Golf R 7.5 DSG - what a miserable gearbox
Discussion
I've had the old 6 speed wet clutch in a TTS and now have the 7 speed in a Leon Cupra.
Both are very good IMO and I drive a lot of different cars.
None of them should be dropping in to top gear in the Sporty modes for obvious reasons. They will do if you put it on cruise control though.
I think the new 7 speed is better than the 6. Seventh is a very good ratio for the motorway (70 mph is a touch over 2,000 rpm on my Leon), low speed manoeuvring is better and the electronic parking brake improves hill starts.
Even the Eco mode where it drops into neutral is good once you get the hang of it and realise how early you have to lift off.
I think you need quite a smooth driving style to get the best out of them. i.e. someone mentioned heavy braking followed immediately by trying to accelerate hard. If you're planning to drive like this then you probably want to be in manual mode.
Both are very good IMO and I drive a lot of different cars.
None of them should be dropping in to top gear in the Sporty modes for obvious reasons. They will do if you put it on cruise control though.
I think the new 7 speed is better than the 6. Seventh is a very good ratio for the motorway (70 mph is a touch over 2,000 rpm on my Leon), low speed manoeuvring is better and the electronic parking brake improves hill starts.
Even the Eco mode where it drops into neutral is good once you get the hang of it and realise how early you have to lift off.
I think you need quite a smooth driving style to get the best out of them. i.e. someone mentioned heavy braking followed immediately by trying to accelerate hard. If you're planning to drive like this then you probably want to be in manual mode.
blank said:
I think you need quite a smooth driving style to get the best out of them. i.e. someone mentioned heavy braking followed immediately by trying to accelerate hard. If you're planning to drive like this then you probably want to be in manual mode.
That's probably a very fair comment.If the DSG doesn't suit your driving style, and you're unwilling to change your driving style, then I guess you're going to get frustrated by a DSG box. Personally, I've not had any issues, even on track, but on track I obviously put the box in manual mode and use the paddles (beautiful aftermarket aluminium paddles that were more expensive than I care to admit to).
I’ve only used the 7 speed and found its behaviour odd and annoying. It’s always trying overly hard to get into high gears dulling the responsiveness of the engine. Also I noticed it under certain conditions it can’t decide which gear to be in and changes up and down constantly.
The ZF8 in BMWs by comparison is brilliant and seems telepathically always be in the right gear.
The ZF8 in BMWs by comparison is brilliant and seems telepathically always be in the right gear.
Have a 7.5 R with 7 speed dsg, previously had a 6 soeed on my last R.
Prefer this box to the last.
The last one was horrible particularly the delay when pulling away. This one is much smoother and doesn’t bog down. Yes it changes up early but I can put it in manual mode if I want control.
I have my gearbox set to normal and the map set to race. I don’t like any other settings mix. I will put gearbox in S mode on the rare occasion I want to rag the car, otherwise S is a horrible selection for normal driving.
Prefer this box to the last.
The last one was horrible particularly the delay when pulling away. This one is much smoother and doesn’t bog down. Yes it changes up early but I can put it in manual mode if I want control.
I have my gearbox set to normal and the map set to race. I don’t like any other settings mix. I will put gearbox in S mode on the rare occasion I want to rag the car, otherwise S is a horrible selection for normal driving.
I’ve had my new Golf R 7.5 since August and I’ve done 5.5k in it. At first the box was silk smooth and as good (if not better) as the ZF8 in my M135i. Now though it’s pretty lumpy in gears 1-3 at gentle acceleration, sometimes less than gentle. Feels like it’s hesitant to change gears or needs to “try” harder. Sometimes when gunning in sport mode up to the redline it there’s an awful delay (like it’s an SMG of old) between a gear change.
I’ve booked it in to get looked at as it’s under warranty but I’ve been reading that this is very common and VW aren’t likely to find anything wrong with it. Fingers crossed it is a fault as it’s genuinely winding me up now.
I’ve booked it in to get looked at as it’s under warranty but I’ve been reading that this is very common and VW aren’t likely to find anything wrong with it. Fingers crossed it is a fault as it’s genuinely winding me up now.
Olivera said:
marcosgt said:
I'll almost certainly get a manual again next time - Even driving my wife's 1.6 Citroen C4 is more entertaining 90% of the time than driving an auto box - I thought I'd give it a go, but I don't enjoy it.
