You don’t. If you’re referring to the “overboost” feature, it has nothing to do with the ‘sport’ button.

Besides, I’m no gearhead. With JCW theres no worry and there’s a bit of prestige to that badge as well as better resale.

The JCW does give you warranty coverage and a well integrated package; on the R53 it was smoother than any other aftermarket concoction, but at a substantially higher price. I suspect the same will be true on the R56. I’ve seen horror stories on NAM of people tweaking their cars with poorly thought out and poorly integrated mods to the point where they actually made the engine performance worse than a standard S, so with any mod you have to be careful and know what you’re doing (there are a few easy no-brainers–reduction pulley and exhaust come to mind–but beyond that you have to be a bit more careful). Personally I like the security of the JCW route, but many don’t want to pay the premium, and thats understandable.

This will be a much more interesting discussion when more aftermarket tuning options are available for the R56….

Havingowned an MC, an MCS and a GP and having driven both an R56 and an R56 S with the sport button endgaged & disengaged, I have to agree with Gabe. The sport button isn’t an instant on type of deal. It tightens up the steering and “accelerates” the throttle response. It brings the smoothed out & presumably more fuel efficient R56 a more aggressive feel. My impression — “off” mode gives the R56 85% or so of the R53 responsiveness, “on” takes it up to 95% or so.

What we should be seeing here are comments of who’s gonna shell out the $ for an order or upgrade. I did, Gabe did, but all I hear from MF land is crickets.

Still waiting on the JCW stage II, that might be my next car…

The standard steering is good enough and the sport steering heavy enough to be a preference with no advantage to either. There’s a unique ideal weighting and feedback for everyone. With the electric power steering system I’m not sure those have to work against each other though typically they do. Maybe the lack of feedback by the reviewer was a too quick an assessment based on his previous experiences? It doesn’t sound like the reviewer was all that rigorous in comparing the sport button on and off.

I realize this is your house…but there is no performance benefit to having the throttle re-mapped so that all of the power is summonsed within the first fraction of pedal travel.

But that’s not what is happening with the sport button. It is still gradual, it’s just more inline with a typical sports car in throttle response.

As for steering, of course you want comfortable weighting, but heavier is not necessarily “correct”, and weight isn’t as important as feedback. The writer of the article felt that the sport button sacrificed some feedback for heft…a fair assessment.

Again if that was actually happening with the steering I’d understand. But the increased weight doesn’t sacrifice any feedback.

As I said in my first post above, hyper-quick throttle response is not what you want at the limit of adhesion while exiting a turn and feeding in throttle (preferably on the track…nobody should be at the limit on public streets). I’m surprised you can’t “wrap your head around” that concept…it’s pretty basic track stuff, especially in a front-drive car like the Mini.

As for steering, of course you want comfortable weighting, but heavier is not necessarily “correct”, and weight isn’t as important as feedback. The writer of the article felt that the sport button sacrificed some feedback for heft…a fair assessment. Again, using the example of exiting a turn at the limit, feedback is crucial to a fast and safe exit, with lighter steering preferred to fine tune your line…too much effort can lead to too much steering input.

Obviously. However, the default of DBW cars with ’sport’ buttons is designed to mimic what most consider conventional throttle travel, with ’sport’ artificially increasing response to make a car feel faster. There is no performance benefit.

There is no performance benefit to quicker throttle response? Wow, I can’t even wrap my head around that sentence.

Nor is there a performance benefit with heavier steering. In fact, racers would consider both a detriment.

Steering with a correct weight balance allows for generally smoother inputs and less time lost in transitions. Not to even mention the drivability benefits. Again I’m having a hard time understanding your rational with these statements.

Obviously. However, the default of DBW cars with ‘sport’ buttons is designed to mimic what most consider conventional throttle travel, with ‘sport’ artificially increasing response to make a car feel faster. There is no performance benefit.

Nor is there a performance benefit with heavier steering. In fact, racers would consider both a detriment.

…your false name, though it’s original intent was clever, really just discredits the very opinion you place after it…

…folks only used that pseudonym so they didn’t have to be held accountable for the rubbish they were so ashamed of but obviously responsible for…

…but i think that’s what mr. bird was alluding to…

…oh, well…

WHA??!!! Are not all modern engines managed on the software level at some point? so no matter if an engine has the sport button engaged or not (or for that matter has one at all) the software (ECU) plays a major role in the performance of the engine. All the sport button does is alters the engine software for increased performance, it doesnt ADD software control to the engine that it didnt have it before.

Bingo. Throttle response has to be artificially managed in a drive by wire car. The sport button is there to allow for two different modes of throttle engagement and steering weight. It’s an ideal solution for different driving environments. My only wish was that an owner could program which state (on or off) was default.

I’m yet to be convinced by the Sports button – it certainly makes the steering heavier but I too can’t feel it being more ‘direct’ – although I wouldn’t say it’s less feelsome, just has a different feel.

Whatever the mode, I still prefer the steering of the R53

you’d be shocked to know that quite a few reporters aren’t what we’d call enthusiasts. This guy seems to fit in that camp.

His profile on the Autocar website seems to indicate otherwise – His current drives are a Mazda 3 MPS (Mazdaspeed3), WRX and Elise

Absolutely not true. Performance as defined by the maximum horsepower produced by the motor is not altered with a ‘sport’ button. Flat out is flat out regardless if the ‘sport’ mode is engaged. What it does is increase throttle response, which as I explained above is not necessarily a good thing, and therefore not universally appreciated by “enthusiasts”.

If you like it, that’s great…but don’t assume those that don’t aren’t “enthusiasts”.