Switching between Drive and Drive-Sport modes, any good practices/tips?
 

I have been using drive-sport mode in both my wife's 328i and my X5 whenever I want to get on the freeway, or need to pass a car, or in 328i's case when I am feeling like having some fun.

I would like to know if there are any precautions that I should be taking... like may be not switching between the modes while under hard acceleration, etc.? For example, I get off the gas when I want to go from one mode to another, and then get back on the gas after I have switched... but I really don't know if that is totally unnecessary, or not.

I think all of the gear changes are controlled and governed by software anyway, and I am assuming that the software would have built in steps necessary to avoid damaging the car/transmission, no matter what the driver does... but then again, that would be an assumption.

Are any of you aware of any good practices when it comes to engaging drive-sport or drive, that you may want to share?

No real issue going between drive and drive-sport, but I am not sure what the gain is from constantly doing that change, you are not so much shifting as going to a high shift point.

When shifting up and down manually in sport mode, use the throttle to soften the shock to the system, essentially matching the revs when you shift down. Be off the throttle when shifting up. You are right that the computer manages the high risk situations, but judicious use of the throttle does reduce driveline shocks. It isn't necessarily easy, given the shifting delays, but you can smooth it out somewhat.

Thanks JCL, it makes sense to try and use the throttle, and try is what I do! I think you are talking about manual shifting (steptronic)... which I don't do much of, but would also fall into my question.

I am mostly talking about when moving the shifter from left <-> right, to simply go from DS <-> D mode and back... in the 328i, it 'usually' downshifts when I go from D to DS... in my X5, however, doesn't do that (I haven't noticed any downshifts yet.) I generally get off the gas when I want to switch modes, but that may not be the best approach?

Shouldn't matter whether you're on the throttle or not.

I was speaking about both variations, steptronic and left to right (or right to left). Left to right is what I referred to as shifting between Drive and Drive Sport. The difference between the two is the rpm at which it shifts, and it won't be identical to your other vehicle but it is the same concept. If you shift to DS (with a higher rpm for the shift point) you may expect it to downshift, and in that case you would want to give it some throttle to ease the shift. If you are shifting to D and you expect it to upshift (with a lower rpm for the shift point) you would want to get off the throttle to ease the shift.

It is all about helping the transmission shift by reducing the driveline shock. You don't need to, but it is a good practice.