SPORT and AUTO mode: Nearly lost car

The rule of thumb is to never drive in AUTO...

 

this has happened to me in my FF and 458...logically it makes sense if you think about how the computer takes its commands. When in AUTO if you dont want to accelerate you have to be sure either to be on the brake or a constant pressure on the gas. you cant put any pressure on the gas pedal

 

I’ve never experienced that. I drive in auto only for a few minutes when cold until the oil temperature gets to about 160. I am then fairly conservative until the tires get up to temperature as well.

I have an F80 M3 with a DCT and I would trust it in auto under any conditions. The 458 I would not. The 458 DCT seems confused in its gear selection unless it’s an extremely slow or fast transition between gears. So, it wouldn’t surprise me if you were being gentle and then suddenly wanted to overtake another car.

In short, in all but the most casual drives I would take control of the car and take it off auto.

 

It is also the rule of fun. I drive in RACE and manual and the RPM is above 3500 most of the time. Never had such a little surprise.

 

Hi hp and tq, racing tires, moist road, very easy to see under kick down.

Speciale did this everywhere under same conditions.

 

Auto mode would have to be holding a very high gear at your speed if as you began to accelerate the DCT then auto shifted down multiple gears. A bit surprising.

However engine likely is doing rev-matching to enhance the downshifts so it does have a potential to break the tires loose on a slippery surface. Add in cold tires and a cold surface with performance tires and you can face a quickly declining situation.

I used to see something like that in manual mode on right turns that were just slow enough to downshift from 3 to 2 and on a slippery surface the rev-match would break the back loose. I learned to predict the behavior and pre-downshift before the turn. My V12 FF is worse than the V8 458.

I seem to recall one of the software updates seemed to help this somewhat. But it is still there perhaps in reduced form and I still pre-downshift.

SV


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Wait just a minute, our cars have an “auto” mode ? Go figure.

 

Why not. Sometimes if you drive in traffic or talk on the phone, it helps massively.

By the way - Elsi, what a combo! 512TR and a 458 is the best combo, exactly what I want to do
Last year I wanted to buy a 512TR in Holland, right after I sold my manual 3200GT. I passed and now I consider this as a mistake, as the price was very good. The 512TR is my childhood dream and I definately will buy one in the near future.

I always drive my cars on CST OFF, but the 458 is so easily manageable, that you can make it out of every slide even if you don't have any skills.

 

If I’m on the phone it’s definitely not in my hand. I only use the hands free in all of my cars. Too many stupid drivers where I live not to keep both hands on the wheel. Best , Kirk.

 

Yes and also - I bought my 458 from Zurich, where I see you live )) I also saw your profile page and saw you want a Scud. This is exactly what I owned before the 458 and let me tell you - you are getting the direction right

Kirk - nobody is saying you should talk on the phone when you drive fast. But yes - when I'm in traffic and drive slow in the city, I sometimes talk on my phone and I don't consider this as something dangerous. Anyway, it's getting too offtopic

 

I don't see this as a flaw at all. I love the looser traction control. My AMG GTs would light up the traction control lights long before the tires.

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Never experience something like this. If I drive in CST off which I do most of the time then you can still drift and the systems will help you to sort out if anything goes totally wrong = you wont be able to spin around (I'm always in manual)

Now with sport mode are you even able to make the slightest drift? Are the different modes (Race, sport, CST off etc) behaving differently when in manual compared to auto?

 

Check your tires, maybe it’s too bold.
Because too much traction and stability control in 458, even in cst off, only straight provocation help to drift little bit.

 

Sorry for the scare and the damage, but fortunately it is only damage to the car. I think for those conditions you would want to be in Wet mode. Even Wet mode allows for a bit of wheel slip. Sport mode allows for a surprising amount of slip before the systems intervene. I agree its also a good idea to check the tires, they might look OK but how old are they?

 

I agree with this.

I don't think what happened to the OP was a result of the traction control or the DCT gearbox in the car; but rather a combination of road and tire conditions.

 

But I think that's what the gearbox is programmed to do -- to keep the car in the gear that optimizes the performance of the car. Had the DCT not downshifted when exiting the corner, the car would have been in a higher gear than it should have been and you would have been lugging the engine.

In the end, no one was hurt and no permanent damage to the car.

 

I’ll point out it isn’t the downshift that is a problem but the rev-matching.

It looks like the rev-matching temporarily overrides the traction control which means you are on your own, kid!

Personally I think that is a bug, not a feature. Others will disagree.

I actively work around the problem by pre-shifting ahead of the turn...YSMV

SV

 

The DCT gearbox is jerky on auto when you throttle down, despite being wet the computer prioritizes torque increase vs traction, even though the computer knows putting down so much torque may spin the wheels.

Therefore even if your right foot is progressive it the gearbox shifting will upset balance of car with sudden jerk and you will lose traction in the wet, mannetino setting notwithstanding.

Echoing what others say, don’t drive in auto and you will naturally ease off throttle when overtaking and manage the torque yourself.


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Omg the tires.