Oh! Forgot to add another important update.
In January, Danny brought his car to me for a freshening up, and in exchange, he rendered some IT skills on my car. Something I was on the fence of doing ever since I got the car - the GTS flash for the gearbox.
After connecting to the car, and checking file versions, it turns out that while the DME software was the latest and greatest, the DCT software was one of the earlier versions. A few minutes later, and things were ready to rock and roll, and anxiety levels were a little bit elevated.
Overall, it took around 5-10mins to flash, and I'm pleased to report there were no issues. Oddly though, I didn't go for a test drive after the flash, but rather moved the car in and out the garage a couple of times. The forthcoming days would tell....
Feedback:
I've waited a while to provide feedback, as I wanted to clock a good few kms first to see how things go and whether the car needs to adapt at all. The fact that I do minimal mileage anyway means it takes longer still. Since the flash, I've only covered about 250kms in the car.
On startup, there is nothing different to note. Selecting D seems the same as before, and the car moves off without issue. Selecting Reverse does seem faster and less clunky, which is in line with overseas reviews.
When driving, the car is still in D2 by default, and the shifts are nice and smooth. Honestly, I can't really say that there is a significant decrease in shift time, but that may be also due to me pottering around the suburbs for the most part. There have been a few occasions to stretch the legs a bit in the lower gears, and the gearbox goes about it's business without fuss. It would have probably also helped if I drove the car back-to-back before and after the flash, but at the time that was not feasible. Anyway. All good so far.
One thing I can comment on is the weird jerk that the gearbox does just before changing up (noticeable from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd). I've commented on this previously and likened it to when you dip the clutch in a manual car. That is significantly improved now with the GTS flash. It is still there, but hardly noticeable, and less jerky in low speed driving. Overall this makes it much more pleasant to drive now. This is the single biggest stand out benefit for me at this point in time.
Others have also commented on the jerkiness when slowing down to a stop. I suspect this is improved too, as I haven't noticed that. Thinking back, I did experience some of this clunkiness, but not as frequently as others I believe.
Overall, it seems like this was a worthwhile update. The car is more pleasant at low speed driving (as long as the temp sensor and O2 sensor faults stay away!). Mildly spirited driving is still quite exciting. I have yet to drive the car in full attack mode, so will comment on that at a later stage.
That's all for now. Thanks again to Danny for the help and technical assistance on a regular basis.
