Normal vs. Sport Mode = totally different car

[Bikeman315]

Ok, mom...

Your welcome, son.

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[Norm Peterson]

Yes! This! Modern hypercars are designed with driver assist in mind. There's things a human simply can't do such as apply braking force to each wheel independently. If you turned off the "nannies" in those cars, they would not only go around a track slower, they'd be downright undriveable. Go ahead @Norm Peterson, tell me how it dilutes the experience or some other ephemera

If you can't feel when a car is about to come "unstuck", and you don't have the throttle discipline to approach that point slowly every time, that's evidence enough that you're not ready to drive it that hard (or maybe at all). Any feeling of "holy $h!t this thing's fast/gets loose real easy" means you at least momentarily stepped past what your current skill set can safely support.

If, instead, Ford is in fact calibrating the mechanical side of their cars' handling to be so close to loose that they need to crutch the understeer budget electronically, that's on them for providing a car that inherently wants to crash once you get past some point. Maybe that design philosophy works in fighter jets with highly trained pilots (with not much of anything solid to fly into up there), but for cars being driven by people of at best average skill that approach properly belongs in the dustbin.

Though I'm afraid that some mfrs may be approaching that. Perhaps you remember the fuss concerning the Lexus GX460 a few years back. They fixed the lift-throttle oversteer problem the cheap way (by recalibrating the stability control to be more conservative) rather than the right way (mechanical fixes).


Norm

 

[Silver Bullitt]

Going to any Cars & Coffee events soon? I want to watch...from a safe distance

Nope. Never been to one, and don't plan on it anytime soon. I didn't buy this car to drive it like a grandma. You can be smart and still have fun. I would never let the ass hang out in traffic or around anyone in town. I don't drive to show off, I drive to have fun. And, if I do want to let the ass hang out playing around, I sure don't want some computer trying to straighten it out when that's not the plan.

 

[Silver Bullitt]

You want to have fun, go to a track. On the street keep all of us safe and leave them on.

Yes, I'm sure you and others have always driven the speed limit and never ever got on it unless you were on a track. There are safe ways to have a little fun now and then.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

I didn't buy this car to drive it like a grandma. You can be smart and still have fun.

As a certified grandma-style driver I find this statement deeply concerning, possibly offended...

...okay, not really. I definitely lean more on the cautious side of driving "styles". Case in point, I'm only now learning how to drive in Sport+ with the shifter on Drive after a year of owning my car. Eventually I'd like to learn how to use the paddle shifters properly. But for now, I'm fine learning in increments, slowly yet steadily and consistently.

Yes, I'm sure you and others have always driven the speed limit and never ever got on it unless you were on a track. There are safe ways to have a little fun now and then.

I won't speak for the track, but I'm definitely the King of the Speed Limit around these parts! (I know, what am I doing here of all places and why am I allowed posting privileges? I am the guy who originally considered buying a hybrid mid-size sedan as my first car purchase.)

 

[Norm Peterson]

You want to have fun, go to a track.

This much for sure

On the street keep all of us safe and leave them on.

Some of us still managed to get here without the aid of any of these technologies. For a few of us, that included seat time in such examples of stellar handling as early [swing-axle] Corvairs. Not always driven gently.


Norm

 

[Norm Peterson]

I was actually thinking about the dynamic instability of modern fighter jets when I was writing that. Thing is, the analogy doesn't quite work. Not only do they not have crowds in the sky to crash into, the planes actually would crash without constant trim applications from the computer.

A modern fighter jet would actually crash every time if a human pilot tried to fly it unassisted.

It's really the only analogy possible, being that the fighter jet is intentionally 'tuned' for extreme maneuverability and response to its pilot's intentions. In automotive terms, you'd certainly call that a case of having oversteer intentionally designed in.

And at ten or more times the speeds that cars typically run at, I'm sure it would be physically impossible for a human pilot to stay on top of everything involved.

The reason a hypercar with no nannies is impossible to drive is because 1400+ HP can't be applied to the road all at once without regulation, not that the car can't drive in a straight line at 40 MPH.

That comes down to driver discipline, does it not?

1400 HP is too far outside of what I have experienced for me to make any claims about being able to stay on top of that much power, but 700 or so is not. I might well be faster, and my lap times would most likely be more consistent with a bit of nanny help***. But I wouldn't learn as much of the right things I should be learning, and there would be a real risk of learning to make poor choices in steering and pedal inputs that I already know I really shouldn't.


*** I actually have a little scrap of experience regarding the speed and consistency side to this, albeit at the ABS level. On the same day, on the same track I had some laps where the ABS had gone inop and some where it was present. Turned out that the fastest two, and 3 of the 4 fastest laps were with the ABS inop. Only slightly faster, but on the ABS-present side of the ledger lap times were somewhat more consistent when the ABS was there. Now I may have an advantage over those who have never driven non-ABS cars, let alone driven them hard. But it's something to think about.


