Rtronic impressions

[rmclachlan]

Thought I would give my impressions of Rtronic after two weeks of fairly light driving - mainly urban areas, city centre, motorways - no country rods, track or performance stuff. Sorry in advance if this is a bit rambling.

I previously had a Maserati 4200 with Cambiocorsa which is a previous generation of the same type of automated manual as Rtronic. I fully expected Rtronic to be better than the Cambiocorsa but still a little rough, especially given the almost entirely negative press that Rtronic has had. I also was very unsure of the steering wheel mounted paddles compared to the non-movable paddles as found in F1/Cambiocorsa/E-gear. I though they would not be too good in use as it is hard to use them accurately as the wheel rotates - you cannot figure out which is up or down. I also did not think I would like the shift stick as I had never felt comfortable changing gears this way on my SLK55 AMG, preferring the wheel mounted buttons. However I had liked the sequential manual way of doing things and felt that the positives would outweigh the negatives, and had always promised myself that if a sequential manual option was available for the R8 I would opt for it. However I was still extremely nervous about the whole thing especially given the negative press comment, and at one point changed my order to a manual for a period of a few hours before keeping my cool and reverting to Rtronic. Key to the change back was a phone call from the dealer who was just back from a training course in Germany to say that he thought that Rtronic was excellent and easier to drive than the manual. I was also put off the manual as I worried that the constant metallic clicking of the gate would drive me crazy - although I accept that many drivers love the clicking sound as you shift.

Well.....I am glad to say I was wrong to be apprehensive on almost all counts. Rtronic is excellent, it is smooth and precise in almost all situations excepting some occasional shifts from 1->2 where a little feather on the accelerator pedal will generally smooth things out. Very slow driving in Multi-storeys is strange as you tend to be stuck in first, so it is a bit noisy. There is no clunking and no lumpiness as the gears shift up. Downshifts are completely seamless. It is important to remember to let the computer work out the correct gear as you slow down rapidly as if you make a request to drop gear just as the gearbox is downshifting you can end up with an unwanted drop of an extra gear. Strangely I find using the gear stick completely natural and preferable to the paddles, although for spirited driving and track work I think the paddles will be better. One thing to watch for is the automatic shift to neutral if you are sitting at lights, I have been caught out a couple of times trying to move off in neutral - embarrasing One of the reasons I went for Rtronic over manual was that I am not that great a driver and Rtronic really flatters my driving with perfect up and down shifts - considerably better than I could achieve in a manual. There is the very occasional slight lag in shift which you would not have with a manual but this is so rare that it is of no real importance. My initial impressions of sport mode is also positive, fast with no clunking. Automatic is still not that good but acceptable for drivers who are only driving temporarily (e.g partners etc). If you intend to drive in Automatic mode most of the time you have bought the wrong car - it is not, I repeat not, an Automatic.

In short for those who have ordered Rtronic - fear not - you are going to love it. If you have never used this type of gearbox before, you need a week or two to feel truly comfortable as there is a little pradigm shift from the manual altough not too much now since the gear stick shift works so well.

I do not know what those press guys were on when they wrote the negative reviews as their impressions don't seem to match my reality.

[GR8 GHOST]

Thanks for that...I too have been wondering if I did the right thing ordering the R-Tronic. Its nice to know that you like it. What is it like starting off. What is the procedure? You start the car...then what? Please tell us more about how one launches the car with R-Tronic.

[wanabe]

excellent write-up!!
and thanks-

[rmclachlan]

Thanks for that...I too have been wondering if I did the right thing ordering the R-Tronic. Its nice to know that you like it. What is it like starting off. What is the procedure? You start the car...then what? Please tell us more about how one launches the car with R-Tronic.

Foot must be on the brake pedal to start the engine, as the gears are engaged on switch-off to prevent rolling. There are warnings regarding this on the Drivers Information System (DIS) when turning the engine off. Car starts in neutral, just select 1st by pushing gear stick forward, or reverse by pushing to the side and then back. You can use the right paddle for first also. Then after engaging first, simply press the gas pedal and off you go, engaging second fairly quickly at around 2000 rpm, with a little lift off to smooth things out (this shouldn't work but it does). It really is easy. Gearbox will not shift up if you have insufficient speed/revs and the engine would stall. Don't know anything about launching the car with Rtronic as my engine is not run-in and I haven't tried it yet, anyways launch control is a clutch eater

[SFR8]

thanks for the excellent write-up RM! I too choose rtronic and am happy to hear your positive comments.

When you come to a stop, what happens if you don't downshift? will the car downshift automatically for you?

[GR8 GHOST]

I'm wondering how one does a three point turn with the R-Tronic. Every video I have seen of someone backing the car up and leaving a driveway makes it look like they have never driven a car before.

[jeanplilley]

I'm wondering how one does a three point turn with the R-Tronic. Every video I have seen of someone backing the car up and leaving a driveway makes it look like they have never driven a car before.

Its not a problem. Just a little slower than with a manual. Engaging reverse is probably quicker with the R Tronic than it is with my Maserati so there probably isnt much in it.

[rmclachlan]

thanks for the excellent write-up RM! I too choose rtronic and am happy to hear your positive comments.

When you come to a stop, what happens if you don't downshift? will the car downshift automatically for you?

Yes the Rtronic computer automatically downshifts to prevent an engine stall. It really is totally imperceptible.

I'm wondering how one does a three point turn with the R-Tronic. Every video I have seen of someone backing the car up and leaving a driveway makes it look like they have never driven a car before.

Not actually had to do a three point turn as yet, but reversing is very easy, especially compared to the Maserati where there was a special little lever you had to pull. The R8 seems natural, no different from the SLK55 which had an excellent auto box.

Aha.. I see John has responded to this as I write

[geffers]

not a lot of visibility out the back tho.

[GR8 GHOST]

Mine is coming with the rear view camera and park distance sensors, that should help a little.