[xantdieselx]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

Two completely different things. The Eco/Comfort/Sport/Sport+ settings affect drivetrain, suspension and steering functions. They do not influence gear settings.

I can attest to this. Had my car for almost a year until I realized that moving the shifter to the left firms up the shifts.

Did a launch control take off from a light without warning the wifey - she got whacked with the headrest on 1/2 & 2/3 shifts. I thought it was funny, her not so much.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by xantdieselx

I can attest to this. Had my car for almost a year until I realized that moving the shifter to the left firms up the shifts.

Did a launch control take off from a light without warning the wifey - she got whacked with the headrest on 1/2 & 2/3 shifts. I thought it was funny, her not so much.

If you are already in Sport or Sport+... then moving the shifter to the left does nothing (but to momentarily downshift 1 gear) as the transmission is already in sport mode....

[BarryJI]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

If you are already in Sport or Sport+... then moving the shifter to the left does nothing (but to momentarily downshift 1 gear) as the transmission is already in sport mode....

I am pretty sure this is incorrect, certainly in the THP version of the car. Throwing the shifter to the left alters the gear selection logic regardless of which driving mode you are in. It is this adjustment that causes the car to optimise performance by hanging onto the gears and upshifting later, whether in Comfort or one of the Sport Modes. I always drive in Sport or Sport + but if I want want a more aggressive response from the transmission (8AT) when I put my foot down hard, it's the gear mode selection that enables this, regardless of the drivetrain mode selection.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

I am pretty sure this is incorrect, certainly in the THP version of the car. Throwing the shifter to the left alters the gear selection logic regardless of which driving mode you are in. It is this adjustment that causes the car to optimise performance by hanging onto the gears and upshifting later, whether in Comfort or one of the Sport Modes. I always drive in Sport or Sport + but if I want want a more aggressive response from the transmission (8AT) when I put my foot down hard, it's the gear mode selection that enables this, regardless of the drivetrain mode selection.

No, if you are in Sport (with drivetrain only or both) or in Sport+, the transmission is already in DS mode....

It's easy to try.... put the car in Sport mode and leave stick on the right....go a speed that puts you in say 3rd gear at constant throttle and punch it without going into kickdown and see what it does....

then stay in Sport mode, push the shifter to the left...(wait a little bit till the car upshifts back again to 3rd) maintain throttle and then punch it again... you will see it will downshift to the same gears and shift at the same times...

[xantdieselx]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

No, if you are in Sport (with drivetrain only or both) or in Sport+, the transmission is already in DS mode....

It's easy to try.... put the car in Sport mode and leave stick on the right....go a speed that puts you in say 3rd gear at constant throttle and punch it without going into kickdown and see what it does....

then stay in Sport mode, push the shifter to the left...(wait a little bit till the car upshifts back again to 3rd) maintain throttle and then punch it again... you will see it will downshift to the same gears and shift at the same times...

I disagree. In sport + full throttle shifts (without using the paddles) is nowhere near as abrupt as with the the selector in DS.

[BarryJI]

Originally Posted by xantdieselx

I disagree. In sport + full throttle shifts (without using the paddles) is nowhere near as abrupt as with the the selector in DS.

Yeah. Maybe it's a THP thing?

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by BarryJI

Yeah. Maybe it's a THP thing?

I doubt it... THP is just basically an M235 without the N55 engine...

They wouldn't make that kind of software differences just for a package where in no other car the transmission in DS has no effect in Sport or Sport+ as the drivetrain (engine and transimssion) is already in Sport....

There are not 3 automatic modes for the transmission... it's just normal and D/S...

But this kind of stuff it's hard to empirically probe... you would need to measure G force in both cases at the exact same speed an acceleration...

If he thinks D/S does make any difference in Sport... so be it...

[Maynard]

Isn't there also a setting where you can specify what gets altered by the sport settings? Could it be that the noticeable difference is when you have it set so that Sport only affects chassis/throttle, and then the tranny selector would be altering the trans? BarryJI and xantdieselx - have you guys checked if you are set to have sport alter all 3, or just the chassis/throttle?

Personally, this aspect of the cars is still puzzling (when adding in the eLSD, DSC on/off, etc). That chart is helpful, but from a 3 series and some say not exactly what we have in the 2's. It is tons of fun blasting away trying to figure out what got changed, but sometimes wish it was a little simpler to set up.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Isn't there also a setting where you can specify what gets altered by the sport settings? Could it be that the noticeable difference is when you have it set so that Sport only affects chassis/throttle, and then the tranny selector would be altering the trans? BarryJI and xantdieselx - have you guys checked if you are set to have sport alter all 3, or just the chassis/throttle?

Personally, this aspect of the cars is still puzzling (when adding in the eLSD, DSC on/off, etc). That chart is helpful, but from a 3 series and some say not exactly what we have in the 2's. It is tons of fun blasting away trying to figure out what got changed, but sometimes wish it was a little simpler to set up.

