My 08 MCS is less than a week old.

One thing that bothers me is that I have to enable the sport button EVERY time I start the car.

Isn't this what the S on the MCS means? Sport? Why do they treat it more as an option than the standard? I agree that you should be able to disable it, but shouldn't it be something like DSC where the default is that it stays on until you tell it to take a hike?

...or is this just my car?

 

Others would prefer it stay on as well and I believe some folks have done a mod to do just this. You might investigate.

 

I'm glad its off at start up. I dont want the trans to shift at 4-5k all the time. When ever i want a little "Sport" I can hit the button. I would have gotten a manual if I wanted full all out sport. Only thing I wish was the trans would start in 1st when in full auto mode.

 

I leave mine off most of the time. That way, the change always amazes me whenever I DO press it. Tricks me into thinking my MINI is even faster than it is!

 

The S in MCS mean your engine is turbo charged. I have a 6 speed and don't notice much difference when I turn on sport mode.

 

The steering is definately tighter with the sport button on. It would be nice to be able to enable this at startup!

 

You definitely notice the difference in the Sport mode versus standard mode in the R56 automatic.

 

The S on the MCS is for supercharge not for sport. Now that the mini is tubrocharge it should be MCT LOL.... Nope I like it MCS!

 

you can definitely mod it to come on automatically at start up...check out the thread in the electrical mods section, I'm the one who added the pics, the easiest method in my opinion is to just buy the circuit card that Coffeeman mentions, the mod is not that difficult to do, it's really more time consuming to get all the parts together, so maybe I should just put a kit together for people to buy.

 

I have the automatic transmission, and I love that the sport button can be either on or off. That way, the performance is there when I want it, but I can motor in the thrifty-mode and save some gas when I am just puttering around. And as has been mentioned before, when you push that button after driving with it off for a while, WOW!!!! It is kindof like having two cars in one!

What all does the button do? I know it does steering and shift points for the auto transmission, anything else? Does it change the fuel mapping? If so, keep in mind that they get the fuel economy numbers with the button off, and probably will keep the default setting as off, to help keep their (BMW) fleet fuel consumption averages down.

 

+1 If I'm just commuting I leave it off, but if I'm properly motoring around just for the fun of it, or showing the car off I turn it on.

It makes the throttle more sensitive (so more gas per amount of pedal travel vs non sport mode), so your mileage is probably going to go down, but I don't think it inherently makes the gas mileage worse. It just makes it that much easier to have a lead foot.

 

I have a 2007 MCS and I feel like the std feels better than the sports. The steering feels much heavier and I find it difficult to navigate plus the clutch becomes tighter. Is it just my car or is this how its supposed to be. Can anyone explain to me the benefits of driving in sports? Better handling?

 

I think Sport make the throttle much more linear than otherwise. It sure make it easier to adjust the gas to keep at the same speed, if you're using manual. If you're careful with the throttle, you can probably get the same gas mileage that you'd get without being in Sport mode.

Anyway, I think if you have good fine control over your feet, you might be able to get the same gas mileage as you'd do without Sport mode. Again, I'm talking about driving with manual transmission.

 

I heard somewhere on this site that your overboost won't come on unless you are in sport mode

 

Wrong-o buckaroo. The "S" in MCS is for sport, not supercharged, or supercharger, or anything else starting with super.

 

Your right I'm wrong!

 

 

I turn it on right after pushing the engine start button.

 

Give 'em any option, the default is wrong.
Pretty much a rule of thumb.

 

wow, really?? For me its a huge difference in steering tightness as well as throttle response. Do a little test... turn the car on, let it warm up, then blip the throttle with the Sport button off. Then turn on the sport button and blip the throttle the same amount. You should definitely notice a difference.

 

nope! both not correct. You gotta go way back into minis history to find out it means "special" (like when the very first S model was made)

I do admit sport or supercharged sounds better but that's not what the S originally signified.


back on topic - I notice a big difference with the sport button on.

 

Good point w/ the automatic trannys and higher revs...this is a very good reason for defaulting it to off.

 

I drive mine conservatively when going to work, can't really push the car anyways, too much traffic. I leave mine off all the time.

 

Since we're talking about the "S" button.. does moving the auto trans shift lever to the left only change the shift pts or does it also affect the throtle and stearing sensitivity?

 

only shift point.