I'm new to the forum (and to my 2004 M3) so will apologize in advance if this is a stupid question. But, what exactly does that "Sport" button do? The owner's manual refers only to changes in accelerator responsiveness (and I can easily feel that effect). But is that all? I can't find any reference material that goes into any further detail. Thanks in advance for any replies.
Remaps throttle response to make it seem quicker and that's about it. With the SMG, the sport button is not real useful at lower speeds. That is the reason I flashed the Dinan software into the car soon after I bought it. It smoothed that out plus it made the normal mode a little more responsive.
M3 Sport Mode Exactly, it changes the drive by wire modulation such that a quarter press on the throttle in Sport Mode seems something like a half press on the throttle in Non-Sport Mode.
One additional note on the "Power" button on an E46 M3: I'll stop short of calling this a gimmick, since I found this feature mildly helpful in sharpening throttle response on the track or when driving fairly aggressively in the twisties. (Even still, you'll need to anticipate this jolt of power and carefully manage your throttle as you pass through an apex so as not to upset the suspension). However, you may want to use it sparingly, especially around town. The nervous throttle this creates can result in some awkward and uncomfortable moments, such as when you're pulling away from a stoplight. You'll know immediately if you accidentally left the button activated by the whiplash-inducing lurching that can happen at low speeds. This feature on the new E92 M3 has thankfully come of age by integrating steering feedback and shock damping to the list of systems controlled by what is now called the M-drive button.
The best explanation I've read: What does "Sport" mode do? This is probably the most misunderstood button in an M3. Depressing "Sport" button does not add any horsepower, increase torque or do anything else to boost the car's performance. Since the throttle pedal in an M3 is not physically connected to the throttle bodies via a cable like traditional designs, the amount of fuel the car actually gets is controlled via software and not directly by your foot. The software simply reads the position of the throttle pedal and then translates that into how much to open the actual throttle (actually its a lot more complicated then that but you really don't need the dirty details). The software can be altered to provide more or less fuel per given pedal position. When in Sport mode, the computer simply gives more throttle input per % of pedal input than in standard mode. Other wise, if hypothetically the software give 50% of possible throttle at 50% of the throttle pedal, in Sport mode the same pedal input may give you 70%, etc (these numbers are just examples). Wide open throttle is exactly the same in Sport and Standard modes. The car is not any faster, it just feels that way because it takes less pedal input to pump more fuel into the engine. Also, unlike the M5, M3's Sport mode does not alter steering boost - it only remaps the throttle pedal position sensor. Source: http://m3.madrussian.net/faq.shtml#16
and to those e92 M3s there is the Sports Plus feature over and above the Sports mode... how much more difference and any definition about it I cant fully related and explain, but all I know is I've chosen it as part of my steering wheel M-Buttom setup and one word to describe it, is "WOW"