Norm

 

[Bulldog9]

One of the reasons I went with the standard suspension over the Magna Ride was that it was not independently selectable (long term cost of ownership as well). There were two Bullitts at the dealer I bought mine from (just delivered the day I happened by), a green and black. The only other difference was the green had the magna ride.

In the end, the suspension and the fact I've never owned or wanted to own a green car pushed me to the black. If I could select the suspension mode independent of the drive mode in the same way you can select the steering and exhaust, I may have gone that way.

My favorite 'dash mode' is the track/drag, and I have the digital RPM gauge up rather than the gear. I don't mind the normal mode, and is a good balance IMO, but MYMODE is my favorite.

I have it set as:
Dash/Throttle-Drag
Exhaust-Quiet
Steering-Normal
TC -On
LC-Off

Of course the exhaust in Sport or Track/Drag is amazing, but when running in quiet mode, you can hear the intake, and the glorious mechanical sounds of the Coyote. My wife calls it the "BMW" Mode..... LOL and that is OK by me. We had an E-36M3 for 20+ years, I expect to keep the Bullitt as long.

 

[Bulldog9]

If you listen closely you can hear the warranty expiring on a BMW too

I've heard that, sounds much like 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' lol

 

[Tacswa]

In the end, the suspension and the fact I've never owned or wanted to own a green car pushed me to the black. If I could select the suspension mode independent of the drive mode in the same way you can select the steering and exhaust, I may have gone that way

Same reason I went with a black Bullitt. I think the DHG is a nice color but I never could see myself owning a green vehicle. Usually wouldn't pick black either but I wanted a Bullitt. I am OCD and the black stresses me out trying to keep it clean and swirl free.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

I think the DHG is a nice color but I never could see myself owning a green vehicle. Usually wouldn't pick black either but I wanted a Bullitt. I am OCD and the black stresses me out trying to keep it clean and swirl free.

Green is my favorite color, and if the right tone of it happens to be on a car I'm interested in come 2025 and beyond, it'll definitely be on my list of cars to consider as my next daily driver. That said, I feel like green, dark or light, is the most temperamental color to attempt photographing. Whereas my Kona Blue EcoBoost is pretty much on point in a photograph versus seeing it in person, I feel like photographing a green car results in the picture showing it with a more yellow or blue tint than what it actually is when right in front on me.

I think going forward, my preferences for modes will be as follows:
Everyday Streets/Traffic: Drive, Sport+, Sport Steering, Quiet-Sport Exhaust
Parking Lots/Cul-De-Sac: Drive, Normal, Sport Steering, Quiet Exhaust

 

[Bulldog9]

Same reason I went with a black Bullitt. I think the DHG is a nice color but I never could see myself owning a green vehicle. Usually wouldn't pick black either but I wanted a Bullitt. I am OCD and the black stresses me out trying to keep it clean and swirl free.

I've owned mostly black cars, and yes they are a pain to keep clean.....

1982 Saab 900T (520K miles)
1986 MKII GTI
1997 BMW M3 "Cosmos Black" similar to shadow with blue metal flake
2002 Saab 9-3 Viggin (piece of crap)
2006 Jeep Commander

My wife has had a series of black cars too, current is the Mercedes AMG GLA 250.

I really like the Shadow Black, with it's dark blue and grey metal flake.

 

[W1cK3dSiK]

Normal mode gives me about 4 more mpg than sport mode. I don't really care, as I prefer sport mode, but I have to use normal mode when my wife is in the car. Otherwise, she gets upset if even the shadow of my foot touches the gas pedal. Don't take an old lady with you if you want to enjoy driving your car... any car!

What is this "MPG" you speak of? Lmao. JK, even in track mode which is what drive in most of the time when I do drive the car, I still average 17 or so.

 

[Tacswa]

I've owned mostly black cars, and yes they are a pain to keep clean.....

1982 Saab 900T (520K miles)
1986 MKII GTI
1997 BMW M3 "Cosmos Black" similar to shadow with blue metal flake
2002 Saab 9-3 Viggin (piece of crap)
2006 Jeep Commander

My wife has had a series of black cars too, current is the Mercedes AMG GLA 250.

I really like the Shadow Black, with it's dark blue and grey metal flake.

Have you found a go to product to help with hide/ reduce swirls/scratches?

 

[Tacswa]

Green is my favorite color, and if the right tone of it happens to be on a car I'm interested in come 2025 and beyond, it'll definitely be on my list of cars to consider as my next daily driver. That said, I feel like green, dark or light, is the most temperamental color to attempt photographing. Whereas my Kona Blue EcoBoost is pretty much on point in a photograph versus seeing it in person, I feel like photographing a green car results in the picture showing it with a more yellow or blue tint than what it actually is when right in front on me.

I think going forward, my preferences for modes will be as follows:
Everyday Streets/Traffic: Drive, Sport+, Sport Steering, Quiet-Sport Exhaust
Parking Lots/Cul-De-Sac: Drive, Normal, Sport Steering, Quiet Exhaust

Love Kona blue. Had 2 mustangs in Kona Blue. Damn near just as bad as black as far as keeping it clean and keeping scratches/swirls to a minimum

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