I know Im asking about a german car, front wheel drive turbo thats a paddle shiftable auto.

And being a long time troll and not regular member might get me banned but....

WHAT in the world does someone use it once for auto crossing in this type of car?

leave in drive and not paddle shift and try to keep the revs up to allow turbo to stay under boost(about 3K revs)?

try to paddle shift the auto and try to stay in boost (about 3K revs)?


Im NO Michael S but on the street the paddles are a blast but seem to lag... but again its the street and you cant push it and plow through turns.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

VW GTI?

I'd paddle shift it. Most likely you'll never get out of second, so use the paddles to keep it there so the car doesn't upshift itself into third should you get off the gas.

Stupid question, but have you autocrossed before?

This post has been edited by Gimp: Oct 6 2009, 02:15 AM

"Mortal" autos are going to lag, no matter what. I say "mortal", because there are some high-end ones (Ferrari, MB, etc.) that I've heard are quicker than manuals. But, in the kinds of cars that are hitting cones, they'll lag (unless you modify them).

As Matthew says, too much delay in the shift, usually. And that is with the upshift _and_ downshift. Additionally, a stock automatic almost never downshifts at the exact moment you want it to, so you will have to adjust your shiftpoint. Most autocrosses, you'll usually put the car in a gear (or upshift once) and just drive.

I think you'll probably have much better times by concentrating on your line and steering and throttle inputs than by any HP advantage you might gain by trying to keep the engine on boost. You'll probably also be rewarded by learning when to start to apply the throttle on corner exit. You'll want to start earlier than with an N/A car, in order to get the turbo started spooling up. You just have to time things right so the turbo is on boost as the front wheels are almost straight.

But I don't think multiple shifts, especially in an otherwise stock vehicle, will help much in an autocross situation.

Thanks all, I am guessing the layout may be tight so it may be one gear change if that.

So as everyone has pointed out use the paddles to keep it in the gear I want.

Since its the wifes car she liked the auto and all I can promise is NOT to hit a cone lol.

As for autox before the Ive done track days and autox and can attest that I wouldn't call my driving great. But what can one say when they like to have the back end slide around lol... My first track day I kept hearing 'Good Recovery' from the instructor (the car really had problems).

That can be helped with more seat time! Get out and mash some cones! BTW, wax the lower half of the car before the event, and cone rash usually rubs right off, sometimes requiring a little more wax. She'll never know, unless you do the good thing and bring her along to co-drive.

This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Oct 12 2009, 03:21 PM

Is this a DSG auto, or is it just a standard automatic that can be shifted with paddles? There is a big difference. The DSG (Direct Shift Gearbox if you're curious. haha) in the VWs is an automated manual. Essentially two manual transmissions in parallel, one runs the odd gears, the other the even gears, with two clutches connecting them. With this setup in paddle shift mode, it provides REALLY fast shifts. Faster than you could do with a true manual trans and WAY faster than your average automatic.

yes if this is a DSG Trans then it will shift far far faster then any human can. They are amazing transmissions