Normal vs Sport
#1
Normal vs Sport
I own a 2017 Maxima SL. I've drive in "normal" mode 99.9% of the time. I've only used "sport" on long road trips to west Texas where the added sip comes in handy for passing farm equipment at 90 mph lol. I've seen in threads where people drive in sport mode exclusively and claim sport mode is more efficient. Is this true? I would think the opposite but I'm really ignorant regarding cars. Would someone please explain to me the "benefits" of sport mode? Advantages/disadvantages vs normal. Thanks guys!
#2
I own a 2017 Maxima SL. I've drive in "normal" mode 99.9% of the time. I've only used "sport" on long road trips to west Texas where the added sip comes in handy for passing farm equipment at 90 mph lol. I've seen in threads where people drive in sport mode exclusively and claim sport mode is more efficient. Is this true? I would think the opposite but I'm really ignorant regarding cars. Would someone please explain to me the "benefits" of sport mode? Advantages/disadvantages vs normal. Thanks guys!
So, as it relates to MPG in Sport and Normal, I'm not experiencing any better results one way or the other. I can also say with all the fun I have with the car getting on it, I'm not seeing it affect it adversely either. I just enjoy this car very much. Once you understand how to manipulate the CVT, you get around any potential droning and just let the car perform as it should. I also don't rabbit jump from a stop. All my hard accelerations are from cruising speeds. That's where you get a really good taste of the powerband.
#3
<<So, as it relates to MPG in Sport and Normal, I'm not experiencing any better results one way or the other. I can also say with all the fun I have with the car getting on it, I'm not seeing it affect it adversely either. I just enjoy this car very much. Once you understand how to manipulate the CVT, you get around any potential droning and just let the car perform as it should. I also don't rabbit jump from a stop. All my hard accelerations are from cruising speeds. That's where you get a really good taste of the powerband.>>
Agree 100% with everything said. I have seen no gas mileage difference between the two modes, and I use the sport mode mostly when I am on the highway. And yes, it is very true that you get to experience all the power this car has to offer when accelerating from 40 mph upwards, not from a dead stop.
Agree 100% with everything said. I have seen no gas mileage difference between the two modes, and I use the sport mode mostly when I am on the highway. And yes, it is very true that you get to experience all the power this car has to offer when accelerating from 40 mph upwards, not from a dead stop.
#5
I think sports mode is kinda useless on the highway. I find the best use for it... somewhere out on the curvy mountain roads. It keeps rpm high for a faster take over or when you cornering. On the highway it can only be useful if you will take over multiple vehicles a head of you by zig zagging them.( will look like reckless driving). When car keeps high RPM sure it will burn more fuel. Try to do city driving on sports mode it revs like crazy... when you let off accelerator pedal.
Last edited by NisCal17; 12-21-2018 at 11:56 AM.
#6
Nothing official I have read indicates that Sport Mode changes the suspension. It changes throttle response and transmission logic, while increasing steering feel. Cars with Active Sound get a change in that as well, but nothing with the suspension.
#8
Sport mode adjusts engine, transmission, and steering to enhance performance.
#10
i wish there was some kind of official comparison. I presume all the pro reviewers such as "car and driver", only test in Sport Mode exclusively. So it would be cool to see what the 0-60 time is in Normal mode.
my experience is that Normal mode is still pretty darned fast. I leave it in normal 90% of the time. It does fall a bit flat if your trying to gun it at a yellow light though. Normal mode is a bit conservative with the throttle in that scenario, and it may seem less powerful than it really is.
The weird part about Normal mode is when you clearly are accelerating, but the RPMs are dropping. It doesn't bother me at all, but at first it took some getting used to. Sport mode does a much better job of pretending to sound like a normal transmission.
my experience is that Normal mode is still pretty darned fast. I leave it in normal 90% of the time. It does fall a bit flat if your trying to gun it at a yellow light though. Normal mode is a bit conservative with the throttle in that scenario, and it may seem less powerful than it really is.
The weird part about Normal mode is when you clearly are accelerating, but the RPMs are dropping. It doesn't bother me at all, but at first it took some getting used to. Sport mode does a much better job of pretending to sound like a normal transmission.
#11
Don't count me in. I find no difference in accel. at cruise in either mode, except for my radio to mimic engine sound. Gawd I hate fake noise. Use the money, Nissan, and cut me a break on better flow mufflers. I need that good, real sound coming in through my windows, not traveling from inside to outside!
#12
Don't count me in. I find no difference in accel. at cruise in either mode, except for my radio to mimic engine sound. Gawd I hate fake noise. Use the money, Nissan, and cut me a break on better flow mufflers. I need that good, real sound coming in through my windows, not traveling from inside to outside!
Its not fake. Nissan worked with Bose and put a microphone in to pipe the engine noise with in the cabin. I need to find the link a Nissan/Bose engineer talking about this. I read it some where online.
#13
From the Owners Manual on Sport Mode: "The Sport Mode adjusts the engine, transmission and steering to enhance performance. In the Sport Mode fuel economy may be reduced."
