I think I read through all of this. I don't see where anyone has wired the progammable buttons to be a sport button. I want either the star or diamond button to be my sport button. I assume they pin out behind the CCC somewhere but those wiring diagrams may as well be written in Chinese.

 

I've been following this thread and i'm strongly considering doing this mod to my 06 530xi, but I have a couple questions.

I like to drive around in DS mode about 70 percent of the time, any advantages to use DS mode AND the sport mode button at the same time? What are the perks to just driving in normal D and hitting the Sport mode vs ONLY driving in DS mode?

 

I was the same way, used D/S the majority of the time. I never use it now, after having done this mod. Only in instances where I want to aggressively downshift through a couple of gears, but otherwise you don't need to use it in SPORT mode because it's the same, but better, IMHO.

 

So you never drive in D/S AND sport mode then? This may just be me but sometimes I feel like the car actually shifts quicker in DS mode then in manual

 

Mine came with the sport button. I use it around town for throttle response, and all of the positives noted on this post. If I want to get all out of the car I knock it over to DS with SPORT and I feel like there is a difference. Maybe in my head but it seems to turn the car into a complete beast. I use it for short runs because the shift points seem even higher than just SPORT and i burn a heck allot of fuel.

 

Just looked at the manual, and DS mode is for a "performance oriented driving style". The SPORT mode activated by the button is "For your BMW to react in a even more performance-oriented manner at the push of the button" Listed out - engine speed optimized, faster gear shifts, throttle response, steering response, 6 gear will not engage.

Not sure if both activated is better than just SPORT, but I think it seems to help when you want "even more"..

 

Does anyone know how I can wire the LED, I can see one lead (9) and where does the other one go?

 

Just connect the LED to ground and the LED pin, when you activate Sport mode it will light up.

 

Also, Sport Mode seems to be much, MUCH better than DS mode.

DS mode will hold gears for you, which means if you're in 1st and you push it, it will want to hold it until redline. However, a lot of the times I don't want to redline and I end up looking like an idiot trying to get the car to shift up (until I just use the steptronic to manually shift up)

With Sport Mode, the car will shift at around 4-6k RPM depending on how much you have the accelerator pushed. This is much more tame and really sounds neat when it does it as well (the engine sounds the best between 4-6k anyway).

The F10 does the same thing, except it still manages to shift faster. Either way, when I want to do sport driving, the FDC button is absolutely perfect.

 

For me, on highway Sport button = DS
BUT in city driving, smoother gear change and better response from throttle (from normal) - change up is at lower revs than DS.

E60, 2005, no Dynamic drive.