rockyman

What's the difference between sport and sport plus modes?

faifai83

Page 265

http://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/do.../sec_04-05.pdf

rjm

According to the Owner's Manual Quick Guide, p. 42, the Sport Mode affects steering response and transmission.

"Sport Mode: An acceleration response suitable for sports driving is provided by controlling steering response and transmission.. Suitable for when precise handling is desirable, for example when driving on mountain roads."

gkcmilner

On vehicles without AVS it's like what rjm said. On vehicles with AVS "Sport" is throttle and transmission, "Sport plus" adds steering and suspension.

peteharvey

Sports mode is just the Power Mode on your electronically controlled transmission.
Sports+ is that Power Mode on the gearbox, combined with firming up your electronic dampers [nee shock absorbers], if you have those electronic dampers.
On F Sport models with 4 wheel steering, Sport+ also activates the four wheel active parallel steering as well, to improve the stability of the rear end from fish tailing.
Some one also said that Sport+ also makes the electrically power assisted steering wheel heavier too? I'm not 100% sure on this one....

rockyman

Is there any technical data on the suspension? How much does it stiffen the suspension in sport plus on my fsport? Does it adjust t hem all equally, or are they constantly being adjusted independently? What do the sway bars do?

Thanks!

natnut

For cars with AVS, the dampers is being adjusted constantly. Sport/Sport plus stiffens the base level of the dampers but it will still automatically soften the dampers when going over humps/bumps.

Sway bars are non adjustable (the 3GS460 had option of adjustable stabilizer bars) but i suspect they will again offer that option in the future facelifts/refresh.

peteharvey

Don't forget, the electronic dampers are merely adjusting the damping rate only, in other words the floatiness or hunkered down feel.
Technically, after hitting a bump, it is changing the frequency of oscillation.
Firm damping means the oscillation frequency is rapid.
Soft damping means the oscillation frequency is slow, so the car feels floaty.
The slow frequency has less energy, so feels less tiring.
Hi frequency oscillations have more energy, so feel more tiring.
However, the hi frequency oscillations give more control, rather than bobbing up and down all over the place.

The electronic dampers won't actually alter the spring rate, which controls how much lean, hence hence how much lateral weight transfer occurs.
Minimizing this weight transfer will result in more grip, hence faster changes in direction; what you call steering response, turn in, or steering sharpness etc.
Minimizing the lateral weight transfer will also give greater maximum lateral acceleration, hence maximal terminal grip on the skidpan.

The anti roll bars is something different again.
The stiffer the anti roll bars, the more the front and rear pair of wheels behaves like a non-independent beam axle, or a live axle.
The softer the roll bars, the more truly independent the front and rear pair of wheels are.
With a typical anti-roll bar, the suspension is best described as semi-independent to varying degrees.
A pair of wheels can only be 100% fully independent, if there is no anti-roll bar at all.
Conversely, a pair of wheels can only be a 100% fully dependent beam axle, or live axle, if it is 100% rigid.

Without a front anti-roll bar, if the left front wheel hits a bump, then only the left front spring compresses.
However, with an anti-roll bar fitted, if the same left front wheel hits a bump, not only does the left front spring compress, but the anti-roll bar forces the right front spring to compress as well!
Thus, the roll bar is effectively increasing our spring rates.

When the car rolls, lateral weight transfer causes the outside springs to compress, but this outside spring compression causes the anti-roll bar to cause the inside wheels to compress too, thus counteracting the body roll.

Thus, firming the dampers will give you more control from rebound, as the car bobs up and down to dissipate its vertical energy.
Meanwhile, firming the springs will give you both faster changes in direction, and more terminal grip manifested as greater lateral acceleration.

The anti-roll bars are more effective than the springs in preventing lateral weight transfer, however the roll bars cause a much greater deterioration in ride quality, and roll bars have little effect on preventing longitudinal pitching via squatting under acceleration, and nose diving under braking.

If the Sport+ Mode could also increase the spring and roll bar rates, then the car would handle like a miracle...

gkcmilner

in this article by Kevin Watts I found the best explanation of the adaptive suspension:
http://lexusenthusiast.com/2011/11/2...the-technical/

peteharvey

Very good link gkmilner...

Dharp65

Thanks for the info

rockyman

Thank you for the info

larrygrand

Hi. I'm new to the forum, so I apologize if my question has already been asked and answered, but....
I have a 2017 RX 350 F Sport and enjoy driving only in Sport + Mode. Is it possible to make this the default setting so that I don't have to change it every time I start the vehicle? Thanks for your help with this.

TrevorTran

Unfortunately that is not possible with Sport and Sport+. The car can only default to ECO or Normal modes.

gflexus

See thread I posted today entitled "Good Technical Information." It shows specific details of Drive Modes and differences between F sport and non-F models.

Don't forget, in addition to the continuous electronic adjustments that AVS controls, the F sports also have stiffer bushings & springs, bigger brakes, bigger wheels, etc. All make a difference!