Taking off in First gear

[Frenzy]

yep that's normal, anywhere between 800 - 900. The longer it's been idle the lower on that spectrum it should be.

[Nasir]

I've found that the MK5 has some dead pedal. Meaning the first couple of millimetres of movement don't do anything. That and the fact that very rarely there is a delay in throttle movement being transferred to engine revs makes it feel as though it lacks sharpness. Overall compared to other sporty cars the GTI's throttle sensitivity is high.

[GTI_UK]

Seems the only real answer (for me anyway) is a sprint booster. Shame they seem to have gone up in price.

[Mk5 GTian]

Are you sure you're not getting bogged down by not having the car revving high enough when you are holding the car on the bite of the clutch prior to launch? When I first got my first mk5 GTi I found I would get bogged down like this when i released the clutch, sometimes even stalling it. I found If the car was revving at 1500+rpm, the throttle response was instant when I released the clutch and succesfully feathered in the throttle.

I was used to a V6 4Motion, where launching was a simple affair of dumping the clutch at idle, and burying the right foot in the carpet! It took some getting used to in the MK5, and was a fine balance between too few revs leading to bog-down/stalling, and too many revs/poor feathering of throttle leading to wheel-hop. More skill involved, but very rewarding once you've got the hang of it.

[94Luke]

I posted about the sprint booster a while ago: http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,10246.0.html
People seem to think a remap is better value for money and will help with throttle response too

[GTI_UK]

More cars should move with a smooth lift off of the clutch and not requiring any accelerator.

I’ve never been one to rev the car on first (partly preserving my clutch).


I defo don’t give it a lot of revs and I’m not talking about a launch as such – more about regular town driving, stop start at lights/ junctions, etc.


94Luke, I’ve had a sprint booster on two separate cars (namely BMW diesels) and can confirm it ‘livens’ the car up. I don’t think its physiological as I think I’m experienced enough a driver to be able to tell the difference. If you’ve ever experienced the “M” button on an M car (M3, M5, etc) it feels very similar.

[zerolag]

I find 1st useless tbh, you can't open taps at all... if I'm slightly rolling, or not too much incline I'll take off in second, not slipping clutch, to decrease any spin.

Funnily enough I drove a Yaris T-Sport the other day, and the accelerator was like an ON/OFF switch, with an extremely light clutch with a small bite point, perhaps this is what the OP is gearing towards.  As soon as it's going though the lack of torque is commical... good little car in low speed corners though, good fun.

[daddykool]

My 05  dsg throttle response is terrible!
 You can actually be going along at 20mph and stab the throttle to the floor  and release it quickly and nothing happens except you notice the rev counter blip slightly.
 The car drives brilliantly and quick but if you go to overtake something it seems to take an age for the throttle to respond on flooring it.
  Perhaps something needs checking out?

[zerolag]

My 05  dsg throttle response is terrible!
 You can actually be going along at 20mph and stab the throttle to the floor  and release it quickly and nothing happens except you notice the rev counter blip slightly.
 The car drives brilliantly and quick but if you go to overtake something it seems to take an age for the throttle to respond on flooring it.
  Perhaps something needs checking out?

I don't own a DSG, but that sounds like an old slush auto box...