Too lazy to look in the three inch books!!!
03-02-08, 10:12 PM
#1
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Too lazy to look in the three inch books!!!
Gentlemen,
On a 99 LS, fully loaded, what exacty does the button that is marked: Econ, Sport, Snow??? more to the point, the sport mode, what does it do to the car?? I have been waiting to post this all weekend, but ran into a stunning German Blonde, and had lunch, then....... well children read, so for the children, we just had expresso.
.
Any ideas as to what happens when I use the Sport switch????
On a 99 LS, fully loaded, what exacty does the button that is marked: Econ, Sport, Snow??? more to the point, the sport mode, what does it do to the car?? I have been waiting to post this all weekend, but ran into a stunning German Blonde, and had lunch, then....... well children read, so for the children, we just had expresso.
.Any ideas as to what happens when I use the Sport switch????
03-03-08, 04:57 AM
#3
To be untechnical.
Sport = For sport driving,.. more repsonsive throttle, stays in higher rpm range for this effect.
Econ = Is Economy, The money saving, gas saving mode.
Snow = For driving in slick conditions,.. Very low RPM bands, early shifting, and so forth.. for maximum traction. (Some people like this setting in heavy traffic).
As pure said it is just a little button that tells your transmission (gear box) how to behave.
Sport = For sport driving,.. more repsonsive throttle, stays in higher rpm range for this effect.
Econ = Is Economy, The money saving, gas saving mode.
Snow = For driving in slick conditions,.. Very low RPM bands, early shifting, and so forth.. for maximum traction. (Some people like this setting in heavy traffic).
As pure said it is just a little button that tells your transmission (gear box) how to behave.
03-03-08, 08:32 AM
#5
There is no difference in Take-off from a stop.
It is Electronically controlled Transmission (timing). All this does is change the synch points at which the transmission will shift, or not, into and out of a gear.
Example. In normal mode, it will very quickly shift to the top gear, 4th.
In a Power, or sport mode it will hang onto the lower gear for longer... 3rd, 2nd, or whatever it might be.
Scenario: You are cruising down the highway at X mph. In Power/Sport mode the transmission will quickly shift down a gear on the throttle response,.. or hang onto 3rd so the 'power' and torque are readily available to pass, or whatnot.
You have to be somewhat aware of how your transmission feels to determine the difference. Turn off your radio, windows up.. and switch between them and notice the rate at which the gears shift, watch the RPM gauge for how long the vehicle holds it in X gear before making a shift.
Some people intuitively think this adds extra horsepower to the vehicle, when in fact it does not. This is totally limited to your transmission.
This is why it has no effect on say a 0-60 take off speed/time.
You can make the car downshift at any speed by flooring the gas pedal. If you slam the pedal from a stop in either mode the car is going to hold gears and get to X speed as fast as it possibly can.
It is a handy option, but isn't like a turbo boost or NOS button like some of us want it to be
Also, the normal driving habits are learned in your 'normal' mode. So if you drive rather agressively the normal mode might not be *that* much different than your Power mode. (Just of note: the power mode and sport are ROM memory that are not changed over time).
Hope that makes sense. I rarely use my Power mode, and only do so when I am in need of a sensitive Transmission.
Another example is some like to put it in 'snow' mode for heavy traffic, which makes things more 'smooth' in such situations. (I don't have that option on my 94, but it makes sense)
It is Electronically controlled Transmission (timing). All this does is change the synch points at which the transmission will shift, or not, into and out of a gear.
Example. In normal mode, it will very quickly shift to the top gear, 4th.
In a Power, or sport mode it will hang onto the lower gear for longer... 3rd, 2nd, or whatever it might be.
Scenario: You are cruising down the highway at X mph. In Power/Sport mode the transmission will quickly shift down a gear on the throttle response,.. or hang onto 3rd so the 'power' and torque are readily available to pass, or whatnot.
You have to be somewhat aware of how your transmission feels to determine the difference. Turn off your radio, windows up.. and switch between them and notice the rate at which the gears shift, watch the RPM gauge for how long the vehicle holds it in X gear before making a shift.
Some people intuitively think this adds extra horsepower to the vehicle, when in fact it does not. This is totally limited to your transmission.
This is why it has no effect on say a 0-60 take off speed/time.
You can make the car downshift at any speed by flooring the gas pedal. If you slam the pedal from a stop in either mode the car is going to hold gears and get to X speed as fast as it possibly can.
