si

sorry to say man but # is nothing like NO2 at all.....how can you even say that????? I love my Subaru so much bu people on here seem to act like they have a McLaren F1 or something....

 

sorry to say man but # is nothing like NO2 at all.....how can you even say that????? I love my Subaru so much bu people on here seem to act like they have a McLaren F1 or something....

I don’t think it was meant to take so literal. Ease up, no one is comparing the car to a Mclaren F1.

I use S but at times # especially when car is loaded up, in the mountains or general highway use while needing to pass quickly. I agree it does give the car a nice boost and I can relate to the nitrous example. I certainly am not comparing the H6 to a fast car but it is quick…. I know what fast is, my 67 Firebird Convertible with a Pontiac crate engine and Tremec six speed pushing 600 HP. Even after driving that sport # can put you in your seat. The flat six has a nice power/torque band in #. I agree with another poster “I” gives the car a real dead feel.

 

Which models have this option, and what does it really do?

My 05 XT does not have it, as far as I know.

 

I use "S" mode almost exclusively. I like S# but the car will not default to that mode when starting and i dont like changing it everytime i get in. "I" mode seems to have a bit of stuttering when accelerating that is not as pronounced in in "S" mode. My avg when using this mode and not sporting my roof rack and lights is around 27 in the summer and 23-4 in the winter.

 

I've an 07 XT Ltd with all available options except the navi. I bought it about one year ago in mint condition from NJ, and drove it to Canada on I. It was generally OK, but it so happened that, on my second day driving this car, I almost got rear-ended by an eighteen wheeler while I was entering a highway because my car refused to cooperate when I floored the gas. I was also taken by surprise by that a--hole who accelerated visibly in an attempt to block me before I could reach the end of the highway entry lane. I was very surprised by his reaction because Canadian drivers are usually very courteous. Anyway ...

Long story short ... since that day, my car stays in S mode, and I put it in S# when I get pissed off at some "grey-power" class drivers (Canadians know what I'm talking about , everybody else calls them "Sunday drivers"). The only times when my car goes into Intelligent is when I accidentally hit the SI drive knob, but it only takes 5 seconds to recognize the problem and fix it. IMHO, if one chooses to buy a turbo, fuel economy is not among their top priorities, so I, for one, would never give away the joy of all 240 HP for the sake of four liters of gas saved every 100 km. My 2 cents ...

 

I pretty much keep it in S....I is just to bland,....almost like driving 2 different vehicles.

 

My wife is the primary driver on this and she always drives in "I" mode. I usually use the "S" mode and when I know I want to blow out the carbon, I put in it in "SS" mode. Sometimes I will forget to put it back in "I" drive and wife will comment that the car feels so responsive. She prefers to get better mileage over the power and I'm the opposite. Gotta love the I-drive.

 

Almost always in Sport mode. "I" feels almost dangerous, in that the car is completely unresponsive when I need it to be. From time to time, I put it in S#, which makes the Outback feel a bit more like my old 1.8T Jetta. That engine had a lot of low end toque (peak at 1800 rpm) and you could feel the turbo kicking you in the butt. I don't get that with the Outback, except if I press down in S#.

Fortunately for my gas mileage, S mode is fine compromise for normal driving.

 

With two Si-Drive equipped cars, one with the 5EAT and one with the 6MT, it's interesting to be able to compare the behavior of the two.

On the LGT.B (6MT) the only difference between S and S# is pedal travel for a given response, as far as I can tell. If you want a twitchy throttle pedal, S# works fine, but that's really all you get. I've become used to the interplay of throttle and clutch in S mode, so that's what I tend to use.

On the Outback (5EAT), there does seem to be a difference in shift points in addition to the throttle behavior. This may or may not have to do with a real change in the behavior of the transmission, though. Increased pedal pressure in S-mode to produce an S#-like surge also holds lower gears longer. And S#-like downshifts can be made to happen with the expected additional pedal pressure in S-mode. I think the only way to really tell would be to quantify this somehow (or to get the real technical details from Subaru, which I've never seen), and I just don't care enough to do that.

That said, when I drove the Outback the other day, my wife had put it into I-mode, and I was wondering what was wrong with the car until I figured it out. I-mode works fine for economy during long-distance highway cruising, but it makes the car a real dog in town. HPH

 

On the Outback (5EAT), there does seem to be a difference in shift points in addition to the throttle behavior. This may or may not have to do with a real change in the behavior of the transmission, though. Increased pedal pressure in S-mode to produce an S#-like surge also holds lower gears longer. And S#-like downshifts can be made to happen with the expected additional pedal pressure in S-mode. I think the only way to really tell would be to quantify this somehow (or to get the real technical details from Subaru, which I've never seen), and I just don't care enough to do that.

