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New R owner throttle response
- Thread starter ultra300x702
- Start date
This exact same thing happened to me yesterday. Dead stop waiting at the intersection for a left turn. For some reason, I put my foot in the accelerator more than usual and hit the kick-down point. With opposing traffic approaching rapidly, that 1 second lag sure seemd like a long time! The only saving grace was it was a hole shot after the DSG caught up, scratching out all the way through the intersection.
As others have mentioned, the real solution for this is not to pass the throttle kick-down if you need to accelerate quickly in traffic. You really don’t need full throttle in this car. I am surprised VW has not had any liability issues from this problem, probably because most who have experienced it are all dead! These type of accidents are usually fatal.
As others have mentioned, the real solution for this is not to pass the throttle kick-down if you need to accelerate quickly in traffic. You really don’t need full throttle in this car. I am surprised VW has not had any liability issues from this problem, probably because most who have experienced it are all dead! These type of accidents are usually fatal.
kevinkar
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- United States
And not at all the fault of the car. If a driver is depending on the speed of the car to safely make it through traffic rather than properly judging the amount of time it will take to perform a particular maneuver..... that's on the driver.
There are plenty of high performance cars out there with more torque that hook up immediately without a 1-second delay that will have you spinning your tires as you slowly shuffle past oncoming traffic which is no different than this delay past the kick-down point. If that happens, that's also on the driver.
I can't think of one proper maneuver that would ever rely on pressing the accelerator all the way to the floor from a dead stop but I can point to lots of instances where I have done so when "shooting the gap" when I absolutely shouldn't have.
Partially true but when you apply the throttle, a proportional response to how much throttle is applied is expected.
Oh, I totally agree. It's a learning curve but until you've experienced it, it's a new and potentially fatal problem. [/QUOTE]
kevinkar
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- United States
Yes you are absolutely correct.
The last directly linked throttle I ever had was the cable linkage in my '95 Z28. Everything since then has been stupid throttle-by-wire throttle position sensors and all have been implemented poorly. Even in the '05 Corvette it lagged behind my foot by at least a half a second in both directions. It was annoying because it was noticeable.
I need to pay attention to the R tomorrow and see how good/bad that is in comparison.
Please let us know, I’d be very interested how the new DSG responds. As I said, I so rarely have to use full throttle it was a real shocker.
What I’m really trying to build a case to justify upgrading to a 19, when they come out. So far my list includes; availability of additional custom, ROW exterior colors, full DAP (I have an early unicorn 17 with DAP lite), 8” touchscreen, LED dynamic tails, 7-speed DSG with better response & mileage <for the wife>?.
kevinkar
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- United States
Ok, just went for a drive and I will say I'm pretty pleased with the throttle response to foot input. In Neutral I kept blipping the throttle and RPMs raised and lowered without much delay at all. As instantaneous as a cable? No. But much better than the 06 Volvo V70R and 05 Corvette. Spirited driving shows the accelerator pedal kept up with my inputs as well.
And I'll re-confirm that smooth application of throttle (quickly but not too quickly) makes the R take off nicely. I rarely ever mash it to the floor in high gears because that never works in a manual (you always need to downshift) and I'm used to that after almost 40 years of driving MT. So I'll always downshift first.
Regardless, I'm pretty pleased with the throttle response.
And I'll re-confirm that smooth application of throttle (quickly but not too quickly) makes the R take off nicely. I rarely ever mash it to the floor in high gears because that never works in a manual (you always need to downshift) and I'm used to that after almost 40 years of driving MT. So I'll always downshift first.
Regardless, I'm pretty pleased with the throttle response.
I'm happy with the throttle response in my 2018 R DSG. From a standstill, you're still trying to move 3000+ lbs on a turbocharged engine, so I think a slight "lag" is to be expected. It's still very fast in the end though, lets be honest here.
Otherwise my only advice is to drive in manual mode. It's the only way you'll make sure the car behaves the way you expect because you're the one telling it what to do. Mashing the throttle to get the car to downshift is just bad habit and you're really just fighting with the computer. If the car is feeling anemic or sluggish then you're just in the wrong gear and a quick downshift can solve that for you. I've taken her through a few back road twistes and she's a real hoot to drive when you keep her in the power band.
Otherwise my only advice is to drive in manual mode. It's the only way you'll make sure the car behaves the way you expect because you're the one telling it what to do. Mashing the throttle to get the car to downshift is just bad habit and you're really just fighting with the computer. If the car is feeling anemic or sluggish then you're just in the wrong gear and a quick downshift can solve that for you. I've taken her through a few back road twistes and she's a real hoot to drive when you keep her in the power band.
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kevinkar
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- United States
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What RicHSAD said!
What RicHSAD said!
radoroc
Ready to race!
- Location
- BC, Canada
Throw a tune on it, problem solved.
Just got a pedalbox on my R, made a world of difference, feels like a normal car now, prior I was feeling like I made a huge mistake getting the car and felt duped into thinking the car was fast and fun. I have owned and driven a lot of cars, and I can't say I have driven any proclaimed performance car that has as shitty of throttle as a stock R. If you like the stock throttle map on the R, then I hate to say it, but there is something wrong with you.
I really think the stock map is not linear, but rather exponential, thus the dead area in the first inch of travel, and that the pedal box brings it closer to linear rather than the logarithmic growth it shows on their media graphs.
I really think the stock map is not linear, but rather exponential, thus the dead area in the first inch of travel, and that the pedal box brings it closer to linear rather than the logarithmic growth it shows on their media graphs.
gregozedobe
Battle scarred veteran
- Location
- Canberra, Australia
I'm another pedalbox fan. I found the stock throttle response was just too doughy and unresponsive and was detracting from my driving enjoyment. After installing a PedalBox+ (this took all of 5 minutes) it was much better to drive.
Agreed. Sometimes (I notice it when the car is cold), the throttle response off the line is a bit abrupt if you have set how you otherwise like it. All in all though I think it's a great upgrade and a super simple install. Easy to change modes too!