SportPlus is incredible on the track. Absolutely amazing.

 

Agreed! I personally don't like Sports Plus on the street, but love it on the track. I like Normal mode most of the time, and Sport when driving "briskly."

One of the things I like most about the CS is the dual nature of the car. Very nice sports car with decent mileage on the street, and a capable car on the track. Especially with better brake pads, fluid and tires, all pretty minor changes.

 

Can you elaborate bccars. I am considering adding sports plus when they release the retrofit software even though the car will never see a track.

 

^^^Imo waste of money on a manual car, get a sprintbooster instead.
On a PDK car its great on manual mode but I find it overkill on the streets.

 

Totally agree as it relates to track use. The difference from normal to sport is not that great. Switch to Sport + and its a different car. Steering is noticeably tighter, throttle is much more responsive & the dampening of the engine mounts can be felt. Frankly, the comment made that "it's utterly useless" puzzles me.

Frank C.

 

Agree but perhaps he is only describing for the road only. There, the ultra high RPM gets a little tiring to me.

ChuckJ

 

Frank,

I often wondered the exact same thing. I've actually got an A&P license (although I have not ever really work in that capacity). But I wondered exactly the same thing when I compare to a Lycoming O-360 or O-320..

One thing it comes down to I believe is how the engine is designed and the way it is used. A small piston aircraft engine is designed to run at full throttle almost continuously. And full throttle at 100% power as we know is usually in the 2500 RPM range (relatively low when compared to an automobile engine) . And in general the mechanical tolerances (on things that wear) are optimized around that relatively low and narrow RPM range to get the 2000 Hour TBO life.

However if you compare the break in on a O-360 it is about 100 hours, which if you compared to an auto engine and a average speed of 60 miles/hour.. That correlates time wise to about 6000 auto miles (although about 3000 miles comparatively since the same aircraft would fly about 120 mph on average).

So in some ways the break in time it is comparatively worse for that aircraft engine time wise than the Porsche. An O-360 break-in (not the initial run-in) by the book is a rather careful process. And 75% of the wear occurs during that breaking. First 50 hours are recommended to cruise at 65 to 75% power and minimize the load on the engine. Also consider that first few hours are run on mineral oil.. So in many ways the break in is a bit more fussy and a PIA...

Compare that to Porsche Boxer engine which runs over a wide RPM range from 800 RPM to 7400 RPM under a multitude of quickly changing load/torque conditions. (Even your run of the mill toyota sedan would be running over about a 800 to 4500 RPM range typically). Also compare the qty of mechanical parts (I never counted but I'm guessing with the multivalves and cams probably makes a Porsche engine have 3 times the qty of moving parts).

My guess is that in any automobile engine the majority of wear also occurs in the early break-in as well.. But in many ways an auto engine is used a bit different, so maybe going gingerly for 1000 to 2000 miles isn't all that bad. It just seems a lot longer especially since for most of us it takes a couple of months to get to 1000 miles.

 

Pretty wide statement.. care to elaborate.. M7, PDK (manual or Auto)?

I can't speak for M7, but for PDK, where I would agree it is indeed useless in PDK auto for street use (or maybe better described as "impractical")

But for street use, manual use of PDK it really is by far the preferred mode. Shifts are much more crisp and responsive than in Sport. There is really no reason NOT to use it when driving PDK in manual.

The only gripe I have is that often driving in sport+ in PDK manual and then when flipping back over to auto, often the PDK Auto causes the engine to increase to an ungodly high RPM for the street (scaring the crap out of others nearby). So the usual procedure is while in PDK sport manual, to switch to sport BEFORE switching back to auto to prevent this from happening. I truly wish the PDK just maintained the current gear initially to prevent this from happening. Other than that I love Sport+ with PDK manual.

 

Completely agree that if you are using manual and changing gears at the desired RPM, sport+ great. Gas mileage, on the other hand, will be significantly lower if you tend to keep RPMs up.

ChuckJ

 

First of all, I have a MY2014 C2 with PDK and SportChrono. I got the SportChrono because I read on the forums it was a must have. Well, to me, this was false info, it is not, it makes the car worse for my intended use, not better.

I much prefer the gearbox in Sport instead of SportPlus.

In sport your shifts are lightning quick, with no lag if you shift manually with the lever, very crisp, no exagerated jerk through the chassis.

In Sport Plus, you get all the good things from the Sport, but they throw in this insane jerkyness, which may unsettle your chassis too much if you are on the limit. My car really does this awkward squat when shifting in Sport Plus. It even sounds/feels like it slips the clutch for a brief moment, like a beginning driver would if he is not used to driving clutch. It feels really artificial to me, not smooth at all.

Furthermore, there is NO difference in sound when you have PSE. It is not louder, it does not produce more burbles or crackles in SportPlus.

So unless you are a track rat that needs every last millisecond of shifting performance and/or the more lenient PSM, forget about that stupid SportPlus crap.

My two cents.

 

I largely and quite substantially agree with bccars... Except with a few caveats...
1) I love the sport chrono clock on the dash... And recognise I am in the minority there!
2) above circa 40mph the transmission mapping is raw and glorious ... If a little jerky on the change-ups
3) the exhaust note is quite notably more 'spitty' and aggressive than the pops n burbles in sport mode

However...
The prolonged 1st and 2nd gear to redline is ridiculous ... Even under reduced throttle...

I use sport plus maybe 1% of the time (off track) and only when I'm over 40mph...

Would i spec it again? Probably yes... I just love that 'wart' on the dashboard... And let's be honest... The 991 is about how it makes you feel... Through the hands, the feet, the ears... AND the eyes!

 

I must say that I totally agree with you. I track my car & I love autocross, that said I depend on the sport + mode. I couldn't imagine running my car in either event forum in any other mode other than sport +. Its not about just have the PDK shifting at peak torque & peak HP. It's the steering, "tightening of the get out of jail free card suspension" and engine dampening that make a world of difference on the track or course. Other than the first day I drove my car, I have never used sport + on the street. That's the beauty about the system, no one is forced to engage sport + unless they want it.

If I didn't track my car having the sport chrono would still be a "must have", imho the 911 is not very exciting in normal mode. Gear shifts are ridiculous in auto normal mode.

Frank C.

 

So why would anyone want less steering response or throttle response. Sport plus should be standard with damper adjustment and PSE button. At least in manual cars since you control shifting points.

 

I have a 7MT C2S and I don't see the point.

The throttle mapping just means the throttle is more sensitive, pushing your foot further in normal mode provides the same result. It's not like the engine makes more power.

The dampers adjust to firm themselves during hard cornering when in normal mode (and back to normal on rough surfaces when in sport).

The PSE opens itself up when driven in the upper RPM range.

The steering change is so subtle it does not matter.

So I guess the supposed wow factor is faster shifts in PDK at the redline, the redline portion can be accomplished yourself in manual mode.

Personally, the clock is silly, the time is always on the dash and I really don't need a stopwatch on the track.

 

I like the clock.