synergize

First car with a sport differential, what sensation should I feel in the car, or what behavior does the car exhibit with the sport diff? Not sure I feel anything, is the sport diff a seamless feature in the S5?

heymoe

It's my understanding that with the sport diff the rear of the car will feel like it's rotating around in a turn while you're on the gas. You won't really feel it if you're coasting / not on the gas. It will also depend on drive select mode you're in as to how much you will feel from it. I'm sure someone else will correct me if I'm wrong / provide more details.

MrSpeed

my wheels has that sport diff, and its not my first quattro car, but with my RS5 is different storry, when im going 90' turn and i hit gas pedal, my car feels so planted, that i literally need to put force to the steering wheel to go where i actually want, as i literally could tell that my rear wheels are glued to the street

belzebutt

I think someone should drive it back to back with the regular diff to see how much difference there is. I never had a chance to test drive it and I'm not aware of any such comparison test on YouTube or in the press.

superswiss

Basically if you do it right and especially if you have it in dynamic mode, then you should feel that you can rotate the car using the throttle. If giving it more throttle you should feel the car rotate and the rear coming around, tighten your turning circle w/o having to turn the steering wheel more. Similarly if you let off the throttle you should feel the car turn less tight and increase the turning radius. If you've ever owned an RWD car, you should be familiar with this sensation. Compared to an actual RWD car, the sport diff does feel a bit artificial as it overdrives the rear outer wheel in a turn. There are other aspects of the sport differential that you don't necessarily feel. It works as an inverse ESP, proactively stabilizing the car before instability would even be noticeable by the driver, and it can compensate load reversal, which is when you let off the throttle mid turn and the weight of the car shifts. With the sport differential the chassis is less likely to get upset in such a scenario and the car should continue on the previous line around the turn. The best testament is actually if you can't feel it as it's doing its work in the background and helping you being a better driver. I've read a number of comments over the years from folks who claim they can't feel the difference etc., but all that really tells is that they don't have much experience with different cars and have probably never owned an RWD car and use the throttle to steer it. Basically, one of the big reasons why Audi came up with this differential is the tendency of understeer with AWD cars, and the sport differential allows you to compensate for the understeer. You do have to learn taking full advantage of it, though. For example, the natural instinct of most drivers is to let off the throttle if they feel the car understeers, however with the sport differential you should give it more throttle to bring the rear around. It takes some practice and overcoming your fears of careening off the side of the road. As with all these things, I highly recommend folks go for some high performance driving events where they can safely learn the limits of the car and how it reacts in various scenarios. Once you got the epiphany and realize how the diff helps you it'll elevate you to another level as a driver. These cars can even drift to some extent thanks to the sport differential. Not sure if you are into that.

Here's an older, but still relevant article that speaks about the sport differential and all the other systems in the car that it works in conjunction with and how it relates to Audi Drive Select. If your car also has the optional dynamic steering, then it takes it to another level where the steering can make slight adjustments to help the front tires find grip while the sport differential rotates the car. It's impressive technology, but lacks proper understanding from many, hence a lot of the "I can't feel it" comments.

https://www.audiworld.com/articles/q...ism-redefined/

-=Hot|Ice=-

Torque Vectoring. The outside rear wheel is sped up to match the inside rear wheel also helps negate under-steer. That's just one of many benefits apart from it tying into all of the cars electronics for safety purposes.

farmerjones

I think you misspoke here......the outside rear wheel is accelerated, turning faster than the inside wheel to force the car to turn in. Often the inside wheel is braked while power is provided to the outside wheel to intentionally rotate faster.

-=Hot|Ice=-

Yes. Thanks for the correction. I won't be posting while I'm sleepy anymore.

TheWombat

I don't really exploit the capabilities of this car, which I suppose is a shame, but then again, where I drive, the circumstances including road quality make that even less feasible than in most places. When I got the car, the sport diff was one of the things I wanted, but mostly because it was paired with the dynamic suspension. The dynamic steering was something I was willing to take or leave to get the configuration I wanted. Turned out I got both, and I've loved the combination. Well, that is, as I don't have anything for a direct A/B comparison, I'm very satisfied with how the car drives. All the good stuff folks upthread have mentioned. I have no clue what part of the car's electronic and mechanical wizardry is contributing to which part of the driving experience, but whatever is going on it pretty much makes this car a (somewhat porky) slot car in most situations. Tires do make a difference, of course; I spend half the year on snow tires so in those months I'm mostly concerned with safety in bad weather. Luckily, the aforementioned technology seems to be really good in the snow too.

Zwik

For me I notice it helping in the local roundabouts. Mainly feels like it’s reducing the the oversteer push in the turn and kind of keeps the car pointed where you want it to go. You can definitely feel it like a subtle push from the right rear in a left turn as long as you’re not coasting through it.