NoQuarter

There is a difference. DS mode won't affect the steering yet does affect the shift points.

Sport mode affects the steering, gas pedal response

I'm not sure about max rev point shifting. Havn't had many dry roads to play too much and really learn the differences.

NavarroOne

Have you noticed anything on suspension?

I'm thinking to put together a comprehensive summary of the changes between standard and SAT so if you can test out shift point differences between DS, Sport, and DS+Sport, even if only 1st and 2nd gear, it would be much appreciated.

Expressway verification of which mode will allow upshift to 6th and which will not would be great, when weather allows....

Wpg550

Ok, now I'm trying to figure out how I can pull this info together on mine where I think I have have "full" functionality ('sport' indicator on dash, etc.) Probably get a friend to video the cluster while driving??

Anyway -- on a couple of the points:

6th Gear -- neither DS or sport should shift into 6th (even without SAT, DS mode will stop at 5th gear)
1st -> 2nd in "Normal" mode -- how did you test this? My car will only start in 2nd gear in normal mode

Ditto on the higher speed testing... need to wait until the snow's all melted

NoQuarter

Nothing in the written documentation indicates there should be any affect on the suspension. In any case, I don't have any type of active suspension so there would not be any affect on mine.

kreveta

My car has Dynamic drive option and my suspension feels stiffer in DS mode (even without SAT yet). It may be a placebo effect though. It's not documented - at least I can't find a mention about it for E60. But Dynamic drive is standard for sport package (contrary to the fact that it's not even available for M5) and based on how this technology works it should be technically capable of enhancing (stiffing) the rolling.

Anyone has Dynamic drive too on his/her car?

NavarroOne

Yesterday I went to a BMW dealer to test drive a 2008 535D E60 which was surprisingly basic in equipment but had the SAT option - hat's off to whomever originally purchased that car; he wanted muscle and sport and then skimped on all the other niceties which in Denmark cost a fortune with 200+% envy tax on options. Ok, back on point. The car looked and felt 100% original so I am quite certain this was also a factory SAT install. So on to the specific 5 points I made above where I thought my SAT had an issue:

1. There is a "sport" indicator in the instrument cluster on the LCD display - I somehow recall that it was not on the LCD but rather a fixed green indication on mine when it worked earlier, but I'm probably mistaken! So here I can conclude my car has a coding error.
2. The car will upshift at the rev limiter regardless whether sport and DS are engaged. Same behavior as my modified car, ergo it is not an error and WPG550 may recollect wrongly; subject to further comment from WPG550.
3. There is no easily discernible difference in shift points (RPM, when throttle feathered) between DS, Sport or DS+Sport. Same behavior as my modified car, ergo it is not an error.
4. Car will not upshft to sixth gear when in DS, Sport or DS+Sport. Same behavior as my modified car, ergo it is not an error.
5. Steering modification in Sport is somewhat heavier than normal, but not as rock heavy as my modified car. Bonus to the "wrong" update I have; I like that a lot better than the factory option though I suspect most other drivers would disagree with me.

So, in summary, the only "defects" that my SAT coding now has, are down to absense of "sport" indicator on the LCD and meantime, the heavy steering feel in sport mode is heavier than the factory option setting. On this basis I'll conclude that my SAT works just like I want it to and I'm not missing out on anything now.

I'll be seat-of-my-pants testing differences in the shift feel between when sport is engaged, versus DS, versus sport+DS. This will not be at feathered throttle (using cruise control) but rather with a lively right foot. Anecdotally I've occasionally perceived a more abrupt gearshift when sport+DS was engaged; sometimes even dunking me in the back and making a louder shift noise than usually. My wife would want to avoid this type of shifting and I generally get a grin on my face when it happens.

NavarroOne

OK I definetely recollected wrong as far as the instrument cluster sport indication is concerned.. Funny how the human memory works! It was not a green fixed indicator; rather it is indeed just text on the LCD display as shown in the attached picture.

NavarroOne

SAT vs RegAuto box.pdfOK did a bit of research on the internet today as well as a good 1-hour testdrive to test out the various points I was uncertain of. I've tried to summarize what I know about how the regular and the sportsautomatic transmissions are supposed to work as well as what the Sport and DS modes respectively mean.

NavarroOne

Seperate note, I remain annoyed that I cannot force a downshift to 1st before 2nd gear revs have dropped to around 2000 rpm; one could hope this had been fixed by a software upgrade but I guess BMW is playing it very safe viz warranty commitments. I love the SAT which is amazing in its shift speed and smoothness but the nannying on automatic upshifts when in manual mode, albeit only at redline, coupled with the relatively low rpm allowed for downshifts still clearly robs me of a feeling that I am in as much control as I would be with a proper manual transmission.

NoQuarter

I don't think I have that problem with shifting down to 1st while above 2000 rpm. I'll test it out.