S4: manual vs s-tronic

[Marv]

There are a few other threads talking about why the s-tronic is 0.2 sec slower to 100km/h than the manual - the s-tronic requires 3rd gear to get to 100 where the manual can do it in 2nd so the s-tronic requires the time for an extra shift plus doing the final haul up to 100 lower down the rev range, when the engine is off the boil as it were.

Anyway I got thinking about this because people were saying the s-tronic is therefore in some way worse than the manual. I figured that just because the s-tronic is slower to 100, it doesn't necessarily follow that in a side-by-side race with a manual (doing perfect gear changes) it would be behind the manual after a certain time. Mathematically the distance travelled is the integral of the speed vs time curve so the car that will be ahead after a certain time depends, in a sense, on how quickly it gets to every speed point not just say 100km/h.

This makes me think that the 0-100, 0-200 times quoted are all a bit rubbish really - sure they give an indication but the really conclusive measure is the one I generally pay least attention to which is the time for a set distance like 1/4 mile.

Does anyone know the answer to the 1/4 mile question for the S4 s-tronic and manual?

Marv

[KresoF1]

Let's put it this way:

1. Excellent driver in manual vs. Excellent driver in S Tronic=manual faster by small margin

2. Excellent driver in manual vs Average driver in S Tronic=manual faster by small margin

3. Average driver in manual vs Average driver in S Tronic=S Tronic faster by big margin


Just... There is a thing called "driver involvement"... Here manual has advantage over any DCT or automatic IMHO... In the end it is personal preference that counts.

[Leadfoot]

Marv,

There has been two test that I know of, one was a manual and the other a S/Tronic.

Here are the figures for each side by side.

Manual vs (S/Tronic)
3.6s (3.6s) = 80km/h
5.0s (5.1s) = 100km/h
6.8s (6.7s) = 120km/h
7.8s = 130km/h
8.9s (8.9s) = 140km/h
11.5s (11.5s) = 160km/h
14.6s (14.9s) = 180km/h
18.6s = 200km/h

As you can see the difference in gearing shows up where the manual can may have an advantage to a certain speed only to lose that advantage at the next indicated speed. I would reckon that if the S/Tronic car that was tested had these other times added in to this list that it's 130km/h and 200km/h would have matched the manual to within a tenth either way.

You also have to remember that the S/Tronic S4 isn't equipped with launch control so it's time could have improved by a tenth or so.

[AndyBG]

As Kreso said, its all up to a driver... I personally don't like behavior of the auto' gearbox, any off them for that matter, and I still haven't found any off them to be a proper substitute for manual. Of c', in these days, auto' 'box is necessary for big cities, and buying of manual will make damage to future re-sell price of the car. And, having these arguments on its side, S-tronic would be my choice too, but if I you can make compromises go for manual! :D

[Marv]

So real world performance looks insignificant between the two....

Personally I think the s-tronic has a lot of appeal for all the reasons AndyBG mentions BUT that is on paper - the fact is I've never actually driven one, let alone the new 7 speed! I'm thinking of ordering a new S4 Avant and just can't decide. One of those heart vs head decissions...

[PetrolDave]

For me changing gear myself is part of the "art" of driving.

Unless I drove most of the time in congested city traffic I wouldn't consider anything that changes gear for me.

[AndyBG]

I can say that you have point there...

[Rosefors]

I for one cant understand why anyone would want a stick in between the two front seats to jerk around with every 2 seconds. We live in the 21th century 4 Christ sake! We have atomic bombs, blazingly fast computers, ultra thin laptops, remote controls to our TV-stet, to our DVD-player, to our juke box, squeeze box, popcorn hour box and I bet there are people with a remote controlled toilet seat! We can split an atom! We can clone a human, and while we can do all this, there are still people that somehow believe that moving a stick back and forth has everything to do with driving a car ??

but thats just my 2 cents....

[Marv]

I for one cant understand why anyone would want a stick in between the two front seats to jerk around with every 2 seconds. We live in the 21th century 4 Christ sake! We have atomic bombs, blazingly fast computers, ultra thin laptops, remote controls to our TV-stet, to our DVD-player, to our juke box, squeeze box, popcorn hour box and I bet there are people with a remote controlled toilet seat! We can split an atom! We can clone a human, and while we can do all this, there are still people that somehow believe that moving a stick back and forth has everything to do with driving a car ??

but thats just my 2 cents....

There is just something special about getting that perfect change and matching revs to road speed on the down shift - I had a road trip in a Caterham 7 a few weeks ago and there's nothing that comes close to the fun of driving that manual. Of course comparing that to a heavy Audi estate car, even one with sporting pretentions, doesn't really work

[AndyBG]

I for one cant understand why anyone would want a stick in between the two front seats to jerk around with every 2 seconds. We live in the 21th century 4 Christ sake! We have atomic bombs, blazingly fast computers, ultra thin laptops, remote controls to our TV-stet, to our DVD-player, to our juke box, squeeze box, popcorn hour box and I bet there are people with a remote controlled toilet seat! We can split an atom! We can clone a human, and while we can do all this, there are still people that somehow believe that moving a stick back and forth has everything to do with driving a car ??

but thats just my 2 cents....

:confused: You are on the car enthusiast forum, yet you say things like this...

[p3u]

18.6 seconds to 200km/h !?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is C5 RS6 acceleration!

[Leadfoot]

18.6 seconds to 200km/h !?! Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is C5 RS6 acceleration!

Not far off and it just shows how far things have come that a supercharged V6 can perform as well as a twin turboed V8 with a capacity more than a litre more.

OK, the performs has come on in leaps and bounds but check out the handling and you'll see even greater improvements.

[kju]

The problem is just that 90 percent of all drivers wont be able to beat the s- tronic. So the dkg is the one to choose...

[wankeldude]

I for one cant understand why anyone would want a stick in between the two front seats to jerk around with every 2 seconds. We live in the 21th century 4 Christ sake! We have atomic bombs, blazingly fast computers, ultra thin laptops, remote controls to our TV-stet, to our DVD-player, to our juke box, squeeze box, popcorn hour box and I bet there are people with a remote controlled toilet seat! We can split an atom! We can clone a human, and while we can do all this, there are still people that somehow believe that moving a stick back and forth has everything to do with driving a car ??

but thats just my 2 cents....

I for one enjoy getting my stick jerked on.