I have a new 2011 Jag XKR convertible (US). I have a question about Sport Mode. I believe that when you change from (D)rive to (S)port mode the drivers display should immediately change from P R N D S to show the numeric gear positions 1 2 3 4 5 6 and indicate which gear you are in. However, on my car, this does not happen, the display does not change until you select a new gear with the paddles, My local Jag dealer does not seem to have a good answer. Any thoughts?

 

In Sport Mode you CAN use the paddles for Sequential Shift, but you do not have to. Sport Mode moves the shift points to different place on the torque curve, holds on to lower gears for longer, and kicks down more readily; but it will still be automatic unless you start using the paddles.

Hope that helps.

 

Steve, much help. Thanks. Now I think I get it!!

 

I was traveling on the highway 75mph and a ctsv pulled up bside me. We took off together but he pulled away right away. If I had put my 2011 xkr in sport mode would I have done better. I left it in drive. Thanks

 

Change suspension to sport 'DSC'? the chequered flag button near the handbrake (hold for about 3 seconds) - this hots things up further :-) and then you see the big gear display in place of the clock!

 

That's the Dynamic Mode button, which changes suspension, throttle response and opens the active exhaust valves (on XKRs). The DSC button reduces or turns off traction control.

Sport mode may not have quite the effect you expect. It seems to be designed to keep the car in a lower gear and thus at higher RPM. When you come off the throttle, the revs stay up, which means you get faster response when you jump back on; you also get better engine braking. Both are very useful when you're on a track or canyon carving.

But under full-throttle acceleration, you're in kick-down mode anyway, regardless of whether D or S is selected. Straight-line acceleration doesn't feel any quicker to me in S; I guess there may be a slightly longer lag on kickdown in D, but it would be in the 100ms bracket.

I found that, at least at high speeds (170 mph plus), S mode actually hindered acceleration, because it held 5th gear up to 6250 RPM, when torque starts to trail off after 5000 - peak torque is actually around 4000. So I got to max speed quicker in D, because it changed up earlier and kept the engine in the torque band. Whether you'd notice any difference at more normal speeds, I don't know.

One thing I did notice that may be relevant - I found it quite hard to push the throttle all the way down, particularly as I have the seat well back. You may think you've floored it, but try shoving a bit harder; you may be surprised.

 

You raise another question that I have had . That is brake pad wear due to the traction system. Is there more wear because of the traction being activated and if so does anyone know how much. If you don't get into the go peddle would it be more efficient driving with traction off.

 

Well, if you aren't spinning the rears, traction control won't be activating anyway, so you won't get any extra brake wear.

If you are getting unusual brake wear, it may be that you've been leaning on the loud pedal, and ETC has been stepping in to both reduce engine torque and brake the spinning wheel(s). It's not just standard traction control, it's also an assist to the diff when one wheel has less grip than the other. Since the XKR has an excess of torque over grip, it's pretty easy to break traction, and ETC helps ensure that doesn't get you into trouble.

I'm prepared to exchange some brake wear for an increase in control - it can get awful expensive when you get sideways in the general region of other vehicles, kerbs, street furniture, etc. ETC has saved my hindquarters on more than one occasion, particularly in the wet.