Being a truck mechanic I’ve had lots of experience with gear jamming. There is a lot of satisfaction in getting thru the gears cleanly. I autocross a 2012 Boss 302, a lot of the courses I rarely have to shift, light up the tires in first, slide it into second as I break the timing lights and we are off. Occasionally the Miata Mafia incorporates some extremely tight Costco parking lot on XMAS eve elements that require a downshift into 1st followed by a return to 2nd gear. Very satisfying to get thru the element without hitting a cone, getting the braking done correctly and not botching either gear change.
The best was a recent event run by the local Vette club. Their courses are generally faster but still having a few slow elements to keep us safe. This particular event required the use of 3rd gear in two spots and man was this fun. I placed 6th as a driver and 5th as a car. 1st was a C8 Vette, 2.3 seconds faster then me. 2nd, a Z07, 3rd a Z06, 4th & 5th…. a pesky two driver Civic R, both drivers a hair faster then me. That was a very satisfying day.
I had a 2008 GTI with the DSG, very fun, wish I still had it. Being an old timer I rarely used the paddle shifts, growing up driving manuals I had a hard time remembering which paddle did what when I had the wheel cranked halfway around going thru a corner, I’d reach over to shift it manually but I don’t remember is it forward to downshift or do you pull it to the rear? Why the confusion? Well my other dailly driver, a Fusion Sport, the manual mode upshifts and downshifts are in the opposite directions than the VW GTI.
Lastly torque converter transmissions seem to be a bitch to keep cool when tracking them. I’m fine with all are transmission options, my truck has a 10 speed and is wonderful for towing the 9000 lb RV. As someone else mention my bikes are sequentials but are a pain when you need to get to neutral fast. I have no qualms about tearing into a clutch job or pulling apart a manual trans. Automatics, to many special tools, weird stuff.
Final comment, VW, what were you thinking when you came up with the stupid oil level check procedure on the DSG in the 2008 VW GTI? I’m guessing its similar on other VW GTI’s. Trans hot, put on lift, pull center plug of standpipe drain plug and see if any oil comes out, no oil comes out, pump some oil in until oil comes out, let excess oil you just pumped in drain out completely and then reinsert plug, lower lift, pay service dept $200.00 and GO AWAY.
Yea, the VW service dept was a real treat.
