[CdnE90]

Originally Posted by sfax

This is correct. All it means is putting your foot down sharply rather than gently. The auto reads this as "the driver wants to accelerate quickly" and changes down first before accelerating. It's a good craic!

Not exactly. "Kickdown Mode" is similar to what some people call a two-stage throttle. When pressing down on the accelorator pedal, you will notice that as you approach the bottom of the travel, there is a resistance point. If you continue to push past the resistance point, the car will immediately kickdown one or two gears. If you remain above the kickdown point, the car does not necessarily change gears.

Interestingly, some people like to feel the torque of the N55 engine so much that they place a small block of wood that prevents the car from going past this kickdown point.

From the manual (pg 65): Kickdown is used to achieve maximum driving performance. Press on the accelerator beyond the resistance point at the full throttle position.

[lola_falana_12]

Is DS available on all models even without DHP? Without DHP one can drive in sport mode?

[tuco44]

Originally Posted by lola_falana_12

Is DS available on all models even without DHP? Without DHP one can drive in sport mode?

Yes to both.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by CdnE90

Interestingly, some people like to feel the torque of the N55 engine so much that they place a small block of wood that prevents the car from going past this kickdown point.

Are you serious? It's like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom!

[Santa69]

Originally Posted by frankwin

I am always in sport+ mode!

Yikes! Gas must be cheaper in Canada. Drove in sport mode for a week and got about 15 mpg It was fun though

Now I just switch to sport when the road conditions are to my liking.

[Santa69]

Originally Posted by lola_falana_12

Is DS available on all models even without DHP? Without DHP one can drive in sport mode?

Yes, but DS+DHP makes the car in my opinion. I have almost stopped pining away for an M3...I said almost.

[jlr_1304]

Originally Posted by Santa69

Yikes! Gas must be cheaper in Canada.

Not really. It's about $6.20 a gallon for 91 octane in mtl region. Or if you prefere, $1.40/liter.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by jlr_1304

Not really. It's about $6.20 a gallon for 91 octane in mtl region. Or if you prefere, $1.40/liter.

$2.29/litre in the UK or $8.69/gallon (US)

[Want the thrill]

Finally back down to $3.97 for 93 (premium) in Michigan!

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by Santa69

Yikes! Gas must be cheaper in Canada. Drove in sport mode for a week and got about 15 mpg It was fun though

Now I just switch to sport when the road conditions are to my liking.

15 mpg in DS is also about what I got during the first two weeks when having fun. I get about 20 now driving in normal and when actually trying; I even made a game of trying to hit the blue bar or climbing the red.

[jlr_1304]

Originally Posted by sfax

$2.29/litre in the UK or $8.69/gallon (US)

a bit OT, but i dont know how you guys do it in the UK, especially in London where everything is soooo expensive.

Anyhow, i didnt buy a 35i to save gas but to have fun.

[Santa69]

Originally Posted by jlr_1304

a bit OT, but i dont know how you guys do it in the UK, especially in London where everything is soooo expensive.

Anyhow, i didnt buy a 35i to save gas but to have fun.

sfax has the 20d...probably paying less for gas than we are with the 35i.

[S459]

Originally Posted by flash3

Yes, I've been very careful to not go over 70 on my car right now, given it's so new.

So, can I start using the car in DS when I am about to pull it out of the house and then can I switch back to D (while I am driving) on highway? Am I hearing that correct? It won't damage the car?

Also, what's the full throttle and kickdown feature you mentioned above? I am not fully understanding that atm.

I think you can switch DS with D at any time, it doesn't matter when you pull it out from house or drive on highway. Meanwhile someone suggests, in break-in period, avoid using cruise control for long time.

Someone from Internet say: "KICKDOWN MODE is common to cars with Automatic Transmissions.(AT). To activate, you press the gas pedal to the floor and cause the AT to downshift one (or two) gears. If you are in 4th, 5th or 6th gear and give full throttle command, the transmission should downshift one gear to 3rd, 4th or 5th gear with a corresponding increase in acceleration and speed".

Hopefully, this will give little help.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by Santa69

sfax has the 20d...probably paying less for gas than we are with the 35i.

