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I saw a post on gearboxes on here where Steve Cruz suggested some tips on not straining your gearbox too much - just wanted to quickly ask you all how you drive - I saw the thread re gearbox life.

1. how many of you drive around in manual/paddle - ie do you use it like a normal gearbox ie drop gear at roundabout to slow yourself
2. understand the point re being in 4th doing 40 then flooring it being bad (never do this myself) but under what conditions do you push the car?

If you know you want to overtake or pull quickly out of a junction or want more engine braking into a bend, then I always use paddle mode. The gearbox can't see ahead, nor sus what you;re thinking, no matter how good the software becomes. Sure it can react quickly (I'd love a C6 6-speeder in my C5), but it can never get ahead of the game. Expecting it to cope and be rewarding in slush mode is unreasonable I think.

so yes, I use Tip mode a lot.

Phil G

S for me about 2 seconds plus before I overtake or floor it.

Always wait until the gearbox warms up for sure. Never ever give it 100% juice if you have been driving for less than 10 minutes, you are asking for trouble.

Steve

If I'm cruising, then I'll be in D and let the box sort itself out. If I need to overtake, I shift the lever over to tipro and drop a gear (or 2) with the buttons so that the turbo's on the boil and I can take off quickly.

If I want to do some spirited driving (and I don't mean drunk ) then I'll be in tiptro mode. I find that the RS6 is at its best on twisty country lanes and I love using the gears into corners and powering out. Having said that, I'm mostly between 3rd and 4th in these conditions. Maybe dropping into 2nd for a particularly tight corner.

I never use S. It feels very clumsy.

I'm pretty much the same. Never floor it in D (to prevent the mad kickdown) paddles for spirited driving and the overtake.

NEVER use "engine braking" on a performance car. Keep it for tractors, coaches and caravans

Brakes slow or stop cars
Engines via gearboxes make them go.

It is also much cheaper in the long run as brake pads & disks cost less than gearboxes to replace.

You never see or hear F1 or touring cars engine brake...only guys who are trying to go faster who think it sounds cool.

So in RS6
Approach bend or roundabout.
Brake (Left foot or heel & toe to keep revs up)
Select gear on paddles to required engine revs and speed (2/3rd)
Power on and drive out........

With all that torque in my previous TVR, ANY engine braking would lock the rear wheels and result in a spin when you let the clutch out. That is why many owners had crashes on a first spirited drive!

500bhp wrote:
You never see or hear F1 or touring cars engine brake...only guys who are trying to go faster who think it sounds cool.

Yes you do!!!!!

500bhp wrote:NEVER use "engine braking" on a performance car. Keep it for tractors, coaches and caravans

Brakes slow or stop cars
Engines via gearboxes make them go.

It is also much cheaper in the long run as brake pads & disks cost less than gearboxes to replace.

You never see or hear F1 or touring cars engine brake...only guys who are trying to go faster who think it sounds cool.

So in RS6
Approach bend or roundabout.
Brake (Left foot or heel & toe to keep revs up)
Select gear on paddles to required engine revs and speed (2/3rd)
Power on and drive out........

With all that torque in my previous TVR, ANY engine braking would lock the rear wheels and result in a spin when you let the clutch out. That is why many owners had crashes on a first spirited drive!

And you think left footbraking while still using the throttle will save the box????????

500bhp wrote: A lot of stuff

Engine braking is a perfectly legitimate way of slowing down which won't harm your gearbox even slightly. If the gearbox can handle putting the torque from the engine to the wheels, it can certainly handle the torque from the wheels back to the engine. Braking and keeping the power on is going to strain your gearbox far more as it is you are just amplifiying the twisting effect on the box. This will also wear your brakes faster as they have to work even harder to scrub off the speed.

The only reasons i know for heel & toeing or left foot braking is to blip the throttle for a smoother gear change (does not require you to keep power on while braking) and the keep the turbo spooled on turboed cars (only really required on the track).

Regarding your wheels locking on your TVR, this is not possible. If your drive wheels where to lock it would result in a stalled engine, something I'm sure you'll agree is not possible to achieve under engine braking. What you were probably experiencing was just the wheels rotatating at a slower speed than the speed of the car, resulting in some tyre squeal and maybe some squirming from the back end. Anyway this is combated by smooth clutch control, and matching engine revs to road speed when changing down. This is a result of the compression of the engine, not the torque. The RS6 is 4x4, automatic and has a low compression engine (turbo charged). All of these points mean there is no chance of this happening what-so-ever.

Back to the original post. I drive in D for normal cruising, and use S for the odd overtake. If I'm out having some fun I always use manual mode so i can get in the right gear before the bends, and also in manual mode it is possible to blip the throttle on the down change, making for a much smoother change. I also find myself using manual in traffic, just to stop it changing between 1st and 2nd all the time.

D for everyday stuff and M'way cruising (ie 98% of my mileage), S mode for overtaking or when I feel like playing. Tip mode mainly for descending steep hills (trips to Scotland and Switzerland in last 18 months) and for driving on snow and ice recently.

Personally I reckon that the S mode changes are about as good as I could get to manually so for overtaking etc I save my three brain cells for the steering/observation tasks! I raraely am out "playing" on twisty stuff, but if I did it more suspect I would use Tip more as was commented above, even the S mode can't read the road ahead!

Dave