Snow mode is the true eco mode

[Amgil]

For a big heavy V8 sedan, these cars get surprisingly good gas mileage if your just cruising and not hooning around.

I’m sure most people know this already but if you hold the drive mode button for a few seconds it goes into SNOW mode on the dash and it seriously dumbs down the throttle.
I had to take a 80 mile round trip and wanted to test snow mode to see what the fuel economy would be. I also wanted to test MPG at various speeds with cruise control. This trip consists of roughly half city and half highway where the speed limit ranges from 50-70mph.

I reset the fuel economy logger on the dash before i left, and my results where surprising to me.
On the way to my destination i tested MPG at various speeds by resetting the logger then running at the speed tested for a minute or two. On the way back i reset it before i left and just logged the whole average MPG.

I averaged 27.1 MPG for the whole trip, with moderate traffic in the city part.
33-34 MPG cruising at 60mph with cruise control, And 28-30 MPG cruising at 70mph with cruise control. Anything over 75 and fuel economy starts to really drop. 75 i was getting 25-26 and 80 was only 21-23.


This is with about 400lbs of extra weight in the vehicle if you include me and my passenger. 87 octane gas, In florida so elevation is basically sea level and about 90F outside, summer tires at 35psi.


Only mods i have that MIGHT affect fuel economy is ram air intake inlets and TB coolant bypass, but I doubt these effect fuel economy

 

[EdP]

For a big heavy V8 sedan, these cars get surprisingly good gas mileage if your just cruising and not hooning around.

I’m sure most people know this already but if you hold the drive mode button for a few seconds it goes into SNOW mode on the dash and it seriously dumbs down the throttle.
I had to take a 80 mile round trip and wanted to test snow mode to see what the fuel economy would be. I also wanted to test MPG at various speeds with cruise control. This trip consists of roughly half city and half highway where the speed limit ranges from 50-70mph.

I reset the fuel economy logger on the dash before i left, and my results where surprising to me.
On the way to my destination i tested MPG at various speeds by resetting the logger then running at the speed tested for a minute or two. On the way back i reset it before i left and just logged the whole average MPG.

I averaged 27.1 MPG for the whole trip, with moderate traffic in the city part.
33-34 MPG cruising at 60mph with cruise control, And 28-30 MPG cruising at 70mph with cruise control. Anything over 75 and fuel economy starts to really drop. 75 i was getting 25-26 and 80 was only 21-23.


This is with about 400lbs of extra weight in the vehicle if you include me and my passenger. 87 octane gas, In florida so elevation is basically sea level and about 90F outside, summer tires at 35psi.


Only mods i have that MIGHT affect fuel economy is ram air intake inlets and TB coolant bypass, but I doubt these effect fuel economy

Since it starts out in second gear, how was that with the extra 400 pounds?

I often go from Florida to New Jersey, 1135 miles, mostly upI75 to I10 to I95 and average about 26.5 to 27 in Normal. Highway 70 to 80 mph.

 

[Amgil]

Since it starts out in second gear, how was that with the extra 400 pounds?

I often go from Florida to New Jersey, 1135 miles, mostly upI75 to I10 to I95 and average about 26.5 to 27 in Normal. Highway 70 to 80 mph.

It drove fine, had more then enough get up. Thats cool it starts in 2nd in snow mode i didn’t know that. You learn something new everyday haha

 

[carguy75]

Eco mode also starts in second gear from a stop. Snow mode also reduces engine torque output(reduced throttle output) to control wheel spin on slippery roads. It is cool to know that SNOW mode is a built-in hyper milling feature as well to squeeze that last bit of fuel economy from the engine.

 

[JeffSea40]

I didn't think ECO mode started in second gear?

 

[carguy75]

I didn't think ECO mode started in second gear?

Yes, when moving from a stop after the initial movement the transmission starts in 2nd gear in ECO mode. I think ECO mode also adapts the transmission gear according to if the transmission is moving from a stop on a hill. The drive mode system is very complicated on how the modes are used based on sensor data; it is not just a simple start in 2nd gear only function for ECO mode. Snow mode starts in 2nd gear by default, but also changes other engine parameters as well like throttle input to limit wheel torque.