End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

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End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by HYFR » Thu Dec 29, 2011 7:03 pm

I've actually still got the car for another few weeks, but my B8 S4 has arrived in the UK and as I've just come back from a 1,200 mile round trip to Isle of Skye i thought now would be a good time to post my thoughts on the car.

So, spec was pretty basic which just shows how ridiculously lowly spec'd these come from the factory.

I went for Coupe with S-tronic and the only option of Tech Pack (DVD Sat nav / Bluetooth / AMI)

The standard spec includes NOTHING ! no cruise, bose, autolight/wipers, parking sensors ... nothing, quite shocking for £48k worth of RS.

I had a TTS before, which had a Sports Button which stiffened the suspension, changed throttle, steering and exhaust tone ... the TTRS does also have a Sports button, but it ONLY changes the exhaust tone ... (so it was on all the time :D )

Inside, its not much different to any other S-Line TT, save for a chunkier steering wheel, which was very nice actually.

Outside, noice fixed rear wing, poverty 18's alloys and more aggressive bodykit ....


So, me and this car didnt get on to the best of starts .... but, 1st wkend I got it, it was Audi Driver International ... this gave me a good opportunity to take it down to Castle Combe in convoy with the big guns, and was please to say that in a straight drag against a V8 R8, it was neck and neck ... and with a launch control thrown it, it would take it to 100, but it was obvious that it would run out of its initially impressive punch after 100.

So, 1 week in, I decide I'll do the gentlemanly thing and let the missus take it to work. BIG MISTAKE ! an Ocado van smashes into the back of it, £15k worth of damage and 7 weeks off the road later I get it back, still with only 1,000 miles on.

So, I though what better way to get it know it then take it up to the Isle of Skye for Xmas ! :biggrin3:

Up to that point, I had mixed feelings about the car.

- STONKING 2.5TFSI engine !
- Brilliant sound with S-button on
- AMAZING gearbox, instant shifts & launch

BUT

- Boring looks
- GAY
- lifeless chassis
- understeer

So, would a 1,200 miles return journey to Isle of Skye change my views ..... car had 4,000 miles on prior to trip to Scotland, so was just about warmed up for some serious driving.


First of all .... Isle of Syke is FAR away from London !

Image


We decided to break up the journey there by stopping in Brum, and then Glasgow. So, up at 7am in Glasgow to do the 200 odd miles to the Isle of Skye.

If anyone is familiar with what you encounter after going past Glasgow, its just pure motoring bliss.

The A82 up towards Fort William, if you can catch it on a dry day when its quiet (which it was both!) means you have single carraigeway NSL roads which run by Loch Lomand, through Glen Coe and up to Fort William ... its a stunning route

So, stuck the TTRS into Manual mode (stick to the left), sports button on, full tank of T99 and away we go.

what a drive

Some very good aspects of the TTRS came into play

1. engine / power
2. brakes
3. gearbox

All of these were stunning and really made the TT into a weapon. You could fly up to a corner, pound on the excellent brakes, two clicks of the paddle to shift it to 2nd, take the corner and absolutely floor it out with the immense power.

If you ever came behind a slow Italian caravan, overtaking was a piece off piss with the gearbox and power.

Image

So, we got to Fort William, filled up some more and got some food.

On fuel, the TTRS averages about 29mpg so far on my 5,000 miles .... will get 35mpg on a steady SPEC run, and down to 22mpg when giving it death ... range of about 300 miles ... not great, but not too disimilar to the TTS

Now, i thought the A82 was great, but then we took the A87 towards Isle of Skye!

OH MY FKN GOD!

This road it ridonkulous ... its basically the Scottish Nurburgring ! The roads are amazing, really high speed straights, sweeping bends, tighter corners ... everything you could imagine, all NSL, all empty ! I had so much fun and was giving the death ... at one point i even though the S-Tronic was about to give up as it got abit confused at once, but it got its act together

We went through Glenshiel, which is just stunning

Image

Image


HOWEVER, as good as these roads were, and as fast as the TTRS was ... i did really question just how much "driver involvment" there was ... it was like point and squirt action ... did I get the feel through the steering ? no ... could I feel the balance in the chassis ? no .... could I feel the quattro grip ? no .....

dynamically, the TTRS is a bit of a let down IMO ... fast yes, but fun ? depends if you like straight lines and <4sec 0-60


So, arrived at the hotel ...

Image

Isle of Skye is just mentally stunning ... its also much bigger than you think, a good 20mile drive to parts of the island

Luckily for us, we had caught it in the eye of a storm

:FIREdevil:

amber weather warning for strong winds were very kind I think ! we went to a high point of the island and got out of the car and literally were nearly blown off our feet ... I've never experienced stronger winds !

Image

Then the rain started ... torrential, relentless rain !

So, we started the 200odd mile trip back to to Glasgow at c.2pm with the weather slowly getting worse and worse and worse.

Strong winds, horizontal hail, torrential rain ... standing water - a receipie for aquaplaning !


