Sports Chrono - increased torque??

[telford_mike]

I always thought that the revised throttle map that 'sport' mode enables only gave a perception of increased engine performance.

Porsche now seem to be saying that it actually increases torque. Here's their current advert for retrofitting:

"The new Sport mode Tequipment packages, which are available to retro fit on sports cars without the Sport Chrono Package, activates Porsche control systems to intentionally shift towards greater agility and driving performance.

With the 'Sport' mode selected, Porsche Stability Management (PSM) interventions take place later than in 'normal' mode allowing you to manoeuvre the car with greater agility at its performance limits. For Porsche models equipped with Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK), the 'Sport Plus' mode activates a launch control function ensuring maximum acceleration.

Both functions involve remapping the engine management software to increase the torque and performance, however, since these have been exclusively designed and tested by the Porsche engineers at Weissach, your Porsche warranty remains completely unchanged with the fitment of Sport mode or Sport Plus mode at our Porsche Centre.

SPORT mode (manual and PDK vehicles): £695 inc. VAT and fitment"


So what do we think? Is this Porsche being a bit creative, or does sport mode really increase torque?

http://www.porschehost.com/newsarticle.asp?opc=29&...

[Deanos CaymanS]

My understanding is that Sports Chrono gives a torque boost on a Turbo? Maybe they have generalised in the marketing hype.
From my own experiences, the sharper throttle certainly makes the car feel more responsive and therefore feel quicker/more accelerative but some unscientific testing in a couple of rolling acceleration runs suggest no difference in actual performance on a Cayman S.

[Durzel]

I'm probably being a bit slow but does this £695 inc VAT cost actually add full Sports Chrono to cars that don't have it, or is it some lite Sports Chrono concession for us plebs that didn't spec it in the first place?

(I know Sports Chrono is different to Sports Chrono Plus - which comes with the dial on the dash)

[telford_mike]

Durzel said:

I'm probably being a bit slow but does this £695 inc VAT cost actually add full Sports Chrono to cars that don't have it, or is it some lite Sports Chrono concession for us plebs that didn't spec it in the first place?

(I know Sports Chrono is different to Sports Chrono Plus - which comes with the dial on the dash)

As I understand it, it's the Full Monty, minus the clock on the dash.

[MDT48]

Durzel said:

(I know Sports Chrono is different to Sports Chrono Plus - which comes with the dial on the dash)

Wrong - both Sport Chrono and Sport Chrono Plus come with the wart, I mean dial on the dash if specced from new.

The difference is that Sport Chrono Plus is for cars that also have PCM for some extra functionality that I never once used when I had it on my 911

It's interesting that Porsche is saying it increases torque when I was of the opinion that it did no such thing, except on the Turbo thanks to the limited-time over-boost feature.

It also says that it "adjusts the rev limiter to a higher setting", which also isn't true. As far as I'm aware it simply activates a hard limiter that you can bounce off if you choose to.

The common misconception is that Sport mode increases throttle response, when in fact it doesn't. What it does is reduce the amount of pedal travel needed for a given amount of throttle, which I find a little pointless, since you get used to pedal travel in a matter of minutes behind the wheel of a car. Some argue that it makes heel-and-toe downshifts easier, but I don't find that any harder on my Cayman R than I did on my 911 which had Sport Chrono.

That whole page does seem to be intentionally vague.

Edited by MDT48 on Friday 24th June 11:58

[rimkah]

Throttle response improves by 20%

Torque increase on turbo for 10sec to 502 ft-lb

[TryHarder]

MDT48 said:

The common misconception is that Sport mode increases throttle response

What is 'Throttle Response' if it’s not the responsiveness of the vehicle to any given movement of the throttle, by that rationale if you don't have to move the throttle as far to achieve the vehicle response you have increased the throttle responsiveness surely?

[MDT48]

TryHarder said:

What is 'Throttle Response' if it’s not the responsiveness of the vehicle to any given movement of the throttle, by that rationale if you don't have to move the throttle as far to achieve the vehicle response you have increased the throttle responsiveness surely?

Throttle response is how quickly the engine reacts to throttle inputs, no matter how far the pedal is depressed. It has nothing to do with how far the pedal travels or doesn't travel. How much fuel you're injecting at a given level of pedal travel is irrelevant to throttle response - it's how quickly the engine reacts REGARDLESS of what you're feeding it.

There will be absolutely no discernible difference in time between you depressing the pedal an inch or an inch and a half. Basically your right foot will become accustomed to the required degree of pedal travel and instantly depress as much as necessary.

[Durzel]

There's also the placebo effect too. You press a button labelled "Sport" on the dash, the loud pedal seems to be more responsive (even though you would never ordinarily criticise it anyway) and suddenly you feel like you're going faster.

[MDT48]

Durzel said:

There's also the placebo effect too. You press a button labelled "Sport" on the dash, the loud pedal seems to be more responsive (even though you would never ordinarily criticise it anyway) and suddenly you feel like you're going faster.

Very true!

The long and short of it (excuse the pun) is that Sport mode injects more fuel into the engine at a given level of pedal travel. But, and it's a big but, the engine does not respond any quicker to that injection of fuel.

For me, the best part of the Sport mode is the watered down PSM. If you're not confident enough to switch PSM off completely, it allows you to have a little bit of fun at the limits of grip, while maintaining a safety net.

[Callughan]

Having a more reactive throttle, makes it better on track and ducking and diving through traffic.

There was a chart somewhere of how the torque curve changed.

[TryHarder]

All I know is in my car when I hit the throttle in 'Sport' the car reacts differently than with it off, so in my seemingly ignorant world the car has responded differently to the same control I pressed that being the throttle.

[telford_mike]

[CUE 99T]

My turbo when you press sport feels very sharp and the pedal actually feels like it sits in a different position. The take off delivery is sharper and there is a dullness that kicks in when you take the button off. I also usually have the sports suspension go on at the same time and it makes it much bumpier and rougher handling on road but track it is brilliant. I'm not sure about engine noise, maybe thats just plaecbo but it does seem throatier at higher revs and louder, but then again I might be wrong and it could be just outside noise.

HTH.

[MDT48]

telford_mike said:

And what that graph is showing is that the only thing changing is the percentage of pedal travel.

Speak to a Porsche technician or engineer, they'll freely admit to you that throttle response isn't changing, just the amount of pedal travel.

If pedal travel were the key to great throttle response then cars would be hitting WOT within the first inch or so of travel. But the shorter the pedal travel, the more digital the throttle application becomes, when what you want is a tactile, analogue experience.

I'll admit that a car requiring too much pedal travel to achieve a decent level of throttle would be a problem, but Porsches simply don't fall into that category.

Ultimately, I don't have a problem with Sport mode, I had it on my 911 and drove pretty much everywhere with it on, mainly because it also activated the sports exhaust. What I'm saying is that it shouldn't have a perceivable difference to your driving experience because your right foot will naturally adapt to how much pressure is needed.