I'm having trouble achieving smooth shifts in the RS4, most notably from 1st to 2nd gear and especially under power. My passengers says it's jerky and I can feel it as well. I have no such trouble in the GT3. Anyone else have this problem or do I need to ride the clutch?

Zed

 

Its annoying but its normal.
Try turning off the traction control.
One push of the esp turns the traction off and holding it for a few seconds turns off the traction and esp.
I tend to drive with the traction off all the time because i hate the cut in power between gear shifts like you say.

 

Some Audis are like that, I've had several 6-speed Audi V8s and V6s and some of them were nearly impossible to drive smoothly, while some were easy as pie.

It has to do with the throttle response being too damn distinct when you let off. Cuts like a knife. While riding the clutch may not be the best move, it certainly helps with the smoothness to engage it before you've got off the gas pedal completely...

 

I'd recommend going with ESP off as well. It's good fun too..

 

it has nothing to do with the esp
you have to work the clutch a bit more..
you're also probably shifting too fast, or too slow...

keep practicing..

 

I noticed that once or twice but its all about how you shift. It seems if i try to go easy on the car thats when 1st to 2nd is weird. When i pushed the car hard it feels like it likes it

PS: I got a little tire spin today launching at 1500 with esp and traction control off.

 

This has been my findings. It seems the clutch just grabs real hard to slow around town 1-2 shifts are generally jerky. But if your rowing through the gears its smooth as can be.

 

I'm going to the Audi Driving Experience this Nov & will see if it improves my shifting, but have the same issue.

 

I'm facing the same issue and it pretty much drives me nuts. i've just had the car for less than a week but have been driving stick for years (last car being a Lancer Evolution VIII MR RS).

If I shift under 2500 rpm and slip the clutch, it's fine. The only way I have managed to not cause the car to behave like a kangaroo from 1st to 2nd gear has been to get my timing perfect -- the clutch pedal goes down the very moment my right foot leaves the throttle, and vice versa.

2nd to 3rd has a slight grind that I'm going to have the dealership look at next week.

 

I had the same issue during the 1st few months I owned my S4 avant. Never seemed like I could get the revs and speed to match up. Now Im as smooth as creamed corn.

Give it time.. or trade it in on an automatic..

 

I've had my car for about 4 months and I've noticed a little bit of a "harsh" transition between first and second, but I guess I'm sort of used to some jerkiness since I have also have a SMG M3. The SMG was a simple fix - just let off on the throttle a little bit during the upshifts. But for the RS, the way for me to get a good degree of smoothness is to slip the clutch a little. I might try turning off the ESP for grins, however, I also think it's really not related to the 1-2 shift issue.

 

Yes, the shifting gets smoother when I push it harder up the rpm or after warming up the engine. try releasing the throttle a bit slower when you apply the clutch for 1st to 2nd or even 2nd to 3rd, it helps. It's the timing that we need to practise.

 

Drove the car quite a bit last night. Seems that the jerkiness is especially bad on a cold clutch (word has it that the stock RS4 clutch is a twin-plate clutch. Can anyone confirm this? Are they using organic / metallic / cerametallic plates?). After warming up, I've realised that if I fast shift at rpms over 4500 rpm, 2nd gear doesn't throw that much of a tantrum

 

I have a few friends that own RS4's and they have all complained about the shifting. Anyone out there that has driven a race car with a high compression motor will know that it is much harder to launch the car (not racing) off the line. It is a matter of walking a fine line between not riding the clutch and taking your time for to match up the velocity of the car vs. the velocity of the motor. Do things too fast or too slow and you will jerk. Short shift kits help when your driving hard but hurt when you are driving normally and are already experiencing the "hurky jerky dance". Sometimes I pull a "Corvette Shift" which I have dubbed btw, which is to shift from 1st to 3rd. In order to do this you must rev 1st up to 5000 rpms (with the engine being warm of course) and then you simply shift to 3rd. C5 Corvettes would lock you out of 2nd gear when shifting out of first sometimes in order to be more fuel efficient.

 

After almost a month of ownership and persistent learning about the characteristics of the RS4 clutch and drivetrain, I've realised that it is possible to shift smoothly. I've noticed that when I apply the clutch (clutch-in), there is s split second of hesitation before the clutch actually releases, at which point I can practically feel a freewheeling flywheel (?) and release the clutch (clutch-out) and there is no jerkiness, just a perfect shift. You are right that the trick is in getting the timing just right -- release the clutch too early or too late, and it's embarrassing :P

Will try Corvette shifting later to seel if that's any better for me

I never had this problem on my Evo, even with the stock clutch (drove it last night) and every shift is smooth and perfect compared to the RS4's.