Sport mode in 2WD experience

[Led]

I haven’t seen a post in this topic. I tried the sport mode on my Limited and after it switched to 4WD I switched it back to 2WD. I found the truck much more responsive and a smoother ride. Has anyone else tried this?

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[Lippy]

It won’t do anything for your ride, but it makes the throttle mapping more responsive.

 

[canes1]

I've switched to Sport mode, all while staying in 2H.
Big difference in throttle response, not sure about handling.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

Hold on.

Is the OP saying 4x4 Sport vs 4x2 Sport has different throttle response?

Because the only possible difference between the above 2 choices is the Auto 4x4 engaging and adding additional parasitic drag, and/or mismatched tire size due to possible tire wear causing a slight difference and additional drag.

The Sport mode in general changes the hybrid strategy on the powerboost to waste electric and gasoline as the cost for being sporty. It gives boost just after throttle tip in, so yeah it’s dumping a ton of fuel to do that.

 

[cool rod]

I have a 2WD Platinum and I felt that the handling firmed up when I switched from Eco to Sport. I don't see anything in the owners manual to explain it, but seat-of-the-pants it seems to reduce the body roll.

 

[F-150 Prius]

I haven’t seen a post in this topic. I tried the sport mode on my Limited and after it switched to 4WD I switched it back to 2WD. I found the truck much more responsive and a smoother ride. Has anyone else tried this?

Same here. Assuming you mean smoother shifting, at least compared to Eco and Normal. I would prefer to have a way to change drive mode to "Sport" and stay in 2WD, but I guess "exercising" the 4WD selector is actually good for the transfer case and front diff, front hubs.

 

[Snakebitten]

My 3rd Ecoboost and second with the 10-speed. The so called "Sport" mode in each has changed a little in each iteration.
The main difference in the 2021 is that Sport Mode now automatically enables 4A (if you have it) and in my 2018 KingRanch it did not.
I do however put it back to 2H if the weather is nice.

I much prefer "Sport" mode from a dead stop through about 3rd gear because Ford's strategy is to disable EV mode, and as a result the truck doesn't exhibit that indecisiveness about maybe being EV, maybe not, maybe skipping 2nd gear maybe not.......which to me comes across very unpolished at times in what Ford calls "Normal" mode.

My only complaint about Sport Mode is that I wish Ford hadn't nixed EV altogether. It would be just fine for EV to still be available for cruise control driving, and then the mpg penalty for Sport Mode would be less than the 2-3 that I would experience if I stayed in Sport.

What I find myself doing is I switch to Sport when I am in the kind of traffic that that has me slowing and stopping and then accelerating again. Not exactly stop&go, but urban driving. Then once I get out in the open and have room to cruise, I switch back to Normal to get my EV opportunities back on the table. This keeps my daily ~50 mile commute in the 21-23mpg range but I can still avoid all the clumsy low speed Normal strategy shortcomings.

 

[F-150 Prius]

very unpolished at times in what Ford calls "Normal" mode.

Right. Normal and Eco should be buttery smooth. Sometimes Eco is smooth, sometimes it gets tangled up in its algorithms and clunks out a shift that makes no sense … why slam the clutches … ever?

My only complaint about Sport Mode is that I wish Ford hadn't nixed EV altogether. It would be just fine for EV to still be available for cruise control driving

I think Sport attempts to charge the battery and have the battery ready to offer maximum torque once the engine is at maximum torque for the given RPM at wide open throttle.

What I find myself doing is I switch to Sport when I am in the kind of traffic

Same here. I turn the drive mode switch three clicks counter-clockwise to go into Eco or click "ok" to stay in Eco mode. When I get into city traffic, I pick a safe moment to switch to Sport and then tap the 2H to get back into two wheel drive. On dirt, this is great, too … and lock in the rear locker … great traction, predictable handling.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

I have a 2WD Platinum and I felt that the handling firmed up when I switched from Eco to Sport. I don't see anything in the owners manual to explain it, but seat-of-the-pants it seems to reduce the body roll.

Does your truck have the onboard scales and the electric adjustable shock option?

 

[Snakebitten]

Does your truck have the onboard scales and the electric adjustable shock option?

Wait! You mean the Lightening tech is available as an option on the 2021 Powerboost?

Ahhh, I see it. Yea, not available with FX4 package. Kinda curious what negates it since FX4 isn't really anything special these days. I'd like the scales, but don't think I want to be locked in to oem shocks or coilovers.

 

[cool rod]

Does your truck have the onboard scales and the electric adjustable shock option?

No, just standard in that regard. I'm going to try to get a better feel for the handling in the next few days to convince myself there's a difference. I do have the Tow Package, not Max Tow, and that might have something to do with the handling which I feel is too bouncy. But if I'm right then the bounciness might just be an Eco thing, that seems to be where I feel it the most.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

No, just standard in that regard. I'm going to try to get a better feel for the handling in the next few days to convince myself there's a difference. I do have the Tow Package, not Max Tow, and that might have something to do with the handling which I feel is too bouncy. But if I'm right then the bounciness might just be an Eco thing, that seems to be where I feel it the most.

Well unfortunately, if your truck doesn’t have the high end shock package, then the shocks do not change their rebound/bump rates.

 

[F-150 Prius]

I assume "Continuously Controlled Damping (CCD)" has modes mapped to the Drive Modes.
Until there's air suspension, there's only so much the dampers can do, but there are two ways dampers can improve handling beyond being "plush" or "firm":
(1) Low speed compression equates to sway bar stiffness, making for better turn-in (steering into the apex of a bend in the road)
(2) High speed compression equates to ride harshness … a more compliant high speed compression can create a more comfortable ride over typical potholes or rough trails at speed.
CCD option is not compatible with FX-4 (I assume because of the different springs and ride height) and it requires the "Onboard Scale with Smart Hitch" which presumably shares components for suspension position sensors.
The next step would be to have the front suspension "inform" the rear suspension … when the front wheels go over a bump, the rear suspension can adapt (e.g. stiffen to avoid bottoming out, or soften to absorb a speed bump.)
The next, next step would be to use front cameras and sensors to "see" the road and time the arrival of the front and rear, left and right tires at each bump or hole in the road. Mercedes and other Euro brands offer "seeing" predictive suspension and I think GM does this in Cadillacs.
Presumably the Hybrid becomes a PHEV and inherits the Lightning four wheel independent suspension (I assume Ford has planned ahead to have all F-150s and even F-250s share a common chassis and frame castings with the Lightning.)
For now, shifting drive modes and suspension settings is not bad for a pickup.

 

[AutonomousHybridF150]

From what I can see, only the F-150’s with that shock package could change shock rates on the fly with a switch from normal to sport. CCD - Continuously Controllable Dampers is an option, and it isn’t available with FX4 package.

I’m not saying that there isn’t something else changing a characteristic of the truck in sport mode, but it wouldn’t be the shocks changing because they aren’t wired in to the PCM.

The throttle does change drastically from normal to sport, and I feel this could be a large contributing factor to the OP noticing the extra friskiness driving in sport.

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