My $25,000 car has a better gearbox than your $120,000 car!

So I went car shopping with my Dad this weekend, business has been doing really well and my mom wants him to get a more reliable car than the 69 stang .:iono:

We looked at the M6, XKR, 911, Maserati Spyder, & S8.

I didnt realize how many of the car companies are doing these "manual" automatic trannies with the paddle shifters etc. Since my Dad didn't want to deal with a manual anymore we test drove all the automatic gearbox options.


And let me say, DSG is the best god damn thing ever. How VW pulled off something these fancy pants car manufactures couldnt is really amazing.

Example, the Maserati electronic-hydrolic whatever gearbox was shit. You could feel the clutch trying to engage, it was super rough, and that was just in regular cruising mode. We put it in Sport mode and it was disgustingly jerky. With the M6, it wasnt until we started to drive it a little harder that it felt alright.

What makes the DSG so great is that we have the option to go between the two. I could just coast in D or get aggresive with sport or the paddles.

Anyways, just thought it was really interesting and a huge score for VDub. And it is always fun looking at 85,000 - 120,000 cars for two days


Oh, best part, I got to drive the Maserati :drool: Sound of the Ferrari engine made me giddy like a 7 year old. That car is PLUSH.

Yeah, it's great :thumbup:

But, enjoy the exclusivity while it lasts. It's only a matter of time before other car makers come up with their own dual-clutch gearbox. Honda is working on one. And I know BMW is trashing its lame SMG setup for a dual-clutch gearbox, which is slated to debut on the 2010 M5.

2010? Psh.

icculus said:

2010? Psh.

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haha, yeah. Well, model-year 2010 so, technically, that's 2009. But still, VW started the revolution which is great. Not to mention, while all these car makers struggle to come up with their own dual-clutch gearboxes, VW is making DSG better, stronger and faster

honda going to use it now im pissed!!!! but there only going to release it in thailand to try and help their type-r sales i believe i read that in a mgagazine.

Rumor have it, Porsche are interested in the VAG DSG for their own cars.

VDubr said:

haha, yeah. Well, model-year 2010 so, technically, that's 2009. But still, VW started the revolution which is great. Not to mention, while all these car makers struggle to come up with their own dual-clutch gearboxes, VW is making DSG better, stronger and faster

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Well, technically Audi introduced it in the TT model, but I know what you mean. It's all in the family. :thumbsup:

geboost07 said:

honda going to use it now im pissed!!!! but there only going to release it in thailand to try and help their type-r sales i believe i read that in a mgagazine.

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Weren't they the ones to revolutionize variable valve timing. By the way, go and look where your transmissions are made. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

Jayhawker said:

Weren't they the ones to revolutionize variable valve timing. By the way, go and look where your transmissions are made. :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:

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Well, if you want to get technical about it, DSG was actually engineered and designed here in the good ol' US of A :bellyroll:

VDubr said:

Well, if you want to get technical about it, DSG was actually engineered and designed here in the good ol' US of A :bellyroll:

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Yeah, but looks where it's was made. :biggrin: Japan.

I can echo your sentiments. I must say I LOVE the Maseratis I've been in, but they need a true manual, their automated ones are terrible!

icculus said:

So I went car shopping with my Dad this weekend, business has been doing really well and my mom wants him to get a more reliable car than the 69 stang .:iono:

We looked at the M6, XKR, 911, Maserati Spyder, & S8.

I didnt realize how many of the car companies are doing these "manual" automatic trannies with the paddle shifters etc. Since my Dad didn't want to deal with a manual anymore we test drove all the automatic gearbox options.


And let me say, DSG is the best god damn thing ever. How VW pulled off something these fancy pants car manufactures couldnt is really amazing.

Example, the Maserati electronic-hydrolic whatever gearbox was shit. You could feel the clutch trying to engage, it was super rough, and that was just in regular cruising mode. We put it in Sport mode and it was disgustingly jerky. With the M6, it wasnt until we started to drive it a little harder that it felt alright.

What makes the DSG so great is that we have the option to go between the two. I could just coast in D or get aggresive with sport or the paddles.

Anyways, just thought it was really interesting and a huge score for VDub. And it is always fun looking at 85,000 - 120,000 cars for two days


Oh, best part, I got to drive the Maserati :drool: Sound of the Ferrari engine made me giddy like a 7 year old. That car is PLUSH.

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I drove my friends M6 with SMG, and that tranny is sick. When it comes to the best "autos" i call it DSG and SMG.... they are both awesome. The original SMG I that was on the M3 however was terrible, that thing was rough at times.

Delboy said:

Rumor have it, Porsche are interested in the VAG DSG for their own cars.

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The 997 Turbo is now selling with PDK (DSG) as an option for delivery in late March, I understand.

Borg-Warner developed the technology, which was adapated by Ricardo for the Veyron, and I believe VW Group dealt with it in-house for "local" applications - so now various Audis, Vee-Dubs, and the new Seat Leon Cupra all have DSG as an option.
Lamborghini is also getting a DSG-option from Audi, under the term "S-Tronic Plus" or something like that (Audi call it "S-Tronic").

Ferrari's F1A system (used in the Maserati) and BMW's SMG are both single-clutch solution, so they'll never be as smooth as a torque convertor, or a well-driven manual, but apply some power and they'll shift up nicely. Aston-Martin are meant to have a good single-clutch system too these days, much better than the old "Tiptronic" system they were using.
Mercedes has a single-clutch sequential in its 7-speed boxes, and Porsche is still using Tiptronic (until the first PDK implementation next year - though it's unlikely that vehicles like the Cayenne will get PDK, Tiptronic is still probably best in those situations).

To the OP: Did the Maserati you test have the F1 or the F1A system? Because F1A is much nicer than F1 (though still not fantastic, we're spoiled by DSG). And if your dad can wait, he should definitely get a 997 Turbo w/ PDK

Just read this on Jalopnik:

Automotive News is reporting Volvo's S40 and V50 oil burners in Europe will come with dual-clutch transmissions, which can be shifted like manuals or run in automatic mode, starting in late 2007. The cars won't be getting the slick Borg-Warner box that turned once manual-only VW/Audi heads into DSG-paddling fools; Volvo's using a similar setup from Getrag, its joint-venture transmission partner.

...Ford will eventually use the system, dubbed Powershift, in the majority of its European line...

...As for the US, a source from Ford told AN the company is considering dual-clutch transmissions for some "smaller" models...

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Full post up here

VDubr said:

Well, if you want to get technical about it, DSG was actually engineered and designed here in the good ol' US of A :bellyroll:

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I am not in disbelief... but I do want to clarify.

Direktschaltgetriebe (DSG) is from the US?