Quote:
Originally Posted by AndrewC1989
Quote:
Originally Posted by redbeer
If the mod is plug and play, does it mean that the option 'Sport Transmission' is kinda fake? Meaning that the transmission itself is the same and it only adds the better looking shifter and flappy paddles behind the steering wheel?
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Yes and no.
Physically, the sport auto and standard transmissions are identical. The sport auto package however adds different (more aggressive) shifting behavior through the use of different software. This is good news for those of us who didn't get the sport auto option from the factory because it means you can easily code the option in. The software changes will make shifts faster in the sport and manual shifting modes, and will add in the sport+ driving mode and launch control features.
Besides the software changes I mentioned above, If your car has the sport auto option from factory then you'll also see some physical changes within your car as well. Sport auto cars will get a different shift knob and paddle shifters, in addition to a slightly different looking instrument cluster. I'm not 100% sure, but there could also be some other minor differences in terms of the interior trim, however that may be more related to your car's trim level (base, luxury, sport, msport). It's hard to say because there are regional differences in the things that come standard with certain packages and the things that are optional extras. What maybe standard with one package in the USA may not be in Europe.
So can the sport auto software be added independently of the hardware and vice versa? Yes. If your car didn't get sport auto from factory you can retrofit everything a la carte, meaning you can add the coding without the new knob, add the knob without the coding, skip adding the paddles but add everything else, etc. In that sense, changing the shift knob by itself is a purely cosmetic endeavor, and is not a mandatory step in making your transmission more sporty. It's just a nice touch. |
Mine (UK M sport plus) has the paddles plus the old gear selector (probably because 330e ?)
I have the option of sport plus if I press the sport button twice which then gives more aggressive shifts and turns traction control "off" at least the TC light illuminates, I think it's still on and not fully off unless I press the TC button and hold it ?
Still managed to get it to slide a little in a wet empty car park in sport + but I may have had assistance as it was pretty easy to handle and correct with steering input