dyhppy

while im sure it will make the cars fast, we really seem to be moving away from the fun of driving. imo, manuals for fun, autos for every other application. dsg ought to be for pure split second racing.

StinkyTofu

I agree with you that we seem to steering away from fun driving cars to fast cars. However, after getting a chance to drive a new VW GTI with DSG, i'd say that the fun factor is definitely up there! I imagine that the DSG in the porsche could only be better .

Vitt

I test drove an Audi A3 with DSG, and I'd have to say it gives up nothing to the manual tranny. Adds quickness and fun factor.

dyhppy

im surprised. i drove the a3 s line and it was as boring as a bad video game. in addition, there's a skill and art to driving a true manual with a clutch. to each his own i guess.

J3ffro

I see both sides of it. Truly, before I picked up my S2000 I had logged less than a few hours in any car with a manual transmission. Now whenever I'm forced to drive an automatic I cringe. I don't have much experience with any DSG and very little experience with BMW's SMG but in a way they seem to take the best of both worlds. You still have control over gear selection, but you're not constantly clutching in and out when you deal with stop and go traffic.

I've fallen in love with having a clutch pedal, but I'm open minded to any system that could make me forget one.

trivium

Some people drive in heavy traffic on a daily basis you know and many Porsche owners use their cars as a daily driver.

This is one of the major factors taken into account.

PLYRS 3

hot-diggity....

the DSG's and SMG's of this world are where it's at.

if you can get the functionality of a manual without the clutch pedal, explain why you wouldn't want that?

granted, we may be a few more years away from perfecting this, but still...it'll be perfect shortly.

i've only had my SMG M3 for a few weeks, but already i'm loving the gearbox difference to my S2000.

it upshifts quick and crisply and you can heel/toe perfectly on downshifts as well.

i say perfectly b/c there is no co-ordiantion of a clutch to take into consideration...just roll over onto the gas pedal while braking and click the paddles....car rev matches the downshifts perfectly...it's fvcking awesome!!!

and VAG's DSG is supposed to be even BETTER than SMG!!!!!

rai

I can see both sides. I drove a GTi with DSG and had to say it was the best tranny (non-MT) that I've ever driven.

I know the DSG has tap shift, but IMO it works just as well or better when the computer shifts for you.

I think one thing with DSG (and) SMG/F1 tranny is that they spend so little time off power and now with 7+ speeds they have the gearing advantags to use all the power more effectivly.

Lets say you shift with a MT 1-2-3-4-5-6 that's 5 shifts and if you spend 0.2sec per shift off power that's almost 1 sec (total) slower than with a SMG/DSG that can shift 5 times in 0.2 sec (total).

I was looking at C&D where they have the Z06 and the 911 Turbo that both can do 0-150 mph (edit) in 18sec. or 19sec. The 7-speed M6 with SMG is right there with the turbo(19.5sec) dispite weighing 3900 lbs and having only 383-TQ (500-TQ for the Turbo).

I think it's possible for 'weaker' cars like a 325hp or 355hp 911 to run with more powerful cars like a 400/400 C6.

Plus the fact that in the US the MT is a dying breed. Even with a car like the Fit which you would think would go well with a MT its hard to even find a MT Fit to drive.

In some situations it's easier to drive an auto-tranny so I can see a big market for them in the US.

Bboy AJ

Because it's not as fun. My left foot will be doing nothing the whole time. It doesn't take as much skill to push a paddle. Part of the fun of driving a manual is getting those downshifts as smooth as possible.

Elistan

Try left-foot braking. Schumacher does it.

I'll reserve judgment until I actually drive a car with DSG.