When did BMW's get sports mode?

[really real]

I sat in my cousin's 2010 381 Sports Wagon today and was amazed to see
that it doesn't have sports mode. When did sports mode start?


I suppose her 381 drives more sportingly than my wife's new 381 Sports
Wagon drives in comfort mode. I know the older steering feels more
precise, so I wonder if the suspension feels more sporty in the older
model as well.

[R. Mark Clayton]

"really real" <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:67fyv.45574$J34....@fx10.iad...

I presume you mean 318.

Several models have been available with a "Sport" version and a "sport"
[manual] gearbox was an option on some top end cars as long ago as the
80's*. Auto boxes had various modes from at least the early 90's (my '93
740i had Economy (normal), sport and winter modes selected by a momentary
slide switch next to the selector). Step/Tiptronic has been available
(often as an expensive option) since the late 90's. More recent cars (and
posh Merc's etc.) have had the ability to vary suspension / damper settings,
the degree (if any) of DSC / ASC), gearbox, throttle response and even max
power (M5).

More base models, such as the 318i, often omit these more esoteric features.


* on the sport version the dampers / springs / ride height / wheels etc.
would be permanent; the sport's box had a different gate, narrower ratios
and a lower top gear than the regular model.

[Jeff Strickland]

"really real" <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote in message
news:67fyv.45574$J34....@fx10.iad...

381?

Sports Mode, like a button or something? They never put a button in the 3
Series cars, but there was (is) a Sports Package that gives stiffer springs,
an upgraded wheel package and better seats.

The really big question in my mind is that you ask when a feature started,
but go on to point out that your current model car is not equipped with it.
Under this circumstance, it seems to me that the question would be when they
took the feature out.

[really real]

> 381?
>
> Sports Mode, like a button or something? They never put a button in the
> 3 Series cars, but there was (is) a Sports Package that gives stiffer
> springs, an upgraded wheel package and better seats.
>
> The really big question in my mind is that you ask when a feature
> started, but go on to point out that your current model car is not
> equipped with it. Under this circumstance, it seems to me that the
> question would be when they took the feature out.

Sorry about the wrong number. I get confused by all these numbers.

I assume my cousin's 3 Wagon is a Sports version because it has a sports
grill. But no button for Sports Mode (or Sports + or Econo) though mine
does.

I wonder if that was an option on some sports wagons but not others?

[Scott Dorsey]

really real <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>Sorry about the wrong number. I get confused by all these numbers.
>
>I assume my cousin's 3 Wagon is a Sports version because it has a sports
>grill. But no button for Sports Mode (or Sports + or Econo) though mine
>does.

You guys are talking about two different things.

First of all, the "sports" packages offer a bunch of things that may
improve handling and performance.

Secondly, the "efficient dynamics" system gives you that "Sports/Econo"
switch that goes into the engine control system and affects the engine
operation. For the most part, if you don't have the "efficient dynamics"
stuff, the software in the engine controller assumes you want performance
rather than economy. That switch allows you to change between two modes of
the engine controller with different behaviours tailored for different
applications and allows BMW to advertise good EPA mileage numbers while
still making zippy cars.

>I wonder if that was an option on some sports wagons but not others?

It's all a bunch of crap. Get an old Bavaria with crank-up windows and
a carb and go for a drive.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[really real]

> You guys are talking about two different things.
>
> First of all, the "sports" packages offer a bunch of things that may
> improve handling and performance.
>
> Secondly, the "efficient dynamics" system gives you that "Sports/Econo"
> switch that goes into the engine control system and affects the engine
> operation. For the most part, if you don't have the "efficient dynamics"
> stuff, the software in the engine controller assumes you want performance
> rather than economy. That switch allows you to change between two modes of
> the engine controller with different behaviours tailored for different
> applications and allows BMW to advertise good EPA mileage numbers while
> still making zippy cars.

That's right. I was wondering why my cousin's "sports" package did not
include the "Sports/Econo switch" or even the"Sports" switch which BMW
must have had before they invented econo mode.

>> I wonder if that was an option on some sports wagons but not others?
>
> It's all a bunch of crap. Get an old Bavaria with crank-up windows and
> a carb and go for a drive.

I understand your sentiments exactly but nowadays, new cars come with
wonderful info systems for playing music and other technological gems
that make driving much more fun.

