Im just curious how often do you people use the power mode on their cars. I have never used it since i read in the manual that it eats more gas. What is different when you put it in power mode? And can i play around with the car when i have the power mode on and with the traction control off? Thank s. I want to see what V8 can really do and the power of 300 horses!!

 

theres already another similar topic for this that you might find useful...

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/performance/62892-where-do-you-usually-set-your-ect.html

i usually don't use it...

 

lol I thought we had a topic like this posted before...how about the "search" hehe....but to get back to your ?....I rarely use mine...mainly coz gas is soo expensive here....like around 2.50 a gallon

 

alvinn, if you don't want to read that other thread, here it is in a nutshell. PWR mode doesn't affect the power output of the engine, just the point at which the tranny upshifts and downshifts for a given throttle setting. It'll hold a given gear longer going up and downshift with less throttle pressure. There is likely a little change in the throttle position mapping but not near the difference one sees with SNOW mode. And WOT produces redline upshifts (or downshifts to lowest gear available for a given vehicle speed) for maximum acceleration whether in PWR or NML.

You might use a little more gas but the consensus is that mileage is more or less unchanged compared to the affect of your driving habits.

And you can certainly turn your electronic nanny off if you want to wear off some extra rubber. Just remember, off is REALLY off, not "mostly off but we're still here to pull your *** out of something really stupid" as some other mfgrs program their versions of traction/stability control.

Oh, and PWR for me all the time, plus I gate shift a lot to hold gears even longer since even PWR mode shifts very conservatively at lighter throttle settings.

 

PWR does several things

- it stiffens the suspension slightly
- it changes the weight of the steering wheel to make it heavier
- it changes the ECU map / gearing so it is more aggressive, it will make 0.5s difference on the 1/4 mile

I can only speak for my car, Aristo V300 or the Jap Lexus GS Turbo.

I usually drive in normal mode but switch to PWR when I'm going fast down the twisties/over-taking.

 

I leave mine on pwr mode all the time.

 

im on always on powermode and e-shift... but i think regardless power or normal if u use e-shift u will control the up and down shifts of the car to ur liking

 

It's rare for mine to be turned off.

 

Always on for me, I like the power of the V8 with a little extra

 

wow i have never heard about the suspension and the steering wheel. i can understand about the steering wheel, but how does it stiffen the suspension?

 

Can anyone confirm this? I'd be curious to know if these attributes are true for are US versions.

 

same here ...its probably in my mind but i dont like it when its off

 

I don't know what kind of car you're writing about but it's not one that this forum is focused on. The GS Series Lexus has a totally passive suspension system when it leaves the factory. There is absolutely no interface or connection between ECU and suspension components (ie. springs, shocks, sway bars, etc). It might 'alter' the steering 'feel'; I've never noticed that.

Maybe I missing something here but I really don't think so.

 

Same here.

 

Guys don't get confused by this info... the US-spec GS does NONE of these things except for a bit of the ECU mapping / more aggressive shift points to hold closer to redline.