M engine dynamics: Buick mode vs Sport mode?

[RRGOO7]

Originally Posted by Heat00

this thread is ridiculous.

Learn how to drive or get rid of your m3.

I haven't seen a minivan run 12.7 in a while

You obviously havent seen this bad boy

[gorun]

I keep it ON, problem solved!

[BMWI6]

Originally Posted by Heat00

this thread is ridiculous.

Learn how to drive or get rid of your m3.

I haven't seen a minivan run 12.7 in a while

And i havent seen an m3 run 12.7 for a while either.

[JC919]

I thought the M button activated the flux capacitor.

[southlight]

Originally Posted by MachineDriver

Well its the same button (part) they put in the M5 & M6.

I don't think so:






Best regards, south

[Heat00]

lol, people here claim they have run 12.7 bone stock. I haven't been to the track yet so I don't know if it is true, however, I have seen confirmed times by road and track and car & driver at or very close to those times. Why don't you think with a good start and good conditions that the M3 can't run a 12.7 or darn close?

Originally Posted by BMWI6

And i havent seen an m3 run 12.7 for a while either.

[Dascamel]

With the right setup, probably low 12's now that people are posting more time slips.

[urbo73]

Originally Posted by MachineDriver

The power button is there for parts sharing and marketing. The normal setting provides the most control over the throttle travel. The sport and super sport settings are there so that the salesman can impress you with the "power" during your test drive. The sport and sport plus settings will in fact give you less control over throttle modulation.

I completely agree with this (minus the parts sharing since I don't know). I also tried the 3 settings, and now use the "normal" power mode. Before this car I had the Cayman S with the Sports Chrono and PASM options. Sports Chrono had a SPORT button that essentially did the same thing as the POWER button does on the M - it changed the throttle to be more sensitive to pedal movement. Some swore by it, while I found it useless after the fun/curiosity factor wore off. The argued benefit, and the only one that makes sense, is that for some drivers it makes heal and toe downshifting and matching revs easier, because you need to just tap the gas to rev match. So really it's less of a tap - a minor thing IMO. For me, I found that I like to use one throttle map, otherwise it's like driving two cars, and when you are at the limit you can mess yourself up. To truly master a car, it's very difficult to use two or three maps/responses. I guess some see this as a good thing, not me. IMO, "normal" mode gives you the most control over the throttle - the best modulation. Same with the Porsche, same with my M3.

PASM on the Porsche was the same thing as EDC. And with EDC, the only active suspension modes are "comfort" and "normal". "Sport" is passive. So I use "Normal" there too - street and future track as well.

So I set my key memory to be "Normal" for both POWER and EDC. And I do the same in M-Drive.

So what's left? DSC and the steering as M-Drive options. I wish the steering could be also set to key memory - it only makes sense. DSC is best left for the M-Drive and M button in case someone like your wife takes your car - you don't want MDM or DSC off tied to the key! Think lawsuits..

I set my M-Drive to MDM and steering to "Sport". So my throttle and damping doesn't change when I engage M button. And that would be at the track or when messing around/testing things on a non-event day.

So a bit off topic, but this is how I've set up my M. Ideally, like I said, the steering would be tied to the key memory, so I could use the M button just to change the DSC setting, the only thing I would ever do at any track.

[MachineDriver]

Originally Posted by southlight

I don't think so...

OK you're right no parts sharing. Concept sharing perhaps (but that's like taking an analogy a step too far).

[Sticky]

Originally Posted by BMWI6

And i havent seen an m3 run 12.7 for a while either.

From the two people who have gone to the strip so far both hit 12.7.

[Heat00]

amen....

