Gandalf The Silver

sequential manuals.

The shift times in the Audi's Tiptronic system can be as long as 1 second, from what I've heard (although GIAC sells a Tip chip that can supposedly reduce this to 0.2 secs, which would definitely make things a tougher call

I wonder if the CVT has this same delay when it's in Tip mode? Would be interesting to know.

The F1 systems, of course, shift so fast that they measure it in milliseconds. In addition to street Ferrari's, you can find these systems in Alfa Romeo's and BMW's. I did a post on the BMW SMG II system, available in the M3, a few weeks ago. It can do a shift in 80 milliseconds, but even that is a far cry from what the F1 cars do (<20 ms if memory serves me well).

So despite the advantages in cornering with an A4 Tip, my gut tells me that I could still outperform it with my manual tranny, around the track, due to it's shifting delays.

My tranny of choice right now is the SMG II (especially since I'd have to have an M3 to go along with it ;-)

But once CVT can handle serious torque, I agree that it'll be the tranny king

Turning Japanese

Aston Martin and McLaren also use a sequential manual

Gandalf The Silver

Did not know that (haven't shopped for either recently ...Thanks for the info! :-)

figcar

I'm finding that even in full auto mode I can get incredibly fast shifts by just the slightest flex of my foot at the exact moment I want to shift. If I just hold my foot down, the auto mode takes a second longer...but the delay is because the brain is trying to make it smooth despite the fact the throttle isn't lifting. If you just flex your foot the slightest amount, the trans will give you a very very quick shift...you would have to be really speed shift to get close to it. But here's the experiement...go out with someone in a manual trans car...time their shifts in both normal driving and in "spirited" driving. Then work on the tiptronic techniques and have someone (who is unbiased enough that your trust them) to time your normal shifts...and your high performance shifts. Forget what you feel...let the stop watch be the judge. And again, it downshifting...at the same moment you make the shift, give a slit blip of the throttle. I have been doing this and getting none of that anoying nose dive associated with down shifting automatics...my down shifts are as smooth as any I ever made...and again...they are occuring in less time. I think the sequential boxes are much faster than the H pattern linkage, and the F1 stuff is truly amazing...but for a street car at the price you buy an A4 1.8...I am truly impressed with the tiptronic. And the next generation with a selected sport mode and paddles will eventually filter down to the basic street models. And by then I think the CVT will really have been developed. What I like is that it is a fully mechancial box...and the only draw back I've read about is that is has the same off the line delay that the current tip...and I guess all automatic...have.
I've really enjoyed this thread. Thanks for your insights and thoughts.
John

Gandalf The Silver

the car shifts. You're probably doing with your foot, what GIAC does with it's chip.

Reminds me of how I used to drive my Dad's Pontiac 6000 automatic...made a big difference if you knew when and how much pedal to give it or take away.

Don't know anyone with a Tip and I've never test driven one, but would be interesting to try.

As for my shift times, I'm sure I'm no expert, though thinking about it, I'm not sure it would matter all that much in cornering, since I'd have loads of time to shift while slowing down for the approach. Sadly, this car is too awkward for me to practice heel-and-toe.

Still, it would be interesting to see how quickly I can shift those gears...just as long as no one was watching :-)

Good thread indeed...I likk trannies, in case you couldn't tell