resultz

The parietal lobe of my brain influenced by a few Grey Goose screwdrivers provoked me to the point of offering up my theological ponderings regarding the mode of transmission shifting based off of my personal daily driving.
I rarely drive more than 20 miles a day and that estimate is generous.
The "city" I live in has it's fair share of stop lights but generally I am cruising around 25 - 40 mph and rarely ever "creeping" in bumper to bumper traffic.
My understanding regarding the power mode is that it ultimately changes the shift threshold per gear. My theory is that since I rarely accelerate past 40 mph less shifting would take place if 'power mode' was activated thereby reducing mechanical wear within the transmission.
Understandably higher rpm's results in more heat/revolutions but due to the length of time/duration of my driving and the advances in oils combined with meticulous maintenance I am theorizing that ultimately the less shifting my transmission does will prolong it's longevity.
This is a question regarding my own personal daily driving routine and just trying to establish some sort of value based off of my scenario.

airchomper

Our 'gas pedals' don't directly control the throttle bodies on our engines. When you press the gas pedal, the ECU reads the pedal position and translates the position as 'torque demanded'. Then the ECU decides how to make the torque (combination of engine load, engine speed, and gear) in a way that's fuel efficient.

The 'power' mode just changes the mapping of throttle position and the torque demanded, and it makes the relationship more linear in "power" mode. You'd get the same results just pressing the pedal harder in normal mode. At full throttle, the car doesn't go faster in power mode or normal mode.

You'd have fewer shifts getting to speed, but the power mode won't hold the car in a lower gear. Once you back off and hold your speed, you'll go to the same gear you'd get in normal mode. You'll demand the same amount of torque / power to hold 40 mph in either control scheme and the ECU delivers that power in the same way in both control schemes.

If you have an '01-'03, you can just lock the car in some lower gear to save on the shifts (I don't know how you can control the gears on an 04-06). Put it in 3 rather than D and see what happens.

resultz

Thank you very much for your reply. I have been driving my LS in power mode for several months and as you stated it does not necessarily hold a gear longer but it does seem to shift less frequently than in normal mode. Occasionally I will lock it into a gear when I approach a series of lights driving downtown. The transmission shifts buttery smooth and I do not abuse my vehicles so I have no doubt that it will hold up for many years to come.

I appreciate the information.