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Gas Mileage differences between modes

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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 02:25 PM
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Default Gas Mileage differences between modes

Does anyone knows of any documented differences between the gas mileage differences between the various Economy, Touring & Sport modes?

I usually drive in Sport mode, Touring when wife is also in car, & Eco when on the freeway.

So just curious if there's any gas savings, & how much, when switching to Eco or Touring, vs being in Sport mode most of the time...
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 02:40 PM
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That's going to depend on whether you have an automatic or the manual. With the manual, you only get V4 operation when in Eco mode. I don't think the other modes will really have any impact on gas mileage. Gearing doesn't change, so RPMs for any given speed will be the same regardless of mode.
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 04:42 PM
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Does the auto goes to 4 cyl cruising at highway speed?
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 04:48 PM
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The auto can go into 4 cyl in all modes unless you use the paddles to manually shift. That keeps it out of V4 mode. From the 2014 Owners Manual:


Active Fuel Management®
This system allows the engine to
operate on either all or half of its
cylinders, depending on the driving
conditions. With a manual
transmission, the system is only
active in Eco Mode. See Driver
Mode Control on page 9-38. With an
automatic transmission, the system
is not active in Manual Mode. See
Manual Mode on page 9-28.


When less power is required, such
as cruising at a constant vehicle
speed, the system will operate in
the half cylinder mode, allowing the
vehicle to achieve better fuel
economy. When greater power
demands are required, such as
accelerating from a stop, passing,
or merging onto a freeway, the
system will maintain full-cylinder
operation.
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 05:10 PM
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Always in all modes unless you pull it into manual.
Originally Posted by NavyBlue2
Does the auto goes to 4 cyl cruising at highway speed?
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 07:29 PM
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I drove about 500 miles in ECO and another 500 miles in Sport to see how much difference they made. Well, down I95 to 301 to I75 and it made no difference in my mileage. Go figure??
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 07:35 PM
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I am pleasantly surprised at how frequently my automatic (8 speed) shifts to V4. Its not just highway driving; even around town with mild acceleration. I can't speak to gas mileage yet since I only have 1600 miles on my vert. I love setting my center Setting so I can watch when it switches from V8 to V4!
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Old Oct 28, 2014 | 08:45 PM
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Just a one time observation so far. On a flat road at 75 mph, the car would easily go into v4. The instant fuel economy was actually a little better in v8 mode in touring than the v4 mode in eco. This may be that aerodynamic drag is the predominate factor. At 60mph, V4 yielded better fuel economy.
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Old Oct 29, 2014 | 12:00 AM
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So why does GM/Chevy even have the Eco mode if it doesn't have any noticeable gas savings?
Then I'm in Sport mode almost all of the time then...
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Old Oct 29, 2014 | 12:20 AM
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Because the throttle response is different between the modes (tour, sport, track), I would imagine that there is an economy difference between them, even with a manual.
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Old Oct 29, 2014 | 10:22 AM
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I drive a 20 mile RT to work every day in my C7 non-Z51 A6 and I tried all modes but Weather. I find when in ECO/Tour mode I tend to drive more conservatively just because it is in an "economy" mode, I guess. When in Sport/Track I drive more aggressively to hear the pipes. That alone could effect the MPG unconsciously. That said, so far I don't see any major difference in MPG, .01s of a gallon if any. Regardless of the mode I tend to get around 300-310 miles between fill-ups or around 20 mpg. (My 20 mile daily route has 30 stop lights, 4 stop signs and only about 1/2 mile of freeway, the rest suburban roads.)
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 01:08 PM
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Originally Posted by NavyBlue2
Does the auto goes to 4 cyl cruising at highway speed?
Yes
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 01:16 PM
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In the sport mode there is sport throttle progession vs. touring mode which has normal throttle progression-- so says the literature. Not sure what this means but I assume the throttle is more responsive in sport and therefore will consume more fuel. How much more I haven't a clue nor what sport throttle progression actually does compared to touring.
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 01:17 PM
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Originally Posted by Kathybisonic
I am pleasantly surprised at how frequently my automatic (8 speed) shifts to V4. Its not just highway driving; even around town with mild acceleration. I can't speak to gas mileage yet since I only have 1600 miles on my vert. I love setting my center Setting so I can watch when it switches from V8 to V4!
I agree. I haven't done a really comparable run in both modes, but I watch the instantaneous MPG a lot and there is a definite improvement in mileage in the AFM mode. I believe further evaluation will confirm at least 2 to 3 MPG. The transition between 4 and 8 cylinders is so smooth that unless you have a really good ear, or are monitoring on the DIC, you really can't tell when it changes.
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike Campbell
I drove about 500 miles in ECO and another 500 miles in Sport to see how much difference they made. Well, down I95 to 301 to I75 and it made no difference in my mileage. Go figure??
Based on the roads you were driving were you heading to the Villages???
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 02:37 PM
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I have a 2015 Z51, A8, with about 2500 miles on it. It seems to stay in the v4 mode more when driving in Eco mode. On a recent trip back from Tampa on I75 I got 32.8 average. This was in the Eco mode all the time.
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 03:59 PM
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Default Mileage

Originally Posted by Mike Campbell
I drove about 500 miles in ECO and another 500 miles in Sport to see how much difference they made. Well, down I95 to 301 to I75 and it made no difference in my mileage. Go figure??
I think it depends more on how you drive than on which mode you're in. BTW, I thought the Auto wouldn't go into 4 cylinder in Track mode?
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To Gas Mileage differences between modes

Old Jan 12, 2015 | 04:38 PM
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This thread is somewhat silly, although I don't blame the originator for the topic, as it is somewhat interesting since the Corvette does have this feature.

However, the Corvette is a performance car first and foremost. It is efficient and aerodynamic enough that even cylinder deactivation probably doesn't make much of a difference. At least it would seem according to others posting on this thread.

Personally, I would prefer that GM not put the technology into this platform, especially if it doesn't make that much of a difference, and cut the cost of the vehicle or better yet put the funds into giving it more horsepower!
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 04:38 PM
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I have an M7.

Went to bowling green from eastern va in Oct.
kept in track mode on the way out. 29.5 average
eco mode on the way back. 30.5 average

tried to keep cruise set around 75mph both ways, but there were the obligatory few bursts above that setting
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Old Jan 12, 2015 | 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by LSRX
This thread is somewhat silly, although I don't blame the originator for the topic, as it is somewhat interesting since the Corvette does have this feature.

However, the Corvette is a performance car first and foremost. It is efficient and aerodynamic enough that even cylinder deactivation probably doesn't make much of a difference. At least it would seem according to others posting on this thread.

Personally, I would prefer that GM not put the technology into this platform, especially if it doesn't make that much of a difference, and cut the cost of the vehicle or better yet put the funds into giving it more horsepower!
They probably have to pay lip service to their CAFE ratings.
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