Milpitas2.7T

I am still not used to a car having torque.. With my eclipse it was all turbo..

I am coming onto an offramp, right hand sweeper and this dope in front of me is going way slow (everyone today was going real slow 60 instead of 65 on the freeway etc.etc bad day to be on the road).

Anyways, he is taking forever (so I not being a patient man) down shift into second (had nothing else to do during this time frame).

When we finally get up and a lane opens up next to us, I hit it and change lanes, at that instant I was redlined! Car wouldn't go, had to shift and lost all kind of time, was not a smooth transition as I was startled by bouncing off the rev limiter already.

The S4 has so much torque, you should not go into second. I normally don't on this same turn and shoot by everyone in 3rd in the right exit lane before I move over.. No problem, car goes so nice.

But damn the gears are short and this baby has torque, I am almost ready to think that being in a taller gear in almost all instances makes more sense for the S4..

I'm still learning, this car is a little sensitive that is for sure!

As someone once said " first is just to get the car started" I believe this, ever since hitting the rev on a left sweeper next to my office, I always short short short shift it into 2nd, so I can take the turn with a heavy foot and not have to worry about shifting till 3rd except right after the exit of the turn..

Must get to track!

Shredster

...except if you're looking for IMMEDIATE throttle/accleration response... a "major downshift" will do it. However, more than just relating to the torque and more importantly, you always want to know "where your rpms are at" whether it's from veiwing the tach or from your trained ear, stay in touch!! If you do a "major downshift" realize when that gear engages, you'll most likely already be in the 5000+ range hence you hitting the rev limiter so quick. When I am in the situation you described, I will initially rely on the sound of my motor to tell me where it is rpm wise... once shifted, I will usually make an insticntive/learned glance at the tach just to make sure where I'm at and to know where the red line is.

Take your baby out in a huge parking lot or open space and just bang it silly until you get a good feel for most of the gears (especailly 2-4) and how they perform throughout their range.