When One Presses The Sport Button..

[R26Andy]

It doesnt effect maximum acceleration, it just effects how quickley you get to maximum acceleration which is what your feel most. As bradders puts it "Jerk" lol

Rate of change of acceleration is how quickley the G force increases over time:

When the sports button is off it takes an extra split second to get you foot to the floor and get full throttle so g force climbs more gradually e.g. 0g>>0.5g>>0.75g>>1g. As the incremental changes are smaller it doesnt feel as fast although performance wise there is very little difference as it only takes a split second longer.

When the sports button is on you get almost instant full throttle as soon as you touch the pedal so g force climbs quickley e.g 0g>>1g. Your body gets the full shove all at once and it feels much faster!

Andy

 

[T1berious]

After trying some "sport button" action I found that it reduced the amount of pedal travel required, I guess that effectivly adjusts throttle response? :?

I think if we're honest on the M it's a bit more about marketing rather than adding any extra oomph to the driving experience.

Often seen people state for day to day driving it's not necessary, I kind of agree.

Unless my M is broken and everyone else's "sport" button acts like a "Turbo" button.

 

[Anonymous]

Rate of change of acceleration is how quickley the G force increases over time: Andy

so that is acceleration, acceleration then!

 

[aquazi]

I leave mine on sport most of the time... except when trying to do maneuvers/ parking - makes the steering wheel noticeably heavier.

 

[edgreen]

so that is acceleration, acceleration then!

Exactly.

Velocity is the rate of change of distance with respect to time.
Acceleration is the rate of change of Velocity with respect to time.
Jerk is the rate of change of Acceleration with respect to time.

Or more precisely, Jerk is the third derivative of distance with respect to time (Velocity being the first and Acceleration the second), where the capitalized terms are vector quantities.

Not sure what any of this has to do with the Sport button; I'm just a math geek.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm just a math geek.

errr.... that'll be "maths" then in English,
As a mathematician you should realise its plural, and is short for 'mathematics', so it ends in an 's' ....(Plural means more than 1 if, as a 'maths' geek, you still can't count).

However, if you are an American, you probably don't even say the 'th', 'st', 'rd' etc. on dates anymore, because films (movies - to you) seem to open on "August 17" whenever an American voice-over announces it nowadays

But it's "your bad" so to speak.....uurrghhh.......('mistake' in English)

Oh well, "stupid is, as stupid doe-is"

 

[Jembo]

Nah, it's none of the above... it's the button you use in the wet to get the traction control on earlier...

 

[krusty]

so that is acceleration, acceleration then!

Velocity is the rate of change of distance with respect to time.
Acceleration is the rate of change of Velocity with respect to time.
Jerk is the rate of change of Acceleration with respect to time.

On my Z4 (when you activate Sport mode ON), ... the acceleration function is neither smooth nor differentiable /// that fast.

 

[One Team]

All interesting comments lads. Seems to be it does precious little apart from making the throttle response a bit better.

I will try it and see if I notice anything. I wonder though how much of it is perception?

One Team

 

[Dav the wheel nut]

All interesting comments lads. Seems to be it does precious little apart from making the throttle response a bit better.

I will try it and see if I notice anything. I wonder though how much of it is perception?

One Team

If you don't notice the difference then I would suggest it aint working

 

[jimbo1958]

All interesting comments lads. Seems to be it does precious little apart from making the throttle response a bit better.

I will try it and see if I notice anything. I wonder though how much of it is perception?

One Team

If you don't notice the difference then I would suggest it aint working

Agreed.

 

[Jimmy Gee]

To be honest the difference is noticeable but its that insignificant it might as well just be in sport mode all the time.

 

[ZED_NOT_ZEE]

To be honest the difference is noticeable but its that insignificant it might as well just be in sport mode all the time.

Depends on the car. Us SMG folks would like some lazy shifts sometimes, especially in residential areas. Banging out fast shifts and throttle blips when going 15mph is just a bit silly. I'm sure the Auto 2.5i folks would also like to be able to use their 5th gear too which they can't if Sport mode was always on.

 

[laser402]

I find it increases throttle response alot and makes the steering alot heavier which is good until you come to park, then I turn it off

 

[hype]

I find for a decent drive you need sport on and DTC off - but if you're just pootling round town leave as is.

By default, DTC is always off. DTC is only intended to be on if you are driving in snow and need extra traction (activated by briefly pressing the DTC button).

Presumably you mean DSC OFF (which happens if you press and hold the DTC button for 3 seconds: this leaves DTC off as per usual, and switches off DSC).

Switching off DSC when you have had the car for 1 week (as per OP) is not very wise, unless you like the back swinging out and ... ending up in a tree. Then you can admire the pictures you posted to Z4-forum, and think of the happy but brief moments you shared together.

Yes, you're right I mean DTC "on", I always get that a little muddled - but I'm not convinced it's only for extreme driving conditions. In BMW's own words "DTC increases slip at the driven wheels in order to ensure optimum traction on any surface".

I find that DSC cut's power over cautiously - for example when I'm exiting a corner despite knowing there's still plenty of traction to be had, whereas DTC will allow some wheel-spin. Each to their own of course, I just feel more in control with it on.

 

[IAHphotog]

When I first got my 2003 3.0 Auto I'd push the Sport button to get that extra kick in the pants. I quickly found though that just pressing the Sport button wasn't giving me the quickest acceleration. Now I press the Sport button AND the DSC button for 3 or so seconds to completely shut off traction control. Yes I have a tiny bit of wheel spin, but only when flooring it in 1st n 2nd while going around a corner (I have 18" ellipsoids, maybe 17" are worse). I use this set up whenever driving in fast traffic, but revert back to normal driving for country roads and highway.

 

[Bing]

I fell in love with the Z at the Dartford tolls late one summer evening 4 years ago on a test drive, auto box in manual, Sport on and DSC off, both windows down - as the barrier went up I floored it, very nearly sh1t myself and didn't stop grinning for days - and that was 'only' a 3.0 Si Sport, so I can only imagine the experience in an M... 3 weeks ago I test drove the car I now own - it felt a bit more pedestrian than my memories, then I remembered The Button. Nearly sh1t myself again the first time, but now I just grin. Permanently