That said, when I drove the Outback the other day, my wife had put it into I-mode, and I was wondering what was wrong with the car until I figured it out. I-mode works fine for economy during long-distance highway cruising, but it makes the car a real dog in town. HPH [/B]

Nice point you made here about figuring out the shifting points. One quick way to do this would be to connect an OBD scanner (like Scan Gauge), watch the TPS. MAP and RPM parameters reported by the EEC, and correlate them with the shifting points. I wouldn't be surprised if the SI drive system would do nothing more than just changing the relation between gas pedal position and throttle position. Normal cars have a linear transfer function, but with drive-by-wire that can be altered to your heart's desire, as in early limiting it for I mode (see my life-altering experience above or making the throttle open much faster for the initial travel of the gas pedal, making the car more responsive.

 

I used to care about MPG a LOT and would drive in I mode during the 15 miles of non-highway hilly-backroad part of my commute, and S-mode on the 15 mile highway portion.

Then I just got lazy.

Now I use S mode most of the time, and S# if I feel like driving spiritedly.

I don't like how S# makes tip-in throttle response so sensitive, so I don't like launching in S#.

 

Sport mode as its the best middle of the road. I is too weak, dangerous at times if your jumping into traffic.

#Sport I use for spirited driving or super acceleration. Down shifts to much to be used full time.

 

Mainly use Intelligent mode in auto for economy - open road cruising at fixed speed - urban as torque converter locks up sooner and reduces engine power for economy. Its also safer in winter driving conditions.
Also Use paddles in Intelligent"auto" to down shift a gear sometimes as auto downshifting sluggish. instead of pushing accelerator down and nothing /not much happening.

Use steering wheel select button to select sports # and manually shifting with the shift paddles when needed ie over taking, brisk acceleration, hills, etc
Don't like the 6500rpm and radical shift points in auto in sports sharp mode.
Manually downsshift in Intelligent for descending and for slowing down in order not to over use / overheat /prematurely wear out brakes /warp rotors etc.
Hardly ever use sports mode - don't see the need for it.
Have to concentrate to get the best out of S I Drive in changing between Intelligent (economy) and Sports Sharp (performance).

Can understand why some leave it in Sports (middle setting) as per this survey.
Prefer to see a one mode transmission with more throttle sensitive parameters and shift points relative to amount of throttle application.

 

I wait for the car to warm up and then immediately switch it into #S. I think I used Intelligent mode for about 5 minutes when I bought the car and then forgot about it. I didn't buy the XT for the gas mileage, that's what the Crosstrek is for.

 

https://www.subaru.ca/WebPage.aspx?WebPageID=20070

fwiw, my 3.0R motor requires premium fuel to shift quickly, otherwise it turns into a total dog!

I use Intelligent on highway, I switch to Sport when driving up steep hills, and I downshift to save my brakes going downhill.. (I dont have SI, but similar idea)

 

I was going to ask what Si drive was. From that pic I don't need to. I haven't got one of those dials.

 

me neither but, you and I both have Sport mode.. SI just has an extra preset shift point rpm tune, but Im guessing our Sport modes are similar

Fortunately for my gas mileage, S mode is fine compromise for normal driving.

I started a test after reading this thread, about 700 miles ago, using my B trip Odo. I already had a large data log of over 2000 miles in my A trip Odo. Im getting slightly better mileage in Sport mode than in Drive (not SI). You could do a test too if youre curious.

I was surprised by the outcome. Virtually all my miles are up and down a 2000 ft altitude change, through a 50mph 2 lane twisty mountain pass, and I use cruise control 99% of the time set between 2-5mph over.. Im jealous of the new adaptive option...

The standard drive program was apparently lugging too much, trying to hug 2000 rpm in 4th, at times when 3000rpm in 3rd was more called for. (the cruise control tended to lag about 5mph below setpoint and struggled to make up the deficit in normal drive mode going uphill, (and I use premium so I know it was not detuning for knock). I have been enjoying accelerating around town . (in Sport, cruise now holds within 2mph of setpoint going up mountain, and kicks in noticeably sooner on steep sections). The grade ranges from 6 to 11 %.

Now I know why people behind me used to hate me.. Now people in front of me keep moving over, like never before.. I think its my yellow fogs coming up behind them that gives them the willies

 

I use sport mode all the time too. I didn't like how normal mode lugged the engine as well. I'm not as detailed about tracking the mileage but casual observation of the on-dash calculator showed little or no change. FWIW I did get into the ecu map and zeroed out the closed loop/open loop delay and now lugging the engine up a hill no longer has that weird wheezy hesitation or stuttering. Fuel mileage has improved too but that is probably more due to the weather.

 

great info!
good point about the change in seasonal fuel consumption

my fuel mileage around town really drags down my average too

thanks for confirming your impression that Sport does not use more fuel