It is a handy option, but isn't like a turbo boost or NOS button like some of us want it to be
Also, the normal driving habits are learned in your 'normal' mode. So if you drive rather agressively the normal mode might not be *that* much different than your Power mode. (Just of note: the power mode and sport are ROM memory that are not changed over time).
Hope that makes sense. I rarely use my Power mode, and only do so when I am in need of a sensitive Transmission.
Another example is some like to put it in 'snow' mode for heavy traffic, which makes things more 'smooth' in such situations. (I don't have that option on my 94, but it makes sense)
03-03-08, 10:14 AM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
Using the "Snow" mode is kinda nice when the roads are covered in snow (imagine that!). It basically makes the gas pedal mushy to respond - helps prevent the wheels from spinning from too much gas, and when the wheels spin, the traction control kicks in & limits the power delivery.
On the snow covered roads around my neighborhood I had a blast with the traction control... try to push the car too hard and it beeps back at you like "hey - knock it off!"
The roads were so slick that I actually had the car drifting sideways - it was fun even though the computer wasn't too happy...haha.
On the snow covered roads around my neighborhood I had a blast with the traction control... try to push the car too hard and it beeps back at you like "hey - knock it off!"
The roads were so slick that I actually had the car drifting sideways - it was fun even though the computer wasn't too happy...haha.
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03-03-08, 11:49 AM
#8
Using the "Snow" mode is kinda nice when the roads are covered in snow (imagine that!). It basically makes the gas pedal mushy to respond - helps prevent the wheels from spinning from too much gas, and when the wheels spin, the traction control kicks in & limits the power delivery.
On the snow covered roads around my neighborhood I had a blast with the traction control... try to push the car too hard and it beeps back at you like "hey - knock it off!"
The roads were so slick that I actually had the car drifting sideways - it was fun even though the computer wasn't too happy...haha.
On the snow covered roads around my neighborhood I had a blast with the traction control... try to push the car too hard and it beeps back at you like "hey - knock it off!"
The roads were so slick that I actually had the car drifting sideways - it was fun even though the computer wasn't too happy...haha.
03-03-08, 12:39 PM
#9
i love blondes.
i put the snow mode on when i bring my car to the valets. i used to valet, we raced all the time. S600s, CL55AMGs, Brabus ML5s, Scooby WRXs, M3s, M5s, 911s, S4s, LeSabres, Devilles, Tauruses, Explorers, Expeditions.
360s were kept in front.
i put the snow mode on when i bring my car to the valets. i used to valet, we raced all the time. S600s, CL55AMGs, Brabus ML5s, Scooby WRXs, M3s, M5s, 911s, S4s, LeSabres, Devilles, Tauruses, Explorers, Expeditions.
360s were kept in front.
03-03-08, 01:21 PM
#10
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On a 98 and up car it is much more separated in different levels. Those cars have drive by wire and the throttle response is much faster in pwr as well as lowering the throttle load % causing downshifts to happen faster.
Snow mode is also much less throttle output by atleast 40% meaning it will never go wide open unless it drive for more than a few seconds with no slipping detected. Also starts in 2nd gear and retards the timing . Also makes the threshold for the vsc send alarm bells less often as it knows you are already aware of the situation by switching into snow mode.
Snow mode is also much less throttle output by atleast 40% meaning it will never go wide open unless it drive for more than a few seconds with no slipping detected. Also starts in 2nd gear and retards the timing . Also makes the threshold for the vsc send alarm bells less often as it knows you are already aware of the situation by switching into snow mode.
03-03-08, 06:12 PM
#11
I noticed on the highway. IN sport mode, the torque converter unlocks a lot faster. It will change gears sooner at the same throttle input where in Normal mode it would keep it in gear. I cannt say that the difference is felt much in lower gears, say 1-4. Compared to my girls 08 A4 turbo with 6s-speed.. SPort mode is very agressive, it will hold gears 1-4 up till 3-4000 rpm. Sometimes I think its a bit too much, but in a 4 cyl car with a turbo it works very well.
I would have loved it if the Sport mode made the shifts firmer and held the gears maybe an extra 500 rpm. I also wonder if GS400/430 got a sportier maping in Sport mode.
I would have loved it if the Sport mode made the shifts firmer and held the gears maybe an extra 500 rpm. I also wonder if GS400/430 got a sportier maping in Sport mode.
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