View Poll Results: How do you drive (ECT wise)?
Always in Normal mode.
61
42.96%
Always in PWR mode.
37
26.06%
Always in SNOW mode.
2
1.41%
Switch between the three.
42
29.58%
Voters: 142. You may not vote on this poll
Question: ECT PWR Mode and ECU "Driving Style Learning"
07-27-07, 04:09 PM
#46
I keep mine on Power all the time. However, I usually shift it into Sport mode and keep it on 5th. Shifting into 6th at less than 80mph puts more work on the engine. It consumes more gas. I get better mileage when I keep it on 5th. Think of riding a 10 speed bike really slow on the heaviest gear. Same thing. Hard on the engine and on the bearings. I believe the sweet spot on my 250 is between 2500rpm and 3000rpm. That's where I see my mileage increase.
07-27-07, 09:26 PM
#47
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At 60mph, what are your RPMs? If they're sitting down at 2k, as in the 250 (approximately), you may want to give it a shot on 5th. When I bring my RPMs up to between 2500 and 3000, my mpg start going up, as does my range. I only shift into 6th when my tach hits 3k, or just under it.
I don't know what gearing is like on a 350. I drive a 250. On the gearing note, I feel there is way too much of a drop in engine speed between 3rd and 4th. It must be between 750 and 1000 rpm. I wish they would have kept those closer together and saved the big drop for 6th.
The tiptronic is backwards also. Forward should be for down shifts and pulling back on the stick should shift up. BMW changed this on their X5 on their 2003 model. 2002 was set up just like every other car, including Lexus: Pull down to down shift and push up to up shift. In 2003 they inverted it. That is much more intuitive. I drove both models for a significant amount of time. Could never get used to the typical setup. However, once they inverted it, it was just second nature.
I guess it's sort of like the controls on a plane or simulator: Pull back to go up and push forward to go down. I think the throttles on airliners are the same: Pull to increase power, push to cut power.
I wonder if there is anyway to just invert some cables down on the shifter to change the setting around.
I don't know what gearing is like on a 350. I drive a 250. On the gearing note, I feel there is way too much of a drop in engine speed between 3rd and 4th. It must be between 750 and 1000 rpm. I wish they would have kept those closer together and saved the big drop for 6th.
The tiptronic is backwards also. Forward should be for down shifts and pulling back on the stick should shift up. BMW changed this on their X5 on their 2003 model. 2002 was set up just like every other car, including Lexus: Pull down to down shift and push up to up shift. In 2003 they inverted it. That is much more intuitive. I drove both models for a significant amount of time. Could never get used to the typical setup. However, once they inverted it, it was just second nature.
I guess it's sort of like the controls on a plane or simulator: Pull back to go up and push forward to go down. I think the throttles on airliners are the same: Pull to increase power, push to cut power.
I wonder if there is anyway to just invert some cables down on the shifter to change the setting around.
07-29-07, 05:41 PM
#48
Tech Info Resource
iTrader: (2)
At 60mph, what are your RPMs? If they're sitting down at 2k, as in the 250 (approximately), you may want to give it a shot on 5th. When I bring my RPMs up to between 2500 and 3000, my mpg start going up, as does my range. I only shift into 6th when my tach hits 3k, or just under it.
I don't know what gearing is like on a 350. I drive a 250. On the gearing note, I feel there is way too much of a drop in engine speed between 3rd and 4th. It must be between 750 and 1000 rpm. I wish they would have kept those closer together and saved the big drop for 6th.
The tiptronic is backwards also. Forward should be for down shifts and pulling back on the stick should shift up. BMW changed this on their X5 on their 2003 model. 2002 was set up just like every other car, including Lexus: Pull down to down shift and push up to up shift. In 2003 they inverted it. That is much more intuitive. I drove both models for a significant amount of time. Could never get used to the typical setup. However, once they inverted it, it was just second nature.