The DSG is certainly very competant but it does kill the last few tenths of driving enjoyment.In fact I'd go so far as to say it reduces grippy DSG FWD/Haldex cars to a pretty one dimensional driving experience - there is little to do other than point a feel-free electric steering rack.
Having tried the DSG in early days with 6 gears found it reasonably ok. It was coupled with a Diesel engine and perhaps running if the extra torque of that engine. It was adequate if a bit clunky at slow speed maneuvering.
The ZF8s are not all equal. Mine is a bit clunky approaching a roundabout coasting but I drive around that and antecipate that 0.5sec delay by depressing the throttle a fraction store I see to go. Not a problem bring a standing still though. This is on a 3 series Bmw. On my wife’s 5 series the gearbox has none of those issues and works very well. Maybe the 5 series gets a better spec ZF8?
The ZF8s are not all equal. Mine is a bit clunky approaching a roundabout coasting but I drive around that and antecipate that 0.5sec delay by depressing the throttle a fraction store I see to go. Not a problem bring a standing still though. This is on a 3 series Bmw. On my wife’s 5 series the gearbox has none of those issues and works very well. Maybe the 5 series gets a better spec ZF8?
Mine is my first auto and is the 6spd in the mk7 gti pp and I find it generally ok!
My only gripes are it can be quite dim witted at a junction and you put your foot down to go and it just confuses it but that might have something to do with th stop start as well,
And if you put your boot down it changes down far too many gears and you look a t
t by it going to 2nd and at 6k when in reality 3rd would have been more than sufficient
My only gripes are it can be quite dim witted at a junction and you put your foot down to go and it just confuses it but that might have something to do with th stop start as well,
And if you put your boot down it changes down far too many gears and you look a t
t by it going to 2nd and at 6k when in reality 3rd would have been more than sufficient Funk said:
ashleyman said:
The 6 speed DSG in the 7R is much much better than the 7 speed DSG in the 7.5R.
Driven both and I disagree with you.Rutter said:
Funk said:
ashleyman said:
The 6 speed DSG in the 7R is much much better than the 7 speed DSG in the 7.5R.
Driven both and I disagree with you.
Does anyone reprogram the DSG to remove its 'Eco' tendencies and make it a much nicer box in auto normal mode ?
I hate the way the Golf they give me when I take the 911 in for a service always hunts for the lowest gear possible, where as sport seems to just interested in making as much noise as possible.
Manual shifts are ok, but I will always prefer a good manual, especially a nice G50
I hate the way the Golf they give me when I take the 911 in for a service always hunts for the lowest gear possible, where as sport seems to just interested in making as much noise as possible.
Manual shifts are ok, but I will always prefer a good manual, especially a nice G50
Teddy Lop said:
A lot of modern auto boxes do the "eco-no-fuel-mode" when braking which makes them unprepared when you hit go on approach to a roundabout expecting some nip'n'tuck only to painfully slowly roll out looking like a complete tart only for then the cars brain to go "oh duhh he's got his foot flat duuuhh maybe duuh I should go??!" Then you take off like a scalded cat to a shake of the head from the oncoming driver whos clearly wondering just what the dithering wittery you're up to.
You could probably put a button on the wheel to keep the fueling/gearbox in a ready-mode but most car manufacturers prefer to subscribe to their own delusional marketing guff that their auto-boxes are somehow "smart" and "clever" and don't need this, rather than just give us a working product.
Wrong (for DSGs at least) - assuming you have set the car up in 'Eco' mode in the first place, they only go into 'coast' mode (i.e. neutral) if you are neither pressing the accelerator nor brake. As soon as you press the brake pedal, it goes back into gear and stays in gear until you give it a quick blip of the accelerator, so the car is always in gear when braking.You could probably put a button on the wheel to keep the fueling/gearbox in a ready-mode but most car manufacturers prefer to subscribe to their own delusional marketing guff that their auto-boxes are somehow "smart" and "clever" and don't need this, rather than just give us a working product.
I agree that coasting mode is a pain in the backside though and results in it feeling like the accelerator is connected via a rubber band when driving on a regular road, with the box going into neutral and revs dropping to idle every time you take your foot off the gas. Aside from feeling disconcerting, it's downright dangerous if you need power immediately. I never use Eco except when in auto cruise with the car taking car of accelerator and brakes (and in that case, the coast mode is disabled anyway).
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