[Shovelman]

Where might I find out exactly what the driving modes are programmed to do?

ECO / COMFORT / SPORT / SPORT+

Traction Control

ABS

[Rayscott]

ECO, save on gas
COMFORT, most popular mode
SPORT, better power, handling
SPORT+ turns off traction control
Traction control, good for snow
ABS, prevents locking of the wheels during braking

I drive in comfort mode mostly, sport when I want to drive a little more aggressively, not much in sport+ engage traction control if I get caught in snow but I try not to to drive in snow, I have an X3.

[Luddy]

This is the most comprehensive table I have found on the different driving modes.

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71296

[Maynard]

I think first Nanny has to get to know and trust you, before she will even begin to share what she is thinking (but my guess is either "why aren't we going faster?" or "when will he change my oil, and what weight oil will he use?").

[Rayscott]

Originally Posted by Luddy

This is the most comprehensive table I have found on the different driving modes.

http://www.babybmw.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71296

A little overwhelming for me. I just drive the way I feel on any given day.

[Shovelman]

Ok the chart mentions a couple of things:

"Exhaust valve open on throttle" ? what does that mean?

"Braking energy regeneration" ? How does that work, is it even provided on a non electric vehicle? Does it put wring fuel from the air and put it back in the tank?

What I was actually wondering is what it was programmed to do when the back end gets a little loose? Which brakes does it hit if any, any steering inputs, suppose I'm into the hand brake?

or

If i'm on black ice with a stick shift and come to a hill that I just don't have the traction to climb will it doggedly prevent wheelspin by closing the throttle till it stalls?

[JChristie]

Originally Posted by Shovelman

Ok the chart mentions a couple of things:

"Exhaust valve open on throttle" ? what does that mean?

One of the exhaust pipes has a flapper valve that opens and closes. Basically it gives you a little more noise when it's open.

Originally Posted by Shovelman

"Braking energy regeneration" ? How does that work, is it even provided on a non electric vehicle? Does it put wring fuel from the air and put it back in the tank?

Kinetic energy from braking and/or coasting is used to charge your battery. I believe also switches off your alternator which in theory reduces wear and tear and increases your MPG.

Originally Posted by Shovelman

What I was actually wondering is what it was programmed to do when the back end gets a little loose? Which brakes does it hit if any, any steering inputs, suppose I'm into the hand brake?

or

If i'm on black ice with a stick shift and come to a hill that I just don't have the traction to climb will it doggedly prevent wheelspin by closing the throttle till it stalls?

Stability control will reduce your throttle and apply whichever brake (or brakes) it feels is necessary for you to regain control.

Traction control in the default setting won't let your tires spin at all. In any kind of snow or ice you'll want to hit the traction control button once to get moving. In really bad snow or ice you'll want to hold the button down for three seconds to fully disable traction control. Just note that when you fully shut off traction control stability control cuts out as well.

I'd personally recommend finding a nice big wide open wet/snow covered parking lot and playing around with the settings to get an idea of how much it intervenes at the different levels.

[Shovelman]

Thanks J

[bryan_G01]

You could read the manual?

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by Shovelman

Where might I find out exactly what the driving modes are programmed to do?

ECO / COMFORT / SPORT / SPORT+

Traction Control

ABS

BMW has taken something that should be VERY SIMPLE and made it unbelievably complicated.....

In MY case I just want to be able to turn all of the nannies off and drive old school

Unfortunately the DSC, DTC, Sport and Sport + modes battle with one another and the driver.

It "appears" that you can enable sport mode (throttle response/sport suspension) AND turn off DSC by holding the DSC button for up to 10 seconds......I need to play with this and further validate

The SIMPLE thing to do would have been to program this into Sport Plus........but sport plus actually turns ON the DTC (e-diff).......I found this out recently during a spirited accelleration in a straight line......you could feel the rear brakes coming on independently, back and forth

the programming/electronics are maddenning

Just give me an on/off switch

[XutvJet]

The eLSD is only active in DSC OFF. That's it. What you were feeling in Sport+ was the traction control system. In DSC OFF, the eLSD is pretty good and allows for full on drifting.

My biggest gripe is with the throttle control with a 6MT. The Sport throttle is a bit too aggressive and the regular throttle is a bit numb. Something right in between would be stellar. I'd drive around in DSC OFF all the time if it weren't for the slow throttle.

[JL1002]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

The eLSD is only active in DSC OFF. That's it. What you were feeling in Sport+ was the traction control system. In DSC OFF, the eLSD is pretty good and allows for full on drifting.

My biggest gripe is with the throttle control with a 6MT. The Sport throttle is a bit too aggressive and the regular throttle is a bit numb. Something right in between would be stellar. I'd drive around in DSC OFF all the time if it weren't for the slow throttle.

If you put it in Sport or Sport+, can't you then turn DSC off and have the more aggressive throttle response?

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by JL1002

If you put it in Sport or Sport+, can't you then turn DSC off and have the more aggressive throttle response?

Nope. DSC Off = eLSD active, 80% exhaust burble pop, Comfort throttle, Sport steering, Sport suspension. No other button pushing will change the way the mode works. BMW intentionally chose the Comfort throttle in DSC Off so that the driver had a more linear control of the power. I agree, that is a good approach, my beef is that the Comfort throttle is just a bit too neutered with the 6MT.

[harma24]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

The eLSD is only active in DSC OFF. That's it.

