Why Are New Cars with DSG Transmission Even Better

Every car owner knows that a manual shift gearbox is the choice for speed, control and fuel consumption. No matter how well engineered, the slippage typical of automatic gearboxes wastes power, and invariably places the wrong gear in at the wrong moment. Since the transmission and wheels are independent, there simply needs to be a human ensuring that the gears are switched to keep the engine in its most power-giving or fuel-efficient state. The problem is that manual gear shifting necessitates careful practice and training, since even an expert driver can make a mistake and damage the gearbox with a bad shift. This is particularly true in modern commuter vehicles, which are constructed with simple gearboxes not designed to withstand sudden and dramatic shifts in gear.


In order to ameliorate this problem, Porsche developed the "Direkt Schalt Getriebe" known in English as the Direct Shift Gearbox. This gearbox is unique in that it uses a dual clutch system, so that the driveshaft does not need to be wholly disengaged in order to shift gear. Instead, the two alternating drive shafts are set with opposing gears (generally 1, 3 and 5 on one, 2, 4 and 6 on the other) and will slide on or off of the drive shaft as appropriate. To facilitate this sudden shifting, the Direct Shift Gearbox uses an electronic gear-shifting system which is connected to the car's engine. This enables the gearbox to know exactly how fast the car is going, how well it is gripping, and what gear the transmission needs to move to. As such, the car becomes "automatic" in that the driver needs only to put the car into "drive," yet it avoids the energy loss and inefficiency of traditional automatic gearboxes. The transmissions electronic control unit is capable of determining exactly where the engine's power is at and shift the gears accordingly. It is as though one has a professional racing driver shifting gears for them at all times.


The DSG system has become widely implemented in vehicles both on and off the raceway. Because the system can directly shift in a matter of nanoseconds, it consistently produced superior off-the-line and on-road acceleration results well above what was physically possible for traditional manual gearboxes, while wasting no power or fuel. It is now widely recognized to be the replacement for traditional automatics, and has been widely included in both racing vehicles and tame production cars. It has become particularly popular among the drag racing and hot-hatch driving crowd, since the inhumanly fast gear shifting enables new cars to reach their maximum speed in the absolute minimum amount of time.


The DSG has also shown applications in increased safety. By allowing a car to very quickly accelerate and decelerate around an obstacle, the Direct Shift Gearbox is seen as promoting proactive accident avoidance, since it allows for more control when a driver is swerving. The DSG also prevents many of the over-revving and under-revving problems that occur in wet, icy or muddy conditions. All too often, automatic (and improperly shifted manuals) rev and run when they lose traction, digging the car deeper into mud or snow while impairing and damaging the engine. The DSG system avoids this by its quick and powerful downshifting and up shifting, enabling a car to very quickly extract itself from muddy situations. Additionally, the Direct Shift Gearbox system provides improved grip and handling on wet, unpaved or damaged roadways, ensuring that the driver retains better control. This is also seen as proactive protection against potential accid nts, as it ensures the driver does not slide off the road.