Advice please on driving in mountains with DSG

[Detritus]

Hi all,

Will be taking the Cali for a three week tour of Europe next week including our first ever drive over the Alps. I was wondering what advice anyone had on driving in the mountains with the DSG gearbox? Have been hearing horror stories from others of boiling their brake fluid and failing brakes down to not using the engine break enough in manual big whites. How does this work with the DSG - won't it automatically upshift to a gear appropriate for the speed and therefore take the engine brake out of the equation?

Thanks,

Jez

 

[GrannyJen]

Steep hills does not bother a Cali, either getting up them nor down them.

The DSG will allow engine breaking, even with Coast enabled. One touch of the brakes on a steep descent will cause it to downshift. I cant be technical about it, there are others here anyway far better versed on the technicalities, but you will find a cali with DSG giving you little problems on descents.

How others "Boil their brake fluid" is for others to explain. I have driven over mountain roads in some pretty gruesome machines over the years and not yet managed it, but I have found the Cali always to be very sure-footed and well mannered.

 

[hirsty]

Agreed - DSG knocks itself out of coast mode when you first dab the brakes anyway, so there's no chance of it "running away with you" down the mountain. The brakes themselves will be absolutely fine on a new Beach as long as you're not over-loaded and/or racing down. Check your tyre pressures & engine oil and go steady, stop if you need a breather.

- I can't remember, but I don't think there's any coast in S / Sport mode?
- Try the Manual up/down shift if you really want to feel like you're on top of things?

Don't worry about the Alps. Amazing scenery & nothing to be concerned about, just relax & take your time. Only problem I've ever had in the mountains was driving a RHD van up the Stelvio & not being able to see 'back & to the left' on hairpins if there was anything coming down, so your passenger gets to earn their money.

Where are you off to btw?

 

[Hotel California]

Lots been discussed on engine braking , and downhill driving style with a DSG.
Use common sense and be aware it's a 3 tonne verhicle not a race car , use manual shifting.
Have you used the search function?

 

[Teejay]

- I can't remember, but I don't think there's any coast in S / Sport mode
- Try the Manual up/down shift if you really want to feel like you're on top of things?

Agree about the sport mode, you can always disable the coast option via the menus if concerned.

 

[CYCLOPATH]

I'm just back from a month in the Pyrenees, and I searched out the small ,high climbs.( and slept on the top of a few of them)....thé van, with its 180 engine and DSG was a dream.
I took it steady, but went at the same speed as most of the cars.
If there were cars in a hurry, I pulled over to let them by.
I went on many roads a motor home would not manage......which is why I have a Cali.
Enjoy

 

[WelshGas]

Sports Mode. Slow and steady, not too slow. Coast Function is automatically disabled in Sport Mode.
Manual mode if you feel you want to be more in control, but NOTE, it will not change Up or Down if the Engine revs will be out of range as determined by the electronics.

 

[CYCLOPATH]

Sports Mode. Slow and steady, not too slow. Coast Function is automatically disabled in Sport Mode.
Manual mode if you feel you want to be more in control, but NOTE, it will not change Up or Down if the Engine revs will be out of range as determined by the electronics.

Surely in sports mode WG, the revs are even higher. On the previous thread about the engine brake on the descent , the problem was that the revs were so high

 

[GrannyJen]

Surely in sports mode WG, the revs are even higher. On the previous thread about the engine brake on the descent , the problem was that the revs were so high

I think that the point is the DSG box will allow engine breaking. Whichever mode it is in it will not allow the engine revs to go above safety limits. However between running out of control downhill and reaching maximum revs before change -up there will be considerable engine-braking applied down the longest and steepest of roads.

 

[Detritus]

Brilliant, thanks all!

We're taking the tunnel on Tuesday night and stopping over in Citi Europe as get there around 23:30 local time ( unless anyone recommends an aire that is one or two hours from Calais?)

Then driving to Freiburg in the Black Forest for a few nights.

