Model Year 24/25 Flappy Paddle Extenders

[trew]

£12.99 off AliExpress, which is almost half the price of Amazon UK for the same thing.

First impressions - I LOVE them. I'd go so far as to say they're a game-changer. So much better than the soppy little stock ones, which are really hard to find when you're turning the wheel with my little hands. They're well made - clip neatly into place and then secure very well with a screw (allen key provided).

Since taking the photo I've used a black sharpie to disguise the + and - signs - they were way too obvious for my liking, and to be fair I already know which paddle does what!

If you're thinking about getting some, don't hesitate - but make sure you get the ones that fit your car!

 

[Bahnstormer_vRS]

^^^^ I had a set of those once on a Skoda Yeti and found that, with the wiper arm up/on and turning the steering wheel, the flat extended paddle fouled the wiper arm.

Worth checking before having an embarrassing moment out on the road.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[Richiepoos]

I l do like the look of them so not having a go at that but just a quick question - do people actually use the paddles when driving? I'm of the opinion that the DSG is far better than me at changing gears so have used the paddles only a handful of times. Normally just let the car do it's thing.

 

[Bahnstormer_vRS]

^^^^

I'll use the paddles to be in the right gear, for me, ahead of time; rather than waiting for the DSG to respond to throttle input.

Paddles are also useful to discreetly change down a gear or two when the DSG wants to be lazy and rely on the available torque.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[SRGTD]

When I had my VW Polo GTI, I often used the steering wheel paddles - e.g. when entering a roundabout so the car would be in the ‘right’ gear (for me) when exiting the roundabout. I found that leaving the DSG to it’s own devices, it would invariably be in too high a gear in such situations.

 

[tracktoy]

I always use paddles on track days

 

[trew]

^^^^ I had a set of those once on a Skoda Yeti and found that, with the wiper arm up/on and turning the steering wheel, the flat extended paddle fouled the wiper arm.

Worth checking before having an embarrassing moment out on the road.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

I'll double check - but I don't think they cause any issues with the stalks.

I agree with @Bahnstormer_vRS and @SRGTD - once you've got into the habit of using flappy paddles you can usually put the car into a more appropriate gear for your own purposes and desires. The autobox, although it's good, has no idea what the driver is planning

Personally, I just use them automatically (boom boom!) - I've been using them daily for the past 9 years in a 370z, so I actually can't be without them. Using the 'tiptronic' flappy paddles transforms the character of the car.

 

[tracktoy]

Waiting

 

[trew]

Waiting

Not quite sure what this means, but if you're waiting for me to check the stalks, to see if the paddle extenders interfere with them, I can confirm that they DO NOT.

 

[Walone]

£12.99 off AliExpress, which is almost half the price of Amazon UK for the same thing.

First impressions - I LOVE them. I'd go so far as to say they're a game-changer. So much better than the soppy little stock ones, which are really hard to find when you're turning the wheel with my little hands. They're well made - clip neatly into place and then secure very well with a screw (allen key provided).

Since taking the photo I've used a black sharpie to disguise the + and - signs - they were way too obvious for my liking, and to be fair I already know which paddle does what!

If you're thinking about getting some, don't hesitate - but make sure you get the ones that fit your car!

View attachment 50813

Any chance for a link please?

 

[tracktoy]

Sorry no I was waiting for a humeros reply to Personally, I just use them automatically (boom boom!) -

 

[trew]

Any chance for a link please?

You're in luck - they've gone down to £10.79, including shipping to the UK...

AliExpress Link

PLEASE make sure they fit your car. There are different fitments for different shaped paddles.

 

[Richiepoos]

I've had mine for almost 2 years and now I'm tempted to use them. I'd assume it's pointless in comfort mode, so best used in sport and Cupra modes? Now thinking of roads where I can use them...will you all chip in to pay my speeding fines??

 

[trew]

I've had mine for almost 2 years and now I'm tempted to use them. I'd assume it's pointless in comfort mode, so best used in sport and Cupra modes? Now thinking of roads where I can use them...will you all chip in to pay my speeding fines??

