Ramsino

Are there any differences among Moderate, Sport and Dynamic engine settings? I can achieve this by either changing the drive modes themselves: Slippery(eco), Comfort, Sport, Sport+, or just changing the engine in Individual mode. However, I notice a very obvious difference in engine sound from Moderate to Dynamic.

I have floored it with the engine in Reduced before and I am 100% certain that the car actually has less performance here, which is great. However, I have always suspected that if the engine is in Moderate (or Comfort mode), the performance is exactly as if the engine is in Dynamic (Sport+ mode). I wanted to isolate the rest of the other settings such as transmission shift time, springs and etc to get a more accurate feel of just the engine itself, so I did all my runs in Individual.

To my surprise, Reduced engine is the only mode that affects the power output of the car. This confuses me even further because as I have stated, the engine note is noticeably louder in Dynamic than in Moderate...so is this only sound and there is no actual changes in power output?

Here is a video of someone else doing a 0-60 run in all 4 modes:
He got the same 0-60 time for Comfort, Sport and Sport+, which means the engine in Moderate, Sport and Dynamic are all operating with the same performance. Only in Slippery mode where the engine is set to Reduced did it affect his 0-60 time.

stockbmw

I don't know about everyone here but, purely looking at my butt Dyno and the sound my exhaust makes, eco(pre facelift), comfort, sport have same characteristics.

Sport+ unlike lot of germans brands or other sports car out there, make this car come out alive.

superswiss

No, there is no power output difference between the modes, other than Reduced, which as the name says reduces the torque in order to make it easier to get moving on a slippery surface. Otherwise, the modes change the throttle mapping, ignition timing, shift program and shift speeds. As you move up towards Dynamic, the throttle map changes such that less throttle input is needed in order to get a corresponding response from the engine. Making the response sportier and more direct. In Moderate mode, the throttle is somewhat relaxed to make it react less to small throttle input changes, in order to make the car more comfortable, less jumpy to drive. That's also referred to as feathering the throttle. The sound in the sportier modes is related to the ignition timing changes, specifically the anti-lag system.

The pops&bangs are technically a side effect of the engine extending the combustion cycle past the cylinder valves opening and injecting additional fuel while the valves are open. The purpose of that is to keep an exhaust stream going for a short duration during off throttle moments to keep the turbos spooled up, so that once you get back on the throttle, there is less or no lag before boost returns. It has been overdone in recent years and these pops&bangs are often artificial during moments when ALS isn't really needed. In the newer models as a result of having to quiet them down during normal driving, the pops&bangs have become more functional again, and more and more only occur when cars are actually driven hard.

Similarly, the transmission adjusts the comfort level of the shifts (shift quality), the shift speeds and essentially how long it holds lower gears, and how aggressively it downshift in reaction to throttle input.

At the end of the day, these modes are all about changing the response of the car in relation to throttle input. Either make it more relaxed and comfortable to drive, or make it more jumpy and responsive based on the driver's desire at any given moment.

Ramsino

Great explanation! Thank you.