I'd happily swap for a 35i and cheaper fuel!

I'm averaging about 37mpg => 31mpg US. Can get 42mpg (35 US) on a steady run

[clivem2]

Originally Posted by sfax

I'd happily swap for a 35i and cheaper fuel!

I'm averaging about 37mpg => 31mpg US. Can get 42mpg (35 US) on a steady run

My 335i Vert has been fun but the fuel around town is crippling. About 19mpg (UK) / 15 mpg (US).

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by Want the thrill

Finally back down to $3.97 for 93 (premium) in Michigan!

This is how angry that makes me. Chicago is now has the highest average gas prices in the country. Where I live, the nearest gas stations charge $4.75-$5.10 per gallon for 91. I know it's more in Europe, but I'm only talking about the US. I shudder at the thought of spending $8+ per gallon.

And I get 11.9 mpg. Fuck.

*no disrespect*

[Want the thrill]

Originally Posted by juddholland

This is how angry that makes me. Chicago is now has the highest average gas prices in the country. Where I live, the nearest gas stations charge $4.75-$5.10 per gallon for 91. I know it's more in Europe, but I'm only talking about the US. I shudder at the thought of spending $8+ per gallon.

And I get 11.9 mpg. Fuck.

*no disrespect*

I get it JuddHolland. I have family in Pittsburgh and their gas is ALWAYS at least 20 cents cheaper than here. It's all a bunch of crap! You need to lay off that lead foot so you can start to see better numbers!

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by juddholland

This is how angry that makes me. Chicago is now has the highest average gas prices in the country. Where I live, the nearest gas stations charge $4.75-$5.10 per gallon for 91. I know it's more in Europe, but I'm only talking about the US. I shudder at the thought of spending $8+ per gallon.

And I get 11.9 mpg. Fuck.

*no disrespect*

11.9 mpg in the 35i?! Geez you've been pushing that car hard my friend.

[mole7374]

I think the bottom line with all of this (as it relates to the break in period) is to have common sense and not fear... I mean let's face it, for 1200 miles it's almost impossible 9espeically in a 35) to avoid having the X go up to 4500 at least once...or twice..or whatever...and it's almost impossible for 1200 miles to avoid having the tranny drop 2 gears at least once...or twice... However if that does happen it does not mean that our cars will only last 29000 miles and 2 years. The bottom line is that any car manufacturer wants you to avoid doing that kind of driving on a regular basis during the break in period...I mean can everyone here honestly say that during our break in period we have NEVER hit 5K RPMs and we have NEVER had a situation where the tranny dropped 2 gears? I'm sure every one of us has had it happened, but it's ok...its just not ok to do that every single time you drive...the car isn't going to fall apart as a result of a few times going beyond the limits....if you drive it like an indy car for the first 1500 miles then we'll have another thing on our hands!!!!

The things that I have absolutely been avoiding....1) flooring it...no need 2) constant downshifts b/c of being in sport mode..keeping it in normal seems to hold the lower gears to avoid big swings in gears 3) highway speeds above 70 and long periods at the same speed. 4) Redline or high RPMs..I've kept it generally under 4K but a few times between 4k and 5K (4782 to be exact j/k)...but you get my point.

Personally I like mixing it up in sport/normal b/c it kinda makes you varry your speeds which is exactly what you want. I have ever floored it...no way...has the car every gone above 4K..sure but over 5K..has it downshifted 2 gears...probably but again not b/c of agressive driving. In the end if we're applying common sense our vehicles will last a long long time.

[perto]

The ZF gear box is capable to downshift from eight to second gear if the conditions require. The cars electronic will not allow the engine to overrev.

[Omarica]

Hey so I have a question here if my car has 300 km left till its service is due can I drive on any mode still without harming engine?

[Opie55]

Originally Posted by Omarica

Hey so I have a question here if my car has 300 km left till its service is due can I drive on any mode still without harming engine?

Do you mean 300km until the next oil change? You won't hurt the engine just because you are near an oil change. If an engine is being damaged by oil, it is because of waiting too long between oil changes, not because of the driving mode. The oil change intervals that some modern car makers use are crazy - 10,000 miles or more. My rule is 7,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first.