[HornMfan]

Out of curiosity, has anyone else had an issue where they switched from comfort to sport/sport + and NOT been able to hear the gurgles/pops? I almost always drive in sport mode and love the exhaust sound. There have been many times recently where I drive it around, stop and go in for an errand, etc...and then when I leave I start it, switch to sport mode, and even manual shifting...revving in 1st etc am not able to make it pop gurgle without switching modes and coming back to sport again. Is it possible the exhaust flap is getting stuck or something? Just wondering if anyone else has had that issue.

[Aaaaaaaaa]

If the engine is cold or just started up it won't pop as much.

[HollyM]

pheerix,

Trying to learn as much as I can about piloting this vehicle even before I have a VIN... From all that I have read, did I discern correctly that the vehicle does not retain the mode you were in prior to turning it off? In other words, each time you start the vehicle, do you have to select the mode you want (Comfort, Sport/+)? I will most always drive mine in Sport Plus, so just curious...

[skier219]

Originally Posted by HollyM

pheerix,

Trying to learn as much as I can about piloting this vehicle even before I have a VIN... From all that I have read, did I discern correctly that the vehicle does not retain the mode you were in prior to turning it off? In other words, each time you start the vehicle, do you have to select the mode you want (Comfort, Sport/+)? I will most always drive mine in Sport Plus, so just curious...

Every BMW I have owned since at least 2010 hasn't retained the setting between starts. You have to select it each time.

I think you'll find sport+ is a little too annoying for daily driving, plus if you travel at higher speeds you'll be running up higher RPMs in lower gears for no reason. I was surprised how good comfort was on the M40i for all around use, but could see using sport periodically for a little more zip. Sport also holds onto gears longer and won't go into upper gears, so you'll probably want to drop back to comfort on the highway.

You can also independently affect shift feel with just the shift lever modes. So you really have three global modes x two shift modes = 6 different behaviors to play with. You also have the option to program individual modes that can mix the features of the default modes.

[HollyM]

Thank you for the detail and education! So, Sport does not go into upper gears, ever? Like, you are left hanging in third or fourth gear...despite your speed? I am sure I will learn a lot at the PDC when I pick up my M40i, but I'm trying to learn as much before delivery as I have a long drive home...

[skier219]

Originally Posted by HollyM

Thank you for the detail and education! So, Sport does not go into upper gears, ever? Like, you are left hanging in third or fourth gear...despite your speed? I am sure I will learn a lot at the PDC when I pick up my M40i, but I'm trying to learn as much before delivery as I have a long drive home...

Sport and sport+ move shift points to higher speeds, to keep RPMs up for more spirited driving. Then there is the separate sport mode of the transmission which makes shifts more abrupt adds additional changes to shift points. At "legal" highway speeds that means the car tends to top out in gears 5-6 (out of 8) depending on the mode mix and the speed.

There are too many combinations to list, but in general, you won't see the next higher gear until much higher speeds when you start mixing in the various sport modes. If you're commuting or driving on the highway and want quiet and fuel economy, you'll want to drop back to comfort to get into 7th and 8th gear. These are very tall gears and not much use for performance, but for cruising and fuel economy they pair well with the torquey turbo motors.

On my current BMW I often use sport around town but drop back into comfort on the highway.

[frank23]

In my experience Sport mode in the M40i does switch to 8th gear eventually, unlike my 2015 435i which would simply lock out 8th (and maybe 7th, can't remember) when you were in that mode.

BTW: I'm often using Adaptive mode - the car behaves as in Comfort most of the time, except when you put your foot down (or slam on the brake) it will instantly change its behaviour to Sport mode.

And to reply to the OP, even in sport mode the pops and gurgles will not always be there, they won't be there unless you have relatively aggressive acceleration/deceleration.

[skier219]

Right, it doesn’t lock out the high gears, just defers them to higher rpm and speed points. On my 4-series coupe, to get into the higher gears in sport I’d have to be doing triple digits, whereas in comfort it drops into 8th as low as 46-50mph.

[TxHornX3M40iGuy]

Originally Posted by pheerIx

If the engine is cold or just started up it won't pop as much.

Thanks for the feedback. Sometimes though, the car is driven, totally warmed up...stopped for under 5-10 minutes and restarted, switched into sport (manual) and unable to produce the pops and such. Shouldn't it be effective if the car is still warm regardless of just being restarted? Like I mentioned, if I hit the mode buttons and put it do Adaptive, then Comfort, then back to sport etc it seems to take...
I'll take it to the dealer and see if they can reproduce it. I'm sure that's a far fetched idea.