Using Drive Mode instead of Sport for straight line

[Jimmyw86]

It also seems like the transmission shifts faster in drive mode than in Sport Mode. Obviously with twists and turns, I'd want to use Sport mode but for straight line performance I feel the drive mode is faster. Anyone else notice this? 

[Sage]

I have not, for me it is the other way around.  I do have a LMS tune.

[Fingernip]

1 hour ago, Jimmyw86 said:

It also seems like the transmission shifts faster in drive mode than in Sport Mode. Obviously with twists and turns, I'd want to use Sport mode but for straight line performance I feel the drive mode is faster. Anyone else notice this? 

I have definitely noticed this. We need someone to try both and run the 1/4 mile. It definitely feels to me that regular Drive mode is quicker in a straight line while sport mode is more suited to real world driving and road courses. Sport seems to hold gear too long and runs out of the power band. It will toss you back in the seat every time you get on the gas but when simply going straight through the gears it holds on too long. 

 

Its funny because my buddy just got a 2014 Mercedes E350 AWD and its rated very close to the same 0-60 as the edge ST. But test show that it only gets sub 6 seconds in eco mode and sport mode off. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Fingernip

[jamie1073]

Well I have used an app on my phone and OBDII WiFi adapter to check the 0-60 and in both modes they stay at 5.81 ish.  But it does seem to shift better in Normal mode than Sport.  If you time your paddle shifts in Sport mode though it is more fun to drive since if you time them right, since the shift is so delayed, you can stay in boost better than in either mode auto shifting.  Either way it has great throttle response in Sport mode but holds gears to long and shifts to slow with the paddles.  It sucks all around, even more so now that I read a review of the Explorer ST shifting nice and quick in Sport mode and better than even the Mustang GT with the same trans.  I know different transmissions but I have to imagine with the right programming and the Edge ST could shift sportier.  Anyway, I just placed my order for a LMS device and tune.  Hopefully that will fix my trans irritations and make me enjoy the next 2.5 years of my lease more.  I knew it would never be quite as fun to drive as the Focus ST was but damn is it boring even in a straight line.  The most fun I have is flooring on a curved hill on my road on my way home everyday. 

[vmaxbaby]

Which FORD would see these comments and step it up a little.  Like let us have boost in 1st and 2nd gear... maybe not 100% boost but 8 to 10 pounds would be nice and would get this tank off the line a little better

 

[jamie1073]

58 minutes ago, vmaxbaby said:

Which FORD would see these comments and step it up a little.  Like let us have boost in 1st and 2nd gear... maybe not 100% boost but 8 to 10 pounds would be nice and would get this tank off the line a little better

 

 

It would be,  Seems they cared with the Explorer ST programming, even made it better than a Mustang GT shifting wise.  But not for the Edge ST. 

[akirby]

1 hour ago, jamie1073 said:

 

It would be,  Seems they cared with the Explorer ST programming, even made it better than a Mustang GT shifting wise.  But not for the Edge ST. 

 

The Explorer ST tranny is several years old.  Edge ST tranny is brand new.

[jamie1073]

21 hours ago, akirby said:

 

The Explorer ST tranny is several years old.  Edge ST tranny is brand new.

 

I know this.  That does not mean they could not have programed the Edge trans better.  I mean it is not like they just threw an 8 speed trans in the vehicle on a whim.  And if Livernois or other tuners can make it shift better than Ford should have done that from the get go.  It is supposed to be an ST so it should be quicker shifting.  Like I said they programmed, made, the Explorer ST shift better than even the Mustang so it is setup to be more 'Sporty' from the start. 

[akirby]

1 hour ago, jamie1073 said:

 

I know this.  That does not mean they could not have programed the Edge trans better.  I mean it is not like they just threw an 8 speed trans in the vehicle on a whim.  And if Livernois or other tuners can make it shift better than Ford should have done that from the get go.  It is supposed to be an ST so it should be quicker shifting.  Like I said they programmed, made, the Explorer ST shift better than even the Mustang so it is setup to be more 'Sporty' from the start. 