I guess it's sort of like the controls on a plane or simulator: Pull back to go up and push forward to go down. I think the throttles on airliners are the same: Pull to increase power, push to cut power.
I wonder if there is anyway to just invert some cables down on the shifter to change the setting around.
I don't know what gearing is like on a 350. I drive a 250. On the gearing note, I feel there is way too much of a drop in engine speed between 3rd and 4th. It must be between 750 and 1000 rpm. I wish they would have kept those closer together and saved the big drop for 6th.
The tiptronic is backwards also. Forward should be for down shifts and pulling back on the stick should shift up. BMW changed this on their X5 on their 2003 model. 2002 was set up just like every other car, including Lexus: Pull down to down shift and push up to up shift. In 2003 they inverted it. That is much more intuitive. I drove both models for a significant amount of time. Could never get used to the typical setup. However, once they inverted it, it was just second nature.
I guess it's sort of like the controls on a plane or simulator: Pull back to go up and push forward to go down. I think the throttles on airliners are the same: Pull to increase power, push to cut power.
I wonder if there is anyway to just invert some cables down on the shifter to change the setting around.
250s are inherently more efficient because the engine is working closer to peak efficiency since it has to provide a greater percentage of maximum output at cruise compared to the 350. If you really felt like doing a bunch of math, you could probably calculate the speed where they are equally efficient, and above that speed, you'd likely see the 350 is more efficient. I suspect that speed is above 100 mph though.
AFA the shifter, there is a thread about changing it to work the other way. It is pretty simple, but not exactly easy because the connector you need to access is a little buried.
12-13-07, 05:36 PM
#54
Resetting the ECU just clears out whatever it has learned that you wish it hadn't. It will also learn the new stuff at a quicker rate. Basically, a bad tank of gas that causes detonation might take weeks to get the ECU to go back to normal fuel / timing maps, but resetting the ECU would fix it in seconds.
12-20-07, 09:57 AM
#55
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Every modes seems to have fairly noticeable effects on throttle pedal resistance (Snow being hardest and Power the easiest), and how they upshift/downshift.
I live in Canada and I still won't use Snow mode on my is350. It's just way too lethargic and frankly doesn't seem to offer any traction benefits when the traction/skid control is already restricting wheelspin etc.
From a Sporting point of view, Power mode tends to hold a gear longer when slowing/braking compared Normal. If you're in a Sporting mood, this is ideal in that it maintains higher RPMs and therefore more power during cornering to maintain balance etc. The bad news is that when Power mode does downshift, it's fairly jerky.
Also, 'Power' mode tends to be more enthusiatic to downshift when applying the throttle.
I've read in the drag racing thread that Normal mode supposedly downshifts at a higher RPM compared to Power mode, but frankly I haven't seen a difference in either mode when red lining.
Personally I use Power all the time since it's the most responsive setting and hides a lot of the usual automatic sluggishness. If there's more than an inch or tow of snow on the road I switch to Normal.
I live in Canada and I still won't use Snow mode on my is350. It's just way too lethargic and frankly doesn't seem to offer any traction benefits when the traction/skid control is already restricting wheelspin etc.
From a Sporting point of view, Power mode tends to hold a gear longer when slowing/braking compared Normal. If you're in a Sporting mood, this is ideal in that it maintains higher RPMs and therefore more power during cornering to maintain balance etc. The bad news is that when Power mode does downshift, it's fairly jerky.
Also, 'Power' mode tends to be more enthusiatic to downshift when applying the throttle.
I've read in the drag racing thread that Normal mode supposedly downshifts at a higher RPM compared to Power mode, but frankly I haven't seen a difference in either mode when red lining.
Personally I use Power all the time since it's the most responsive setting and hides a lot of the usual automatic sluggishness. If there's more than an inch or tow of snow on the road I switch to Normal.
01-10-08, 10:34 PM
#59
Actually, PWR mode doesn't "learn." Earlier in the thread it was stated that PWR mode is ROM and doesn't learn like normal does.