[Kafkaesque328]

5 days in with this car and I'm kind of digging discovering which transmission/drive mode combos are ideal for various terrain/situations. Just curious to see which modes/combos other 8 speed people prefer. Coming from a few decades of the Grapes of Wrath era massive wiener, MANual transmission, I'm actually pretty down with the versatility and options of the 8 speed vs. the one trick pony I got so used to. Although I'm expecting some instant trolling from Snow Ghost king of the 3 pedal tap dance, I'm not trying to start another one of those threads, at all.

So far I've narrowed it down to the following:

City cruising/moderate traffic/flatlands: Comfort mode/Drive. It seems like regardless of drive setting, sport, comfort or eco, the suspension still comfortable regardless of M-sport pkg and 18's vs. my GTI which felt like a horse-drawn carriage at times. Still the handling is sharp and precise and as far as grip, RWD and summers go w/out saying. But as far as transmission behavior and throttle response, 'D' + comfort is generally fine for these conditions. Throttle has a little mush but all and all it's fine. Shifts are seamless and quick but it's still pretty much in the right gear most of the time and will kick down if needed with little fuss. Easy to knock it over to sport for quick kick down etc. as well. I think some of the slight mush I feel in regular Drive and comfort is due to a minor power deficit that will be remedied with the Stage 1 or 2 tune, coming soon.


Freeway cruising/cruise control, etc.: Same. Comfort and Drive is fine since knocking over to Sport will automatically kick one gear down. Again, seamless.

City driving with little-to-no traffic; Some hills, sharp turns etc: I'm a production manager at a few major concert venues in L.A. and thus work long, long hours, getting off work around 12a-2a which sees me driving home through a deserted L.A. This is where I loved the manual, that and on back roads, Angeles Crest hwy, etc. I've so far been pretty happy with Sport (what used to be "DS" on the e90) but keeping the comfort setting, since sport + sport is kind of ridiculous besides for WOT straight line acceleration. Holds gears, utilizes engine braking and 90% of the time, stays around 2k - 4k rpms max, keeping me right in the power band, resembling how I would drive w/a standard. Power on tap, throttle pretty sharp. All in all a good mode for 'sharper' driving where you .

Manual mode + Sport Setting: For optimal control with this transmission and sharpest throttle response, manual + sport setting. I don't know how they did it since this is technically a slushbox w/a torque converter but the response time in this mode is practically twin-clutch fast with sharp throttle etc. feels the most 'like a 3 series'.

Worst combos: 'D' + the sport drive mode just feels awkward and jerky. EcoPro feels like pushing the throttle through peanut butter. Fine for bumper to bumper etc. but otherwise useless.

That's about it.