Question: reaction to gas/throttle

[fahren]

Hi!

I'm very close to ordering R8 V10 later this year, though there are still couple of things that bother me.

One very important is the car's reaction to gas pedal. Is it instantaneous - as one would expect from a sporty car with NA engine - or can it be considered as rather being heavy / "languid" - something as usually can be experienced with turbo engines (turbo lag)?

Furthermore, does R-tronic affect it in any way, or is it exactly the same in both manual and R-tronic versions?

The reason I ask is that after owning a manual Audi I switched to one with Tiptronic (3.0 TDI engine) which definitely has noticeable "lag" to gas/throttle as compared to the manual version. The lag isn't big (0.2-0.5s? Dunno) but definitely is noticeable. Especially when starting from the standstill. While it's not a major problem, I would definitely hate it in R8.

I'm aware of the Launch Control feature in R-Tronic and that it certainly alleviates the (hopefully only alleged) problem, but I'm more concerned about normal usage (i.e. starting normally from stand still without invoking LC).

PS. I know that probably no one here has any significant experiences with V10 yet, but I'm assuming that V10 has the same lag (if any!) as the V8 version does, so I'm counting on V8's owners opinions..

Thank you in advance..
Maciej

[Kubus]

From my driving experience in this car, its is not nearly as instantaneous as I would have expected it to be. My daily car is a Camaro pushing 400 hp to the wheels and I was expecting to be immediately pressed into the seat like I am in the Camaro. The Audi does press you into the seat but only after about a second or so. It could be that it doesnt have as much low end torque as I am used to but once you're a bit higher in the RPMs, it really pulls. My experience is in the R-Tronic and not the manual car.

My dad and I use this car mostly for cruising and not racing everyone from a light so it doesnt really bother us in daily driving.

Can't you ask for a test drive in a demo car? Before we bought the car we spent a good few hours testing a demo car. I dont know how your dealer in Krakow does things, but mine in Warsaw didnt have any issues letting us out for a test drive. They have a 2008 R-Tronic version for you to try.

[wolfie]

Buy the manual.

[fahren]

@Kuba -

What about pressing the gas pedal at around 80-100 km/h when you are, say, on 4th? I mean, is there still a noticeable lag then, or do you feel the lag only when starting from the standstill?

Obviously I will have the test drive, though it's not possible to get one in Krakow, so I must either go to Warsaw (~4-5h of driving) or to Berlin (about 4 hours of drive) to have one.

@wolfie - do you have any experiences with manual vs r-tronic in this regard? I mean, like is there a lag with r-tronic which doesn't exist in manual when starting from standstill?

Thanks..

[RS4Cab]

The lag off the line is typical of all AWD cars, I have a manual and don't find it to be much. Drop the clutch at 4k-5K and you hardly notice it. Once you are moving there is no lag, Hit the gas and it will throw you back in your seat at pretty much any speed or gear

[Kubus]

@Kuba -

What about pressing the gas pedal at around 80-100 km/h when you are, say, on 4th? I mean, is there still a noticeable lag then, or do you feel the lag only when starting from the standstill?

Obviously I will have the test drive, though it's not possible to get one in Krakow, so I must either go to Warsaw (~4-5h of driving) or to Berlin (about 4 hours of drive) to have one.

@wolfie - do you have any experiences with manual vs r-tronic in this regard? I mean, like is there a lag with r-tronic which doesn't exist in manual when starting from standstill?

Thanks..

No lag once you're moving. Just from standstill.

Its not how you imagine turbo lag. You're not waiting for anything to spool at that point. You can mash the pedal to the floor and it will take off.

Im not sure if the lag from standstill can be attributed to not being in the powerband yet or the way the R-Tronic slips the clutch so you can have smooth acceleration.

Give my dealer a call. He would be glad to arrange to pick you up at the airport when you have an overlay and let you drive it for a bit. He picked me up from the office and I took it out for a few hours.

[harrison]

Like I taught my girlfreind...SMASH THE BUG !!! Meaning MASH the throttle hard.Seems like abuse to the veh.but my R8 loves it.There is no middle...Either you take off like a banshee or normally speed up.I can only speak for my R-8 with the "R" tronik tranny.

[R8 BND]

just keep it above 4K....