M135i sport plus mode

[jimbooo]

Hi all.

ive had my M135i since august 2013 and generally drive around in comfort or sport mode. i was thinking to myself the other day is there ever an occasion where you would want it in sport plus mode?

the obvious answer is "when you want to give it some beans and drive like a tt". however to my knowledge all it does is loosen up the traction control allowing wheel spin. now on track days or something fair enough but on the roads i cant imagine any occasion where you would want oversteer. in a manual maybe but in the 8 speed auto without the full control of a manual i can only imagine the sort of driving to induce oversteer would quickly result in a big mess of mangled metal.

so it then leads me to wonder, is there ever an occasion where sport plus would be the mode to select.

answers on a post card...

cheers

[jon-]

Plenty of people enjoy a bit of sliding on the road (not that I'd condone this), and sport plus gives you a bit of a safety net.

Not sure the manual is that much easier to drift than the auto, it just gives you a safety net of bailing out with the clutch, but on the flip side it's harder to change gear mid drift

Fast and furious.

On track you wouldn't use sport auto, you kill the traction control fully.

[0836whimper]

You see, this is what happens, you let 135i drivers post here and they start asking questions about why you need anything other than 'comfort' mode.

Can you re-post in the BMW section ? Seriously, that is the place for fuel economy and comfort mode discussions.

Thanks

[Rob747]

0836whimper said:

You see, this is what happens, you let 135i drivers post here and they start asking questions about why you need anything other than 'comfort' mode.

Can you re-post in the BMW section ? Seriously, that is the place for fuel economy and comfort mode discussions.

Thanks

Bit harsh mate, would it be ok if a new M3/M4 owner posted this in here then? Seeing as they have the same mode switch?

[0836whimper]

Rob747 said:

Bit harsh mate, would it be ok if a new M3/M4 owner posted this in here then? Seeing as they have the same mode switch?

Yes, that's fine.

[Palmball]

OP, I'd take some of the responses with a pinch of salt

Anyway, I find Sport+ very useful. Whilst it allows a little more slip, it's not a lot and certainly nothing that I can see would get you in any trouble.

Unlike a real ( sorry, couldn't resist) M-car which has MDM as the intermediary setting and which does let you go fully sideways if it's slippy enough, the M135i has Dynamic Traction Control (DTC, which is what is selected when you go into Sport+) just allows a bit more slip before reigning it all in. This additional bit of slip actually gives you more traction / forward thrust out of bends or junctions as it allows the tyres to do more work before the electronics take over. I much prefer the cars behaviour in DTC mode as it gives a great balance between movement and safety.

[Vladimir]

I think someone said the e-diff only activates in Sport Plus mode?

[Palmball]

The M135i doesn't have any kind of LSD / E-Diff (the latter being a proper mechanical LSD but controlled electronically). It has an open differential but the stability control is designed to mimic the effect of a diff and does so in all modes - not very well either as I find it can spin away too much power.

[jimbooo]

0836whimper said:

You see, this is what happens, you let 135i drivers post here and they start asking questions about why you need anything other than 'comfort' mode.

Can you re-post in the BMW section ? Seriously, that is the place for fuel economy and comfort mode discussions.

Thanks

taken with a pinch of salt! previously owned noble m12gto with no safety nets or electronic anything. im quite accustomed to driving "proper" sports cars.
my question was more about what the mode actually does.

[jimbooo]

Palmball said:

OP, I'd take some of the responses with a pinch of salt

Anyway, I find Sport+ very useful. Whilst it allows a little more slip, it's not a lot and certainly nothing that I can see would get you in any trouble.

Unlike a real ( sorry, couldn't resist) M-car which has MDM as the intermediary setting and which does let you go fully sideways if it's slippy enough, the M135i has Dynamic Traction Control (DTC, which is what is selected when you go into Sport+) just allows a bit more slip before reigning it all in. This additional bit of slip actually gives you more traction / forward thrust out of bends or junctions as it allows the tyres to do more work before the electronics take over. I much prefer the cars behaviour in DTC mode as it gives a great balance between movement and safety.

perfect answer and thanks for taking the time to explain.
i didnt realise that in sports plus after losing traction the DTC kicks in. i thought it just turned it all off.
in that case i will be using that mode all the time when the roads dry up.

thanks for the help

[copperman05]

Yes sports + is like a halfway house, traction off, but DTC on in case you get it all wrong. Probably the best most for spirited driving on the road.

[julians]

So, DTC doesnt allow as much slip as MDM mode then?

I always thought MDM mode was a bit conservative in my e92 m3, guess I'll be using no traction control at all in the m135i then.

