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05-07-2012, 10:38 PM | #1 |
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DCT after a track day.
I usually drive around town pretty mellow in default auto mode, but when I go to the track, I shift manually, in S3 mode. I find S5/S6 too jerky and doesn't seem to shift much faster, if at all.
The next day, I notice is the DCT behaves very differently. After going for an HPDE, the DCT will hold gears much better, shift up later, and downshift sooner. It's like it learned my driving the previous day and it remembers it. It's in the same default setting, but drives much better now. The new M3 DCT seems to want to get to 7th gear as fast as possible compared to my 2008 car before the HPDE. Just wondering if anyone else noticed this? .
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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05-08-2012, 01:22 AM | #4 |
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I know it adapts, but I'm surprised how much it adapts and that it adapts in auto mode when I was driving in manual mode at the track. There's really a HUGE difference after the track day even in the default A3.
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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05-08-2012, 01:46 AM | #5 |
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It learns in minutes. I see the same just within a couple of minutes of getting on it. My 08 vw r32 does the same thing. Also the engine seems to pull harder and use more gas.
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05-08-2012, 05:47 AM | #7 |
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Very cool. Interesting, because I never ever drive my car in auto mode, not even for brief errands. I find that the tendency of the transmission to shift up to higher gears as soon as possible drives me nuts--you find yourself in 6th gear at 40mph, coasting to a stoplight. Based on your experience, I guess driving the car pretty hard would reset the drive logic to hold gears longer, at least temporarily, but it wouldn't last long before it switched back to a super-conservative, MPG-maximizing mode. I don't drive like a crazy person around town, but I strongly prefer the gear-holding of a regular manual transmission or DCT in manual. That way, whatever speed you happen to be at, you're always in the correct gear to accelerate away quickly if necessary--there's no waiting for a kickdown. I guess I have control issues.
Ironically, I would have gotten the 6-speed manual, but I knew I would be tracking this car whenever time allows, so I opted for DCT instead. I just don't have enough self-confidence at this point in my HPDE experience to bang off two perfect heel-toe downshifts in rapid succession coming from 125+ mph under threshold braking into turn 1. Your S3 vs. S5 experience on track surprises me. Next time out, try S5 or even S6/DSC off on a dry track under the right conditions. I think you'll be blown away by how instantaneous and satisfying full-throttle upshifts are at the higher reaches of the rev band. |
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05-08-2012, 06:36 AM | #8 |
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I use S4 at the track. You still get the rev matched down shifts so you aren't wasting your clutch discs but its not nearly as rough as S5. An S4 up/down shift won't upset the car in places where S5 would.
Not sure why you would use S3, that would upset the car more than using S5/6 on a downshift.
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05-08-2012, 08:46 AM | #9 | |
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05-08-2012, 09:13 AM | #11 | |
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1. Hard braking zone, S5 can cause the rear end to wiggle or wiggle more whereas S4 makes the car feel more settled. 2. MSR Houston has either a left/right or a triple left followed by a fast sweeper onto a long straight. When you enter into the sweeper, you're on full throttle but you still have to turn the car a little. An upshift in S5 can upset the car...S4 its buttery smooth with no drama. No...DCT beats 6MT 100% of the time
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05-08-2012, 09:21 AM | #12 | |
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Let me get this straight... You are swapping out parts designed by some of the top engineers in the world because some guys sponsored by a company told you it's "better??" But when you ask the same guy about tracking, "oh no, I have a kid now" or "I just detailed my car." or "i just got new tires."
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05-08-2012, 10:08 AM | #13 | |
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05-08-2012, 10:11 AM | #14 |
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Wow another argument for 6mt. DCT is powered by Skynet.
Pretty cool though, OP. I have heard that it is called drivelogic and is supposed to learn in one or two minutes of contrasting driving style.
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05-08-2012, 12:49 PM | #15 | |
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I find s5-6 perfect, s3 is a tad to slow for my liking.
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05-08-2012, 03:57 PM | #16 |
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28,000 posts!?!? What, do you even post here while in the bathroom? Actually, that's where I do most of my posting to this board, but I'm not in there 24hrs a day!
I did a double-take when I saw your listed location, and then it hit me--Ron Burgundy! "Stay classy, San Diego." |
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05-08-2012, 04:09 PM | #17 | |
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05-08-2012, 05:16 PM | #18 |
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im surprised you dont like s5/6. i think its the best level for dct
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05-08-2012, 06:05 PM | #19 | |
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Last Saturday I did my first track day, almost all of it in DCT (until the last two laps when I was ready to experiment). Driving home, I noticed that coming to red-light-stops, the transmission was aggressively downshifting. I figured it was still "hot" from the stresses of the day's driving. But on Sunday, it was still high-revving. And today, on a stretch of downtown driving that I'm very familiar with at this point, the M3 was still leapfrogging gears to keep RPM's high. So I was wondering: "Wow, did I do something [bad] to the transmission?" Apparently, not! It's behaving exactly like it's supposed to. And I'm loving every moment of it.
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05-08-2012, 08:19 PM | #20 | |
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I find anything below S5 too lazy for track use. In S6 the downshifts are just perfectly crisp IMO. I also discovered that DCT is quite smart as it does a butter smooth shift if the car is under lateral load, regardless of the setting. This is perfect to be able to upshift while cornering and not upset the car. Impressive technology . |
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05-09-2012, 12:13 PM | #22 | ||
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