After launching my car 10-15 times on 'closed roads' working out best launch technique, I noticed that it felt like I was getting more power using paddles in Manual mode rather than S auto. Has anyone else noticed this? (My butt Dyno could be wrong btw)

 

Could it be that when you launch in auto, it starts in 2. gear, and when you launch in Manual mode you start in 1. gear?

 

I thought the same but when it's in Dynamic mode it's automatically starts in 1st

 

My R starts off in 2nd in dynamic mode/Sport. I have to manually drop to first gear.

 

It feels to me that the torque converter is locked solid in Sport but not normally - but maybe that's just me.

 

Dynamic starts in 2nd

 

I would assume that if someone was doing butt-dyno testing they would make sure they always took off in 1st gear. It starts in 2nd in some modes if you fail to downshift to 1st. I would wager that fully automatic mode gives the best 0-to-whatever. Given how good the ZF transmissions are, I think they choose the timing better than the driver can. If you've changed power output then perhaps the auto shift program might no longer be completely optimal for your case.

Older ZFs used to lock up the torque converter in each gear sooner in paddle-shifting mode, but I believe this is standard practice in any modern zf (and likely others) seeking efficiency. Its definitely possible it locks up sooner when in manual mode, giving a more direct connected "launch" kind of feel to it and a perception of more power.