tip launch question

[i_eat_staples]

ya all u 6mt guys can stop laughin :P

anywhoo, '04 s4, and I've noticed some weird behavior as far as launching goes

you cant just floor the pedal, doing that causes a bit of lag and it seems like the car gives up earlier and shifts to 2nd to early

too light of course results in not enough oomph

starting out light and pressing eventually to floor works ok ~sometimes

where I seem to have the best launches are going straight to like 40-60% throttle then going full

the problem is...its not a consistant thing, sometimes there is that fraction of a second of lag but other times you get thrown back into the seat

its like night and day, and I was wondering if anyone else with a tip 04 s4 has had similar experiences and if theyve found any tricks to making launches more reliable

[pkancel]

I wonder if that is a trait of the Audi tip transmissions. My 03 A4 1.8t is the exact same. Drives me crazy so I use the tip mode and that way I dont have to feel that lag. Obviously I have a turbo and some is from that, but this feeling is more coming from how I feel the transmission performing.

[i_eat_staples]

Here is some research being done on it:
http://est.org/S4b6throttle/index.html

I tend to agree with a lot of the research that the guy has done, I wonder if audi is planning on addressing this?

This DBW system is one of the few things I really dont like about this car, its frustrating not having the car respond the way you want it to, even when i've been driving it since february daily and have over 6000 miles on it(virtually all city and stop-and-go highway).

It's a very stark difference from my '98 2.8 a6, and despite having substantially less power, the power I had I could control easily with that car.

[JetBlue]

I read over on AW that someone in Switzerland had new DBW software installed. Apparently there was a huge difference in the throttle response, but I do not think it is available in the US yet.

You can clear the "learned" portion of the DBW by turning the ingnition to "On" WITHOUT starting the car. Now floor the throttle for at least 5 seconds. Release the throttle and then start.

Hope this helps.
MO

[Turbo_Whip]

try doing a TBA, might help

[pkancel]

Thats a pretty good write up but I am surprised that Neuspeed or any of the other US software companies havent designed something to change this.

Until I got my Neuspeed Chip, I was contemplating getting rid of my car because it was so annoying and didnt make the car very fun to drive except on the highway or longer stretches. Stop and go traffic was exceptionally bothersome.

I had a BMW 540 before and while I knew it would be an adjustment, i didnt expect it to be this tough. Years ago I had a Saab 900 Turbo with a 4 cylinder so I expected it to be somewhat similar. That car would just about rip the front drive out so it was too extreme, especially in bad weather. Just need something between that and what we have now. Not sure what Audi was thinking by doing this.

[oxygena4]

Originally posted by JetBlue
I read over on AW that someone in Switzerland had new DBW software installed. Apparently there was a huge difference in the throttle response, but I do not think it is available in the US yet.

You can clear the "learned" portion of the DBW by turning the ingnition to "On" WITHOUT starting the car. Now floor the throttle for at least 5 seconds. Release the throttle and then start.

Hope this helps.
MO

Does this work on the 1.8T as well? my throttle is a bit unpredictable some times.

[i_eat_staples]

JetBlue I'll give that a try today and see how it works, thanks.

[pkancel]

Let us know how it works for you?

[i_eat_staples]

I drove around for about 15 minutes after having done what JetBlue posted above.

So far it feels like the car is "crisper" on shifts. It's hard to describe and the difference is subtle.

I'll have to drive it some more and do some launches tonight to get a better analysis of it. I'll post again tonight.

[needforsleep]

The lag is definitely a "programmed" protection feature in the transmission control. Everyone does it. It's designed to protect the internal gears of the AT. If you start off by pressing NOT all the way down to the floor then you get better response because you are staying out of the protection zone. I don't have the specifics but a friend of mine works on transmission controls at DaimlerChrysler and he was trying to explain it to me.

I launch two footed but you have to be careful you don't do this too long or rev to high because the car will lock out after a certain amount of time or if you hit a certain rev limit, I can't remember which one. Have you tried this?

[i_eat_staples]

are you talking about brake launches? I did a couply of those before but havent experimented much because i havent read enough to quell my fears about any damage to the car it might cause.

after driving around some more tonight it seems like the throttle reset didnt help much as far as launches go, so i'm a bit disappointed about that

[madrussian]

On the S4, there's honestly no to very little lag. That thing's beastly and it doesn't have a turbo w/ lag... I think our problem is the turbo...

BTW, I've done a few brake launches and honestly I quit doing them. It's kind hard to get it right and it seems like I'm just eating away at my tranny by trying to do it right, I always hear the grinding...

[pkancel]

I eat staples has an 04 S4 and he is experiencing the same thing, but there are two issues. Turbo Lag and then transmission design which is delay in launch and the way it shifts. I think with the 1.8t, we feel it moreso as the turbo lag adds to the feeling.

[JetBlue]

There is definitely throttle lag and strange behavior on the S4. There was recent confirmation that there is new software for Europe that has not been released yet in the US for the S4's. It is annoying as hell though. When I floor the throttle it is s l o w off the line. If I roll into the throttle it is a rocket.

I am not sure if they use the same software for both. I would think that Audi would write software for each engine since the response pattern as well as the TQ numbers are different from the 1.8, 3.0, and 4.2.

MO

[i_eat_staples]

do we have any europeans people who post here with access to that software?

[JetBlue]

Check the boards on Audiworld. That is where I saw the posts recently.

As for using the brakes during a launch; This can be done, but there is a certain engine speed where the car will stall. This is a safety feature for the transmission and torque converter. I do not know what the stall speed is on the S4 though.

I have seen the best response by going to ~50% throttle off the line and then rolling into the throttle from there. This seems to give you the maximum amount of throttle off the line without the DBW over riding the driver.

MO

[pkancel]

Jetblue, I can only imagine your frustration. When buying a V8 powered car, I specifically expect to slam the throttle from time to time at a start to feel the immediate torque. Thats what I used to love about my 540i. When I bought this 1.8, I knew there would be a bit of this because of turbo lag, but I am smart enough to feel the difference in turbo lag and transmission design or lack of design. Lets hope that software gets here soon for all of us.