 

Its easy to get a tranny to shift faster.  It’s hard to do it without sacrificing comfort and reliability long term.

 

The 10 speed had issues the first year.  It takes time to perfect these things in the real world.  But I do think they rushed this one to market a bit.

[jamie1073]

16 minutes ago, akirby said:

 

Its easy to get a tranny to shift faster.  It’s hard to do it without sacrificing comfort and reliability long term.

 

The 10 speed had issues the first year.  It takes time to perfect these things in the real world.  But I do think they rushed this one to market a bit.

 

I just wish they maybe did some better programming, sure comfort is nice but why change the name to ST if you are gong to keep it all 'comfy' shift wise.  People want Comfy then buy a titanium or if they want a 2.7TT then buy the Lincoln.  If you want to call it ST then make it one.  There was nothing 'Comfy' about my Focus ST.  And they are not selling these ST's like wildfire in my area.  Heck with 3 dealers withing spitting distance of me, 20 miles, they have 7 total and the only one sold so far is mine around here and I had it dealer traded to get what I wanted.  The dealer I bought mine from has 4, with the one I looked at first 7 months ago still there.  Maybe they would sell better if they would have made it more ST than 'comfy' I guess.  Lol,  Then again I have only seen 2 Edge Sports in my area ever, I see more Raptors. 

 

[akirby]

You’re assuming that they didn’t even try.  It’s way way way more complicated than that.  I think they had limited time to get the job done - probably 6-12 months less than they would have liked.

[jamie1073]

12 hours ago, akirby said:

You’re assuming that they didn’t even try.  It’s way way way more complicated than that.  I think they had limited time to get the job done - probably 6-12 months less than they would have liked.

 

Oh I assume they tried and someone up above the Engineers said 'no we will sell more if it is comfortable and soft' than if it is fast/quick and fun.  Then with the Explorer they learned their lesson and said lets make the Sport button Sporty.  Sadly the reviews for the the Edge ST are not very good in the transmission department and it shows since they are not flying off the shelves so to speak.  Oh well. 

[akirby]

Ok, whatever.  I know a transmission engineer and that’s not how it works.

[jamie1073]

2 hours ago, akirby said:

Ok, whatever.  I know a transmission engineer and that’s not how it works.

 

And they have never seen an executive listening to a focus group say they want something else.   I mean obviously the transmission can shift better since LMS has managed to get it to.  So your telling me that some executive could not have possibly said 'no we do not want it to shift that way make it more comfortable shifting'.  Really you want me to believe that an Engineers ideas have never been shot down? 

[akirby]

You’re right.  Stupid engineers.  Fire them all.

[vmaxbaby]

I agree with both of you.  I worked for 15 years for Siemens automotive and I would be in a meeting and one of our smartest engineers that really knew what he was talking about would bring up idea's that were good and it was like a light bulb went off in the meeting because nobody else though about it...than we would turn to the Manager and he would have a puzzled look and than allot of times would say NOOoo that isn't going work and then go with a stupid idea and we would all just shake out head and then talk about him after the meeting..LOL

 

Was the Edge ST released before it should have been... I have to say 100% yes because there is all these little gotcha's that wasn't fixed before they were selling them.  Adaptive lights being one of them for sure.   And yes they fixed it but if they (engineers) would have had more time they would have got it.  Same thing with the transmission, the piped in sound, etc.  Another year of beating on it they would have worked out allot bugs but I am thinking they were given a deadline and told to make it work because the powers above said we need this out there.  Thinking if they would have made this a 2020 model that time would have perfected it more.  But when the man above says get it out and you go to him and say " there are some issues" and after he hears them he still says let it go we can work on those later. 

 

The 10 speed in the explorer has been out in the mustangs so they knew where to start with that thing for sure.  And guys I follow on youtube that do allot racing they beat the crap of that transmission at the drag strip and it just takes it, and I mean some have twin turbo's kits and really beat on the car.  Will they push it to hard and break something...for sure but for us daily driving and then sport driving at times that trans would last us forever. 

