my 2007 S8 up-shifts very quickly in manual mode, but the shifts are so abrupt that they are uncomfortable (almost as hard as my former M5 with SMG.) The dealer tells me this is normal for an S8, but it's so bad, I never use it.

Has anybody else noticed this? If so, I am hoping that someone has found that the dealership has an update for this programming. It seems like a programming issue as the car shifts smoothly in auto mode.

Thanks

w the tiptronic paddle shift stuff . More so in S, which I rarely use. My cure is just put my foot in it a few times and it's all better.

My sense is it may have to do with the adaptive learning (aka fuzzy logic) the tranny uses. Thus I see it more when I haven't exercised it much and it may get used to thinking an old lady shift style is appropriate so it isn't ready for pedal to metal. Alternatively I've wondered if maybe I have had an abrupt ESP cut in since soimetimes the light will flash for a fraction of a second. No sense of traction loss though and I haven't turned off ESP enough to have a clear sense. The W12 accelerates so fast there isn't much opportunity to bury the pedal and once it's rolling and not floored it is quickly in second or higher.