silver50

My father and I visited our local dealer today and drove a 2014 300h F Sport

My father had limited knowledge but had noticed the Sport having suspension setting capability.

We were handed a GS brochure. I saw a paragraph basically making out you could set the damper setting. It also mentioned the Sport+ mode but as though this was a separate feature. This is where it got confusing not least because our salesperson couldn't help much. A brand new car in the showroom had a word beside the circular controller (beside the Sport+ setting button) suggesting making a setting (I am sorry I forget the exact word, lets say "adjustment" for the sake of argument). Our slightly older car did not have this word. The salesperson agreed.

Do the very latest car's actually let you vary or choose how you would like the dampers set? It appeared the car we drove really only had the Sport+ button which obviously stiffened/tightened up the chassis.

I'm just a bit puzzled by it, particularly in relation to the brochure. Thanks for input on it

Scott

JDR76

Not sure if it's the same for the UK models, but here in the US, the 16 F Sports come with a "Customize" setting. Is that what you saw?

I believe it lets you create a new mode where you could, for example, have the suspension and engine in Sport mode, but leave the steering in normal.

In '13-15 F Sports, the settings are as follows:

ECO
NORM
SPORT - (puts engine in Sport mode)
SPORT S+ - (puts steering, engine, and suspension in sport mode)

silver50

Yes, "customise" that was it! Thanks

So, from what your're saying this wouldn't really let you choose how soft or firm you would like the dampers (even although the brochure suggested this)?

silver50

I just rung my Dad to ask him what the brochure says

"under the skin AVS lets you adjust damper performance to suit the drive and adds an extra Sport+ setting to the drive mode"

Not sure it's true, but it does suggest being able to set the dampers!

Lakersfan

iTrader: (1)

I think whats its saying is you can adjust the dampening by going into sport+. Not a separate feature

silver50

Yes, I do see what you mean (and I suspect you're right) but in conjunction with the "customise" script, the brochure did suggest to me both being able to "adjust the dampers to suit the drive" AND "adds a Sport+ setting" too as if they were separate things

JDR76

There are only two adjustments/settings to the suspension - normal, and sport.

mrpink13

its because they are two separate things. Adjusting the dampers means putting them in sport or normal mode.

meant to put that in all caps for effect

silver50

Having had a BMW with EDC (Electronic damper control- this lets you select comfort, normal, sport or Sport+)

http://www.bmw.com/com/en/insights/technology/technology_guide/articles/electronic_damper_control.html

this was what appeared to be offered when I read "adjust damper performance to suit the drive"

It appears this is obviously not the case and I accept that. I would say that there is really only a single setting to choose. This could have been described more clearly in the sales brochure.

Afrosheen

From a technical perspective, the sport+ setting activates the shock tower servos that literally screw down the shock rod, tightening the suspension and preloading the springs. Tein had similar tech for decades with their EDFC controller and coil over setup. http://www.tein.com/products/edfc.html

It's easy to spot under the hood as the servos are wired and bolted to the top of the shocks under the hood. Strangely, the F models are missing this feature.

silver50

Many thanks Afrosheen, that is interesting

On a positive note the GS sport ride quality seemed pretty good in normal mode, especially with 19" wheels.

My father does a lot of city driving and our city centre roads are pretty poor here in Edinburgh, Scotland. The dealership was on the outskirts of the city so the drive was on relatively smooth surfaces, however I suspect the ride quality would be pretty acceptable on rougher surfaces. I imagine the sport is probably a bit firmer than the others but on the other hand it may not be that much different in normal mode. We prefer the look and interior of the sport

Afrosheen

Yeah, I never thought a black headliner would become a requirement but after owning an F-Sport for a few years I really like it.