Options are:

Drivetrain and chasis
Chasis only
Drivetrain only

So basically throttle response, transmission programming and increased sound is all bundled together into the drivetrain option.

The only case where stick to the left would made a difference is if you set sport to "chasis only" cause in that case trans is in comfort mode

But he said he feels the same in sport+ and there is no way to configure sport+, it's always drivetrain and chasis + DSC ON

[Amiliaus]

Originally Posted by Gabbby

Would it still be wise to downshift for a 45 min downhill? I'm thinking of a road trip and remember there are some mountainous regions going from BC to CA.

Interesting thread. Not sure about a road trip like that though Gabbby due to possibly extreme inclines or declines? There is one thing I noticed that was left out of the conversation. If I am not mistaken you just took delivery of your vehicle and are probably still in the break-in period. Going up steep inclines would put a lot of stress I think on a new engine (those similar to towing no?) which my understanding was that is a big no no. Also the rest of the components (brakes, tires etc.) are being broken in as well.

I know, controversial subject (not trying to derail here nor argue proper ways) but I think this is very relevant for your situation, especially for your geographical location. For me I did not exceed 4500rpm (ahem cheated a few times) and drove it to about 2000kms in manual mode all the time with a lot of half throttle action and a lot of engine braking which I heard was great for obtaining a good piston ring seal. The world is pretty flat where I am though. I was forced to do about half that on highway mileage but mostly at night with very little traffic so I could easily vary the engine RPM and load which it is important as well not to drive at static speeds or loads for extended periods of time.

If you are past that honestly I would not worry about it too much. if it were me I would definitely be downshifting for a steep incline but steep declines I would be a little more careful and stay away from a high rpm downshift. I personally never worry about brakes. It is not an egg and meant to be driven too. Hope this helps Gabbby. Enjoy the new car!

[xantdieselx]

Originally Posted by pikcachu

I doubt it... THP is just basically an M235 without the N55 engine...

They wouldn't make that kind of software differences just for a package where in no other car the transmission in DS has no effect in Sport or Sport+ as the drivetrain (engine and transimssion) is already in Sport....

There are not 3 automatic modes for the transmission... it's just normal and D/S...

But this kind of stuff it's hard to empirically probe... you would need to measure G force in both cases at the exact same speed an acceleration...

If he thinks D/S does make any difference in Sport... so be it...

Sorry, but it's in the manual. Moving the shifter to the left out of D activates the sport program for the transmission.

[Gabbykat]

Originally Posted by Amiliaus

Interesting thread. Not sure about a road trip like that though Gabbby due to possibly extreme inclines or declines? There is one thing I noticed that was left out of the conversation. If I am not mistaken you just took delivery of your vehicle and are probably still in the break-in period. Going up steep inclines would put a lot of stress I think on a new engine (those similar to towing no?) which my understanding was that is a big no no. Also the rest of the components (brakes, tires etc.) are being broken in as well.

If you are past that honestly I would not worry about it too much. if it were me I would definitely be downshifting for a steep incline but steep declines I would be a little more careful and stay away from a high rpm downshift. I personally never worry about brakes. It is not an egg and meant to be driven too. Hope this helps Gabbby. Enjoy the new car!

Thank you!

I think for about two days in the first week, I played around with the gears and Eco mode. Even with the auto engine shut off deactivated, I don't like eco mode.

It was just odd to hear from the BMW delivery specialist that I should just leave it in the whichever mode and not manually shift on my own. What is the point of having the options?!

I am confused when people talk about pushing it to the red line or even to 5000 rpm+. I haven't had to go beyond 3000 rpm and I don't think I drive like a granny. I can see/hear that it is automatically shifting and the rpm goes down.

Where are people driving? And how fast are they going?

It is my daily car but I drive in the city, max 30 mins to work and once I was stuck in traffic for one hour. In the last 3 weeks, I have racked up about 320km. Tomorrow, I plan to drive over the border but from what I remember, the roads are always under construction so it will not be a constant speed for Long. Good to know about cruise control though. I prefer to vary my speeds on the freeway and I'm looking forward to pushing it in sport mode.

I think the varying speeds makes sense. Looking online, a lot of people suggest agressive break in but I think I will be conservative with the break in.

[pikcachu]

Originally Posted by xantdieselx

Sorry, but it's in the manual. Moving the shifter to the left out of D activates the sport program for the transmission.

Yes but sport and sport+ also activate the same program in addition to throttle response and louder exhaust.

So moving the shifter in sport (assuming is configured for drivetrain or both) does nothing but downshifting one gear momentarily .

You can try this. Go to sport mode and move the shifter also to the left. Drive for a 1 minute at normal speed, next move the shifter back to the right. What happens??

The answer is nothing cause the shifter program is still in sport cause the driving mode is in sport

[German1967]

I do understand that there is no difference vs sport mode and gearshift in "s" when sport mode is defined with drivetrain settings. What I do notice though and if only in my imagination that in sport mode and gearshift in "s" I have noticeably more burbles with my MPE than when just driving in sport.