Ghozt

Okay so I read about people saying they were driving their car in "Ds" as opposed to "D" and I had no idea what they were talking about. After playing in my car for a day trying different things I just figured out that if you move the shifter to the left side it goes to Ds. I also noticed that it seems to be much faster in this mode. Is this like a sportier mode for driving aggressively, or am I imagining things?

I wonder how many Max drivers have no idea their car has two automatic drive settings. I'm not a guy who reads instruction manuals but plays with things to figure them out. Trying to race people in D always resulted in disappointment for me, but in Ds I feel like I'm getting more of the 290 horses.

shdwonthsun

iTrader: (1)

i could see how a D sport mode may seem more sporty

djdavebse

the ds mode is much more sporty but burns alotttt of gas

Ghozt

lol...

everything i do in this car burns a lot of gas. i have to seriously struggle to get 19-20 mpg and usually average 18. maybe the sport package should have come with a bigger gas tank so you dont have to fill up so frequently. i feel like i live at the gas station now.

MaxLoverAz

iTrader: (1)

It feels faster but in reality it's slower in acceleration times. I typically run in sport mode only in the city, once on the Interstate I go into what my GF says is "limp mode" LOL

Car Addict

To me it feels like when in Ds the RPM's stay higher so the engine is in it's peak power range when taking off.

logik05se

I used to think Ds was faster as well, but after reading a lot of what people say, D on paper should be faster. I also asked my master tech at my shop and he confirmed that D is faster for straight line accleration. When I mess around with friends and do any kinds of "runs" from a roll, what ill do is padle shift down so the car is in the lowest gear possible and holds the power band. Once the initial take off is done I slap it instantly back into D and just let the CVT do its work. Seems like it makes more sense rather then just rolling straight out of D and the rpms being all the way on the bottom at 1000Rpm's and having to wait for the car to "grab".

TintNinja

It seems to me that the Maxima's powerband is just after 6000 rpm. When you use Ds, it shifts at about 6000 rpm so you don't get that strong steady powerband.

shdwonthsun

iTrader: (1)

Ds mode wasn't made for drag racing. or the whole car for that matter.

what it WAS made for would be hitting the twisties, staying lower in the "ratios" to dig you out of corners with less lag bringing the CVT back into lower "ratios"

sg1214

The reason I love DS and M mode is because when Im driving at low speeds, my enginme and exhaust are roaring, and I love that sound, I even turn off my radio just to listen to it. The one thing Manual mode is useful for is driving on the highway, what I mean is, that once I get up to cruiising speed I throw the car in M mode and go all the way up to 6th "gear". I found that I have actually increased my fuel economy, because when Im in that setting, the engine will not rev as high as it would in drive when i need to accelerate.

OneWhtMax

my tank is always empty <> d or ds the power does not change only how it feels the engine is what it is

lightonthehill

That is right. The power doesn't change. The only reason 'D' is slightly faster and slightly more fuel efficient than the 'DS' is because the flow of power and accelleration is continuous, with no simulated shifts.

But many will feel the 'D' is not as much fun as the 'DS'

Ghozt

I'm having a hard time telling if the car just sounds louder or is actually faster. I get the feeling that off the line I have more torque and the RPMs go higher than normal, but the car is fast anyway. As many have mentioned in other threads, the car may not sound like it is going fast but it accelerates very quickly when you want it to. If you have the premium package you probably won't even notice you're going 90-100 as you barely feel a thing and the engine is quiet.

lightonthehill

Same here. Especially when I am on an open interstate in a rural area on a long trip. I will be sauntering along enjoying the drive when my wife mumbles something like 'ummm, are we doing 100?', at which time I glance down and realize I am risking being jailed and having my insurance rate rise considerably. Embarrasing. I'm sure the patrolman would understand if I told him I didn't mean to go that fast. NOT.

The only way we know for sure that 'D' is faster than 'DS' is because several here on the ORG took their 7th gens to the track and ran computer-timed quarter miles, alternating between 'D' and 'DS'. The 'D' option had the better times.

If I were driving a winding mountain road for fun, then 'DS' is the only way to go. I have also used 'DS' in making long, steep, curvy descents from high mountains. Otherwise, I show my age by always leaving the tranny in 'D'.

09Maxima_Sam

My thoughts and how I drive it as well.

TintNinja

I'm confused. You guys don't feel the power difference when the RPMs go past 6000??? Ds shifts at 6000, D goes up to 6400 and drops back down to about 6200-6300, and if you're lucky and you work it right, you can get it up to about 6600 for a couple seconds. For some reason, that extra 200-300 RPM makes a difference. Test it out. I re-tested it out last week cause I knew I felt D was faster.

Dubl-A

+1

emckissack

You guys know about the extra gas peddle travel past the initial stop point right?

emckissack

You guys know about the extra gas peddle travel past the initial stop point right?

Car Addict

yup