[Scott Dorsey]

really real <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> You guys are talking about two different things.
>>
>> First of all, the "sports" packages offer a bunch of things that may
>> improve handling and performance.
>>
>> Secondly, the "efficient dynamics" system gives you that "Sports/Econo"
>> switch that goes into the engine control system and affects the engine
>> operation. For the most part, if you don't have the "efficient dynamics"
>> stuff, the software in the engine controller assumes you want performance
>> rather than economy. That switch allows you to change between two modes of
>> the engine controller with different behaviours tailored for different
>> applications and allows BMW to advertise good EPA mileage numbers while
>> still making zippy cars.
>
>
>That's right. I was wondering why my cousin's "sports" package did not
>include the "Sports/Econo switch" or even the"Sports" switch which BMW
>must have had before they invented econo mode.

The "sports" package may even remove the switch, and it may instead include
firmware that is "sporty" all the time.

>>> I wonder if that was an option on some sports wagons but not others?
>>
>> It's all a bunch of crap. Get an old Bavaria with crank-up windows and
>> a carb and go for a drive.
>
>I understand your sentiments exactly but nowadays, new cars come with
>wonderful info systems for playing music and other technological gems
>that make driving much more fun.

Stop it with the music and pay attention to the road! If you have enough
attention available to listen to music you're probably not driving fast
enough.

[Dean Dark]

On 20 Jul 2014 13:52:20 -0400, klu...@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>really real <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote:

>>I understand your sentiments exactly but nowadays, new cars come with
>>wonderful info systems for playing music and other technological gems
>>that make driving much more fun.
>
>Stop it with the music and pay attention to the road! If you have enough
>attention available to listen to music you're probably not driving fast
>enough.

And don't even get me started about people wanting cup holders ...

[really real]

>
> The "sports" package may even remove the switch, and it may instead include
> firmware that is "sporty" all the time.

Nope, my wife bought a 2014 Sports and it comes with the sports mode switch

>

> Stop it with the music and pay attention to the road! If you have enough
> attention available to listen to music you're probably not driving fast
> enough.

Do you go on long road trips? We have a lovely four hour one to visit an
aunt, and it involves 90 minutes of freeway before it turns into a curvy
lovely highway. There is often traffic preventing unnatural speeding.
With her old Acura RSX I actually got caught doing 139 kph in an 80 kph
stretch and the cops said at 140, they would have impounded the car


For you Americans, that would be like doing 87 mph in an a 50 mph zone

I would say that a person who drives distances and doesn't listen to
music is someone who doesn't love music.

[really real]

>
> And don't even get me started about people wanting cup holders ...
>

My cousin's 2010 wagon has this interesting cup holder that pops out of
the glove compartment. It's a bit awkward, especially when you're trying
to use the glove compartment.

My wife's 2014 has more traditional cup holders.

I have to drink a lot of water for health reasons. Shouldn't a car have
a cup holder for water drinkers?

[David]

In a 6-pot, the music is the engine.

David

[Dean Dark]

On Sun, 20 Jul 2014 17:21:40 -0700, really real <reall...@shaw.ca>
wrote:

>I have to drink a lot of water for health reasons. Shouldn't a car have
>a cup holder for water drinkers?

If you have to drink a lot of water, then why not just drink a quart
every time you stop for a piss? There's no need for any cup holders if
you do that.

:-)

[R. Mark Clayton]

"Scott Dorsey" <klu...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:lqgg3e$oan$1...@panix2.panix.com...

You mean like the lovely hired [i6] E30 320i I got to drive in Denmark back
in the 80's. It ws a great drive, although if it started raining I would
want to go out in my more modern 735i instead...

[really real]

>> I would say that a person who drives distances and doesn't listen to
>> music is someone who doesn't love music.
>>
>
> In a 6-pot, the music is the engine.

I was never a big fan of industrial rock

[Jeff Strickland]

"really real" <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote in message

news:GvDyv.54451$4n....@fx31.iad...

Sport and Economy on the shift lever is a button that changes the
transmission behavior. In Economy, the default mode, causes the transmission
to shift in a way that delivers optimum fuel economy -- the upshifts come
earlier and the downshifts from stomping on the gas take longer to be
invoked. Selecting the sport mode causes the current gear to remain longer
before the next gear is selected, and downshifts come easier. This gives
more power at the expense of using more gas. If the car is turned off while
the sport mode is selected, it will be in the economy mode upon the
subsequent restart.

You are mixing your apples and oranges. The sport grill (I'm not sure what
that is) is part of the sport package. Among other things, the sport package
includes some aerodynamic stuff, a different steering wheel, a tire package,
stiffer springs, and seats with thigh support and side bolsters. The
sport/economy button is standard.

[Jeff Strickland]

"Jeff Strickland" <crwl...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:lqjdq8$8pe$1...@dont-email.me...

