Does anyone know of a detailed explanation of all the transmission settings on the new XJ. Leaving aside winter mode (which I haven't used yet), there are a number of different permutations between normal and dynamic modes:

1. Normal - Drive
2. Normal - Drive - using paddles
3. Normal - Sport
4. Normal - Sport - using paddles
5. Dynamic - Drive
6. Dynamic - Drive - using paddles
7. Dynamic - Sport
8. Dynamic - Sport - using paddles

The extremes are fairly clear, ie. 8. Is full manual control (although it does downshift if you leave it in a high gear and pull to a stop). 1. Is clearly the most relaxed shifting (although I believe that all the 'Drive' settings also incorporate an adaptive algorithm to suit the current driving style). It seems to me that 3 and 5 are pretty similar. 7 is a bit of a mystery: when I was using this mode gently in slow traffic yesterday it was shifting fairly docilely, but when you give it any gas at all it seems to want to wait till the red line before shifting up at all.

There seems to be very little info out there on the details of these different modes. I wonder if anyone (probably connected with Jaguar) can shed some light.

Thanks

Nigel

 

and 10 years later. there is still little info

 

I am looking into this. I am getting conflicting information. The service manuals that I have seem to mix the terms Dynamic mode and Sport mode together. It seems to call the switch on the center console the Dynamic/Sport mode switch. To the best of my knowledge, this only has 2 settings, dynamic on or off. That is it. I wonder if the "Sport" aspect of things is getting more into the fact of whether the tranny is being controlled by by the paddles in drive or in "selective" mode (S on the gearshift). Let me look a little deeper into this. I think I am getting a better understanding of what the different modes are and hopefully I can make some sense of it. I cannot find a table or the like that has the specific information called out in a nice "easy to copy" list.

 

Ok, reading through the service manual, I think I have an answer to this. Granted, I am seeing where this may be a little confusing to some. So, lets break it down into more simple terms:

Dynamic mode: This is controlled via a switch on the center console. This is meant to be used for spirited driving that involves hard accelerations, rapid braking, and lots of turns. In this mode, shift points are raised slightly to aide in better power transfer and the suspension is stiffened up to minimize body roll during cornering. Please note, this mode has nothing to do with manually shifting the car. This system is only meant for driver control/stability for aggressive driving conditions (ie, a race track or the like). Once this mode is selected, the vehicle will remain in this mode even if the vehicle is turned off as long as the vehicle is restarted within 6 hours. If the car is off for more than 6 hours, the computer will default back to the "OFF" state, which will be with dynamic mode off. Dynamic mode cannot be selected if Winter Mode is selected (if you want to know about Winter Mode, let me know). DSC system is a completely different system and is not discussed here.

Manual Mode (also known as Jaguar Sequential Shift Mode): This is controlled via the gear selector by depressing slightly and moving the selector to the "S" position. Per the manual, once this position is selected, it is supposed to transfer all shifting control to the driver (via the shifting paddles on the steering wheel). In this mode, the transmission will not shift on its own and therefore, it is possible to over rev the engine under certain conditions (will change the instrument cluster to RED to indicate the over rev condition). The transmission will do what the driver tells it to do and will not drop out of this mode on its own. it will also change the arrangement of the instrument cluster to put the gear and tach central to the instrument cluster. I have to question the manual a little as I remember testing this in my car and my memory wants to say that the gear shifted moved back to D (Drive) on its own when I didn't shift the car for like 10 seconds.

Sport Mode (temporary Jaguar Sequential Shift Mode): This is where the gear selector is in D (Drive) and the driver hits a gear shift paddle. This will put the transmission into a state where the driver has control over the gear shifting. Like with Manual Mode, the tranny will not shift on its own to protect the engine or other parts of the car (more on this in a moment). So, over-revving of the engine is still possible (see Manual Mode). The driver has complete control of the tranny. The instrument cluster supposedly also changes its configuration to the Manual Mode setup. The "more in a moment" part is that in this mode, the driver must be continually shifting the car. If the car senses that the driver is not shifting the transmission, after a period of time (does not state how long), the transmission will go back to a "full automatic" mode and place the transmission in the gear that it deems appropriate. As a side note, not that I have tried this on my car, I do not seem to have noticed my car changing any when I have inadvertently hit the shifter paddles as I was driving, so, how applicable this is, I am not sure.

