Sport vs Race

It is noticeable IIRC - but my memories are from 5 years ago, so not very specific. Race was for track and Sport for road...

 

Traction control is more restrictive in sport mode. You need more throttle to get the car going. In race, the car role much more freely.


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The correct answer to every question is “it depends”. Unless you hold the manettino hard to the right you should have traction control in both modes. “Sport” in the HGTE is similar to “Race” in the regular 599. I drive my 599 (non HGTE) in Sport on the highway and “Race” when I am not straight and level. Both are very comfortable, I have new Michelin Super Sports all the way around and it is a different car than it was when the Pirelli’s were on the car. YMMV.

 

Have to remember that shock absorber settings are stiffened up in Race as well (no Schumacher button on the 599) and the shift times are sped up, too. Can make a difference on rough roads where Race shock settings may be too stiff. The 599 OM actually recommends Low Grip mode for rough roads and city driving because it softens up the shocks further for better response. Race mode gets you to 100 ms min shift time at high revs and throttle settings in the 599 and 85 ms in the HGTE.

There also could be differences in schedules for the exhaust bypass valve settings in Sport vs Race (throttle setting and RPM for opening and closing). Unfortunately, the WSM does not have a schedule for those that I could find. Likely pretty minimal in Sport vs Race and more noticeable in lower traction settings.

 

I think I've mentioned this phenomenon in a different post before...

Re setting the F1 manettino regularly in the Low Grip or Snowy mode for better comfort, the Service Manager at Ferrari South Bay warned the possibility of faster clutch wear due to higher slippage when compared to the Sport or Race settings. Likewise, constant use of Reverse to back up hilly locations causes even greater clutch wear.

He mentioned one client who drove his 599 sedately and never tracked the car. However he lived on a hilly location wherein he had to back up a long, inclined driveway to the garage daily and the clutch required replacement at 5k miles.

 

Race mode quickens gear shifts and the way the car responds Suspension stiffens up and the electronic aids intervene later. If you are in sport mode and change to race the computer will automatically drop a gear. If you want to drive sedately with a Mideast sprint every now and the or drive in traffic sport is fine but for more aggressive driving you need to be in race mode for the track esc off and you unleash the beast. HGTE is worth the cost to upgrade to if you love to drive with exuberance.