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DS Mode and Sport Mode combined at the same time?

35K views 25 replies 20 participants last post by  ransom1k 
#1 ·
Hi guys, just a quick question:

So I understand that DS Mode that you activate by turning the gear lever left, and Sport Mode on the DDC settings are slightly different, but what happens if you turn both on at the same time? Does it harm the car in any way? other than destroying mpg of course.

thanks!
 
#2 ·
No it doesn't harm the car. This actually is the way to fully disable Auto Start Stop without using the button. In fact on my ActiveHybrid there is no ASS disable button and this is the only way to defeat it (though there's less of a reason to want to on the AH)

The shift program feels identical to me.
 
#6 · (Edited)
The shift program feels identical to me.
It is not. Sport mode will hold a gear to higher RPMs before upshifting under part throttle, downshifts earlier under braking, allows fairly aggressive engine braking and will generally be at least one gear lower than Drive at any given speed. DS also will not use top gear so leaving it there all day on a long highway run will hurt fuel economy a bit. The differences are most apparent when you start to push the car; in relaxed driving you may not notice anything unless you look at the tach.
 
#9 ·
I was saying that the SPORT mode + D and SPORT mode + DS shift programs feel almost identical. Both keep engine revs high and hold onto the gear after spirited runs. Of course that's very different from COMFORT + D.

Are you guys seeing a different behavior out of D vs DS with the experience switch set to SPORT mode? (other than ASS defeat)
 
#11 ·
I actually talked to my ca about this on delivery, in Germany. He told me that the ds mode on the gear selector just puts the transmission into sport mode, higher shifting rpms etc. Putting the drive experience button puts the whole car into sports mode, tightens suspension, steering, makes pedals more responsive, and puts the transmission into sport mode. So no benefit to putting car into sports mode and ds mode. He said the ds mode was mostly there in case you needed a little extra engine power for passing or going up a hill. Full sport mode when you wanted to driver more aggressively overall, like curvy mountain roads. My driving experiences have confirmed his statements, I can't tell any difference in transmission function between sport and sport plus ds.
 
#14 ·
Well, M Sport line with sport AT has only S1-S7 when you shift to the left. And I noticed, when I am in sport mode (D) at around 80mph and shift lever to the left, it down shifts and shows S7 and RPM slightly jumps. I drove loaner Luxury line with regular AT and yes DS mode has S8 and no difference when you shift to the left while in sport mode.
 
#18 ·
I find this gives me the best of all options: I have the Sport mode (button selection) set only to change the chassis settings to sport (with the Dynamic Chassis and Variable steering this tightens the car up and if feels like my 2010 328i) but the transmission shifts stay as in Comfort. If I want the Sport shift points I just push the lever over to DS. As I have an AH3 this lets me push it to the left to keep the engine running (in stop and go traffic, driving through malls over speed bumps the constant on/off of the engine gets annoying) and keep the suspension soft, if I want full sport mode I push the lever to DS and hit the button to put the chassis into Sport mode.
There are times I want the suspension and steering tighter but less aggressive shift points, times I want the engine always on and ready for a quick acceleration but still have the chassis in comfort mode, and times I want everything in comfort or everything in sport mode: this allows me to to this.
Also, in D/S mode the transmission is in full Automatic with higher RPM shift points, until you use it to manually change gears: after that it will automatically downshift at stop lights or slowing down, but you need to manually upshift. It can be re-set to full Auto mode by pushing the lever back to D and leave it in standard D, or then push it back to D/S for fully automatic shift points. There is still Sport+ for the most aggressive auto shift and sport chassis settings.
I really like it, I tend to drive quite a bit in D/S but manually upshifting when in heavy traffic or neighborhood with a lot of stop and go, then put it back into D once on the open road.
I don't have the paddles as having had manuals in my early cars I like using the shift lever.
 
#19 ·
I too am trying to get clarification on this.

The simplest way to ask is whether or not there is any additional transmission change to putting the transmission in S1-S8 (moving lever left; not manual shifting) while in Sport Mode over simply putting the car in Sport Mode. Visually the difference is the dash indicator shows S1-S8 vs D.

I haven't changed my Sport Mode settings and switching to it definitely affects the transmission in addition to the steering and throttle response. Wondering if the S1-S8 is just show at this point or even more aggressive transmission.
 
#20 · (Edited)
Shift points are higher in Sport/"S" mode than in Sport mode alone

EDIT: As cardsdoc was quick to point out, the transmission always downshifts one gear when you move the stick to the left. After further testing, the shift points appear to be the same during acceleration (see follow-up post below.) Sorry for any confusion.

The simplest way to ask is whether or not there is any additional transmission change to putting the transmission in S1-S8 (moving lever left; not manual shifting) while in Sport Mode over simply putting the car in Sport Mode.
I realize this is an old thread, but I'm hoping to help clear something up. In short-- "S" mode is not equivalent to Sport mode, from a transmission standpoint. In Sport/"S" mode, the shift points are even higher than they are in Sport mode alone.

Per Larry's suggestion, I decided to conduct a little experiment to prove it out. I started out in Sport mode, then switched from "D" to "S", while maintaining constant speed. Sure enough, the RPMs increased from ~2500 to ~3000.

Here's the video clip:

https://youtu.be/dgfHbKrXoHE
 
#22 ·
Just for another confirmation, my 2015 320xi has the same behavior. Regardless of whether you are in eco, comfort or sport, moving the shifter to M/S from D effects shift points. I'm not sure it effects shift speed or top gear or anything else, I have yet to push the car that far, but like the video, at pretty much every speed I've done it I see an increase in RPM and more aggressive shift points. It's most apparent for me at moderate speeds in town, since the rpms are noticeably higher and if you're puttering along you can actually feel the change as it tries to accelerate and you have to ease off the gas to maintain speed. Since I don't have any other sport related features I honestly don't feel much else changing when the car is in sport mode. To me it is pretty much all engine/transmission changes. I'm honestly not sure if the steering firms up or anything else really changes between driving modes in my car. The steering seems to firm up under more aggressive driving, but it does that in all modes. I need to go to an autocross day to really mess with it and feel the differences.
 
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