"Sports Mode" what exactly does it do

[Fuel]

hi all,

To help me choose between a LT or RS, is "Sports Mode" in the RS only steering weight diff or Engine/Trans changes also ?

 

[commodore665]

Probably just holds the gears longer

 

[stooge]

in the 4cyl i would say it holds the gears longer and might make the steering feel stiffer

the v6 i would would suspect does the same but also might change the driveline settings.


it is hard to find decent information on what it exactly does in each variant but this might help...

2018 Holden Commodore VXR - Technical Details Explained | Practical Motoring

The all-new Holden Commodore VXR has torque vectoring, all-wheel drive, a nine-speed auto and no rear differential...we explain how it all works and what makes the set up more clever than you think...

practicalmotoring.com.au

they talk about the vxr but some of it talks about the twinster and modes.


if you are getting a 4cyl you will only get fwd and twinster will not apply to you.

Holden Commodore RS 2018 Quick Spin - carsales.com.au

The V6-powered Commodore RS AWD may well be the spiritual successor to the hugely popular SV6

www.carsales.com.au

the rs with the v6 option opens up the awd driveline and options for hiperstrut front suspension.

2018 Holden ZB Commodore V6 AWD review

AN IMPORTED all-wheel drive V6 Commodore is never going to supplant a home-grown rear-drive V8 in the national affection. Ditch the historical baggage, however, and there’s much to like about the latest ZB Commodore V6

www.whichcar.com.au

i looked at the 4cyl and the 6cyl and decided to go with the rs v6 because it has afm and the majority of my driving is 100kmh country roads so i average about 7.2l per 100km and the awd part of it was a no brainer.

 

[mpower]

2018 Holden Commodore VXR - Technical Details Explained | Practical Motoring

The all-new Holden Commodore VXR has torque vectoring, all-wheel drive, a nine-speed auto and no rear differential...we explain how it all works and what makes the set up more clever than you think...

practicalmotoring.com.au

Adaptive nine-speed automatic transmission
The VXR runs a nine-speed automatic gearbox, and how that works varies between its Normal, Sports and VXR (kind of a super-sports) mode.

The shift points are the same throughout, but the change is when gears are selected. When the car detects it is being driven hard, based on throttle, yaw, braking and so on – then in Normal mode nothing will happen. But in Sports mode it will start to delay upshifts, downshift earlier, and hold gears. The same is true of the VXR mode except the threshold for entering the revised transmission pattern is lower, and the pattern is more aggressive.

This is change from how older adaptive transmissions worked. In their sports modes, you’d instantly notice a difference as generally the gearbox dropped down a gear or two, and revs were held. However, in the Sports and VXR modes that’s not the case. If you’re cruising at say 100km/h and switch from Normal to Sports or VXR nothing happens…until you start to drive faster and then you unlock the more sporting gearbox mode.

The advantage of this design is that you can stay in say VXR mode all the time, and it only activates when you need it, and you’re not needing to put up with low gears when you’re just freeway cruising. The disadvantage is that the car needs a short while to realise you want it in beast mode.

The VXR has three modes, Normal, Sport and VXR. There’s also a stability control button. Here’s what effect those controls have on the car:

• Electric Power Steering – as the modes go from Normal to VXR the weight of the steering increases, which is the effort required to turn the steering wheel a given amount.
• All Wheel Drive system – in the Sports and VXR modes there is a bit more torque sent to the outside rear wheel on a turn to help rotate the car, making it feel a bit more rear-drive.
• Adaptive Cruise Control – in Normal mode the system is a little bit extra cautious compared to VXR or Sports.
• Stability control – as the modes go from Normal to VXR the point at which the computers intervene, and the extent to which they intervene are changed to allow more slip.
• Sound – the engine note is augmented via the speakers to a greater degree in VXR and Sports modes.
• Suspension – there are three settings, one each for Normal, VXR and Sports. As you’d expect, the latter two are the stiffest. The damping is not instantly computer-controlled, as in stiffening the outside dampers when cornering – the three settings are presets.
• Transmission – explained above.

The stability control button has two effects; in any mode a single press disables engine traction control, and second press engages what Holden call Competitive Mode, which is where stability control is still engaged, but very much de-sensitised. A press of over 5 seconds deactivates both stability control and engine traction control.

Engine traction control is when the car decides that too much power is being applied to be useful, and restricts the throttle accordingly. Stability control is the system that detects understeer – running wide – and oversteer, which is when the back end steps out, and then takes corrective action such as braking individual wheels to bring the vehicle back into the desired line. In practice, simply selecting the VXR mode should disable stability control enough for pretty much any purpose.

 

[Skylarking]

I’d hazard a guess that in traffic, sports mode does SFA in any practical measure

Sitting I front of a police car on the side of the road, while the cop is writing a ticket, sports mode gets the blood boiling

 

[Badgerdog]

Thanks heaps Stooge. I wasn't aware of this

"The stability control button has two effects; in any mode a single press disables engine traction control, and second press engages what Holden call Competitive Mode, which is where stability control is still engaged, but very much de-sensitised. A press of over 5 seconds deactivates both stability control and engine traction control. Engine traction control is when the car decides that too much power is being applied to be useful, and restricts the throttle accordingly".

I find in spirited driving of my Calais V even in sports mode (Calais V only gets two modes normal and sport) that the DSC is too keen to intervene when pushed hard in the corners. I'm now very keen to get out on some back country twisty roads and have a go at "Competitive mode"

I sometimes think in a quieter moment think 235 kw's isn't a lot, (I have been spoilt with much higher output cars in the past) but taking into account the extremely efficient 9 speed auto that's always in the right gear, the torque vectoring and the relatively light weight of the car (400 kg's lighter compared to my Chrysler SRT8 that was about 2100 kg) it all comes together very well especially in the corners and is a very dynamic bit of kit for not a huge amount of money. Reasonably fuel efficient too.

To me engaging sport mode on my Calais V seems to sharpen up the throttle response, firms up the steering, changes the auto's shift programming points and shift speed and seems to stiffen up the suspension, (acknowledge Calais V is not supposed to have adaptive suspension), but it does seem to make a difference and it seems to make the torque vectoring system more proactive. All things considered having a sport button is a VERY good thing