[MysticBlue]

Originally Posted by urbo73

I completely agree with this (minus the parts sharing since I don't know). I also tried the 3 settings, and now use the "normal" power mode. Before this car I had the Cayman S with the Sports Chrono and PASM options. Sports Chrono had a SPORT button that essentially did the same thing as the POWER button does on the M - it changed the throttle to be more sensitive to pedal movement. Some swore by it, while I found it useless after the fun/curiosity factor wore off. The argued benefit, and the only one that makes sense, is that for some drivers it makes heal and toe downshifting and matching revs easier, because you need to just tap the gas to rev match. So really it's less of a tap - a minor thing IMO. For me, I found that I like to use one throttle map, otherwise it's like driving two cars, and when you are at the limit you can mess yourself up. To truly master a car, it's very difficult to use two or three maps/responses. I guess some see this as a good thing, not me. IMO, "normal" mode gives you the most control over the throttle - the best modulation. Same with the Porsche, same with my M3.

PASM on the Porsche was the same thing as EDC. And with EDC, the only active suspension modes are "comfort" and "normal". "Sport" is passive. So I use "Normal" there too - street and future track as well.

So I set my key memory to be "Normal" for both POWER and EDC. And I do the same in M-Drive.

So what's left? DSC and the steering as M-Drive options. I wish the steering could be also set to key memory - it only makes sense. DSC is best left for the M-Drive and M button in case someone like your wife takes your car - you don't want MDM or DSC off tied to the key! Think lawsuits..

I set my M-Drive to MDM and steering to "Sport". So my throttle and damping doesn't change when I engage M button. And that would be at the track or when messing around/testing things on a non-event day.

So a bit off topic, but this is how I've set up my M. Ideally, like I said, the steering would be tied to the key memory, so I could use the M button just to change the DSC setting, the only thing I would ever do at any track.

Totally agree. The only time I used the power button on my M coupe was at the track because it worked better for heel and toe downshifts. Other than that, it was too sensitive and made it harder to drive smoothly, whether I was cruising or driving aggresively. Now with DCT, no concern for heel and toe, so I don't forsee ever using sport mode, let alone sport+.
Spend any time at a track with an instructor and you will most likely never hear, "You need to press the peddles faster and more aggressively". You will most likely hear lots of, "Smooooooth. You need to be smoother. Don't overdrive it. Quick, but smooth." Can't speak to the 6MT, but in this particular car, with DCT, the power button is of no use to me. And it should not be labeled "power"... that's what causes all this misinformation. It should be labeled "throttle control sensitivity".

[urbo73]

Originally Posted by MysticBlue

Totally agree. The only time I used the power button on my M coupe was at the track because it worked better for heel and toe downshifts. Other than that, it was too sensitive and made it harder to drive smoothly, whether I was cruising or driving aggresively. Now with DCT, no concern for heel and toe, so I don't forsee ever using sport mode, let alone sport+.
Spend any time at a track with an instructor and you will most likely never hear, "You need to press the peddles faster and more aggressively". You will most likely hear lots of, "Smooooooth. You need to be smoother. Don't overdrive it. Quick, but smooth." Can't speak to the 6MT, but in this particular car, with DCT, the power button is of no use to me. And it should not be labeled "power"... that's what causes all this misinformation. It should be labeled "throttle control sensitivity".

TCS But that's not as catchy as "POWER!" I agree, and in fact, I think that the DSC button should have ON/MDM/OFF. Why just ON/OFF and MDM only in M-Drive? Again, they need that M steering wheel button to do something...In reality, even if you DO have 2 setups (street & spirited/track), do you really need an M button? Is it that hard and slow to press a few buttons if you want to change the setup at the track?

BMW is confusing in it's philosophy at times. Do they want less buttons and more menus via iDrive? I guess they did, and I liked it, but look at iDrive 09! More buttons near the knob! I like things to be consistent - one way or the other. Same with iDrive, same with POWER, EDC, DSC, etc. Either have buttons for all of them for all their stages/functions, or have them in iDrive and clean up the clutter! But then journalists (who I can never understand in this aspect) love to talk about how complicated iDrive is, etc., when in reality it's logical and simple. Give me iDrive or buttons (or even both), but make things consistent all the way around! I still don't get why the Servotronic setting is only in iDrive/Mdrive....

