VW Jetta Cup

[Pedro]

I dont know how many people know about this yet even follow it. This a commercial VW ran on ESPN after the first race. Its a highlight of the first race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O95fmo88EXI

What do you guys think of the series?

[E-Thirty]

I really like the idea. The only pet peve that bothers me about it is I'd rather see the youngsters heel+toeing and shifting, then flipping paddles in sedan racing.

[ejnight]

Did you catch that the guy from Beaverton Oregon was 7 seconds off the leader. I like most racing so I thought it was cool.

[speedhop]

But flipping paddles is the cool new thing to do!

[Jon325i]

I really like the idea. The only pet peve that bothers me about it is I'd rather see the youngsters heel+toeing and shifting, then flipping paddles in sedan racing.

I hear ya - it is less "involved" or "engaging" than your typical 3-pedal model, but there's no denying the DSG is a slick tranny. I think it was Fifth Gear that did a back-to-back comparison of a new Audi TT with 2.0T power....one car a standard 6 speed, the other a DSG. The latter was a couple tenths of a second quicker on a timed lap. It may not sound like much, but at that pace every 5 laps equates to a full second gained. Imagine the gap after a 20+ lap sprint race.

Jon

[Scotaku]

Come drive my DSG GTI, any time. I was sold on the lightning fast shifts, up AND down, and I knew it would be one helluva 'I can only have one' car. Around town it's content to mimic an automatic and get better mileage than the manual. On track, the Sport automatic mode expects you to keep your foot in it; it will ween you off your timid corner entries. In any environment the manual mode only intrudes in the interests of self-preservation. It will not allow a gear selection that will bog the motor into stalling or spin past redline. The latter really isn't a problem because peak torque for most gears is in the 5500rpm range anyway.

As for the TDI Cup, I wish some television coverage would air already. I was happy when VW and SCCA had the GTI Cup in the works and even happier to see the TDI Cup come together instead. It sucked that I was over the age limit to apply for the series or I'd have jumped on it like funk on stink. The technology deserves to be showcased as accessible, green, and performance oriented. LeMans sports racing is awesome, but this is a chance to prove even Joe Public can buy a sporting diesel. My GTI is more practical for carrying stuff, but I'd have the torquey TDI and the brilliant DSG in a liftback body with the GTI suspension in a heartbeat if VW would just bring it to the US. It's the Golf TDI Sport in Europe. :sigh:

[Pedro]

As for the TDI Cup, I wish some television coverage would air already. I was happy when VW and SCCA had the GTI Cup in the works and even happier to see the TDI Cup come together instead. It sucked that I was over the age limit to apply for the series or I'd have jumped on it like funk on stink. The technology deserves to be showcased as accessible, green, and performance oriented. LeMans sports racing is awesome, but this is a chance to prove even Joe Public can buy a sporting diesel. My GTI is more practical for carrying stuff, but I'd have the torquey TDI and the brilliant DSG in a liftback body with the GTI suspension in a heartbeat if VW would just bring it to the US. It's the Golf TDI Sport in Europe. :sigh:

They wont start televising the races until end of Oct or beginning of Nov. Speed will air them.