Then over to Salzburg for 5 nights ( Sound of Music is my 7 year old daughter's favourite film so she is super excited!). Have been told to avoid A8 as there are major roadworks. Have been told there is some kind of picturesque route that skirts along the north side of the alps from the Black Forest to Salzburg? Will try to find that if I can!

Then to Postojna for one night to see the caves (I went when I was a lad so excited to show the wife and kids)

Then Rivenj in Croatia for 5 nights for a bit of sun and sea

Then Switzerland for 4 nights

Then work out way back up through France over a few nights to catch the tunnel back.

Very excited! Have been reading the forum and picking up tips and booked a few campsites based on reviews here. Will be using Aires on the way back up through France so using the park4night app.

 

[GrannyJen]

Brilliant, thanks all!

We're taking the tunnel on Tuesday night and stopping over in Citi Europe as get there around 23:30 local time ( unless anyone recommends an aire that is one or two hours from Calais?)

Then driving to Freiburg in the Black Forest for a few nights.

Then over to Salzburg for 5 nights ( Sound of Music is my 7 year old daughter's favourite film so she is super excited!). Have been told to avoid A8 as there are major roadworks. Have been told there is some kind of picturesque route that skirts along the north side of the alps from the Black Forest to Salzburg? Will try to find that if I can!

Then to Postojna for one night to see the caves (I went when I was a lad so excited to show the wife and kids)

Then Rivenj in Croatia for 5 nights for a bit of sun and sea

Then Switzerland for 4 nights

Then work out way back up through France over a few nights to catch the tunnel back.

Very excited! Have been reading the forum and picking up tips and booked a few campsites based on reviews here. Will be using Aires on the way back up through France so using the park4night app.

That sounds like a brilliant trip. I can understand your apprehension but you are going to have one heck of a journey.

Please keep us all informed and lots of pics. Have a brilliant time and I hope your Daughter loves Salzburg, who couldn't?

 

[WelshGas]

Surely in sports mode WG, the revs are even higher. On the previous thread about the engine brake on the descent , the problem was that the revs were so high

In Sports Mode revs can go upto 4000 or so, which, if you are in a lower gear indicates the need for braking. The DSG box will change up a gear to protect the engine.
Sports Mode just mean the Rev range is increased between gear changes. Changing to a lower gear at lower revs and changing to a higher gear at higher revs.
I had no problem using Sports Mode in Norway when climbing up and down the Fijords and used the brakes if the revs started climbing past 3500 on a steep descent.

 

[DM]

Don't stress - just drive . I have the 204 DSG 2WD. Just back from 2 weeks in Corsica with a drive over the Splugen Pass between Italy and Switzerland on the way back. It performed flawlessly. Loads of power for the uphills and no problems braking. Yes they were hot but not actually glowing (which I've had in other similar vehicles) and I didn't notice any brake fade.

 

[Max-Felix]

Got to disagree with some here - you need to know how to 'drive' an auto box even one as clever as the DSG.

The manual mode is there for a reason just like in the 'old days' when all autos were torque convertors and had only maybe 3 or 4 gears with the driver expected to select position 2 or whatever for descents.

You should certainly be using engine braking rather than sustained foot braking on long descents and moving the gear lever across to 'manual' mode and putting the box in 4/3/2 etc as appropriate.

Sports mode just changes the mapping and software so the engine holds lower gears longer and allows higher revs before upchanging. Although if switching to sports you will probably notice the box change down this may not be enough and a manual downshift perhaps by two or even three 'cogs' from normal drive would be more suitable to offer more engine braking on descents.

The box should not allow a change down into a gear too low that would cause the engine to hit the limiter, similarly if driving in a sporting fashion and upchanging manually the box should force an upshift if the driver does not to again protect from over revving.

 

[Aidy P]

Have a lively trip and don't worry. We (4 of us) crossed over from Austria to Italy yesterday.

On really tight hairpins or steep descents I just popped it over to manual & 3rd gear for more 'control'.

Enjoy!!

 

[Aidy P]

Lovely trip (& lively too if you want!!)