[Unka Bart]

Hi Dan,

I didn't send my original response to the list as I wasn't aware that  
it was a list post until I got the digest some time later.  Sigh...

Anyway, I haven't run into any problems with the DSG delay, I think  
it's a great tranny (and Ihell, I spent 5 figures changing a '93 V8Q  
to a 5-spped  manual) and have driven manual trannys all of my adult  
life.  It's probably got some quirks, but then I've not owned 6 autos  
in my 54 years of *Licensed Driving* experience, so who am I to say?

As many of you know, I owned a 911 cabrio for many years.  I bought  
it on the day I planned to buy a 928, but found that I could not  
drive a manual 928.  I took a bullet through my sciatic nerve some  
years ago, and the seating position of the 928 prevents me from  
operating the controls with a foot that is always "off-net."  The 911  
allows me to use my thigh to place and press my foot on the necessary  
controls using a more or less up or down motion, but the 928 requires  
more of an in or out movement, combined with the up and down, and  
that's just beyond me.  So this is my first auto-box since my ill- 
fated '77 rabbit (which I traded when VW made me pay for the 5th auto  
tranny, but I digress...)

Oh yeah, I also have a '61 ex-Greyhound bus conversion.  It has an  
8V71 with a non-synchro 4-speed.  You want to find if you are  
competent with a manual tranny, try one of those.  Oh lord, do I  
digress, yet again...?

I like the DSG.  Usually I let it do it's thing, but sometimes it's  
really handy to drop it into manual mode an shitt.  Ummmm, good.

Bart


> From: Brett Dikeman <brett.dikeman at gmail.com>
> To: Dan DiBiase <d_dibiase at yahoo.com>
> Cc: Unka Bart <gatorojo at earthlink.net>; quattro at audifans.com
> Sent: Saturday, August 22, 2009 11:47:47 AM
> Subject: Re:
>
> On Sat, Aug 22, 2009 at 11:32 AM, Dan DiBiase<d_dibiase at yahoo.com>  
> wrote:
> > Ooo, I'll be interested in your real-world experiences with the  
> car. The lease expires on our van on Dec 1, and we are
> > looking to downsize. The Jetta SW TDI is one car I want to look  
> at, even though I think it will be a bit small for our needs.
>
> Tthey sure look big.  Every time I see one, it looks like it's With
> Child in the back.
>
> DSG and TDI seem like a match made in heaven. Narrow rev range, lots
> of gears in a transmission that shifts lickidy-split.
>
> http://jalopnik.com/5277531/2009-vw-jetta-sportwagen-tdi-part-one
>
> Having driven a couple of DSG cars, I agree that it is a bit weird and
> the downshift behavior for 1st gear is annoying (basically, it should
> never touch 1st unless you mash it when you're in 2nd)...but if you've
> driven a manual, they are grossly exaggerating the negative
> experience.  You will not find its behavior that odd (for example,
> when you lift and get a fair bit of engine braking, though in the TDI
> it may be much stronger than the 2.0TQ and 3.2Q.)  The first
> generation units in the A3Q 3.2L had an irritating creep/initial go
> behavior.  The second generation dry clutch units, at least in the
> 2.0TQ I drove, are superior; the behavior is much more refined, and
> you no longer get annoyed leaving every stoplight or crawling along in
> traffic. Dunno which is in the TDI.
>
> The tuning companies have DSG software mods available, and some people
> seem very happy with them, so there is the potential for something
> different if you're not happy with the stock behavior.
>
> Definitely test-drive one regardless...
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> ---
> That's the plan....
>
> If you look at the specs, it is very close in size in most  
> measurements to my 2004 A4, which is a little
> tight in the back when I have all 3 of my kids. Of course, son #1  
> is off at college these days, so not
> much call for 5 of us in the car. But the Passat has a couple of  
> extra inches in shoulder room in the
> back.
>
> Dan D
> '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6
> Central NJ USA
>