JeffNNJ

Today Richard In NC was kind enough to reply to my post and to offer some pointers about the sport automatic. Unfortunately I know very little about it besides what he shared with me. Is it like a manual meaning you back off the accelerator when shifting?? When you are in manual mode can/does the car still shift for you under certain circumstances?? Also, can someone please go over the different settings and modes so I can better understand.

Thanks

Jeff

kscarrol

I have it but have not pushed it much. No need to let up on the gas like a manual when shifting. As I said, have not pushed but I would assume it is like the Steptronic in that there are extreme points it will not let you cross, like down shifting at too high an RPM that might cause damage. Also would shift if approaching the red line I would think. Rudy and others will have to chime in with more details, but there is D, Sport D and Manual just like the Steptronic. The choice of Sport allows higher reving before shifting. The Manual is pretty self explanatory though I still find the paddles a little difficult to master. That is mainly due to my lack of time spent using however. As for the Sport button by the shifter, not real clear what that does. Sales guy indicated it firms up the suspension for sportier driving but if you press it while in D, it seems to allow higher reving of the engine as well.

Richard in NC

Rudy did a very good description of the sport auto way back. You should find it with a search but I'll try to describe it in full here. The sport auto is a full automatic tranny with a special torque converter. It is not a computer controlled manual like SMG but it tries to eliminate the "slip" in most all circumstances, especially in sport mode. It can be described as very "tight" and can cause a small jerk at times coming to a stop, especially in sport mode's 2-1 shift or low RPM creeping in traffic.

In "D" it drives like any other automatic but with a bit more firm shifts than most cars. No throttle lift or anything like that is needed at any time.

Kicking the lever left is sport mode just like a steptronic. Shifts are more firm and much higher RPM (IMHO too high at light throttle). 6th gear is not used. I do wish you could get 6th in sport mode. The display shows S1-S5 in sport mode.

In drive, you can manually shift by the paddles. It will hold the selected gear accelerating or on curves or hills but returns to D once back to steady state. You can hit a paddle to downshift coming to a stop. It seems to stay in manual mode then. BTW, a double click causes a double downshift.

In sport mode (transmission lever), a manual shift with the paddles (or the lever) put it in full manual mode. You have to shift unless near redline or too low of RPMs (<1000?), it will shift. Shifts are fast and firm but nothing like SMGIII in an ///M. Its also different than an ///M in that with either side, you push for down and pull (fingers behind the wheel tapping towards you) for upshifts. Its a bit of a reach if small hands. At a stop it will drop to M2 and start in 2nd but you can downshift and start in 1st.

Pressing the sport button is like sport mode with the lever for the most part with more firm and higher RPM shifts. In sport button & "D", manual shifts will return back to "D". Strangely, hitting the sport button in "D" drops it to 5th. A manual upshift to 6th works but 5 secs later it downshifts back to 5.

With both sport modes, shifts seem the most firm and manual shifts cause it to stay in manual mode. That's the full tilt mode with quicker throttle response and slightly more firm steering. It will always drop to 1st at a stop with both sport modes. As noted, I use the lever to upshift 1-2 when in manual mode, but the paddles in higher gears.

In short, there are a confusing number of modes that take a while to understand the differences.

I mostly stay in "D" during my daily commutes and use sport mode occasionally. If in a sporting mood, I'll readily go into full manual mode and frequently stay that way until home.

I have used it in full manual mode on VERY sporting drives and on-track. I didn't miss a manual transmission.

pennetta

Has a normal auto mode, a sport auto mode and a sport manual mode. The former is just like a Sportronic but faster shifting, the sport auto mode is faster still but doesn't shift into 6th gear. The sport manual is similar to the SMG (although not a great point of reference for most), it won't shift up unless you shift (via the stick or steering wheel paddles) but will downshift if you press the accelerator hard enough to click the floor button or if you are driving too slow for that particular gear. It matched revs on downshifts.
Well worth $500.

pennetta

In non-sport modes it won't stay in 6th because you are then way out of the power band, thats why it shifts to 5th by itself. With full manual sport mode it stays in 6th because it figures you will downshift when you need it.

MiamiPhill

You sure about that....... matching revs on downshift suggest throttle blips a-la SMG or VW/Audi's DSG which is not my experience driving my car in full manual mode.

pennetta

Mine does and I remember Rudy and others posting that his does too.

Richard in NC

I have noticed a rev match to downshifts when there is a large delta in RPM. It's not quite as pronounced a blip as SMG or as you can do with a manual.

Re no 6th gear in sport modes, obviously there is less punch in 6th than 5th, but I'd like the sport button to give the quicker throttle response and hold the gears longer but also to allow a 6th gear cruise, at least at speeds over 60mph. It would readily downshift to 5th if you punched it and needed the power, or using the paddles wtih the sport button on in "D" would allow a downshift or 2 to be ready for the acceleration. That's how I drove the M5 & 650i 6 speed manuals often. IE, sport mode but using all the gears, downshifting as needed. I guess I'll just use manual mode more frequently.

pennetta

I don't even like that in manual sport mode if you depress the accelerator hard enough it pushes the downshift button and downshifts for you, sometimes two gears. I was almost an expensive suppository into the car in front of me.

Rudy

As others have mentioned, I posted some extensive reviews on the SAT back in July when I got my car. The thread has become quite long but if you have the time, it's worth reading through it. The first post goes over the SAT a bit but I posted it before the car was broken in, etc. (I posted updates throughout the thread that keep adding additional information as I became more familiar with the car.)

Here's a link to one of the updates that addressed the SAT modes:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=456046

And here's a link to the entire thread:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=42608

(I think I posted some other stuff but will have to find it a bit later on...)