No, they're not useless in comfort mode.
Took my wife out yesterday evening for a little spin, so she can get used to the car (sometimes she gets a bit car sick, with my driving). Obviously I had to keep it in comfort mode. I used the flappy paddles to short shift quite a lot, in order to keep things as gentle as possible.
When I'm driving alone in comfort mode, it's nice to shift down with the paddles on the approach to roundabouts etc, to use engine braking and, quite honestly, just to hear the sound of a nice downshift.

So I'd say paddles are the best, whatever mode you're in. And any road is a paddleshift road. And with respect, you can pay your own fines

 

[SRGTD]

No, they're not useless in comfort mode.
Took my wife out yesterday evening for a little spin, so she can get used to the car (sometimes she gets a bit car sick, with my driving). Obviously I had to keep it in comfort mode. I used the flappy paddles to short shift quite a lot, in order to keep things as gentle as possible.
When I'm driving alone in comfort mode, it's nice to shift down with the paddles on the approach to roundabouts etc, to use engine braking and, quite honestly, just to hear the sound of a nice downshift.

So I'd say paddles are the best, whatever mode you're in. And any road is a paddleshift road. And with respect, you can pay your own fines

I agree.

When I had my VW Polo GTI, I drove it in ‘normal’ mode (the equivalent of comfort mode) pretty much all the time. I didn’t like Sport mode and the way the car over-revved far too much when it held onto a lower gear for much longer than I considered was necessary. I found the combination of normal mode and using the steering wheel paddles struck an ideal balance for me; leaving the transmission to do its own thing most of the time but with the option of me intervening and shifting down a gear in certain situations when I considered it preferable to do so.

 

[trew]

I agree.

When I had my VW Polo GTI, I drove it in ‘normal’ mode (the equivalent of comfort mode) pretty much all the time. I didn’t like Sport mode and the way the car over-revved far too much when it held onto a lower gear for much longer than I considered was necessary. I found the combination of normal mode and using the steering wheel paddles struck an ideal balance for me; leaving the transmission to do its own thing most of the time but with the option of me intervening and shifting down a gear in certain situations when I considered it preferable to do so.

One thing I'd say in favour of using Sport or Cupra mode in the Formentor is that if you use the flappy paddles once, it stays in 'manual' mode for the rest of the journey , so you can always see what gear you're in, but if you use the paddles in Comfort mode it reverts to 'D' after a few seconds, which is annoying.

 

[Bahnstormer_vRS]

^^^^ not forgetting that, when you use Sport or Cupra, you get sharper throttle response and baffles opening on the exhaust for a bit more grunt (and noise). At least you do on the Ateca VZs.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

 

[Railwayman]

^^^^ not forgetting that, when you use Sport or Cupra, you get sharper throttle response and baffles opening on the exhaust for a bit more grunt (and noise). At least you do on the Ateca VZs.

Guy

Sent from my Galaxy S23 Ultra using Tapatalk

After reading this thread yesterday I decided to have a go using the paddles this morning. Completely standard and quite short, but definitely added more interest to the drive! I’ve seen copper versions of the extenders online and on a Mk3 Cupra that I couldn’t help having a nosey at. Definitely on the list of mods.

 

[Bahnstormer_vRS]

With all the talk of flappy paddles, we should not forget that manual gear changes are available on a DSG Tiptronic style with the gear lever (not sure if this applies to the Formentor with it's gear 'switch'.

For anyone who has an aversion to buying from the likes of Amazon, AliExpress & eBay (as I do) and prefers to deal with a 'normal' company, I've bought successfully in the past from DSG paddles.com.


Guy

 

[Tell]

Yes that gear stick gets you out of trouble when your fingers accidentally hit the paddles going round a roundabout and you get stuck in the wrong gear. You flick the DSG tiptronic stick and back to automatic. Ofcourse people who use the paddles like a racing car know how to drive the car on paddles but us meer mortals that like a quite life driving in automatic mode accidentally get stuck in the wrong gear with long fingers. Only happened a couple of times.

Well you probably dont need to flick the paddles in the TDI 2.0 on a roundabout. Generally a stab on the accelerator and a roar does the trick when you see a gap on a busy roundabout and ofcourse nobody is indicating where they are going because obviously all drivers are telepathic....