[Takumi587]

Originally Posted by MysticBlue

Totally agree. The only time I used the power button on my M coupe was at the track because it worked better for heel and toe downshifts. Other than that, it was too sensitive and made it harder to drive smoothly, whether I was cruising or driving aggresively. Now with DCT, no concern for heel and toe, so I don't forsee ever using sport mode, let alone sport+.
Spend any time at a track with an instructor and you will most likely never hear, "You need to press the peddles faster and more aggressively". You will most likely hear lots of, "Smooooooth. You need to be smoother. Don't overdrive it. Quick, but smooth." Can't speak to the 6MT, but in this particular car, with DCT, the power button is of no use to me. And it should not be labeled "power"... that's what causes all this misinformation. It should be labeled "throttle control sensitivity".

I agree.. In the old generation E46 M3 it was called the "Sport" button.

[96OCTNE]

Originally Posted by MMMorish

I'm not so sure about that. I definitely feel a difference in throttle response in power mode.

I agree, I definitely feel the difference when I hit the power button

[MysticBlue]

Originally Posted by 96OCTNE

I agree, I definitely feel the difference when I hit the power button

So what's your point? Do you still think you get more power out of your engine when you push the button? Do you think your car is going to go faster than mine if you have the button pushed and I don't? Do you still not understand that if you are holding the throttle at 20% and you push the button, the engine now sees 30% throttle position? To say you feel the difference in power when you push the button is like saying you feel the difference in power when you push the throttle from 20% to 30%... well duh. 100% throttle is still 100% throttle. 414 hp is still 414 hp. Push the button all you want, but do not imply that your car now makes more power. If you still don't comprehend after reading this entire thread, then there is nothing I can do for you.

[FStop7]

This thread delivers the funny. It's like I'm having flashbacks to the first few years the E46 M3 was out, when people would try to argue that the Sport button added horsepower.

Just to be clear: It does not. All the Power button does is increase the sensitivity of the gas pedal. It does not add power. It does not add power. It does not add power.

[urbo73]

Check out the link below. Although it's for the E46, same principle applies. Normal mode is more linear and allows for smoother throttle play/modulation. It seems to be the winner for me personally, though of course it's all user preference.

http://m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=123378

[lucid]

This thread keeps on repeating itself after every other 6-8 posts, and the same information/debate is presented over and over again (except for South's diagragms)...

[urbo73]

Originally Posted by lucid

This thread keeps on repeating itself after every other 6-8 posts, and the same information/debate is presented over and over again (except for South's diagragms)...

And your comment adds what value? Just FYI, even though some comments are repeated, there are also new comments. If you don't care for it, don't take up space!

[lucid]

Originally Posted by urbo73

And your comment adds what value? Just FYI, even though some comments are repeated, there are also new comments. If you don't care for it, don't take up space!

Why take my comment personally? I'm saying people should simply read the thread before repeating the same info over and over again. There's nothing wrong with that. If someone has something new to add, they should.

[rcornelius]

Originally Posted by Fiebrudo

Driving the car without the power button activated is a very disappointing experience. To the point I am tired of being outrun and passed all the time by every minivan in town!

Does everybody drive all the time with the Power button selected?

What is the point of not using the "Sport" power map? (mpg is dismal anyway!!!) increased engine longevity?

What about those M3s without the technology package and no power or M button, are these cars always in the sport power engine map-setting? or somewhere in between? How about "Sport plus"

Thanks,

(Fiebrudo, who is very disappointed with the Buick mode and tired of being manhandle by every octogenarian grandma and all US post office delivery truck in town when not driving in the sports power mode)

WHAT???? Mini Van....Are you afraid of the car?? Since you don't want to drive your M3 sell it and get you one of those sporty mini vans you refer to. Maybe some borla exhaust so you don't miss the purr of the M3. Oh thats right you never floor it to hear the purr. Just messing with you, damn if a mini van had out run me I damn sure would not be telling everyone on the M3 forum, come on. I've not had any mini van pull shit on me unless I want to let them out run me.