So, if you take the 8 modes, this is how I think the car is going to respond: I think where confusion may be being added here is the use of sport. I think what "SPORT" is really referring to is having the gear selector in the "S" position. In other Jaguar cars, there is an "S" button which causes the transmission to raise its shift points based on a few factors and may have been carried over in error. The X-Type had a button like this. Not sure of what other models may or may not have had a switch like this.

1. Normal - Drive : Car sets up the suspension for comfort and the transmission shifts on its own
2. Normal - Drive - using paddles : Car sets up the suspension for comfort and the driver has the gear shift in "D" and is manually shifting the tranny, but needs to maintain routine shifts, otherwise will shift back to 1.
3. Normal - Sport : Car sets up the suspension for comfort and the driver has the gear selector in "S" but is not actively shifting gears in the car.
4. Normal - Sport - using paddles : Car sets up the suspension for comfort and the driver has the gear selector in "S" but is actively shifting gears in the car.
5. Dynamic - Drive : Car sets up the suspension for a stiffer ride (to minimize body roll) and the transmission shifts on its own with raised shift points.
6. Dynamic - Drive - using paddles : Car sets up the suspension for a stiffer ride and the driver has the gear shift in "D" and is manually shifting the tranny, but needs to maintain routine shifts, otherwise will shift back to 5
7. Dynamic - Sport - Car sets up the suspension for a stiffer ride and the driver has the gear shift in "S: but is not actively shifting gears in the car (car is maintaining the gear that the driver has selected)
8. Dynamic - Sport - using paddles : Car sets up the suspension for a stiffer ride and the driver has the gear selector in "S" but is actively shifting gears in the car.

One of the other interesting tidbits I did learn (atleast per what the manual says), it is possible to apply the electronic parking brake with the car moving forward. There appears to be 4 modes that it work in. The 2 obvious ones are the Park mode which allows full application of the parking brake when the gear selector is in PARK. Then you have the "Drive Away" mode which will immediately release the parking brake when the gear shift is not in PARK and it senses vehicle movement. The last 2 are Low Speed Dynamic and High Speed Dynamic. At speeds of 2 to 20 mph (3 and 32 KM/H), if the parking brake is attempted to be applied, it will apply full force of the parking brake immediately. At speeds above 20 mph (32 KM/H), if the parking brake is applied, it will gradually apply more and more braking force until either the parking brake is applying as much braking force that it can or the parking brake lever is release (returns to no applied force). In all 4 modes, this only affects the rear braking system.

 

I honestly feel absolutely no difference in the suspension in dynamic mode, even in my XFR. Honestly the only thing dynamic mode does is make the gas pedal a bit more sensitive

also, to correct - with the transmission in Sport mode, it WILL shift for you if you're not using the paddles manually. it will just hold the gears lower and longer

 

Yes my 2014 XJR also shifts automatically in S.
The dash turns red in dynamic mode too.
So maybe different settings depending on which model/engine the car has?
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In "S" transmission shifts automatically untill you touch the paddle. Also, while in "S" the 6th(6hp) or 7-8 (8hp) gear(s) are inhibited.
The Normal-Drive mode uses xtreme economy shift map, for a best fuel economy (but shift points differs between engines).
Dynamic selects Sports mode for shifting (shifpoints are increased, diffrens lockup behaviour, tcm avoids shifting while in turn).
Dynamic-Sports selects xtreme sports map (highest shiftpoints, most agressive lockup, almost no shifts while steering wheel is not straight)
Other modes are a variations between those.
Dymanic mode also alters a driver's toruque request table in a PCM.

