So Im a little over 1 year in with my 2014 4S. I love the car but I find the PDK a bit annoying in auto mode and totally uninspiring when not in sport mode. I often find myself driving in manual with sport mode as it offers a much more spirited driving experience. It seem as if there is no reason to drive it out of sport mode except on long highway rides. Perhaps my lack of understanding of this engineering marvel has caused me to not give it the proper credit. Please share your opinions.

 

I also only drive in "sport" mode. I leave it in auto mode, unless I am overtaking and will use the manual paddles. You may with to reset the PDK so that it re-learns your driving habits. Search for "pdk reset procedure" to see if that helps. I find that it also helps to be smooth with the throttle to avoid unnecessary shifting of the gears.

 

You are in luck.... You literally need to do a relearn for the PDK transmission... that and/or might consider doing a PDK fluid change if you havent already.... CIAKA just posted up the directions for the PDK reset in a few posts above this.... Hope thi shelps, if you got any questions, let me know, i think i can help

 

Got to remember the "normal" mode was designed to maximize fuel economy -- not any form of sporty fun driving. It will shift very early to minimize rpms.

I find it amazing that a car with this level of performance can get the in-town and highway mileage it does in "normal" and still be quite a beast in "sport" and "sport-plus" mode.

I do wish it would remember last driving mode between starts -- I guess that is to placate the gov't mileage mandate watchers. Just glad my model does remember "Auto Start-Stop" between cycles. I don't like that functionality.

Regards,

 

Im with you on the auto stop disable. I cant stand that and turned it off the day I got the car

 

I agree that normal mode sucks. I still love the PDK so far overall. The PDK is louder and less smooth for non sporty driving than some other cars I've driven. The difference is, when you want to drive aggressively, its much better at doing so.

The normal mode is geared, get it, geared towards fuel efficiency. The start in second is bla, and the throttle response is very tapered. There is hardly any juice for quite a bit of pedal play and then it all kicks in too fast. I really think this is more of an old persons mode, who is intending specifically to NOT drive spirited. It actually works against driving spirited. There just isn't quiet enough low end torque in second gear to get that smooth quick take off unless you give it a lot of gas, and that makes it take off too jerky.

One thing to try in normal mode. Shift into manual mode from a standstill then pop it over into regular mode after you get going. Its much smoother. You get that smooth 1st gear take off, choose your shift point, then let the computer to the rest of the shifting. The way the car is geared, taking off in 2nd is just not idea', even if the 1st gear is really really short and does rev pretty noticeably to the 2nd gear shift. Normal auto mode is made to be quiet, low reving and fuel efficient.

1) I don't like how the car takes off from a standstill. Its either sluggish, or ***** to the wall. There isn't just a smooth quick launch....unless you are in manual mode. The PDK is actually smoother using the paddles rather than in full auto. This is both a benefit and a bane. The benefit is, if you like driving in manual mode, you can really drive the car like its a manual. It sounds, feels, and shifts like a manual in manual mode. This is very different than using paddles on say a ZF typical torque converter auto that happens to have paddle shifters.

2) The PDK gets smoother the harder you drive it. Like an actual manual, sometimes those first couple of shifts are a little jerky if you're trying to take off smooth and slow in auto mode. At WOT runs and aggressive driving the PDK is fast and buttery smooth. Its designed to be driven hard, not "normal" in my estimation. You never really lose that sporty " I just want to goooooo" feeling.

3) The PDK is smoother using manual mode. It drives wonderfully in all modes using the paddles. Sport Chrono is terrible on the street in auto mode, but great using the paddles for just some sporty driving feel. Sport is best if you just feel like sticking with auto. All of the modes are smoother using the paddles. You can also use the paddles without going into manual mode. The car will shift per paddle input then go right back into auto mode, if you don't have the console shifter in manual mode. This is the only "auto" I've had that I actually use the paddles in about half the time.