Quote:
Originally Posted by dzz
From https://www.xhpflashtool.com/blog/ho..._logic_of_8hp/ "Or you now can access the fastest shifts possible in S-Mode with full auto-operation..." so Sport (and probably Sport +) mode has the fastest shifting.
In my experience Sport and Sport + mode shift the same (fast) but when flashed to stage 3 (or 4) Sport + mode will keep the rpm in the range for max torque: "The Stage 3 file builds on top of that, but makes S combined with the Sport+ setting ready for roll-racing and the racetrack. As soon as you engage this mode, the trans will keep your RPMs above 4000 and won't upshift below 6500 RPM. This is especially useful in situation where you want maximum acceleration withouth having to think of the right gear by yourself. This mode can also be used on the Race-Track. It will shift just like a race-driver with a stick would do it. Hold gears all the time til the upper rpm range and aggressivly blip down by itself when braking into corners." |
Yep, I've read the manual. And I have no interest whatsoever in stage 4 which programs the automatic to drive like you're always on a hot lap at the track.
My F10 has a 205 (non-sport) transmission and did not come with a DEC switch (no COMFORT/SPORT/SPORT+ at all). Most of my xHP observations are based on that starting car combined with an M Performance Exhaust where I can actually hear the different shift programs.
Shift point: the RPM at which the TCU decides to shift up or down to the next gear
Shift program: the programming used to perform the shift, regardless of what RPM or even manual vs automatic
The biggest thing xHP did for me (with 205 transmission and no DEC switch) was unlock shift programs. I have personally observed 4 shift programs ranging from slow-and-sloppy to DCT-like "braaap!" shifts. From the factory my F10 only ever used the first two. xHP unlocked all four. With the factory exhaust installed it's almost impossible to separate them.
Without a DEC switch, xHP only uses the D/S/M selection on the shifter to determine how aggressive to be with both shift points and shift programs. I think they did that pretty successfully BUT almost no one has F-chassis cars without a DEC switch. Their support was patchy, they kept forgetting about it, and there were bugs.
I retrofitted a DEC switch this summer. Now I can update to the latest xHP code and fix all the bugs. I must report that the matrix combination of NORMAL/SPORT/SPORT+ combined with D/S/M is too many options. Now I'm finding that SPORT/S or M isn't a sporty as I want but SPORT+/S or M is more than I was looking for etc... Oh well - I'm not removing the switch.
My permanent observations: from the FACTORY D/COMFORT was annoying. Always in way too high a gear and difficult to coax out of it to get a little acceleration for a pass or merge onto the highway. I had to flip to S all the time or do this 1" throttle jab to get it to kick down and then accelerate at the pace I wanted to before it upshifted again. This car is my first automatic and I was always fighting it. S mode held the revs way too high to be useful too. M was functional, but somewhat slow and disconnected.
With xHP: D/COMFORT was a lot nicer to drive. It doesn't go all the way to top gear at city speeds, when I squeeze the throttle a bit it comes down a gear or two right away and shifts are still silky smooth. S mode actually holds gears more like I do when driving stick or M mode and is much better tuned. The shift programs are more aggressive than factory if you're getting into the throttle, including "braap!" shifts when you're accelerating more briskly. Using M mode was almost like a DCT - a MUCH more engaging driving experience for a guy who wishes he still had 6MT. I found if you were light on the throttle you got a quick shift with a little gap in exhaust noise just like a perfect manual shift. If you were deeper in the throttle you got the DCT brap and you were almost instantly in the next gear with a little lurch from the drivetrain.
I never got xHP to be "faster". I got xHP to make a soft, lazy car more engaging like option 704 cars with MT I owned in the past. Mission accomplished.