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Eco vs Normal drive mode

zx6roclet

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Eco is for roadtrips on cruise. Outside of that 0 benefits in gas savings I’ve found.

just helps on cruise going over freeway inclines so it doesn’t ramp up boost for a little hump in the road that will be in the rearview in less than a second.

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zx6roclet

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Mode difference is no more than altered shift strategy and throttle mapping.

At least for a non Powerboost.

So at steady state cruising, the torque management request would be identical between the 2 modes. Same speed, same gear ratio. So same fuel requirement.

I suppose ECO mode could possibly squeak out a bit more efficiency during acceleration IF it could coax the driver into NOT increasing throttle position to compensate for slower acceleration?

As the wise fella above points out, the driver themselves determine if ECO is actually more economical than Normal.
sport mode also tightens up the steering rack/feel too , no?
 

Snakebitten

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sport mode also tightens up the steering rack/feel too , no?
I imagine that depends on how the truck is equipped?
Example, on my fully dolled up KingRanch, the Adaptive Steering and the CCD dampers have calibration changes tied to the driver's mode. As well as the EV programming for the Hybrid drivetrain.
 

Ewheels

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I have a powerboost and I've found that the car is more eager to go into hybrid mode when in Eco compared to normal mode. Works quite well in medium traffic where I can coast with the engine off for a while but stop-and-go traffic or regular highway speed, it makes no difference.
 

Buyer2021

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I suppose ECO mode could possibly squeak out a bit more efficiency during acceleration IF it could coax the driver into NOT increasing throttle position to compensate for slower acceleration?
Yeah, that would be key.

helps on cruise going over freeway inclines so it doesn’t ramp up boost for a little hump in the road that will be in the rearview in less than a second
Fair enough, an effect / behavior I'd not considered but agree is quite possible. I've certainly experienced rather aggressive increased throttle with attendant boost ramp-up in those situations when on cruise in Normal mode (haven't experimented with ECO mode).
 

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Snakebitten

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That's exactly why I differentiated between Powerboost and nonPowerboost.

The Hybrid algorithm definitely makes it possible for Ford to increase fuel economy between drive modes if they want to.
 

Samson16

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I have a powerboost and I've found that the car is more eager to go into hybrid mode when in Eco compared to normal mode. Works quite well in medium traffic where I can coast with the engine off for a while but stop-and-go traffic or regular highway speed, it makes no difference.
Hybrid mode?
The PowerBoost is either electric only or hybrid drive.
Sport and Tow/Haul use electric only when stopped. They maximize hybrid operation.
Eco maximizes electric only operation and minimizes ICE operation.

Eco is more eager to come out of hybrid mode and go into electric mode.
 

zx6roclet

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I imagine that depends on how the truck is equipped?
Example, on my fully dolled up KingRanch, the Adaptive Steering and the CCD dampers have calibration changes tied to the driver's mode. As well as the EV programming for the Hybrid drivetrain.
True, my 23 3.5 non hybrid the owners manual states it tightens up the steering and it makes a big diff in mine.

Off topic ….My 25 rental 5.0 sport mode does the same but also locks out auto start stop and locks the gears on the gauges so you can see gear progression. Wish they left the gears displayed in all modes like the 21-23s :(

now to see them you have to hit up on the gear shifter/lockout button or hit sport
 

sporkfed

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I imagine that depends on how the truck is equipped?
Example, on my fully dolled up KingRanch, the Adaptive Steering and the CCD dampers have calibration changes tied to the driver's mode. As well as the EV programming for the Hybrid drivetrain.
On my lowly XL RCSB the steering is tighter in Sport and loosest in Eco. Normal may be the same as Eco or maybe slightly tighter, hard to tell. Shifts are much quicker in Sport than Eco and Normal, and there is more engine braking from the 10R80 in Sport, while Eco has the least. In Eco I have to be careful not to speed up going down slight grades. I suspect Tow/Haul uses a similar engine braking setting to Sport.
 

SemperVee

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I have a 22 Lariat 5.0 and I definitly see and feel a difference. I always get 1.0+ per gallon on ECO over normal and normal feels much stronger than ECO on the street and ECO on the freeway from 21-24 MPG. More fun to drive in Normal and sport but ECO is my go to normally.
 

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AlexGates

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Every vehicle I own, I get worse MPG in Eco lol. I did put my F150 in Eco on a long interstate drive, no noticeable difference in MPG.
 

gadourym

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I've noticed no real difference between the two on my 5.0. Sometimes I put it in ECO to make the display green instead of blue, that's the most noticeable difference! Sometimes I put it in Sport because I like the way it sounds.
 

JCsTruck

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My 5.0 seems to get better mileage in eco mode but I could be imagining it. Keeping it in eco mode for 700 miles would be torture for me. Let them 400 ponies free I say. 🐎🏇
 

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99% country driving. 1-2 l/100km better in eco vs. normal. Main difference I notice is in overtaking; foot to the floor gives a 2-stage kick down much slower than normal (I think it's trying to say "isn't one gear back enough please?" 🤣)
 

Gvsukids

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I am new to my 2022 Ecoboost 2.7L. I have driven in city on ECO and Normal drive mode, and have not seen any difference in gas mileage. I probably tried each mode for 200-300 miles. Now I drive on Normal all the time because it sets in by default.

That said, have you all really noticed a difference? Is 2.7L too small
An engine to even notice a difference?
I’m in the same boat with my 2022 EcoBoost 2.7L. I’ve tried ECO vs. Normal mode for a few hundred miles each, mostly city driving, and honestly didn’t notice any meaningful difference in gas mileage. I usually just stick to Normal now since that’s the default.

From what I’ve read and experienced, ECO mode seems to make more of a difference in stop and go city traffic or if you’re really hyper-conscious about gentle acceleration. The 2.7L twin turbo might be “too small” in the sense that it’s already pretty efficient, and the difference in fuel use between modes isn’t huge, especially if your driving style doesn’t change much between ECO and Normal.

For me, it feels like the modes tweak throttle response and transmission behavior more than actual MPG, so unless you’re actively trying to hypermile, you probably won’t see much on the fuel gauge.
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