Can someone please give a little more indept explanation of the S mode. When is the best time to use it and what are some potential cons of using S mode. The manual doesn't give the best explanation. Are the gear ratios faster in S mode? Thanks for your feed back.

 

Putting the transmission into S mode just prevents it from shifting into overdrive gears, useful when you're in stop and go traffic.

Also, and more importantly, it changes the behavior of the paddle shifters so they operate more like a manual transmission and will always hold the gear you select.

Basically if you want your fuel economy to suck put it in S mode.

 

To add to the last post, pending on where you live, using the "S" mode allows you to start the vehicle in second gear making it easier when operating in snow or wet environments. The fuel economy does suck but you have a more responsive vehicle and more control.

 

I don't know how to explain it better than how I'm about to write it.

S feels like it will hold the engine rev longer or long enough while you apply brakes when you're doing a rolling stop. I am back in the power range right away when stepping on the gas after slowing down, rather than accelerate from near idle again.

If I know I have to do a series of stop-and-go or low speed cornering, I might put it in S but I'm too lazy to do it the vast majority of the time.

 

I haven't really found a good use for S mode

easier to just use the paddle shifter to drop down a gear or 2

 

i use it to pass someone.. thats pretty much it..

 

I just bought a '12 TL too. I traded in a 2nd gen CL-S. The CL had s "manual" shift option where you slid the gear shift lever over to the side, then were able to upshift and downshift by pushing the lever up and down. I a lot of other cars had and still have a similar function to simulate manual shifting, to a degree. The downside to that approach is that you have to take your right hand off the steering wheel to do this (of course, a manual shifter has the same drawback.)

The new S mode has the same purpose that was served in the older cars by sliding the shift lever into a different position: it tells the transmission that you want to hold the gear you're in until you're ready to select a different one. It enables moving the manual shift function up to the steering column so that you can keep your hands on the wheel.

Since a lot of very high end cars have been doing this for quite a while, I think this functionality has become expected by the marketplace in near-high-end cars too, even though it probably isn't used that much in real-world driving.

 

^^Bah - tap your shifters in regular drive mode, you'll find they work fine.

2G and 3G required the kick over (even though the 3g had the paddles, they still need the shiftronic selected on the 3G)

The Sport setting is nothing but revs and shift logic. Every engine has a sweet spot in the power band, but that doesn't mean it's where you want the engine running all the time *unless you don't mind getting 15mpg*.

Kick it into S to keep it in the sweet spot of the powerband and prevent the shfit logic from dropping out of VTEC lobes. Instead of 3rd gear shifting to 4th at 65 - it'll hold the revs as long as you're on the power. And shift nearer redline. Honda engines don't make power til about 4k, and generally it's a linear powerband from there to redline, or just shy of it when the fuel map drops out.

 

You may still shift into 4th and 5th while in "S" mode.

+1 While driving the 5speed SH-AWD since 2007 I've noticed that shifting down into "S" has become a learned response in situations that I anticipate will require quicker throttle reaction and lower gears, such as passing an RV on Hwy 101. It is easier to simply shift back up to "D" and into overdrive for better mileage. Otherwise if I use the paddle shifters my trip mpg's tend to be too low.