Better gas mileage with ETC Power button on. Anyone else?

Did a 60 mile interstate trip today to the next town. Ran 70mph for 50 uninterrupted miles with ECT on and cruise on. 24.1mpg. I’ll check it at 75mph next time but I’m thinking at 75 it guzzles gas. Then I’ll do it without ECT on and compare at 70 and 75.

 

I really like the responsiveness with the ETC on.

 

My experience is similar, clocking all trips back & forth to the boat all Summer, definitely getting better mileage w/ the ECT on. And the response?? Fhuggedaboutit!

I also feel, at least for me, my truck & my driving, express or highway driving @ ~71 seems to be the sweet spot, but I’ll only see 27 MPH or better whilst driving high 50s to low 60s MPH on lesser highways.

 

I think I get worse, BUT, I normally turn it on when I feel I need the extra power (shift points) to accelerate (like getting on the highway or when I'm in a tiff). So, I'm likely just pressing the gas more when I have it turned on rather than getting worse gas mileage.

 

I leave mine on 24/7

 

The reason I asked, the above question is, if you live and drive in steep hilly conditions turning off the ECT requires a lot more throttle to maintain the same speed.

 

Isn’t it “off” by default? Have you found a way to keep it on?

 

There is a mod that allows it to stay on constantly

 

Switched back to 87 octane in my truck...after traveling 150 miles on the latest tank of 87 my fuel economy has gained .9 mpg traveling the same roads and roughly the same speeds, plus the truck is pulling better up hills and not hunting anymore....f**k 92 premium.

 

Ok I did the same 50 miles today with ECT off. 70mph with cruise and never had to take cruise off. Got 25.0. Got 24.1 yesterday with ECT on. I’ll keep testing especially at 75mph. I ran a 10 mile stretch before my test at 65mph just to see what 5mph less did and got 27.0 with ECT on.

BTW, weather/temps/windage were basically the same today as yesterday.

 

Idk, i live in hilly areas, not super steep though...our roads go from sea level to 2k ft on average. I never need to use the ECT mode if not towing. Transmission will downshift just when its suppose to without messing with the gas pedal. When i got the truck new, you needed to constantly give the gas pedal some input, or press down for more power till the tranny downshifted, but very seldom not now to keep the same speed.

 

Premium is more made for higher compression engines. A lot of people think it'll give you more power in a normal engine or will clean it, but there's really no benefit to doing so. Basically, unless you're running a Corvette, or certain motors while towing that specify the need, you don't need premium.

 

The ECT does play with the fuel mapping a little bit too. Not enough for most people to notice, but I notice it is a little more jumpy off the line.

But to your original question: same fuel to the engine, but not the same MPG.

 

Yeah premium isn’t necessary. I’ve now got 1,200 miles on mine and going to put a full tank of ethanol-free in next time to see what it does. With my Lexus it ran like a scalded dog with ethanol-free.

 

Theoretically on the highway, gas mileage should be the same with or without ECT. Can’t think of why it would be different. However, it has been different for me twice when using the same conditions.

 

Like I said, it plays with the fuel mapping. I noticed it is different for me too. In the couple of times I've tried it, without a load, I've lost about 1-2 MPG at 70-80 MPH using cruise.

 

Yeah, but TW claimed 92 octane in the 3.5 will give it wings.

 

They've clearly not heard of trying Red Bull!