Have you tried running wodim(1) with the args:
-tao Write disk in TAO mode.
-dao Write disk in SAO mode.
-sao Write disk in SAO mode.
I've found that wodim seems to "do the right thing" -- also turning on
verbose mode lets you know what it's "thinking" -- including what speed it
thinks it can write at.
Niels
http://nielsmayer.com