Hello.

I wanted to see the difference I'd get in mileage on a tank of gas in NORMAL mode vs. a tank in PWR mode. I drove almost identical routes on both tanks. Lots of stop and go, back road driving. In NORMAL mode, my is250 AWD went 353 miles, while in power mode, I only got 287 miles. I feel like that's a pretty significant difference. It's too bad, I love driving in PWR mode. Anyway, I'm just curious about other peoples thoughts on this. Also, does anyone know exactly what's happening inside the engine when you're in PWR mode.

Thanks.

 

Downshifts sooner/easier and upshifts at higher RPMs.

Koz

 

PWR mode does not affect the engine at all. It is a different ECT (electronically controlled transmission) program, meaning that the automatic transmission will shift at different times, hold on to gears longer, downshift faster when you floor it, etc. By tending to pick lower gears, and stay in them for longer, PWR mode can in theory get worse gas mileage. However, nothing in the engine itself changes.

 

I have a IS250 RWD and I just don't feel the extra umph when in power mode. Maybe it's just me. No biggie, I didn't buy it for the umph.

 

it's funny how you say engine doesnt' change.. it would be amazing if you can change your engine by a switch of a button... mechaically things don't change but electronically the throttle reponse is a lot better...


0 -60 times with and w/o power mode.. has anyone tried?

 

0-60 should be the same. a better comparison would be a couple laps around a track with and without ECT PWR.

 

i have a gtech.. i should do some runs with it

 

Its your foot that affects the mileage...

 

if i drive w/ pwr mode all the time, would it damage the transmission?

 

The tranny will be fine. The engine isn't doing anything abnormal to the tranny, while the relative amount of torque being applied through the drivetrain is the same, well within tolerance. You'll break traction (if it weren't for the TC), sooner than your tranny.

 

lol, all this milage talk amuses me... Gas could go to $10/gallon and I still wouldn't think twice about "milage"...

Funny thing is, even when I had my viper and was active in the viper forums there were people talking about how to get slightly better gas milage out of the viper! ROFL...

 

The American fanufacturers wish there were more people out there like you... But most people do in fact change their consumption of products (including gasoline) based on price. Hence the recent rise of the Japanese makes at the expense of the American counterparts...

I think most people on this forum would at least consider gas mileage in their decision. It's a big part of why I chose the IS350 over the S4 (and to a lesser extent, the G35). But if you've got no problem forking over massive amounts your hard-earned cash to ExxonMobil, more power to you.

 

i had an issues getting the is250 manual... my main reason why i didn't get it is because the is350 got better gas mileage. I figure.. more power better gas...

 

Hahahaha... I know exactly how you feel... I drive my car in POWER mode only and coming from an average of 12mpg to 20+ is a nice change for me!

 

i don't mind the power mode... i can still get around 19~25 mpg.. my old celica got me 16mpg~19mpg...