Tiptronic "S"
 

Anyone have experience performance driving with the tip in "S" vs using shifting manually but in it's normal drive mode ? I'm trying to determine whether I should run solo II courses one way or the other. In "S" I may not have to manually shift at all which lets me concentrate on directing the car vs the gear I'm in ??

you should be...
 

...faster in manual shift mode considering you can wind out each gear to max rpm's a la 6 spd manual. even in S mode, the trans will shift before then.

You would also get more compression braking in manual mode.

personally, I think leaving it in S would be best in that scenario.
 

and of course, you can still supplement with the occasional paddle up/downshift while leaving it in S, if necessary.

it will rev all the way to redline in S, IF you keep the throttle mashed.
 

the other interesting thing is that if you are in S, and you start using the paddles, it will start to hold each gear longer. it's as if the tranny brain is saying "oh, you want to paddle shift." if you then stop using the paddles, it goes back into 'regular' S mode after a while.

i'm not sure where...
 

the 'holding' of a gear would come into play if out of D or S and in full manual shift mode. it won't shift until you select the next higher gear, assuming you aren't exceeding redline. in S you have higher shift points, but it will still shift as an auto trans.

try this....
 

...put it in S. Drive normally for a while. Then start paddle shifting while LEAVING IT IN S. You'll see that the tranny will go into a manual-type mode, as long as you continue to use the paddles...you don't have to take it out of S. If you stop using the paddles, it will go back into auto mode after a short period of time.

okay...
 

what determines when you stop using the paddles? what i mean is, at what point(matter of time) w/o using paddles will the trans revert to auto shifts when left in S? i think having it out of D or S, in the manual gate, is the only way to truly control shifting with lever or paddles.

i don't have an S4 w/tip, so i'm only surmising in this regard. but, i have driven tips and found that you can shift in manual mode just the same as 6 spd manual trans, as long as you don't exceed redline...at which time the trans will shift automatically to the next higher gear.

not really sure how it happens....
 

...in fact I stumbled upon this by accident. I was driving in S, and accidentally hit the upshift paddle. As I continued to drive, I noticed it wasn't shifting into the next gear automatically, even as I got close to redline and after backing off the throttle. But after a short period of driving w/o using the paddles, in went back to 'normal' S mode. I'm sure there's a VAG engineer somewhere who could explain it.

okay, makes sense...
 

but the orig post here was talking of S vs manual. so, in his case, i don't think it would be worth taking out of manual and into S, if he didn't want to shift, as he says. he either deals with S mode, or he shifts manually.

come to think of it, i really didn't understand his question to begin with. i mean, yes there's a difference, and yes you're going to suffer from auto shifts in S mode on the track.