Cars with the selectronic, or whatever they call it, may not have the sport
mode button because there is a manual shift mode that the driver invokes by
moving the gear selector to the side. No sport button, but still a sport
mode, and a means of selecting the gear changes manually.

[really real]

>
> Cars with the selectronic, or whatever they call it, may not have the
> sport mode button because there is a manual shift mode that the driver
> invokes by moving the gear selector to the side. No sport button, but
> still a sport mode, and a means of selecting the gear changes manually.

That's what my cousin has, selectronic but no sports mode button.

My wife's car has selectronic, paddles, and a sports mode button

[dizzy]

klu...@panix.com (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

>Stop it with the music and pay attention to the road! If you have enough
>attention available to listen to music you're probably not driving fast
>enough.

It could be argued that a simple "sport" transmission mode
accomplishes most of what modern cars call a "sport mode", although
the active suspensions obviously take it a step further.

As for music, I thought cars have had that for decades. I don't need
my car to connect to the Internet, though.

Cupholders are a nice thing to have, though, even if only for
occasional use.

[Jeff Strickland]

"really real" <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote in message

news:F2izv.64750$OC3....@fx18.iad...

I think they really call it steptronic, but whatever.

You can put the gear selector in D and you have the economy mode, and you
can move the lever to the side and you get the sport mode. In the sport mode
position, you can move the gear selector fore and aft to invoke manual gear
changes.

All modern cars have a variant of the sports/economy button that changes the
shift points of the transmission. This is true on cars that only have a D
choice. If your car has gear selector positions that are labelled as P R N
D, then there will be a sports/economy button. If the choices are P R N D 2
1, or similar, then there will be a button that disables OD (overdrive),
otherwise the driver simply moves the gear selector to the desired
position -- there is no need to have multiple programs that are
button-selectable because the driver can invoke his own program by moving
the selector among the available positions.

Auto makers are smart enough to realize that while 99% of the products they
sell will never be operated outside of the economy mode, there is a group of
consumers that will want to have a more aggressive shift program. Even when
there are drivers that want the more aggressive shifting program, they don't
want it all of the time.

[really real]

>
> I think they really call it steptronic, but whatever.
>
> You can put the gear selector in D and you have the economy mode, and
> you can move the lever to the side and you get the sport mode. In the
> sport mode position, you can move the gear selector fore and aft to
> invoke manual gear changes.
>
> All modern cars have a variant of the sports/economy button that changes
> the shift points of the transmission. This is true on cars that only
> have a D choice. If your car has gear selector positions that are
> labelled as P R N D, then there will be a sports/economy button. If the
> choices are P R N D 2 1, or similar, then there will be a button that
> disables OD (overdrive), otherwise the driver simply moves the gear
> selector to the desired position -- there is no need to have multiple
> programs that are button-selectable because the driver can invoke his
> own program by moving the selector among the available positions.
>
> Auto makers are smart enough to realize that while 99% of the products
> they sell will never be operated outside of the economy mode, there is a
> group of consumers that will want to have a more aggressive shift
> program. Even when there are drivers that want the more aggressive
> shifting program, they don't want it all of the time.

Econo Mode is not just about the transmission. The fan and the air
conditioning are also affected.

[Jeff Strickland]

"really real" <reall...@shaw.ca> wrote in message

news:_ewzv.102554$4n.2...@fx31.iad...

I do not believe that to be true, and it doesn't matter in the context of
this discussion.

If I want my car in Sport mode on the transmission, I still want the AC to
work the same, I only want the shift points to be more aggressive.

[really real]

>>
>> Econo Mode is not just about the transmission. The fan and the air
>> conditioning are also affected.
>
>
> I do not believe that to be true, and it doesn't matter in the context
> of this discussion.
>
> If I want my car in Sport mode on the transmission, I still want the AC
> to work the same, I only want the shift points to be more aggressive.
>
>

From the manual - "ECO PRO (the Eco setting on the Sports Mode button)
supports a driving style that saves on fuel consumption. For this
purpose, the engine control and comfort functions, e.g. the climate
control output, are adjusted."

There are also ECO PRO suggestions that come on the Info Screen.

And at a certain speed, the car will coast to save fuel.


Meanwhile, they're calling it the Sports program when you use the
automatic gear shift or paddles for manual shifting.

The Sports Mode, from using the Sports Mode button, gives different
suspension and engine control, and can be configured to individual
specifications.

There is also Launch Control, where you turn off the Traction Control
(or put the car into Sports Plus mode) and keep your foot on the brake
and then press on the accelerator beyond the resistance point at the
full throttle position. Then a flag appears in the display, the starting
engine speed adjusts, and within 3 seconds, you release the brake.

The manual tells you not to do this very often as it wears out components.