Car Connection R8 drive impression

[Kreso]

http://www.thecarconnection.com/Vehi...1809.html?pg=1

[Kreso]

...mirrors my opinion:
"Most of the time, R tronic works very well, but there are exceptions. In leisurely acceleration, Rtronic could sometimes feel clumsy, with rough shifts from first to second especially, when it would sometimes complete a leisurely shift and engage the clutch with a 'clunk'. The more aggressively we drove, the smoother and more precise the shifts seemed to be. Even mid-corner downshifts involve a rapid throttle blip and smooth clutch engagement that doesn't upset the car's balance. The bottom line is that R tronic is our preference for the racetrack, while the regular six-speed is our overall preference for everyday driving. R tronic doesn't replace an automatic transmission like DSG (or S tronic, as it's now called), but if you wanted one, this probably wouldn't be your car anyway."

AMEN!

[rmclachlan]

This is a fairly good even handed review. A little more detail and analysis of the steering and gearbox options than most reviews so far. Makes some interesting points about the low front overhang and potential problems re : speedbumps.

I also found the CAR review very good. Although Chris Chilton did show his hand later on the the mag when he let slip that he was buying a 911.

[jeanplilley]

...mirrors my opinion:
"Most of the time, R tronic works very well, but there are exceptions. In leisurely acceleration, Rtronic could sometimes feel clumsy, with rough shifts from first to second especially, when it would sometimes complete a leisurely shift and engage the clutch with a 'clunk'. The more aggressively we drove, the smoother and more precise the shifts seemed to be. Even mid-corner downshifts involve a rapid throttle blip and smooth clutch engagement that doesn't upset the car's balance. The bottom line is that R tronic is our preference for the racetrack, while the regular six-speed is our overall preference for everyday driving. R tronic doesn't replace an automatic transmission like DSG (or S tronic, as it's now called), but if you wanted one, this probably wouldn't be your car anyway."

AMEN!

Funnily enough this ties in with the faster cambiocorsa gearbox in the Gransport. The car actually drives smoother in manual mode when you keep it in Sport rather than ordinary or auto mode. The slow gearchanges when it is in auto (and non Sport) tend to be clumsy and lurch a little while the manual Sport changes even if you are not accelerating hard are a lot smoother. I am not an engineer but the system seems to match the revs better when the gearchange is fast - is this a function of the software? Seems very similar to what a lot of the write ups are suffering from especially when they say the car is better at speed.

In any case none of the journalists are going to rave about the RTronic in any case as they are all, or pretending to be, driving purists. Soon we will have a carburettor on each cylinder and they will be raving about the delights of tuning a V8.

John

[Kreso]

John,

I am sure that R-Tronic will work fine!

But, part of the problem is that even in Sport mode you need to modulate the throttle during upchange. Otherwise upchanges are jerky...
In Gallardo Driving Manual is a specific advice that you do not need to modulate throttle during upchanges. Simply said if my own experience this is not true.

Other thing is the driver need to get used to R-Tronic(or e-gear, cambicorsa or F1)! This process is usuallly about one month long! After that you are rewarded with excellent driving style in town, autobahn or fast empty country road! That is the fact IMHO.

So, why I am not ordering R-Tronic? RELIABILITY. I do not have faith in it...

[rmclachlan]

John,
Other thing is the driver need to get used to R-Tronic(or e-gear, cambicorsa or F1)! This process is usuallly about one month long! After that you are rewarded with excellent driving style in town, autobahn or fast empty country road! That is the fact IMHO.

So, why I am not ordering R-Tronic? RELIABILITY. I do not have faith in it...

I agree with the time taken to get used to the sequential manual gearbox - I think the "driving purists", as John puts it, never really spent enough time with R-Tronic to feel comfortable.

Regarding reliability, I found Cambiocorsa (essentially the same as R-tronic although an older generation) fine in my 04 Maserati Coupe. I changed clutch at 15k miles as it was showing some signs of slipping and sold at 25k with no problems. I hope you are wrong and that the R-Tronic will be the same - however I still would prefer to have a test drive first before making the final decision.

[sticky]

I had an SMG m3 and loved it. I don't understand all the negativity regarding e-gear, if I liked SMG II that was designed 6 years ago why wouldn't I like e-gear?

The auto mode is jerky but if you shift on your own it shouldn't jerk as you know what to do with the throttle, right?