely will help sales. Shifts can be done via a traditional lever that toggles in the "S" position, or via the F1-like paddles behind the steering wheel. The travel of the standard lever is a bit long for my taste, and I prefer the paddles. Upshifts are so smooth, it reminds me of the AMGs. From what I can tell, this is the same transmission used in the Lambos. The cons to the system were 1 - the automatic gear advance when you hit the rev-limiter. Granted the system does it so well, you cant tell you've hit the limiter, and on the street, it wouldnt matter much, but on the track you need to be able to hold a gear. 2 - when you hit the brake it cuts the gas. I'm a left-foot braker (even in clutched systems), and through much practice, have been able to smooth out my transitions, and carry more speed though the corners (trail braking) because of the technique. The Audi makes all this impossible. 3 - lack of feedback from intake and exhaust; the car is so quiet you cant dicern what gear you're in, and should at the very least add a shift light. I recommend everyone go try this system out, as it is a load of fun. Plus you can get 20-30 free iTunes if you register on the Audi website before you do a test drive. (I cant remember the exact #) What may be the best part of the Audi DSG is the price: Around $1,800.
Just wait till porsche brings out its PDK version of the dual clutch sequential tranny. Then this concept will be widespread. Right now its the best sequential tranny out there.. Pretty innovative stuff. My next car will have this tranny. I'm hoping the corvette team throws it in the next C6 Z06 in two or three years. JMO
It's actually an older concept. Porsche used it in racing decades ago. Only now electronics have made it a good widespread element. It's great indeed.
I drove an DSG equipped TT about 12 months ago and I really enjoyed it too. It had a 3.2 Liter - 6 cylinder engine so it was blast to drive. I was really hoping VW would bring the DSG equipped R32 to the states but I guess the TT was the next best thing. I have never driven an SMG equipped BMW or an F1 transmission Ferrari so I cannot compare it to either of those. However, I thought DSG was nearly perfect. Like others mentioned I don't like the fact that it automatically shifts when you bring it to redline. There should be a sport mode/ track for all DSG equipped cars that won't upshift unless you tell it too. The only other thing I wished for on the TT I drove were paddles similar to what can be found on Ferrari's and Maserati's. On the TT you shifted gears with your fingers by pressing buttons(might not be the correct word but they were not paddles) attached behind the steering wheel. It felt too much like a video game to me. I asked my Audi salesman what was involved when the clutches wore out and he had no idea. I wasn't sure if the dual clutches would be covered under warranty for the first four years or not. Does anyone know how much maintenance cost for a DSG equipped car?
I don't believe any wear item would be a warranty item. I would suggest that with consistant and computerized shifting the dsg clutchs should out last traditional clutches both in performance and in longevity. The wear tends to be from misuse much more so than hard use. JMO but it should be about equal in cost to change the clutch. I was wondering if porsche might use the ceramic clutch mentioned in the Porsche GT because of its 100,000 mile wear factor as well as its smaller size that ceramic lends itself too.. I think it might be an interesting addition to DSG if costs could be kept in line. The porsche PDK dual clutch will set the performance world into a feeding frenzy to catch up.
