Does EcoMode Actually Save Fuel?

I recently bought a 2020 F150 that has eco mode and claims to improve fuel economy. In this video I perform a preliminary test to see whether EcoMode works on the highway, city, or both. Thanks for watching!

[williecaguana]

Eco mode is honestly for people who wake up super early and can drive slow on the right lane, regular mode does just fine. Trust me I’ve broken my head figuring this crap out and it’s a waste of time

[poppyneese]

My 23 F150 2, 7 4wd 3.73 rear does a lil better than 20 around town and about 22.5 on the highway when you check it at the pump, the MPG meter lies like a rug always about 1.3 mpg optimistic! Great Video!

[rockreverb]

Thanks for this test . With my F150 2.7 ecoboost I always had the impression that it was more economical in normal mode rather than in eco mode. Your video shows the opposite thank you

[SeriusQne]

Thanks a lot man, this helped me make a decision if I should use Eco mode during my first distance trip in my new Malibu

[tacomaken]

I have a 21 f150 crew cab. Took a trip to south Carolina from Central nj. Total of 3 people on truck and packed bed. Couldn't get any better than 25.4 mpg. The further you go in ecomode the higher you will get. This was on cruise at 68mph.3.5l 10 speed transmission.

[georgepintye]

Very good video tackling a subject most truck owners ignore; their vehicle's fuel efficiency. I recently traded my 2017 2.7L STX for a 2020 with the 3.5L and 10-speed. Eco Mode does help with mileage, but it basically deactivates your turbo boost, and I mean completely. I actually wondered if it may not be become a safety issue if you find yourself in a split-second decision on the highway, but find that you can't engage the vehicle's acceleration because of the limitations of the mode. It also plays with the way the transmission shifts, and not in a good way. What is an extremely smooth shifting transmission normally becomes very herky-jerky in Eco, especially at lower speeds. After 600 miles, I think it does help save on gas, but there are clear trade-offs that aren't going to be worth it for most folks.

[Mr]

Driving comfort is affected because eco mode tries to delay downshifting as much as possible. So when you pass the shift threshold it tends to downshift unexpectedly, causing rocking.

[paulyman]

Thanks buddy great job. San Anto baby!💪♥️

[dominicl]

Thanks for running these tests so I didn't have to!

[lappydog]

2020 platinum and believe ot or not i get 2 mph better on the highway in eco

[anthonyhales]

Just tried eco mode on a 2 hour 30 min drive for the first Time. It is a huge difference in power. Throttle feels lackey, almost like that button turns the boost down on the turbos. Which is fine. I averaged 22.4 without a reset. I just bought the truck and only have 500 miles on it. I did not reset the trip.

[blisphul]

2:25 As a hypermiling Ford Maverick Hybrid owner getting 50+ MPG in optimal conditions. (Managing about 70 in a couple recent short back road trips) that number was shocking to see.

[rasanchez]

Imma do this test when I drive from abq nm to Las Vegas nv. And see how it does.

I'll be doing the 5.0 version with mud terrain tires

[HajunAdventures]

It just seems like econ mode on my car limits my rpm. I see how that could help me to burn less gas. But if I'm taking longer to reach my desired speed, doesn't that end up burning just as much gas? Not to mention, the italian tuneup helps keep your engine clean.

[JLynchJr]

Eco mode is terrible for the highway. I just drove 1100 miles, all of it on eco mode. My MPG went from 17.9 down to 17.1.

[deedeethomas]

I have a 2020 Kia Sorento and i watch your video to see which drive mode was better for gas..

[Tango]

Well I am not convinced. I have a 3.5 dual turbo but I am also leveled and have added 20 inch custom wheels and 275/65R20 Terra Grapplers. I also have a bed box and other gear so conservatively I have added 250 pounds of weight to the equation. I also have the 36 gallon tank, so when full that's 80 more pounds. Basically my weight to HP ratio is going to be way outside of what I suspect the factory used to calculate.
I just did a 400+ mile round trip, flat land, with "down" in ECO and "back" in normal mode. Almost all but a few of those miles on interstate. Full to start in both directions. I was also driving where I was passing a few more than getting passed and trying to run about 78 mph on cruise when traffic allowed. Yes, there were some jams and slow downs in both directions. End of story: 17.4 MPG in ECO and 17.8 in Normal.
Yes I understand my speedo is off due to tire diameter but it still showed ECO wasn't as my truck is configured.

[jhagen]

Let's apply a little high school physics to this problem. When you're driving at a constant velocity on the highway what are your sources of drag? Mainly rolling resistance and aerodyanic drag, of which the latter will certainly be larger. So what is the power required to stay at this *constant velocity*? Well, the power will be the combined force of tire resistance plus aerodynamic drag. While the atmospheric conditions persist (i.e. no change in wind, temperature or air density) this will not change, which is to say that the force you're required to overcome will not change. Since power is the dot product of Force and Velocity if you're not accelerating your engine will have to generate a specific amount of power on the highway to continue at constant speed. This power will be the power previously described plus any mechanical loss in linkages.

So the question is this: does eco mode help you while you're driving at a constant velocity?

Why would any sane engineer design an engine to generate a specific power output sub-optimally? Which is to say, if I need to generate 40hp of power, why would I design an engine to run consuming x + 1 units of fuel per second when it can be designed to consume x units of fuel?

The point is you're fundamentally misunderstanding the point of eco mode. These turbo engines are designed to deliver large amounts of torque and power. You'll probably notice that despite being turbo charged they don't actually have high compression ratios - naturally aspirated Mazda engines actually have significantly higher compression ratios. That's because they're optimized for torque and not efficiency, which would result in higher compression ratios (but lower maximum torque).

So your eco mode will limit this engine advance *for the same throttle position sensing.*

What does this mean? If you drive in eco mode and don't change your driving style your engine should accelerate more gently and generate some fuel savings.

But it's just a mapping. If you compensate for shifted mapping by giving the engine more throttle you will likely negate any benefits.

Now there may be some other things going on that I'm exluding, like advancing cylinder deactivation at lower power levels, but in general this is going to be the case.

[palaiyotist]

wind also affects MPG as well as I seen that on my Ford Focus as i got 46 MPG and 500 miles on freeway with wind 11MPH pushing me (michigan to Tennessee I-75)

[CWLim-sovd]

Hi. So which mode u are using now? Eco or comfort? Or sport?