Thanks ZuffenHouseRules! Hadnt seen that, but its pretty much confirms what I'd expect. Presumably the ECU mapping is fixed, whats really changing is just throttle sensitivity. That chart shows less variance than I've seen from some 3 run sets where nothing changed. Presumably any mode can make maximum boost, the VVT magic is more around maintaining power during brief drops in RPM, like upshifts so all modes showing pretty much the same thing makes sense to me.
On the bump thing, I can confirm that I've noticed a slight amount of driveline lash when lifting at certain RPM. One car I test drove had quite a bit more of it than the one I bought, which has almost none, but occasionally on a throttle lift I can still feel something moving a bit. Again, I really haven't had the seat time to experiment, but if what your noticing is something related to the mounts, trying to reproduce it in all three modes might be enlightening.
Actually its more like the mounts are too stiff not soft. It might seem counterintuitive, but I'd wager you'd find things are smoother in Normal as the mounts are softer and the engine is freer to move independently. I can tell you from my race car, where everything is solid mounts, thats things clunk all the time on and off throttle. ie one thing moves they all bang about because everything is so tightly tied together. Goosing the motor strains the mounts as the engine twists which transmits shock to the chassis. When the mounts are softer, what was transmitted engine motion is now absorbed and softened by the mounts, thus you don't notice it. The reason, BTW, you want things tied down firmly is for cornering. The softer mounts allow the lump to squirm around under lateral load particularly in fast transitions. Limiting that motion by stiffing the mounts enhances handling precision and makes things more predictable.
