I always keep our X on sport for better throttle response. I have always noted that the radar cruise was rather abrupt in its transitions, braking and acceleration. It seemed to floor it in traffic and then brake strongly to slow down. Well I finally found out why, its all due to the sport setting, if set to normal the response is much smoother, no jack rabbit acceleration or hard braking, it does its business with much less fuss. In addition, I noticed that sport essentially turns off the top gear in all but a prefect level surface. Driving on normal provides significantly better highway mpg. On normal at 75 mph it consistently will provide the advertised 28mpg on sport it drops to around 25.

 

I was wondering about his myself the other day. When I took a long trip two months ago I experienced similar results as far as MPG with the setting of course in comfort mode.

I'd had a hunch that in sport mode I'd be getting less MPG just because of the high RPMs.

 

Good observation and really good to know. What about the comfort setting? Do you think it has any effect on mileage?

 

[QUOTE=upnorth85;15061018]Good observation and really good to know. What about the comfort setting? Do you think it has any effect on mileage?[/QUOTE
I have not, comfort is way too soft, for me even normal is too slow shifting. Hoewever, if Im going to be driving on the highway for hours, then, it doesnt really matter.

 

Comfort and normal are the same, except for the steering wheel, that's much lighter on comfort. When the car is maneuvering in slow speeds, it's always working as comfort.

I've only noticed benefit using sport when driving in twisty roads. Also, in twisty roads I hate the automatic transmission. So for me, sport always means switching the transmission to manual. With the shift paddles, it's all fun (not comparing to a low sedan, of course).

 

Not quite, The transmission mapping is significantly different on sport too, Faster, gear changes up and down, more sensitive throttle, essentially eliminates the lockup converter on 6th gear. In fact the paddles are no faster than the auto in sport mode the paddles simply allow you to select the lowest gear allowable by speed in one shot. On auto the downshift is sequential, however, the gear changes are just as fast. One more thing, the noise reduction system allows more engine sound in the cabin too.

 

I don't like using auto on twisty roads, especially with elevation changes, because I think the transmission gets too confused. I like to stick to one gear and change it when I think it's necessary, not when the crazy software decides to.

 

That is definitely a good point, the ability to keep it in the gear you want for the particular condition However, compared to previous Acura manumatics, this latest 6 speed is IMO the best of the breed. Its fast and, under normal conditions, it seems to pick its gears very well. Again this is true only in sport mode, in normal and comfort, it tries to maximize fuel economy so its noticeably slower to downshift, making it feel a little pokey. I haven't used manual mode much but the paddles are nice to downshift before you enter a curve in sport mode. Personally, IMO, paddles of any sort are a poor replacement for a good old stick. I'm used to know what gear the car is in by the position of the stick. I cant get used to looking at the dials to know what gear I'm in, its a horrible distraction when my eyes should be on the road.
Im hoping to buy an RLX sport Hybrid (if they ever do release the stupid thing), maybe the HUD will make paddles more enjoyable for me since you can keep your eyes on the road an "eye" the gear at the same time.

 

I don't care which gear I'm at. I care to keep the revs within a nice range for the road condition. With a little time, your ear gets used to it. Think of it as a motorcycle. ;-)

 

The IDS only impacts throttle response, steering, AWD and active noise control. It does nothing to transmission mapping. What you're noticing with the transmission is purely the result of the increased throttle response. When crusing at constant speed transmission will always behave the same regardless of IDS setting.

You will notice a difference in shift points when you put the transmission is sport though. I dint quite understand why Acura did not include that in the IDS settings but then again it works out for the best. I put it in sport for the heavier steering but don't want the transmission holding gears longer as the case is when you put it in "S" during daily commutes