How do you find the downshifts on the DCT say when...

[Alext]

You're cruising along in 6/7th gear say, and you want to drop it down to say 2nd for a quick boost?

Do you physically click down 5(!) gears with the paddles or do you just floor it and the car knows what you want?

After driving a step I found I had to constantly look at the dash display to see what gear I was in whereas in a manual I always know of course and can concetrate on the road. Is this something you get used to and becomes second nature so you dont have to look at the dash gear display?

[jparnes1]

The transmission won't allow you to downshift from 7th to 2nd because you would over-rev the engine. There's a built in failsafe to guard against "the money shift". In this case it will just jump you up to whatever gear that will put your revs under the redline.
If you want the car to downshift for you, floor the accelerator past the resistant point and the transmission will downshift automatically, usually by about 2 -3 gears.

[Memphis1]

Originally Posted by Alext

You're cruising along in 6/7th gear say, and you want to drop it down to say 2nd for a quick boost?

Do you physically click down 5(!) gears with the paddles or do you just floor it and the car knows what you want?

After driving a step I found I had to constantly look at the dash display to see what gear I was in whereas in a manual I always know of course and can concetrate on the road. Is this something you get used to and becomes second nature so you dont have to look at the dash gear display?

if you downshift to 2nd you'll hit the red. you only need to downshift to 5th, 4th at most. godius suggested using both thumbs, if you can't do it fast enough with one and it's even faster if you blip the stick shift. you can't "skip" to 2nd because the gear are engaged in order. as far as concentrating on what gear you're in, i think it's just getting used to it, just like you don't even think about shifting in your manual cars.

[richard in NC]

I frequently do a double tap. I know that takes me 7-5 and again 5-3. Unless you are sub 45 mph, I wouldn't go all the way down to 2nd. There certainly is no need to with the torque of the 35i motor.

The only time I ever get mixed up is if I'm slowing for a tight corner and downshift just about the time the RPMs drop low enough for the car to automatically downshift. Say I intend to drop from 4th to 3rd but am slow enough the car drops to 3rd and my downshift drops it to 2nd. Happens a lot with the step but only occasionally with the DCT.

[BlueZ4AZ]

Originally Posted by richard in NC

I frequently do a double tap. I know that takes me 7-5 and again 5-3. Unless you are sub 45 mph, I wouldn't go all the way down to 2nd. There certainly is no need to with the torque of the 35i motor.

The only time I ever get mixed up is if I'm slowing for a tight corner and downshift just about the time the RPMs drop low enough for the car to automatically downshift. Say I intend to drop from 4th to 3rd but am slow enough the car drops to 3rd and my downshift drops it to 2nd. Happens a lot with the step but only occasionally with the DCT.

If you know you want to downshift around a tight corner to take it more aggressively why not just switch out of auto shift mode and over to manual shift mode before getting to the corner? Then there is no chance of the transmission downshifting on it's own, as we know. The only time I'm in auto mode around a corner is when driving more leasurely

[Alext]

Thanks for the replies.

Is it true that they are switching to the new +/- style paddle shifters for the DCT?

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by Alext

Thanks for the replies.

Is it true that they are switching to the new +/- style paddle shifters for the DCT?

I've heard rumors, but don't know. Anyone with a MY 2011 can answer this?