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Eco vs Normal in city driving
- Thread starter Zermus
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I fought with myself and my habits to drive one tank of gas on ECO. Though I got noticeably better mileage (25MPG), I couldn't pass up the fact that I bought a fast SUV for a reason....to drive fast.
I typically drive SPORT when I'm alone, ECO on long car trips, & NORMAL when the wife/family are in the car.
I typically drive SPORT when I'm alone, ECO on long car trips, & NORMAL when the wife/family are in the car.
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because youre expecting the car to actually move when you give it gas, youre probably pushing it harder than you would in Normal mode. all eco does it attempt to keep the engine RPMs low. so its going to shift up faster than normal.
eco is good for long highway miles where the engine speed can be reduced to as low as possible to conserve fuel, and limit the aggressiveness of passing and downshifting.
eco is good for long highway miles where the engine speed can be reduced to as low as possible to conserve fuel, and limit the aggressiveness of passing and downshifting.
On street, you might be better off in normal mode. Leave Eco for highways.
Best way to get higher MPG's is move to the proper speed faster and stay there. Being on Eco, itll take more gas to move and longer to get to speed. Ford already skips gear on normal mode with the 10 speed, so no worries on shifting on low gear
Best way to get higher MPG's is move to the proper speed faster and stay there. Being on Eco, itll take more gas to move and longer to get to speed. Ford already skips gear on normal mode with the 10 speed, so no worries on shifting on low gear
The different drive modes affect throttle response, shift strategy, torque converter lockup, and AWD engagement. All of those affect gas mileage. In the final analysis though, gas mileage is purely a function of brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC). That number varies based on load, rpm, and cam phasing. So, getting to proper speed faster is not a strategy that one should use. It obviously takes more hp to achieve a specific speed in a shorter time (acceleration) and this would require that the BSFC numbers at those hp levels are so much greater that they make up for the extra HP used. On a modern cam phased engine, that is not likely. Also, the ECO mode upshifts earlier, most likely locks up the torque converter earlier than NORMAL mode and limits engagement of the AWD case. That's why the ECO mode is best for gas mileage.
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BMW did a test regarding that, which is the best way to get the most MPG. Accelerating and shifting below 2400 RPM and getting to the speed limit quicker netted the best results vs slower pedal driving.
From my experience in my scenerio on stop and go around town, Eco mode was NOT better vs Normal. More often I need to give it more gas on eco in a higher gear so it can move. Will vary by what your "city driving" is. The gear shift changes between normal vs eco is only 100-200 rpm difference, most times its the same. I hit 6/7 gear on normal mode as well as eco going 30-35 mph. Only time Eco mode was better was on the hwy using cruise control, car does not downshift in a lot of scenerios in eco leaving it in low rpm more often than not.
From my experience in my scenerio on stop and go around town, Eco mode was NOT better vs Normal. More often I need to give it more gas on eco in a higher gear so it can move. Will vary by what your "city driving" is. The gear shift changes between normal vs eco is only 100-200 rpm difference, most times its the same. I hit 6/7 gear on normal mode as well as eco going 30-35 mph. Only time Eco mode was better was on the hwy using cruise control, car does not downshift in a lot of scenerios in eco leaving it in low rpm more often than not.
It would all depend on the efficiency maps, gearing, etc. Comparing some BMW engine is not evidence. Even your quoted BMW story (for a particular model I'm sure) keeps the rpm below 2400. So your argument is that Ford's ECO mode is suboptimal because .... why? Once again, it would all pertain to the BSFC islands on a particular engine not to mention gearing, AWD engagement, converter lock-up and upshift timing. 2400 RPM isn't some magical number.
