pseudonym

Does anyone know if the new 6-speed tiptronic in the B6 S4 let's you select 1st gear and hold it there (e.g., for engine braking downhill) until either you shift or hit redline, as in all other gears?

I had a 1999 A4 tip that allowed this type of "full manual control" of 1st gear, but I've also driven a 2001 B5 S4 tip that did not allow for manual control of 1st (unlike all the other gears). That is, you would push the shift lever over into tip mode at rest and as soon as you accelerated over maybe 5 MPH it would very quickly shift up into 2nd unless the gas was floored you went to redline. Otherwise at moderate throttle, or the second you lifted even slightly, it would take it upon itself to upshift to 2nd -- EVEN in the ostensibly "manual" tip mode.

I found it to be very irritating to have no access to 1st when looking for real engine braking on steep, slippery downhills (even old style automatics would typically allow for this). I think this kind of 1st-to-2nd behavior may have been endemic to all higher-powered (e.g., turbo V6, V8) Audis of the last few years with the 5-speed tiptronic likely due to EPA mileage concerns.

pseudonym

I should also add that the B5 S4 Tip I drove would not allow a manual downshift from 2nd into 1st in tip mode at anything other than a virtual rest (< 5 MPH).

My old '99 A4 would manually downshift from 2nd into 1st at any road speed that would put engine speed at redline or less in 1st (e.g., about 35-40 MPH or less).

Will the B6 S4 6-speed tip manuallly downshift to 1st at say 30 MPH and stay there?

CarbonFibre

I'm also pretty sure that in full-auto mode the tranny starts in 2nd. I heard that if you want to actually start in first even in tiptronic mode you have to manually select it every time you stop.

NogaroS4murf

Actually, the B6 S4 automatically drops to 1st every time you come to a stop, and allows you to downshift to first when extra power is needed. It's quite a remarkable transmission (for an automatic). I test drove both a tip w/paddles and a manual before placing my order (I went with the manual, just can't wait to get it).

-James
'03 Silver A4 3.0
'04 Nogaro S4 on order (Jan'04 Delivery)

CarbonFibre

Okay cool, glad I'm wrong

rc in nt

yes

rc in nt

specifically the VAG module 02 recode from 00002 to 00032 and then the power-on/double-down-click 2nd to 1st down shift at speed. fun.

Ron O

You would have to be going down a 25% + grade to require that kind of engine braking. Plus brakes are cheaper to replace than a transmittion.. I understand the Tip goes for about $10,000.

S44Svenja

yes, it will hold in 1st

pseudonym

I agree, but I actually find it very useful to use 1st gear to descend my very steep (and blind to oncoming traffic) driveway in the snow when even slight touches of the brake pedal often just trigger ABS and keep the car moving downhill without stopping -- and into traffic!

I think as long as I could use the transmission to downshift into 1st at say 20 MPH or less (or start from rest in 1st) and KEEP it in 1st while basically coasting until I tell it to upshift (or until maybe 20 MPH, 4-5K RPM, whatever), I'd be happy.

Generally, of course, its better to use the brakes than the engine to slow down, but I do find this technique to be quite helpful when crawling around at low speeds in the snow when poor traction and sometimes unwanted ABS intervention diminish normal stopping power.

Then, of course, there's just the principle of having the kind of full "manual" access to your gears (within acceptable RPM ranges) that tiptronic theoretically should provide!