[General Zod]

jimbooo said:

Hi all.

ive had my M135i since august 2013 and generally drive around in comfort or sport mode. i was thinking to myself the other day is there ever an occasion where you would want it in sport plus mode?

the obvious answer is "when you want to give it some beans and drive like a tt". however to my knowledge all it does is loosen up the traction control allowing wheel spin. now on track days or something fair enough but on the roads i cant imagine any occasion where you would want oversteer. in a manual maybe but in the 8 speed auto without the full control of a manual i can only imagine the sort of driving to induce oversteer would quickly result in a big mess of mangled metal.

so it then leads me to wonder, is there ever an occasion where sport plus would be the mode to select.

answers on a post card...

cheers

Bar motorway drives & busy areas I go for sport+ & DSC off as soon as car is warm.

Even in sport+ the electronics cut in pretty fast to me.

[jimbooo]

General Zod said:

Bar motorway drives & busy areas I go for sport+ & DSC off as soon as car is warm.

Even in sport+ the electronics cut in pretty fast to me.

TBH im not used to driving auto, im still not totally comfortable thrashing it about on the country lanes as it seems to change gear at the wrong time. especially when braking hard for a bend and powering out, it jumps down on the exit and lurches forward at the wrong time. im favoring using the paddels in manual mode for this type of drive. i think once i master the semi auto mode ill turn all aids off and should enjoy it more.

it doesnt help that the car was supplied with runflats so traction isnt as good as i hear it should be with the Supersports. cant wait till i wear them out and swop the tyres over.

[General Zod]

jimbooo said:

TBH im not used to driving auto, im still not totally comfortable thrashing it about on the country lanes as it seems to change gear at the wrong time. especially when braking hard for a bend and powering out, it jumps down on the exit and lurches forward at the wrong time. im favoring using the paddels in manual mode for this type of drive. i think once i master the semi auto mode ill turn all aids off and should enjoy it more.

it doesnt help that the car was supplied with runflats so traction isnt as good as i hear it should be with the Supersports. cant wait till i wear them out and swop the tyres over.

Mine is auto too- you've got to go full on (sport+, manual shift, DSC off) and really take it on for it to reveal the performance and fun factor. Mine is on winters which are run flat. They are poor when pressing on, but fun because grip ends so much earlier than Michelins. Enjoy it!

[Palmball]

julians said:

So, DTC doesnt allow as much slip as MDM mode then?

I always thought MDM mode was a bit conservative in my e92 m3, guess I'll be using no traction control at all in the m135i then.

I'd say it depends on the conditions - my experience of MDM varies considerably (and even in the same car!). It can therefore be very dangerous as you never quite know how it's going to react.

In the dry, it seems to work very similarly to DTC in the non-M cars, allowing a bit of slip (albeit more than DTC) but not outrageous angles and always reigning it in.

In the wet though it can actually let you spin the car - yep, it'll go right round with MDM on if, like me, you have found yourself a bit lethargic with the opposite lock. An unbelievable difference between wet and dry conditions. On a non-M car in DTC mode, it will always reign it in (subject to obvious laws of physics).

This has been my experience in both my e92 M3's, E63 M6 and now F12 M6....all the same. Thankfully, I am yet to spin the M6 but it's a bloody handful to reign in when it lets go, especially as there's so little room for error because the car's so big! The M-lite is a pussycat by comparison.

[Vladimir]

Cheers palmball - very interesting info!

[jon-]

Mdm can't overcome physics, if you get the car upset enough of course you can spin it. It's just in the wet the point of no return threshold is that much earlier.

Personally in mine I'd rather run all on or all off, at least that way you've a consistent platform without trying to second guess a computer!

[Palmball]

I guess my point in this thread is that DTC tends not to let the car go beyond the laws of physics, even in the wet. It allows a bit of slip, but nothing enough to get into trouble - it just helps you move on that bit quicker overall so for the average driver it's a great setting.

MDM is a very different prospect - it lets you go that bit further and, unlike DTC, it's consistency can vary dependent on the conditions so, if you're expecting that safety threshold all the time you can get into trouble. Like you say, it's not as consistent as either fully on or fully off settings and, when combined with the (very!) proactive E-Diffs on the latest F-series M-cars, it can make for a pretty challenging drive, especially when space is at a premium!

[0836whimper]

Have you tried the M-Performance mode ? It's great.
Basically you enable it by pressing the BMW General button when you have something to say about non M cars, type something about shopping trips or comfort settings, then hold down the submit button and then everyone lives happily ever after.