Is The ZF 8 Speed BETTER Than DSG?

Love my ZF. Let me know what you think!
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My 2016 Audi SQ5

Sepang Blue
Black Optics
Alcantara Seat Inserts
B&O Sound System

MOD LIST

Winter Wheels:
Vorsteiner VFF-105 - 20x10.5 et35
15mm spacer front, 20mm spacer rear for a final et of 20/15 f/r
Tires:
Pirelli Scorpion winters - 255/45 R20

Summer Wheels:
BC Forged RZ39 - 21x10.5 et25 in matte gunmetal
Tires:
Continental DWS06 - 295/35 R21

Performance:

Integrated Engineering Single Pulley Tune
Integrated Engineering 57.1mm S/C Pulley
Integrated Engineering Non-Res Downpipes
Integrated Engineering *alpha version* ZF Tune
AWE Touring Exhaust
AWE Cold Front Heat Exchanger
KW V1 Coilovers

Visual mods:
RS Quattro grille from eBay
P3 Multi Gauge w/ Performance Pack via UroTuning
DeAutoKey LED switchback fogs
DeAutoKey LED reverse lights
DeAutoKey LED interior lighting package

[NotARealUTubeAccount]

After owning my '19 R with the 7 speed DSG and having driven several new sports cars with the ZF, I honestly think I'd go with the ZF. Its smoother, still farts on upshifts, shifts damn near just as fast, overall should last longer etc...

[universeu]

I owned two Audi DSG and three Audi ZF8. I will take ZF8 anytime over the DSG

[jlcousineau]

As someone who daily’s a dsg I’d rather drive a good auto everyday, but I enjoy the character of the dual clutch

[notfromhere]

Have a ZF8 and agree, it’s a great transmission overall.

[ZanicL]

When I went to the Nürburgring this summer the DSG was slipping like crazy after two laps. I thought it was completely done. It slipped so much, I had never ever experienced something like that lol. When going from stillstand to moving it was super jerky to get rolling

Let it cool down for 10mins and all was fine even still today. The outside temp was 35°c (+100f or something) though. Was the hottest day of the year.


09 Scirocco 2.0TSI with 60k miles

[fullthrill]

I’ve wanted a DCT for so long, and now that I can afford a car I want with one, they are being phased out 😂.

[greatestever]

worked on audis for years and loved the DSG, I doubted ZFs until I drove my first ZF on a maserati. I am now a believer . ZF shifts harder too imo

[katdaddychap]

I'm definitely in that category of not having spent any real time with a modern auto. I kind of like the jerkiness of a dual-clutch. I think that would make the transition from manual to auto easier for me. But speaking of performance, I agree they really are the same. Also the ZF is going to be smother and if you're spending $70k on and Audi you want it smooth and fast. So I understand completely.

[carlosorozco]

Nice topic Eli. I was talking with my friends at work yesterday about the ZF transmission. They are really good. You're right about the transmissions from back in the days. It's like night and day when compared to the transmissions of today.

[JDFelda]

I recently traded my 3.0L supercharged Jaguar FPace with an 8 speed ZF for an S4 with a DSG and I have to admit that while the power delivery might be better on the ZF, the character of the DSG is just more enjoyable to drive for me. It feels so much more like a manual.

[Tdfries]

I have a Q5 with the ZF and I came from a DSG car... You're totally correct, the ZF is better in 99% of scenarios... DSG was jerky in traffic and I was worried about the clutch packs after I hit 100k miles. Really love the ZF transmission.

[MrSamPhoenix]

The ZF unit is the best of… three worlds!

- Fast as Dual-Cltuch

- Smooth as a torque converted auto

- Super durable

[seansterling]

DSG shifts faster. ZF shifts are fast, more comfortable dare i say little more reliable.

[scuzzyfpv]

the 8-speed ratio is even better for acceleration performance

[blackbayer_b]

ZF 6/8Speed are just as tuneable as an DSG and its called "XHP Flash". It really brings out the best of the ZF8HP. I would go as far as saying that it is even more tuneable than a DSG.

[ccvr]

I have a ZF m8 in my 3.0L F-Pace.

When I first test drove the car and got on the gas a bit, I thought it has a dual-clutch in it. It shifts pretty fast for a torque-converted auto.

However fast shifts don’t meet smooth shifts. It doesn’t like being shifted into forward and/or reverse gears when the car is no absolutely 100% stopped…it can be very jerky.

Also, there are times where I seem to catch the transmission while it’s “thinking”, as the car will sometimes shift into 1st from 2nd while driving off from a complete stop.

Sometimes when I need to pass on the expressway, I give it some gas and the car will hesitate for a few seconds before calculating what gear to be in and then it will finally slip down into gear…the delay is very noticeable, but this is a rare occurrence - but it does happen.

Finally, there have been times where I’ll have to let off the gas just as the car is shifting into a higher gear. The car feels like it’s in neutral, then when I put my foot back on the gas, it “finishes” the shift and goes into the next gear HARD.

Outside of that, the ZF is a very solid transmission. Much better than the GM 6T70 unit I have in my other car.

[fialin]

This really warms my heart and it is my goal, as a car enthusiast myself, to leave this impression. Regarding the tuning, OEMs don't like their SW to get changed, so it's going to get much more difficult to change the mapping and other features in the future.

[stevenGX]

I've had both and I agree the ZF is better in a lot of ways 👍

[diljithayre]

Finally find somebody has made a decent video on automatic boxes I love manuals then I wanted automatic and started looking into the DSG now I've got a pretty good brain and when you start looking into DSG horrorshow a failure rate is crazy actuator metric bloody hell it's too complex but when you look into the ZF gearbox with a torque converter and I've done a lot of research failure rate is non-existent and the pleasure of driving one of these seems to be more rewarding and if you go on some of the forum DSG can fail at any time even on brand new cars ZF looks like the best automatic but I will stick to a manual less moving parts thanks buddy great video

[mrAudisubaru]

A lot od s-tronic dsg problems can be fixed with tcu remap but zf8hp can also be maped each transmission has it"s benefits.