So, the drive back was a much more sedate affair which gave me the opportunity to explore a different side to the TTRS.

max speed was prob 60 mph, which very sudden harsh braking required to avoid large areas of standing water ! it was also soo windy that in a 1,500kg odd car, going over 60 meant being blown all over the place .... could have done with a 2.2tonne C6 here !

man I was glad of the autobox ... had it in D the whole way to Glasgow.

but, doing this speed for so long, what I really could have done with is a nice comfy ride as I wasnt gunning it ... but man the TTRS ride is so damn firm ALL the time. Its actually like driving my R8 with Mag Ride on all the time (and I never turn it on it the R8 as its too firm!)

Stopping in Glasgow for a few hours, then set off at 9pm and arrive in MK at 2am.

lots of fast motorway driving, empty.

Again, all I wanted was a nice comfy ride for a 5 hour drive ... but no, just rock hard ride


So, it go me thinking, for such a 1,200 journey which sustained fast motorway, fast twisty A-roads, slow dangerous weather driving, comfort, noise, looks, fun ... what would be the best car, out of the cars I have driven have been ? as the TTRS was not it ....

my answer ...

RS 5

:sekret:


So, TTRS ...

Good:
- engine
- gearbox
- brakes

Bad:
- ride
- handling / 'feel'
- spec
- space


Would I buy one for £40+k .... not a chance ...


:jump:

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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by sonny » Thu Dec 29, 2011 7:23 pm

Good write up Dave, I must say you do get about lol.

Shocking that this car never had basics such as cruise control.
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by scaghead » Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:52 am

superb write up dave...as sonny says, you get about fella.
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by sonny » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:16 am

You should invest in a decent DSLR camera mate, with some good lenses.
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by HYFR » Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:07 am

Is that a way of saying my fotos are <beep>?! Lol

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End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by sonny » Wed Jan 04, 2012 8:41 am

Haha no not at all Dave
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by drybeer » Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:31 pm

aka_dk wrote:the TTRS does also have a Sports button, but it ONLY changes the exhaust tone ... (so it was on all the time :D )
Good write-up - but I've got to pull you up on that one - it changes the throttle map also! :bigblink:

However - your thoughts echo my own.

Engine = interesting.
Acceleration = adequate.

Handling / traction / chassis balance... Well, let's just say the the TT-RS and I fell out when on negotiating (playing on) a LARGE roundabout (turn in is excellent by the way), on feeling the back end come in to play, I tried out whether the car could be adjustable on the throttle... And got a huge pile of front wheel spin induced understeer.

And it is quite gay.
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by HYFR » Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:43 pm

does it really adjust the throttle map ? can never notice it .... i mostly drive in Manual mode, would that make any difference

totally agree on the balance, i just cant get a feel for the chassis and where you can throw it about

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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by bam_bam » Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:53 pm

drybeer wrote:
aka_dk wrote:I tried out whether the car could be adjustable on the throttle... And got a huge pile of front wheel spin induced understeer.

And it is quite gay.
Did you have TC off?
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by Nudenut » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:06 pm

Only the gear change points and slightly sharper speed of change are effected by the sport button I thought?
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by HYFR » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:11 pm

Nudenut wrote:Only the gear change points and slightly sharper speed of change are effected by the sport button I thought?
that sounds like Sport mode on the gearbox though

drybeer - are you certain S button changes throttle map on TTRS ... if it does, its very subtle

could defo notice it on B7 RS 4 and TTS

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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by Nudenut » Wed Jan 04, 2012 1:25 pm

aka_dk wrote:
Nudenut wrote:Only the gear change points and slightly sharper speed of change are effected by the sport button I thought?
that sounds like Sport mode on the gearbox though

drybeer - are you certain S button changes throttle map on TTRS ... if it does, its very subtle

could defo notice it on B7 RS 4 and TTS
Ahh I get ya... as per C6 & R8 that I've had, it's just box mapping on the Sport button.
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by P_G » Wed Jan 04, 2012 3:35 pm

Excellent write DK, has put me off trading up the RS4 for one for sure! :beerchug:

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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by drybeer » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:24 pm

aka_dk wrote:
drybeer - are you certain S button changes throttle map on TTRS ... if it does, its very subtle

could defo notice it on B7 RS 4 and TTS
Yes - for sure. On the demo and customer cars we sold. You could notice the throttle was jerkier in result, and this made for very rough progress in town until you turned sport mode off - which smoothed out power delivery.

I'm talking about one manual and two S-tronics, so it wasn't gearbox dependant. On the version of S-tronic in the TT-RS the gearbox is only put into "Sport but still auto mode" mode by moving the gear change selection lever to "S" as far as I know.
Last edited by drybeer on Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: End of Term Report - TTRS-C S-Tronic (to Skye & back)

Post by HYFR » Wed Jan 04, 2012 9:25 pm

i am suprised, i have never found the throttle jerky ever ... the B7 throttle was mega sensitive

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