Lol thanks X5dawg.

No, nor is it like the Z car's throttle body. It is a transmission sport mode, not a general sports mode. It just delays the shift points on upshift, in all gears, to allow more revs.

I admit to being leary of using the "sport' mode - given some of the transmission woes I've read - having the Dinan S2 setup already retards the shifting and increases the redline to 6200rpm - as for gasoline(petrol, for you Brits) prices, I've just completed my drive west for the summer of over 3000 miles(SC - NJ - SD - ID) - about 8 tankfuls + 4 nights lodging - even at $4.06-$4.33/gallon, it's still less expensive than flying and all the hassles involved - I only wish the USA had a rail system y'all enjoy across the pond - What we here in the colonies need is an interstate passenger rail system separate from freight lines with light rail to connect the inner city to outlying interstate rail

mulesssssss!

I use it to cause the car to down shift, best example is entering a highway on a long ramp and you want to be in a lower gear.

No question that it would impact mpg, do any of you look at the mpg gauge on the dash, the lowwer gear/higher revs eats more gas.

Are you kidding? How can anyone MISS it?

I tried doing the opposite, going into manual shift mode to maintain the HIGHER gear (to save gas) but when your speed drops the tranny downshifts on its own - without a clutch, you cant coast.

Keeping it on auto and driving like there's 'hard-boiled eggs' under the gas pedal (i.e. driving like a granny) gives the BEST mileage but what's he FUN in that. People who buy these SAVs don't drive like that at all.

Thanks, thought as much!

It's funny I tried that on my second tank of gas and got maybe 1-1.5 mpg more than regular aggressive driving, so I said "f*** it, I'm driving this thing like I want!!!" :D

Every 2 days I do the same 240km (150mile) round trip for work. I have experimented with all sorts of techniques to see how fuel economy is effected in my 2000 4.4i. But relevant to this topic:

95octane fuel, driving like a grandma = 12.3l/100km (19.12mpg)
95octane fuel, driving like me = 13.5l/100km (17.42mpg)


So if I drive like a grandma I save 2.88 litres, which at current fuel prices in New Zealand is $5.76 ($4.35US). BUT it takes me an extra 15-20 minutes to complete the journey, not to mention not being as much fun (although the X5 is such a comfortable car when just cruising, give it a try some time save yourself some money!)

Ive found that listening to more 'mellow' music also saves on fuel consumption (I think Rage Against The Machine costs me about 5mpg!)

Also, driving when there is less traffic (i.e. late at night) saves quite a bit, obviously because I dont need to do as much overtaking. I actually did one trip averaging 11.9l/100km by travelling early in the morning and late at night, with mellow music playing :-)

I average about 18 to 19 mpg; I try to take it easy on acceleration and keep some distance from the car in front of me. I can't belive how many people still tail gate and are always on the brakes.
This does not mean I am driving at lowwer speeds just being smart about not wasting power/energy stopping and starting.