Out of curiosity what brand gas do you use? The highest MPG I have gotten so far is 26 city and 31 highway. What am I doing wrong?!

I don't really care, as 26 is great, but I am curious.

 

I would like a sport button for my sport button!

 

sport mode with wife in the car = wife
I've been banned from using sport mode with my wife in the car. Apparently my driving habits change drastically with the surge in power.
I use it in the twisties and on/off ramps.

I tried to sneak it into sport mode with out my wife looking and she caught me
Her response was:
"Geoff did you just hit the sport button AGAIN?"
Me: "Uh, no honey why?"
Wife: "Because your driving like a made man again"
Me: "But I can't help it..."
Wife: "We've had this conversation before, your driving habits change when you push that damn sport button. DON'T PUSH IT AGAIN WITH ME IN THE CAR! Got it?"
Me: "Yes dear...but"
Wife: "No buts, this conversation is over"

 

geoffv, that is quite funny!

maybe you need to buy her a MINI of her own?

 

Wrong

I am driving a loaner MC non S with no extras and a automatic. I can not stand to drive the car with out the sport button on as even with it on it does not have the smae power as my clubbie s without the sport button. But yes the car does shift into 6th gear, only a little later (more speed and RPMs') to get it there.

 

We ALL already know it improves shifting/handling in 'spirited' driving (twisties,etc.), but I have found it indeed DOES cost a few mpg's on highway travel..especially if there a long/steep hill climbs, due to the increased kickdown...the engine rev's a almost 1k more rpm's during the climb in sport than non-sport. As the the slope increases, however, non-sport mode actually begins to dog the motor down and I begin to feel shudder until the moment when kickdown throws it into lower gear. Sport mode starts and finishes the climb typically in two gears vs. non-sport, which often uses 3, with the annoying wait for kickdown. As a result, I've grown accustomed to using sport mode for all climbing, at any speed (I climb a steep hill in Sausalito to get home at 20mph), and mainly use non-sport for flat, long runs on the freeway, where low rpm's=hi mpg's. Coasting? =non-sport...Attacking? = Sport. Maybe call it 'attack mode'?

 

I use it almost all the time. Compared to my SSR that I sold, the gas mileage and fun factor are way better with it on than what I had before. I do miss rear wheel drive but have certainly adapted to front wheel torque outs.

 

Shell 93.

 

So it's sounding like the automatics may loose a bit of economy with the sport button. This is one of the variables I mentioned in an earlier post. But I still warn against making blanket statements that sport button = less mpg....period. There are a lot of factors to consider and I, for one, can attest to the fact that sport mode does not always = less mpg. This is a true case of YMMV.

 

Yes..very true! If I were manual, and had control over my shift points, and could coast in neutral when the opportunity presents itself, I could get even better mileage than I do. Indeed, it's entirely likely the 'sport' program map is different between the manual and the auto, at least we should presume as much.

 

I think that is true.

 

I use it in tight traffic when I need to merge and move quickly. The lower gearing makes response quicker. Without it, I tend to push the throttle down until it downshifts, making it "jerky".
MPG is definitely lower,as it revs more, so I turn it off when I want 6th gear and to get some mileage back. Also if I cruising city streets and want the MINI to 'relax'.
It makes the Clubbie feel more like a sports car :-)

 

We recently went camping and used my 3/4 4x4 truck with a hemi to tow our 19' travel trailer over the coastal mountain range. We got stuck behind a Prius doing about 35mph. I joked that their battery must have ran out (I was joking, I know how they work). Someone told me that there's a society of Prius owners that pride themselves on how many miles they can eek out of a gallon. Not much fun when you're stuck behind them. My OBC showed we were averaging a lovely 10 mpg.

 

Geoff!!!!

What are you doing with my wife!!!!

 

I was thinking the exact same thing! I get a dirty look when I reach down and hit the button.

 

After reading this I'm glad we got the manual and not the auto like we had originaly planed. We loved the car after testing the automatics but after one test drive with the manual I was hooked. We've not any regrets.

SPORT BUTTON FOREVER!!!!

 

Doesn't the sport button tighten the suspension and shorten the throttle response? If so, all this talk about mpg is about the driver and not the button, right?

 

To my mind the test is:
2 round trips to work and back... one with sport, one without. The hitch is to try and drive in the same manner for both. Shift at the same RPMs (manual) and accelerate to the same tempo. Check the gas consumption and check your pulse. Which setting do you prefer?

I switched to non-sport for my ride to work today. I've tried going cold turkey on this before but I usually hit the switch after a few blocks. This time I didn't give in. I found that I was able to adjust pretty well to the firmer push needed on the accelerator. The turbo did seem to kick in at higher RPMs in this setting and the engine sounds less throaty - was that real or imagined? The steering had a definite soft vagueness to it that I did not like in driving. But it was easier to maneuver at slow speeds in the parking lot.

Give it a controlled test... I look forward to hearing your impressions.

cheers,
Alan

 

The only thing not mentioned so far is the clutch response on the manuals. If you have a manual tranny and you hit the sport button, the clutch engagement is much sharper and nearer the end of the pedal travel. It is much easier in my opinion to get the car off the line, and to quick shift under full acceleration. Without the sport button, the clutch response is a bit mushy as it engages over a larger travel range of the pedal, IMHO.

So to recap as already mentioned:

1) Sharper accelerator response
2) More road feel through the steering wheel
3) Different turbo boost (more boost and/or sooner engagement)
4A) Manual Transmission: sharper clutch engagement
4B) Auto Transmission: computer holds the current gear to a higher RPM before up-shifting

All of the above = more fun

 

I love the sport button. I must have drove without it for a couple of months before I knew it existed. Now, I can't drive without it.

On a side note, I wish there was some way that the button can be defaulted to "on".

 

There is but it take some electronics doing. See this thread
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=103258

 

JoeP, I wasn't referring to her "hot button"
but, heck if you are able to do that good for you


yes, well at least for me, something happens to me when I push that button, it's like I transform into the Hulk and get this desire to drive more aggressively.

 

Your gas mileage will usually improve as your car breaks in, which some manufacturers say can take up to 10,000 miles.

 

Geoff,

You are a sick, sick man! I like that about you!!!

And thanks I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!

 

Awwww MAN!

I have the most hilarious emoticon I could put here, but I don't want to get in trouble because it's a little risque...