From the Owners Manual on Active Sound Control (also called Active Sound Enhancement, came with the SL, SR and Platinum): "Active Sound Control enhances existing engine sounds according to the engine speed and driving modes through the speakers and woofer."
More on the above from Bose, which they call Active Sound Management: https://automotive.bose.com/technolo...und-management
Above link found at this Bose site that describes the Bose system in the Maxima: https://automotive.bose.com/vehicles/nissan/maxima
From the Owners Manual on Active Sound Control (also called Active Sound Enhancement, came with the SL, SR and Platinum): "Active Sound Control enhances existing engine sounds according to the engine speed and driving modes through the speakers and woofer."
More on the above from Bose, which they call Active Sound Management: https://automotive.bose.com/technolo...und-management
Above link found at this Bose site that describes the Bose system in the Maxima: https://automotive.bose.com/vehicles/nissan/maxima
#14
From the Owners Manual on Sport Mode: "The Sport Mode adjusts the engine, transmission and steering to enhance performance. In the Sport Mode fuel economy may be reduced."
From the Owners Manual on Active Sound Control (also called Active Sound Enhancement, came with the SL, SR and Platinum): "Active Sound Control enhances existing engine sounds according to the engine speed and driving modes through the speakers and woofer."
More on the above from Bose, which they call Active Sound Management: https://automotive.bose.com/technolo...und-management
Above link found at this Bose site that describes the Bose system in the Maxima: https://automotive.bose.com/vehicles/nissan/maxima
From the Owners Manual on Active Sound Control (also called Active Sound Enhancement, came with the SL, SR and Platinum): "Active Sound Control enhances existing engine sounds according to the engine speed and driving modes through the speakers and woofer."
More on the above from Bose, which they call Active Sound Management: https://automotive.bose.com/technolo...und-management
Above link found at this Bose site that describes the Bose system in the Maxima: https://automotive.bose.com/vehicles/nissan/maxima
#15
Guys, I respectfully beg to differ with you. If a computer program tries to mimic (enhance?) my existing engine sound (is that engine sound, exhaust output sound, or both, or what?) and pipe it through my speakers then I consider that faked. I want to not only hear the roar, but feel it as well. I want to hear those dB sound pulses directly from my exhaust tips directly to my ears, not through the danged Bose speakers... and I want those outside the car to hear my roar as well. Likewise, if the tire manufacturers were to drastically reduce the tire squeal on aggressive launches to "barely audible", I would not want Nissan to enhance what miniscule squeal was left and pipe it through my speakers. Is it just me?
#16
After all the sound denting was done. Nissan found the motor to be to quiet and wanted folks to hear it. Hence Nissan working with Bose on the sound system and came up with the mic idea being placed some where in the engine bay. Piping the engine noise through the speakers. So it’s not fake in the way it’s being piped in. That is the legit noise of the engine goodness.
#17
You may be able to disable the piped in (or fake of you prefer) sound by visiting this menu....
It shows two options, one for ANC which is clearly the noise cancellation, and ASC... which I'm not sure what that it is but could be the sound enhancement. I haven't tried it yet, but it's not very noticeable on my car anyway so I haven't bothered.
It shows two options, one for ANC which is clearly the noise cancellation, and ASC... which I'm not sure what that it is but could be the sound enhancement. I haven't tried it yet, but it's not very noticeable on my car anyway so I haven't bothered.
#18
You may be able to disable the piped in (or fake of you prefer) sound by visiting this menu....
It shows two options, one for ANC which is clearly the noise cancellation, and ASC... which I'm not sure what that it is but could be the sound enhancement. I haven't tried it yet, but it's not very noticeable on my car anyway so I haven't bothered.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTei0LkALtE
It shows two options, one for ANC which is clearly the noise cancellation, and ASC... which I'm not sure what that it is but could be the sound enhancement. I haven't tried it yet, but it's not very noticeable on my car anyway so I haven't bothered.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTei0LkALtE
I believe the issue with that is the setting won’t stick. Need to do it every time you start up the car again.
#19
#20
Sport mode 99.9% of the time. The car is super responsive at Highway Speeds flying around another vehicle or on surface streets to get up and go from a dead start at a light. Normal mode is sluggish at best and I only use it in very heavy stop/go traffic to reduce tranny shock. If you can't feel the difference, then you are not really pushing the car to go. The most annoying thing is that I cannot place it permanently in Sport Mode, but have to chose it every time I start the engine, but the car is so awesome that, well, if that's the only hangup then no biggie.
#21
I found that during stretches when I use sport quite a bit, my MPG drops very slightly. It almost has to be that way, because sport is both increasing the RPMs and moving the weight of the car more quickly than normal mode. I consider sport mode to be either for fun driving or for situations where I want quick acceleration on tap, or for when I am driving curvy mountain roads and want to have engine braking as part of the equation.
For regular everyday driving where traffic is very heavy or sluggish (which is most of the time where I live), and speeds are closely monitored by law enforcement, I keep the tranny in normal and just slog along with the rest of the herd.
For regular everyday driving where traffic is very heavy or sluggish (which is most of the time where I live), and speeds are closely monitored by law enforcement, I keep the tranny in normal and just slog along with the rest of the herd.
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