 

What I am hoping for is getting on here or the EDGE ST facebook page ( which has allot of activity at times fyi) and see that someone post up that there is another update for the trans and they make it even better than the last update.  I can tell you 100% that Ford does have people watching forums, because of the Shelby Forum I am a member of people complained about things and low and behold other model years fixed everything we complained about.  Example mine came with 3.31 gears in the rear.  All Shelbys have 6th speeds and with those gears you had to be doing Mach 1 to get to use 6th gear so most of us put 3.73 gears in and it was night and day difference you could use all the gears and it was allot snapper... next thing you know ford from the factory puts in 3.73 gears   same with the clutch they put in had issues, they fixed that,  the air box sucked and even Road and Track in a article about the car said it couldn't breath 3 years later ford changes the design to more of an open air CAI system and picked up 50 HP (that and a new tune same 5.4 motor as the 2007-2009 that came factory 500hp.  Now are they looking at this forum or FB because they are worried about the Edge ST..??? I don't know but if there was a site to post up our complaints to ford I would love to have it so I could tell them my 2 cents not that it would matter but if hundreds said the same thing maybe it would?

 

 

[jamie1073]

I hope they do fix it.  Lol!!!

[akirby]

Remember the ST launched the same time as the regular models so the time was obviously compressed.

 

Considering how many they’ve sold and that only a few enthusiasts have major complaints it was probably the right business decision.  That would be a big revenue loss to delay the STs for one year.

[jamie1073]

14 hours ago, akirby said:

Remember the ST launched the same time as the regular models so the time was obviously compressed.

 

Considering how many they’ve sold and that only a few enthusiasts have major complaints it was probably the right business decision.  That would be a big revenue loss to delay the STs for one year.

 

How many have they actually sold.  I do not see any other ST's in my area.  I see more Raptors than Edge ST's or Sports, heck I have seen more Nautilus 2.7's.  Do you have any sales figures as I am kind of curious.  Sure there are only a few enthusiasts that notice the vehicles issues but that does not make it right.  The magazine reviews alone all complaining about the same thing is a problem.  Many people looking for such a vehicle and to spend $50K for an SUV that is sporty probably read them.  And launching the ST was not something new for Ford, they just renamed the thing and beefed it up a bit.  Heck they managed to add more power and somehow make it slower.  They made mistake with this models transmission and should have effort into testing, both in the ST and the normal models. 

[onyxbfly]

I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm not here to bash the ST.  I would like to say that I have 3 friends go and test drive the ST. One is a former Sport owner that their lease expired. None of them liked it.  They all complained about shifting issues. 2 of them asked if the TSB was applied.  The dealerships told them that if there was a TSB that addressed the shifting issues that they would be applied after purchase.  

 

Needless to say there were 3 less ST sold that day.  One ended up getting a X3. One said they would try a different dealership.  I feel bad because I recommended that one of them go to my preferred dealership. 

 

I asked my service advisor about it and he basically said that while the dealerships are reimbursed by Ford If a customer comes in with a concern that they can replicate or readily see etc.  They are not reimbursed on TSB unless it was a recall for a any vehicles that are not customer owned.  

 

Personally If I was Ford I would have made it mandatory that the dealerships perform any and all TSB that would potentially effect sales. Especially if the TSB are readily available. I don't know how long it takes to perform the TSB nor whats involved etc. But if Ford is serious about ST sales they should addressed as many issues and or concerns before releasing it. 

 

 

[jamie1073]

I agree that the TSB should be applied before even letting someone test drive it since it is for a driveability issue.  And I assume it does not take to long as it is just a software update so how ever l long the programming takes. 

[vmaxbaby]

When they did mine I was at the dealership for about 2 hours.  Now not sure how long it was for the flash part but when I have flashed my other cars it is like 10 minutes total for backing up factory and putting in new program.  Also after the flash I didn't have the piped in sound anymore

[jamie1073]

I think the bulletin states it is a 1.5hr job but I can't imagine it takes that long.  I had them do mine on my  first oil change so my dad took it to the dealer, he works there, so they had it all day.