vg247

Thanks for trying Geo, that's strange..I've received PMs on renn just fine in the past.

Got the smile' button installed yesterday! Felt the new animal, however, have not had the chance to drive it far since coming back from the dealer.

What's your take so far- when do you use sports mode vs sports plus?

Please stay tune, as soon as I get to drive it more..I'll share my thoughts as well.

GEO356

I wait until my coolant temp is 175 and switch to sport and drive light footed until the oil temp reaches 175 - 200 and then the fun begins. On the freeway with cruise control I switch it off so the pdk can go to 7th. I have played with sport plus but is imo much to aggressive for street use.

I always drive in sport mode once the engine is warmed up and not using cruise control.

Keep us posted.

vg247

Appreciate this input, I had the chance to drive it to/ from dinner last night and definitely agree with you. When I was driving up through a 15mph zone I turned Sport mode off as every other block had a speed bump so this made the car feel less jerky going through that area.

Love the quick up and down shifts in both M and D modes. Everything is a blast, I know what you guys mean now when you say this is a whole new animal...this button is definitely a smiley' button!

JRoz

Hi Guys,

Sorry for re-opening up this thread, but I just wanted to gather some more opinions on this sports mode upgrade. From all of these posts and threads I've found, it seems like it's a no brainer upgrade for the money for a 997s w/ PDK, has anyone had this installed on Tiptronics though, and is it worth it? I see it's the same price as PDK, but does it make as much of a difference? I'd like to just open the car up a little bit more, get some quicker shifting. Let me know if anyone has had positive or negative experiences with adding to Tip. Thanks!

dasams

I've never driven a 911 tip so i can't help you with experience. However, I would not call it a no brainer for pdk's unless it is an S model or a base with PASM. Reason is that the adjustable dampening is the most important feature of the sport mode IMO. PASM on the sport setting is stiffer than the base suspension while PASM normal is softer. As my car is driven on beat up roads and the track, it's wonderful to have this adjustability.

hBomb

If you'll direct your gaze to the bottom of the 997 forum's list of threads, you'll find:
https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...c-amazing.html

rj5620

Don't have PASM or an "S", just plain ole C4 Cab and yes it is a no brainer for that fun button with my PDK.

yashagrawal

I use the sport button differently from most people. I have a PDK C4S. While its true that pressing the sport button improves the shifts and fun factor, it has significant downsides. If you use it all the time, the speeds becomes too high even for highway driving, which can raise safety issues in traffic, speeding tickets can be obtained, very easy to reach 85-90. Another problem is that atleast in my car (without PSE), the engine sounds are much better without the sport button being pressed. Finally, when I press SPORT, the rpm's rise about a 1000 rpm, which is more stress on the engine, even though our cars are capable of high speeds/rpms.

In contrast, using regular mode (non sport), allows me to raise the rpms even though speed is still not too fast, if I lift my foot off the gas, the speed drops quickly and speeding tickets are less likely and less stress on car. So how do I use the SPORT button, I use it analogous to a "turbo" boost button.

sandwedge

Sorry but I don't understand that analysis at all. You control the speed with the accelerator at all times no matter which mode you're in. The only thing that changes from one mode to another is at which RPM the PDK shifts in auto and how fast it shifts in manual.

As for your worries about "stress on the engine", lugging is no better and probably worse than running it hard within limits. You seem to like normal mode and if you're in auto/normal, you're in 6th gear at less than 2,000rpm before you get to 30mph if your PDK is anything like the two I've had in my cars. Ridiculous. That's not the comfort zone for these engines.

kcheves

PASM has it's own button, so I'm not sure why Sport mode is more desirable on cars with PASM. Sport mode is just a noter way of turning PASM on.

FWIW, I've had two cars with sport mode, both manuals. I quickly tired of the non-linear throttle mapping, and if I want to activate PASM or PSE, I have separate buttons for those functions. Sport mode would only be desirable to me if I were buying a car with PDK.

yashagrawal

In typical freeway driving, with a 55-65 mph speed limit, the regular mode allows one to depress the accelerator say (eg 4 inches for several seconds), before the speed becomes very illegal, lifting the accelerator slows the car quickly without having to use brakes. In sport mode, if I press the accelerator, its very easy to go about 90 mph without even realizing it. Under freeway conditions, especially with traffic this is risky. Furthermore, slowing the car requires use of brakes most times.

If one is driving on empty roads and not too concerned about tickets, sport mode is desirable.

Ronny Pettersen

Bumping this, is it possible to use a private piwis to add the sport/sport+ or do you need an online connection with porsche or enable codes?

Verboden

When I did mine every source told me that the process involves downloading software from momma Porsche. PIWIS is used to configure the settings once the update has been installed into the car. It was implied that the download is specifically tailored based on your VIN - my assumption being that they were gonna flash some memory and that the configuration would need to match all the options of your particular car. So dealer only install.

FYI, try and find a dealer that has done it before. In my case they left a few trivial user configurable settings disabled. Not worth bringing the car back to get it fixed.