when u press the button down? - i suspect some changes to gearing - what else?

 

On an XK8 all it does is to hold the car in gear a little longer before upshifting.

 

My wife's manicured nails dig into my forearm. And I smile through the pain.

 

The sports mode changes the shift program to one that raises the shift point about 300 rpm's from where it would have been with all other inputs such as throttle position the same. That puts the engine a little higher into its power curve. Makes the car feel like it gained about a hundred horse power. One negative is that if you are in traffic or road conditions limiting you to around 50 mph the transmission will never shift into overdrive when OD would otherwise be perfectly suitable.

 

to be honest i cant tell the difference but i sometimes press it then go for an overtake but im not sure it it does much

 

"Silly button" on and "Track off" = most fun

 

Not sure if it's the same in the XK8 but my 01 XKR will start from 2nd gear vs 1st when its in "regular" mode.

 

I think it depends on the vintage of the XK8/XKR. On my car (with the ZF 6-speed trans) I don't feel much difference at all--at least the way I drive which is pretty soft. But those with the Mercedes boxes report quite noticeable shifting differences. As an aside my wife's 2012 Acura TL has a totally different personality when engaging the "S" mode. Throttle response off the line is quite more aggressive (again, even with my soft style of driving) and upshift and downshift points are changed dramatically.

Doug

 

on my 03 I can feel a diff.

 

Well on my XKR when I press the sport mode my heart rate goes up, the fuel gauge go down & that MPH needle goes way past where is legally should do, so I obviously don't use it !!!!

 

On the XKR, doesn't it stiffen up the dampers/shocks too?

 

I suspect with most folks as the switch gets depressed the foot on the pedal gets heavier, resulting in a mostly imagined performance increase.

Doug

 

Pretty much the same experience as I've got. I don't feel much of a difference at all with the Spectacular button lit with the ZF 6HP26 box I've got in my XKR.

I have the ZF 8HP70 box in my X5 40d, and moving the gear lever to the DS mode (Definitely Sinful), it pretty much always shifts down a gear, jumping up some 800-900 rpm. Very smooth and fast shifting box, the 8HP70. Also handles a shitload of torque (700Nm).

 

When stopped, Sport button on my 2002 XKR coupe (MB trans) makes a brief sound when it is clicked and you can feel something in the gas pedal too. Not imaginary. XKR launches off the line with more authority

 

In my 2002XKR I don't feel much difference, but then again, I haven't spent more than 5 seconds (in 90,000 miles of driving it) with it out of Sport mode.

Interestingly, in my 2010 XKR, with sport mode selected and dynamic mode engaged, the car is a completely different animal. Shift points are at much higher rpms, and if floored, transmission will hold gears til nearly redline! And the gear selection and changes are shown on the dash.

A real significant difference on the 2010.

 

My XK8 has no way to hold it in first. 1st to 2nd is done by the computer. Anything after that can be done by me whether in sportmode or not. Sport mode holds it higher in the RPM range before shifting into the next gear.

 

Other than a slight remap of throttle tip in from rest and a few hundred RPM higher shift points (transmission needs to hit a specific engine RPM threshold before it will shift up otherwise it holds the gear it's in). The transmission still will down shift to a lower gear if the load gets to much as it does in non sport mode.
For all practical purposes the Sport Mode function is into placebo territory to me other than avoiding the overdrive shift.
I haven't tried it yet in the Jag but other cars I've had with the 'Sport Mode' feature could be quickly floored, forcing a down shift, which will be held after instantly lifting the accelerator just as if you manually dropped a gear. Why bother? Doing the quick stomp downshift and not a manual downshift using the gear lever rev matches the downshift. Because you are in sport mode that downshift holds the down shifted gear until you accelerate to the RPM required by Sport Mode for an upshift. Great for being a weekend boy racer. Who's going to be first to run to their car to see if the Jag knows the trick???
RB

 

Also reflects my disappointment as well. I have always had automatics but the Jaguar was the first one where you cannot even select first gear.

Doug

 

I guess the 8's and the older R's must be different. I've got a 2003MY XKR, with the S button switched on the following changes:-


1. Shift points move up and holds onto the gear for a while even when your foot is off the gas - I guess anticipating you hitting the apex and flooring it again to exit the corner you undoubtedly took your foot off the gas for.

2. Brake pedal firms up

3. CATS suspension firms up - more 'jiggly' ride, but less body roll.

4. Steering firms up.

I've also noticed that for around town I get MUCH better fuel mileage in SPORT - maybe something to do with not changing gear all the time in stop/start traffic and away from traffic lights?

All very noticeable in mine.

 

I drive around with it on almost all the time in my 01XKR. Ising 2nd from a start is rather annoying and it will also hold gear longer under WOT when on. This is a compromise in that it also shifts later under part throttle when on.

This is a pet peeve of mine. What I really want is mode where I have a 1st gear, maximum performance at WOT but a relaxed shift schedule at part throttle.

The engineering involved in this is poor and mind boggling. Starting in second gear basically it makes the 5 speed a 4 speed but with the added weight and complexity of a 5 speed. Why even bother with the extra gear? Second when I push the pedal to the floor, egardless of what mode I am in that implies I want to go as fast as the car safely and reliably can right now. Why they would have a more conservative shift schedule with WOT is beyond me.