Does using the sport mode use more gas?

Maybe it's a silly question but I've only had my CM for a few days and even though I owned my previous MINI for over 7 years I'm learning that this car is RADically different.

 

If you have an automatic transmission, yes, because it will cause delayed upshifts. If you have a manual transmission, no, unless you accelerate faster than you otherwise would because the gas pedal is more sensitive.

 

In either transmission, the sport button causes the engine to run more rich to produce the pop and burble sound from the exhaust, which eats more gas vs no sport button.

Also, in the auto, I've never seen it shift into 6th while in sport mode.

 

I agree with shark. I purposely ran my countryman w/o the sport engaged through two fill-ups at the pumps, as I continue to get fairly poor mpg…according to most of the posts I've read here.
If I gained another 1 mpg without the sport…I was lucky. Not worth it to me as I enjoy the ride fully engaged.

 

Jusr curious where you saw that it was a richer fuel mixture. I assumed it was merely a change to the ignition timing program, which would be a whole lot easier to accomplish software-wise.

 

In a few threads on here. It might not even be true--there are a lot of myths and urban legends floating around on the forum, like recharging car keys and irreparable run flats.

 

Other than the popping out of the exhaust and the steering wheel feeling a bit more weighted when the sport button is engaged, I don't feel a difference at all in throttle response. Throttle response was MUCH more noticeable when I had my Clubman and the sport button on, If you turned the button off while cruising in my Clubman at speed, you would feel the car pull back if you turned off the sport. I don't notice anything at all in the Countryman. Could be because it's a porker compared to my last car, who knows?

 

The stuff I read says that they give micro bursts of fuel at the end of the combustion cycle to get the pop and burble effect.


The keys do recharge (2nd gen and late 1st gen) if you don't have comfort access. Comfort Access has a replaceable watch-style battery.

RTFs can be repaired but shops won't usually do it because they don;t know if or how long you ran on the tire with no air pressure. If you did, it will compromise the life of the tire. So for most folks who go to a tire shop they are effectively irreparable. If you have a plug kit and get it before you are driving on a deflated tire they are repairable (within the tread area of course, no sidewalls).

PS, I know this has been covered but I was just quickly diverting to make sure these myths and misnomers are dispelled and the truth with shine through the fog of uncertainty. I am no expert, I just know a little bit compared to others here.

 

You're just not driving fast enough! No, seriously.

 

I can't believe you don't feel a difference. The throttle map is *completely* different between sport and non-sport mode on my car.

 

I was originally going to say that it never shifts into 6th, but then I thought that maybe I just hadn't gone fast enough. I usually start shifting myself or put it back in auto before I make it very far.

And I agree about the throttle response in sport mode. It's like night and day.

 

I know this is anecdotal at best, but I have had a Sonata Rental Car for the last 5 weeks. It has an ECO Mode. Drove it in both modes in similar conditions and the MPG were almost identical.. A .2 mpg savings in Eco mode over 300 miles. Sure during the life of a car that is significant, but not enough for me to want to deal with the sluggish nature of the eco mode.

 

IIRC...

On an R60, the sport button:

1. changes the mapping of the "throttle-by-wire" position settings (smaller detent of throttle results in greater "reported" throttle position angle);
2. reduces the power steering boost;
3. produces the "burble" only on the S motor;
4. remaps (raises) the shift points for R60s equipped with an automatic.

Based on my amateur (but rather extensive) research, the sport button does not:

1. change the air/fuel ratio mappings by RPM;
2. modify any suspension or driveline settings.

 

here's a crazy theory:

if you drive with a very light foot using sport mode, is it conceivable that the reduction of power steering assist would reduce fuel consumption slightly?

obviously this only applies if you don't drive on straight roads and probably mostly only in a manual R60.

(I swear no trolling)

 

So your theory is that your arms are doing more of the work instead of the car? If it was a pure hydraulic system, then in theory yes, though the fuel savings would be immeasurably small (because only a very small amount of fuel is used by the PS system compared to the fuel used for propulsion)

But since the Mini's PS system is electric, there is no savings.

 

I'm doing a tank with all sport button on right now to compare to what I have been getting. I may end up getting that circuit that enables sport mode every time you start the car if it's the same fuel economy. I ran with the sport button on all the time when I first got the car, but I eventually got tired of hitting the button every time. I wish it was something you could set on your key, or it was a switch instead of a button.

 

Does anyone know if the sport button mod that was sold for the R55/56/57 a few years back would work if tapping into the R60 electrical system? I had the sport button override module in my R55, worked flawlessly. I did take it out before I returned the lease, so I have the module sitting on the side...would it work, or am I going to have to be the guinea pig?

 

Well, actually electricity in a car is not "free" The more you use, the more power your alternator needs to make, and the more power it needs to bleed off the engine to do so. Your car gets lower mileage with the headlights on instead of off. But the amount is so insignificant, few would ever consider it. Obviously the next question is if electric power steering has a different effect on mileage versus hydraulic power steering. No doubt BMW's engineers have considered that.

 

I agree that electricity isn't free, but in an electric PS system, the amount of steering effort you put in isn't related to the amount of work the car has to do to turn the tires.

Also, I can't believe we are having this discussion.

 

hey I said it was a crazy theory.

I'm surprised nobody suggested that the increased effort you put into steering requries more air conditioning power and you'd end up back where you were.

 

 

If anyone is so concerned about the minute differences in whether the sport button will consume more fuel, or the steering system, or whatever theory you may have, I have a Schwinn to sell you, and you'll never have to worry about it again! Just sayin...

 

Even in the sport mode I save more gas than driving my previous gas guzzler, a 14 MPG Nissan Titan.

I do notice there is a psychological effect as well, in sport mode not only the car is more sporty, but I am too, I drive more aggressively. Which uses more gas, so for me sport mode means less MPG, but who cares ... ;-)

 

and that's why it defaults to "off".

 

It seems to me that traveling over the same stretch of road at the same speed (or RPM) would result in the same MPG regardless of whether in the sport mode or not. I guess, as said previously, the trick is being able to control yourself enough to do that with sport mode on.