Anybody drive in 4S....
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 579
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Bentley Flying Spur, CL550
Anybody drive in 4S....
Anybody do this? What I mean is instead of "DS"(Drive Sport mode), do you sometimes drive in "4S"(4 gear Sport mode). I do this on the freeway sometimes and find that I have waaaaaay better throttle response than in regular drive. I wonder though, if this wears down the transmission in any way.
Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 149
Likes: 2
From: Texas
2007 Alpina B7
What's happening is, you're driving in 4th gear instead of 5th, which is more appropriate for highway driving. Like a Corvette, which have ridiculously short final drive ratios (some of them)- Punching it on the highway is great, really helps in heads-up races or passing maneuvers. But it kills fuel economy and grates the nerve by pulling waaaay too high of an RPM for 80 mph. That's whats so nice about the S55. Cruising in 5th at 80, silent as can be, jamming to some mellow tunes like Alvin Lee or Canned Heat. So, yes, 4S provides improved throttle response, but you're killing your gas mileage. Notice that if you click down on the steering wheel button or tap left on the gear shift again, you'll be in 3S. This is 3rd gear. These are different than 4M and 3M, respectively, in that you're still in Automatic mode, so going past 4th puts it into full Drive again. Also, the car automatically upshifts just before redline. Note the S/M/C button near the Park location on the gearshift. This toggles between Drive Sport, Drive Comfort (really more useful for snow, 2nd gear starts-less torque, but kills mileage), and Manual. Hope this helps!
Thread Starter
Super Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 579
Likes: 0
From: Toronto, ON
Bentley Flying Spur, CL550
What's happening is, you're driving in 4th gear instead of 5th, which is more appropriate for highway driving. Like a Corvette, which have ridiculously short final drive ratios (some of them)- Punching it on the highway is great, really helps in heads-up races or passing maneuvers. But it kills fuel economy and grates the nerve by pulling waaaay too high of an RPM for 80 mph. That's whats so nice about the S55. Cruising in 5th at 80, silent as can be, jamming to some mellow tunes like Alvin Lee or Canned Heat. So, yes, 4S provides improved throttle response, but you're killing your gas mileage. Notice that if you click down on the steering wheel button or tap left on the gear shift again, you'll be in 3S. This is 3rd gear. These are different than 4M and 3M, respectively, in that you're still in Automatic mode, so going past 4th puts it into full Drive again. Also, the car automatically upshifts just before redline. Note the S/M/C button near the Park location on the gearshift. This toggles between Drive Sport, Drive Comfort (really more useful for snow, 2nd gear starts-less torque, but kills mileage), and Manual. Hope this helps!
Thanks for the detailed response. I didn't know it killed gas mileage. Do you think it wears on the transmission at all. I pretty much always drive in 4S on the freeway.
Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 149
Likes: 2
From: Texas
2007 Alpina B7
I dont know if it wears on the transmission.. probably not too much, considering they're made to endure an entire rev cycle, but it probably isn't great on the engine, either, as it's forced to use much higher RPMs to drive the car X mph in 4th than it would to drive the same speed in 5th. Constant higher revs=more heat=more wear. I'd suggest either putting the car in Manual mode and driving in 5M and having the ability to quickly change down to 4M when needed, or drive along in DS and click the left button/tap shifter to the left and engage 4S when you really need more acceleration/throttle response.
