Turbo lag on the 310

[pkaps]

Is it me or the turbo lag on my 310 is actually that awful? This is from day one (even on the test car I drove before buying), nothing wrong with the car, have so far almost 20 k km (abt 12500 miles) with no mechanical or electrical issues whatsoever but the turbo lag is horrendous. If you drive on any other mode other than Cupra (where its considerably better however still there) and you floor it, you have to wait 1-2 seconds for the turbo to kick in, not good at all especially when overtaking. Must be the size of the turbo, but shouldn't they have found a way to lessen the delay effect? All in all it doesn't feel like there are 310 horses under the bonnet and the gas pedal lacks responsiveness. How do you remedy that? Only by reprogramming I guess but not the time yet!

 

[Peyton]

Are you sure it is not the DSG downshifting that causes the delay? To me that is the most significant part. The car cannot predict that you will floor it from cruising at 80km/h so it needs to downshift several gears before it can accelerate as hard as you are demanding it.

Try to downshift manually before flooring it to see how fast it goes? Or stay in manual mode at 2500-3000 rpm and then floor it.

 

[SRGTD]

Are you sure it is not the DSG downshifting that causes the delay? To me that is the most significant part. The car cannot predict that you will floor it from cruising at 80km/h so it needs to downshift several gears before it can accelerate as hard as you are demanding it.

Try to downshift manually before flooring it to see how fast it goes? Or stay in manual mode at 2500-3000 rpm and then floor it.

I was thinking the same.

With my previous (manual) car it was second nature to me to change down a gear or two if I needed instant rapid acceleration, because I was unlikely to get that instant rapid acceleration in top gear at relatively low engine rpm’s and just flooring the throttle.

Same with current (DSG) car; Downshifting manually removes that second or two ‘thinking time’ the DSG would need if left to its own devices.

 

[Peyton]

I was thinking the same.

With my previous (manual) car it was second nature to me to change down a gear or two if I needed instant rapid acceleration, because I was unlikely to get that instant rapid acceleration in top gear at relatively low engine rpm’s and just flooring the throttle.

Same with current (DSG) car; Downshifting manually removes that second or two ‘thinking time’ the DSG would need if left to its own devices.

Also with a manual car, if you floor it there is no delay. In a DSG car it usually does a massive downshift and then starts rapidly accelerating.

It definitely feels very different.

 

[TheUkWizard]

I thought it was just me.. it's basically the turbo kicks in only at quite a high rev, so
I agree if u stamp your foot suddenly, then it will downshift to get the revs in the turbo range and then lurch forward.

This was the first petrol car I have had in a while, but tons of experience of turbo diesels so presumed it was just me. As diesels turbos are mostly engaged in a much lower rev range.

In my opinion, the turbo kick-in rev level is way too high. Maybe to keep efficiency higher.

Sometimes the gear change can be quite a jerk too in the above scenario

 

[pkaps]

Auto downshifting is what it takes the 1-2 seconds to engage, it just feels slow to downshift and respond, I mean it takes a second to do. Used to have the previous gen Q3 same engine (170 hp though) tiptronic and didnt have that extended delay, used to have the 1.4 Gt Golf 5 dsg and didn't have that delay, that's why I'm puzzled and I feel its down to the turbo size in order to make the 310 hp. Yes, using manual shifting is better but still from low rpms there is not that instant power surge and response I was expecting.

 

[pkaps]

I thought it was just me.. it's basically the turbo kicks in only at quite a high rev, so
I agree if u stamp your foot suddenly, then it will downshift to get the revs in the turbo range and then lurch forward.

This was the first petrol car I have had in a while, but tons of experience of turbo diesels so presumed it was just me. As diesels turbos are mostly engaged in a much lower rev range.

In my opinion, the turbo kick-in rev level is way too high. Maybe to keep efficiency higher.

Sometimes the gear change can be quite a jerk too in the above scenario

Yes, definitely one reason must be the efficiency that's why the late kick in. Got to find a way to work around it , after the warranty is over as it is my personal car to keep. Soon no more like it will be produced.

 

[Napmasterflash]

I have a 310 and this doesn't sound like my car. If you are using the paddles you can get in the right gear in advance and the car just fly's. If in auto use the sport mode and you will get a bit of a delay as it kicks down but I wouldn't say I have ever experienced a notable turbo lag.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[pkaps]

There is turbo lag no doubt, only in sport/cupra mode it is less evident because, if you notice, the car idles at 1100 rpm, when in other modes it idles at abt 900 rpm. Higher idle helps minimizing the turbo lag, thats why when in launch control mode the rpms are at 3000 to have the turbo engaged with no delay. All turbo engines are like that, even in WRC cars, the bigger the turbo the longer delay, so the need to keep the rpms high to eliminate the turbo lag. In recent years some small turbo engines (Ford) with mild hybrid systems have managed to almost eliminate the turbo lag, having the electric power compensate for the power loss due to turbo lag at the start. I have driven the 1.0 lt mild hybrid turbo Puma in both versions, the 125 hp and the 155 hp, the latter having a larger turbo unit, so mainly the hp difference. Well, I was impressed with the 125 hp engine, very responsive, very sharp, at the touch of the pedal, perfect car in my opinion for city driving (and not limited to) and quite frugal. The 155 hp same engine version on the other hand had more power in the mid and higher range but also turbo lag, not so at the start but still there compared to the 125 hp engine. My Q3 with the 2lt petrol engine with the 170 hp had far less turbo lag than the 310 Formentor, it was more like the 155 hp Puma. Anyhow I guess its all a matter of getting used to it, or use more often the Sport/Cupra modes, until the warranty expires and I can reprogram the ECU.

 

[Napmasterflash]

There is turbo lag in your opinion.

But you can work around it.

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[Bear]

There is turbo lag no doubt, only in sport/cupra mode it is less evident because, if you notice, the car idles at 1100 rpm, when in other modes it idles at abt 900 rpm. Higher idle helps minimizing the turbo lag, thats why when in launch control mode the rpms are at 3000 to have the turbo engaged with no delay. All turbo engines are like that, even in WRC cars, the bigger the turbo the longer delay, so the need to keep the rpms high to eliminate the turbo lag. In recent years some small turbo engines (Ford) with mild hybrid systems have managed to almost eliminate the turbo lag, having the electric power compensate for the power loss due to turbo lag at the start. I have driven the 1.0 lt mild hybrid turbo Puma in both versions, the 125 hp and the 155 hp, the latter having a larger turbo unit, so mainly the hp difference. Well, I was impressed with the 125 hp engine, very responsive, very sharp, at the touch of the pedal, perfect car in my opinion for city driving (and not limited to) and quite frugal. The 155 hp same engine version on the other hand had more power in the mid and higher range but also turbo lag, not so at the start but still there compared to the 125 hp engine. My Q3 with the 2lt petrol engine with the 170 hp had far less turbo lag than the 310 Formentor, it was more like the 155 hp Puma. Anyhow I guess its all a matter of getting used to it, or use more often the Sport/Cupra modes, until the warranty expires and I can reprogram the ECU.

So you've answered your own question then...