P.S. In Dynamic-Sport-Sequental shift the gear indicator on dash goes to red not in a case of over-rev, but acts like a shift-light. Allowable over-rev is 150rpm, added to max 6800RPM. Indicator goes red much before even 6500rpm.

 

Just going off of what is in the service manual. I was thinking my car operated differently too. But then, I don't use the paddles, so, don't have a lot of experience with the car in that mode. There was no "if the vehicle has ......, then it will ......." statements in the manual. It prety much sounded like all the cars had the same set up.

 

I don't know but my car still shifts into 7th and 8th in S? 2014 XJR
I don't think you have driven the XJ as fast and hard as I have?

At the Texas Mile I see the car shift at around 170 mph into 7th at full throttle. It shifts to 8th to but I ran out of nerve and road to do it wide open!
In a standing mile the car is still accelerating and I have never seen top speed.

I think a 5 mile run like Bonneville will be required and I have decided no salt for this car.!
Again I think it depends on the model. My shift indicator never turns red but my entire dashboard does in Dynamic mode.

Now I maybe seeing things related to the tune but if so they do not advertise any changes other than raising the speed limiter to 200 mph from 174 mph on the R models.
Does anyone know if VAP does anything else to the shifting besides raise the speed limiter?

At first I heard it was eliminated all together but later was told it was set to 320 kph (198 mph) or about 200 mph.
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I've driven mine XJ that fast, but i have 6hp. In a tcm tune for 8hp itself i clearly see that the 7-8 are inhibited in full-auto (but a driver can shift to these).
Mine own record was 327kph and i've still had 1300 rpm to go further
In case of 8hp: assuming standart 20" tyres and upshift from 6 to 7 gear at WOT (6800) and gear ratio of 6th gear 1:1/rear diff ratio 2.56:1 - the speed at a moment of shift should be 219mph, not 170mph
P.S. Red indicator is CCF related. On 6hp it's on on a supersport models, on 8hp the default setting is off.

 

IMHO Dynamic mode; stiffens the shocks, remaps the throttle to be more aggressive, and quickens the shifting and holds in gear longer to keep the same gear in turns. The transmission Sport mode changes the shift points to keep the engine more in ti's power band. When I first got my SuperSport I went to Las Vegas as a guest at the Jaguar Permanence Driving School and that is what they told me. Also, when we tracked the XJ we always had it in Dynamic and Sport modes. Lastly the instructors, Including Davy Jones, said they always drove their XJs in Dynamic mode.

 

Funny story, I’ve owned my 5.0SC for about a week all this time I did not want to beat on it till I made sure the oil was changed since I could not go by the previous owners assessment of the oil life for my own sanity. Well some fresh 5W20 and a new filter I was ready to romp on the car. I had opened it up in normal mode and could not feel the 470 HP that was advertised. And I have a 600WHP 2.3l Whipple Coyote Stang and a 475WHP SuperCoupe Bird, so I know acceleration pretty well. Well I finally felt comfortable to press the Dynamic mode and man did it wake up the the car. I finally felt the advertised HP. Felt satisfied Normal mode it’s almost my as if the throttle body is only partially open.
IMO ,I feel the car should be left to shift itself in Drive mode, bouncing of the rev limiter is too easy in S, I’ll use S when corner carving but not when driving in a straight line, for that D will be my choice. I turned off the paddles in D as kept hitting the paddles in error. Same with the darn heated steering wheel button.

 

Man that's great!
Can you post the event you ran that fast in?

Reading the speedo at those speeds just does not work. I know I have done it many times and I am always way high to anything clocked or measured.
I only use 3rd part documented measurements otherwise it's the old "No one On the Internet Knows I am a Dog"!
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It was on a public road, not event.
Mine speedo goes up to 300kmh and there's a digital speedo that shows any speed. Also there's a GPS speed on a radar-detector.