Drive vs. Sport when highway cruising (10-speed auto)?

homerinthewild · 2023-03-12T19:51:12-0400

I was wondering whether there is a difference in what gears you reach when steady-state cruising (60-65 mph) in Drive vs. Sport mode. IIRC, Sport locks you out of the overdrive gears, but what does that actually mean for our 10-speeds when cruising? Is there a benefit to driving in one mode or the other at such speeds? I tend to drive in sport mode all the time because of the peppier throttle response around town, but if putting it in Drive when on the highway will give me tangible benefits, I'd be happy to change my habits.

Grazie!

Buldawg76 · 2023-03-12T23:08:31-0400

In our 10 speeds gears 8,9,10 are overdrive gears since 7th gear is 1 to 1 ratio. Allowing the trans to go to 10th gear when on the highway cruising will gives best fuel mileage versus staying in 7th gear all the time when cruising. Around town you won't see as much difference as on highway.

BD

Pointyears · 2023-03-12T23:18:28-0400

Buldawg76 said:
In our 10 speeds gears 8,9,10 are overdrive gears since 7th gear is 1 to 1 ratio. Allowing the trans to go to 10th gear when on the highway cruising will gives best fuel mileage versus staying in 7th gear all the time when cruising. Around town you won't see as much difference as on highway.

BD

What’s the RPM difference in 7th v 10th at, say, 75mph?

KewlWinter · 2023-03-13T05:59:26-0400

Pointyears said:
What’s the RPM difference in 7th v 10th at, say, 75mph?

Your RPM at any given speed can vary based on axle ratio. A car with 3.73 differential gears will have a higher RPM than a car with 3.15 gearing.

hiddenpants · 2023-03-13T08:06:02-0400

When my car was stock I noticed that being in sport helped a lot with throttle response. But with the tune it changed the transmission shift points so I usually just leave it in drive. Even on the track I find the shift points better in drive now, I just turn traction control off completely.

but for fuel efficiency you get the best in drive weather you have a 10 speed or 6 speed. Changing the shift points makes the cad way more fun to drive but the fuel efficiency takes a hit. I get like 20-22 mpg highway, 15 city.

Buldawg76 · 2023-03-13T09:37:12-0400

Pointyears said:
What’s the RPM difference in 7th v 10th at, say, 75mph?

I am not sure of the RPM at 75 in 7th since I do not drive at that speed in 7th enough to have ever paid attention but in 10th at 75 the engine is at 1800 RPM. I imagine in 7th it would be somewhere in the area of 2500 to 2700 or so plus or minus a few hundred RPM.

Also matters what rear axle ratio and tire sizes your car has as well like @KewlWinter states.

BD

homerinthewild · 2023-03-13T20:11:36-0400

Thanks for the responses, all! I'll definitely take her for an extended highway trip in Drive soon, give it some good pulls and see how I like the performance.

Buldawg76 · 2023-03-14T00:03:41-0400

Mine has the 3.15 ratio rear axle and 255/40/19 tires.

BD

johnnybee · 2023-03-14T03:08:26-0400

Sport does not lock out the overdrive gears. That said, I’ve never seen 10th in sport on the highway. The difference between 9th and 10th is perhaps 150 rpm at 120 kph (~75 mph).

homerinthewild · 2023-03-14T05:13:58-0400

johnnybee said:
Sport does not lock out the overdrive gears.

Glad to hear that, John. Looks like I encountered some misinformation, then. That, or maybe people get confused by the modified shift points and think it isn't capable of going higher in that mode. Who knows.

Buldawg76 · 2023-03-14T10:21:36-0400

If you use a paddle shifter in sport mode it puts the trans in manual shift mode so you have to up and downshift with paddles unless you hold the upshift paddles for 3+ seconds to take it out of manual shift mode, so that could be why you never see any of the overdrive gears when in sport.

BD

homerinthewild · 2023-03-14T18:14:20-0400

Buldawg76 said:
If you use a paddle shifter in sport mode it puts the trans in manual shift mode...

I forgot about that, yeah. My Eco didn't come with paddle shifters, but I wish it had. I agonized over whether to get a manual, but decided the auto would be better for heavy traffic.

Jimc12 · 2023-03-14T19:41:21-0400

I decided to check this today on my 2019 with the performance package and 10 speed auto - PP gets 3.55 gears. I was surprised at how little difference there was on the expressway at 75 mph.

In D -- 2,200 rpm (10th gear)
In S -- 2,400 rpm (9th gear)

homerinthewild · 2023-03-14T22:10:17-0400

Jimc12 said:
I decided to check this today on my 2019 with the performance package and 10 speed auto - PP gets 3.55 gears. I was surprised at how little difference there was on the expressway at 75 mph.

In D -- 2,200 rpm (10th gear)
In S -- 2,400 rpm (9th gear)

Thanks for checking this, Jim. Did some driving today (no freeway, ~55mph max), and that tracks my experience, as well. Almost no practical difference, imo. I actually prefer the engine braking in S, so I may just stick with it. I didn't buy this car to max out the MPG, anyway. If I wanted to hypermile, I'd have bought a Prius and hooked a stun gun to the cat. 😆

That's a beautiful 'Stang by the way, love the wing and black stripe.

krotos1970 · 2023-03-17T13:59:33-0400

homerinthewild said:
Thanks for checking this, Jim. Did some driving today (no freeway, ~55mph max), and that tracks my experience, as well. Almost no practical difference, imo. I actually prefer the engine braking in S, so I may just stick with it. I didn't buy this car to max out the MPG, anyway. If I wanted to hypermile, I'd have bought a Prius and hooked a stun gun to the cat. 😆

That's a beautiful 'Stang by the way, love the wing and black stripe.

Lol I didn't buy this car to max out the MPG, anyway. If I wanted to hypermile, I'd have bought a Prius and hooked a stun gun to the cat. 😆

hiddenpants · 2023-03-17T18:12:01-0400

krotos1970 said:
Lol I didn't buy this car to max out the MPG, anyway. If I wanted to hypermile, I'd have bought a Prius and hooked a stun gun to the cat. 😆

It would be hilarious to buy a Prius and just steal the cat yourself and fabri-cobble together a hood exit exhaust. Get it tuned to Not have a cel and it would probably get better mpg while being way worse for the environment. Hypermiling purely to save money and to piss people off

homerinthewild · 2023-03-17T21:23:06-0400

hiddenpants said:
It would be hilarious to buy a Prius and just steal the cat yourself and fabri-cobble together a hood exit exhaust. Get it tuned to Not have a cel and it would probably get better mpg while being way worse for the environment. Hypermiling purely to save money and to piss people off

Get a tow hitch and hang the cat off the back like truck nuts

ihasnostang · 2023-03-18T01:08:47-0400

i think when using sport drive mode it wont let you go into 10th even if you try and manually shift until a certain speed which is like 75 or higher iirc

krotos1970 · 2023-03-18T14:46:47-0400

homerinthewild said:
Get a tow hitch and hang the cat off the back like truck nuts

lmao, best one yet!

homerinthewild said:
Get a tow hitch and hang the cat off the back like truck nuts

Drive vs. Sport when highway cruising (10-speed auto)?

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