2016 Sport Transmission how to question?

[MegaCleanCab]

So, I have the transmission in Sport Mode. I know I am going to pass someone so I use the paddles to downshift, it down shifts but stays in that gear. Is there a better way to get the transmission into automatically shifting sport mode other than moving the lever to drive and back down to sport again?

Thanks,

Lee

 

[peterk9]

In a situation like that I just press down on the accelerator to kick it into 'Passing Gear' and hang on for dear life. I'm guessing that accomplishes the same thing. Never use the paddles but I'm sure some one who does may have the answer you're looking for.

Peter

 

[xlt03]

I believe when you switch to sport mode, it will in the gear you were at in automatic mode until you use paddle shifter to shift down a gear or two. Some of us older guys (me included) stomped on the gas peddle to downshift to passing gear. We only had 3 gears to pick from. If you are already in sport mode you shift down to pass and then up shift with the paddles.afterwards., kinda of like stick shift cars. I tend to use sport mode to down shift to lower gear for goimg down hills. The older cars had P, R, N, D, 2, 1 and later P, R, N, D1, D2, 2, 1 and we had to shift to desired gear - by going to sport mode in the Explorer it gives us the ability to do it electronically. I'm sure others will chime in on tis.

 

[bdginmo]

Just to be clear...when in S it starts out as S-auto, but when you use the paddle shifters for the first time it goes into S-manual. The question is how do you go from S-manual back to S-automatic without the annoyance of selecting D and then back to S again? I don't know, but am curious myself.

 

[kmarnes]

From personal experience (Sport/Platinum only), I find if you punch the gas pedal too aggressively while already moving at a normal speed, the acceleration can be significantly delayed and jarring. An amount of subtlety when pressing down the gas pedal results in a better overall experience. To me it feels like a poor combination of ECU timings, downshifting with a 6-speed, and turbo lag. But I think when you goose it too hard, the turbos get flooded with fuel (cooling effect) that makes the lag worse than if you do it more gradually... if that makes sense.

When in sport mode, it seems a little better, but it can still happen. This is never a problem when you goose it from a standstill.

I generally don't use the paddle shifters -- technically all they do is request a downshift/upshift and will only do so if you are within the designated RPM range for that gear. I do use them when going down a mountain after skiing to keep my speeds slower so I'm not braking.

These are problems that the much more expensive Audi SQ5/Q7 don't have (Q7 is supercharged though, so not relevent). SQ5 is the most similar with a twin turbo, but has virtually no lag -- superior ECU programming and ZF-8 transmission. I always wished the Explorer had a ZF-8. It would have made a world of difference, even though the new 10-speeds are upcoming on some other models, I'm sure they'll eventually make their way to Explorer too. But I still think ZF-8 with the right programming would be the perfect sweet spot.

 

[613GT500]

There's no real advatage to drop into Sport mode while rolling.
If you are stomping on it from a dead stop, then yes, Sport mode will hold the gears longer.
If you are passing someone, either WOT by mashing the peddle or just down shift with the paddle (without going into Sport) mode and let the vehicle upshift automatically again.

 

[Napalm]

well one other thing though - in sport mode remember that it adapts values in the ECU and TCU. So throttle ramp, cam timing adjustments (depending on your engine) and spark movements are adjusted to be more aggressive. SO are clutch relese times, line pressures and the like. So if you're in sport mode it will respond faster and more aggressively. Which is why when I drive the car I put it in there some times.

Also IIRC on the sport it also kicks the AWD ratio over to 60/40 front rear - as a starting point. IIRC.

TO that end - pressing the paddles is probably worse because it induced a safety delay in the trans functions unless the car is put into sport mode first. AGAIN - IIRC. I know in other cars that was done on purpose so the owner didn't casually flick the paddle and drop 2 gears while not moving the pedal down and inadvertently lagging the car - or worse with pedal in transition to full floor flick the paddle expecting it to jump down into gear and roll out. again there is a safety delay built into using the paddles.

I say flick it to sport mode while driving (something I do often) and it first drops a gear on it's own - if already in overdrive (6th or 5th) and readies the car for spirited driving.

 

[Eric F]

As I understand it, once you shift to S-mode, and manually select a gear, you are locked in to manual shifting until you reset it by shifting out of S-mode. I will use S-mode (automatic) from time to time when I need a quicker jump off the line, but I find the temporary manual gear selection offered by using the paddles in D-mode to serve my needs most of the time.

 

[PapaGary]

But I think when you goose it too hard, the turbos get flooded with fuel (cooling effect) that makes the lag worse than if you do it more gradually... if that makes sense..

No, it doesn't. There is only air going through the turbo. Fuel is injected directly into the cylinders "downstream" of the turbo. That's how turbochargers work.

 

[kmarnes]

well one other thing though - in sport mode remember that it adapts values in the ECU and TCU. So throttle ramp, cam timing adjustments (depending on your engine) and spark movements are adjusted to be more aggressive. SO are clutch relese times, line pressures and the like. So if you're in sport mode it will respond faster and more aggressively. Which is why when I drive the car I put it in there some times.

Also IIRC on the sport it also kicks the AWD ratio over to 60/40 front rear - as a starting point. IIRC.

TO that end - pressing the paddles is probably worse because it induced a safety delay in the trans functions unless the car is put into sport mode first. AGAIN - IIRC. I know in other cars that was done on purpose so the owner didn't casually flick the paddle and drop 2 gears while not moving the pedal down and inadvertently lagging the car - or worse with pedal in transition to full floor flick the paddle expecting it to jump down into gear and roll out. again there is a safety delay built into using the paddles.

I say flick it to sport mode while driving (something I do often) and it first drops a gear on it's own - if already in overdrive (6th or 5th) and readies the car for spirited driving.

Yeah Napalm, what you say matches my experiences as well. Everything in this car is electronic settings -- sport vs regular mode, paddle shifting requests, even traction controls. In the end, everything you touch electronically feeds into the ECU and that determines how the car behaves.

It is basically impossible to do something particular wrong or harsh, and the car will automatically shift to prevent you from doing the wrong thing, and sport mode is noticeably more responsive. There are some extremely stupid things you can try to do to this car that are cringeworthy but handled gracefully. Examples including throwing the car in park/reverse while driving at speed, turning off the car while at freeway speeds, etc. Ironically with push button start, if you have a real emergency and need to turn off the car, you can hold the start button for 3 seconds to accomplish that. I'll link one of the videos I watched.



But like I said earlier, sometimes the car doesn't do a great job predicting what you want it to do and the worst thing is when you floor it suddenly and the car feels like it's going to stall for too long before surging.

As I understand it, once you shift to S-mode, and manually select a gear, you are locked in to manual shifting until you reset it by shifting out of S-mode. I will use S-mode (automatic) from time to time when I need a quicker jump off the line, but I find the temporary manual gear selection offered by using the paddles in D-mode to serve my needs most of the time.

It'll try to, but if you go out of RPM range, the car will automatically shift for you and go back to auto mode.

 

[kmarnes]

No, it doesn't. There is only air going through the turbo. Fuel is injected directly into the cylinders "downstream" of the turbo. That's how turbochargers work.

Right, sorry, my bad. I poorly summarized this article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/glob...nomy-can-be-worse-not-better/article29705614/, specifically this part:

Knock is destructive (imagine millions of tiny grenades exploding inside your engine), but is easily prevented by computerized engine control systems that monitor fuel flow and cylinder in real time. If your engine is on the verge of knocking, the computers have an instant fix: they shoot extra fuel into the cylinders to cool things down. As you can imagine, this hurts fuel economy. But it does help your engine last.​