What about Traction mode? As it's meant for use on snow/ice for added traction, I wound think that would enable the eLSD.

[XutvJet]

eLSD is only active in DSC OFF. Yes, it is odd.

[JL1002]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Nope. DSC Off = eLSD active, 80% exhaust burble pop, Comfort throttle, Sport steering, Sport suspension. No other button pushing will change the way the mode works. BMW intentionally chose the Comfort throttle in DSC Off so that the driver had a more linear control of the power. I agree, that is a good approach, my beef is that the Comfort throttle is just a bit too neutered with the 6MT.

Thanks - good to know! I don't like the comfort throttle either, or more specifically, I don't like having different throttle mappings. It screws up my timing. Perhaps it's a nice feature on an auto, but I think there is too much muscle memory involved with driving a manual.

[harma24]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

eLSD is only active in DSC OFF. Yes, it is odd.

Then what the heck does traction mode do?

[Maynard]

In regular nanny-on mode I seem to get some limited wheel spin, not extreme, but don't think it is totally eliminating it?

And I agree this is very obscure - I reread the manual a dozen times, and still confused by the permutations. Spent a good part of last winter with the stability off, thinking that was increased traction mode (it is, but just for straight line - getting unstuck in a driveway). Didn't really notice the lack of stability assist, but I wasn't pushing it hard.

Late edit: Wanted to update - just had our superstorm - >12" on top of ice, and in this I do get a lot of power cutout if it is starting to spin, almost to dead stop as it gains traction, mostly as I'm turning into a new street, not on straight-line. Didn't need to put it into traction mode, and was able to stop on fairly steep hills and get going again (around the stalled/spinning cars that couldn't); guess I hadn't gotten into stuff bad enough to really activate the nannies, which is saying a lot given how bad our 'typical' roads are.

[AlpsRider]

The nanny modes are seriously lacking with the M235i. I drove a 911 which absolutely needs its nanny to prevent a layman driver from flying off the road, it is so smooth that you don't even know it's there. The M235i on the other hand surges and twitches like it is confused. I prefer to use DSC off for this reason, but the car has so much power that in town you can easily get into trouble with too much throttle in a turn especially if you're used to the nannies. So I've gone back to allowing nannies in town just for safety sake.

I will be upgrading my tires to 235/35 front and 265/30 rear, I hope this will give the car enough grip to quiet down the nannies because they drive me crazy, BMW should work on fine tuning there system.

[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by harma24

Then what the heck does traction mode do?

Look at it this way:

Comfort - All nannies on, light steering, soft shocks, slow throttle, quiet exhaust, quiet fake engine noises

Sport (assuming you have Sport settings engage in I-drive) - All nannies on, hard steering, hard shocks, quick throttle, loud exhaust, loud fake engine noises

Sport+ - Slightly reduce nanny intervention with respect to wheelspin and slide, hard steering, hard shocks, quick throttle, loud exhaust, loud fake engine noises

Traction - Slightly reduce nanny intervention with respect to wheelspin and slide, soft steering, soft shocks, slow throttle, somewhat loud exhaust, somewhat loud fake engine noises.

DSC Off - No stability control or traction control, eLSD on, hard steering, hard shocks, slow throttle, loud exhaust, loud fake engine noises


Depending on road surface conditions (typically cold pavement, sub 50 degree temps), you can spin the tires a bit even in the modes where the nannies are fully engaged.

[jpnh]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Look at it this way:

Comfort - All nannies on, light steering, soft shocks, slow throttle, quiet exhaust, quiet fake engine noises

Sport (assuming you have Sport settings engage in I-drive) - All nannies on, hard steering, hard shocks, quick throttle, loud exhaust, loud fake engine noises

Sport+ - Slightly reduce nanny intervention with respect to wheelspin and slide, hard steering, hard shocks, quick throttle, loud exhaust, loud fake engine noises

Traction - Slightly reduce nanny intervention with respect to wheelspin and slide, soft steering, soft shocks, slow throttle, somewhat loud exhaust, somewhat loud fake engine noises.

DSC Off - No stability control or traction control, eLSD on, hard steering, hard shocks, slow throttle, loud exhaust, loud fake engine noises


Depending on road surface conditions (typically cold pavement, sub 50 degree temps), you can spin the tires a bit even in the modes where the nannies are fully engaged.

After looking at the pdf manual again and some agressive experimentation <ahem> it appears that as documented when DSC is deactivated (hold button for 5-ish seconds) the documented happens......DSC is disabled and it appears to put the car into sport mode

It also appears that DTC does NOT come on......

I could not generate the side to side wobble/wag induced by the brakes attempting to do its eLSD thing

Seems like the nannies just let the actual LSD do what its supposed to do....push forwards......

[jmwilson125]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Nope. DSC Off = eLSD active, 80% exhaust burble pop, Comfort throttle, Sport steering, Sport suspension. No other button pushing will change the way the mode works. BMW intentionally chose the Comfort throttle in DSC Off so that the driver had a more linear control of the power. I agree, that is a good approach, my beef is that the Comfort throttle is just a bit too neutered with the 6MT.

I thought this too but I found a slightly better way to do it. Only figured this out after a year and a half of driving haha. If you put DSC off and then also the shifter to the left it definitely holds revs higher. It potentially increases throttle response. Hard to tell if it just responds better because it's at a higher rpm.

Definitely is better/ more fun to drive than just DSC off.