pokerFACE

Has anybody noticed a decrease in fuel economy when travelling in Winter mode?

Some people on this board have insisted that W mode increases fuel economy, but I'm not sure how that is possible. Or maybe fuel economy sucks coz on snowy days when I use W mode I tend to drive slower coz of traffic.

Also, I notice that I accelerate better in the snow with wintertires and the tranny in S mode.. W mode just retards teh car too much.

session

I only use W mode to get out of a parking space when I notice wheelspin. It's S every other time, and I have the stock all-seasons on stock 16"s.

dswildfire

don't forget that colder air on snowy days is more dense, so your air resistance is higher as well and will contribute to a decrease in fuel economy.

Matt230K

Also remember that snow causes drag on the tires and it requires more power to keep the wheels rolling. I have noticed rather significant changes in gas mileage just from driving in heavy rain on the highway. I imagine snow would be worse.

Benzer

The un-shaven facial hair we kept extra long to keep warm during the winter also added to the weight. Not to mention the extra layer of clothings.

Ha hahh... SOrry - I couldn't helpe it

mb_wagon

My wife uses the W mode when it rains down here and I've noticed that the mpg is lower. Of course it is never really cold enough to require heavy coats, snow never sticks to the tires, and my wife doesn't have a facial hair so I would think that it doesn't help fuel economy in W mode. I thought when you use W mode the car will use second gear to accelerate from a stop. This might the car to use more gas. Of course (like you already said) there is more traffic on a rainy day since no one knows how to drive in the rain down here and this is going to hurt mpg.

.elijah.

I always thought that the W mode was cool because you can kind of feel the car corner better. Maybe I'm just psyching myself out, but whatever. All I know is that it wastes more gas because it actually starts are a higher gear which requires more "umph" from the tanks.

session: you use it when you get out of a parking space? spin out? are you just hitting the accelerator too hard? no offense meant...just wondering though.

and when you switch from S to W or vice versa, it says in the manual that you should be stopped and in "P"ark to swtich modes. What happens if you don't? Is it that deterimental if you are driving at the same time?

pokerFACE

Also you guys, there is also a second Reverse gear in W mode

(umm.. so **how fast** can you go in reverse with a longer R gear?? )

anyway, it does not matter if you toggle between S/W while in gear. They just recommend that coz the driver may be unprepared to a sudden changing of the gears (although its not abrupt in any way IMO), which might upset the car' shandling.

young

i pretty much used W all winter (it's not over yet) and it definitely helps. sometimes, i forget that it is on and i think the car seems a bit pokey.

sorry, i don't keep track of the fuel anymore but the computer says i get about 19+ mpg.

Nrm

yeah i dont know exactly but i think my c320 just gets bad gas millage period.
i drive my camry and that thing seems to just keep on going, but anyway,
do any of you feel your gears jolt in the morning, like my car never comes out of 1st easy, it always jerks a bit (sometimes more than other)
and i feel no difference in the "w" and "s" modes,
i was coming out a a carwash today and hit the gas, the whole backend swung around, its never happened before and i'v hit it much harder before.
IMO the traction control really sucks on this car, it peals out every chance it gets!
but maybe it cuz im just a pedal happy 16 year old

Matt230K

Nrm, since you were pulling out of the carwash, I imagine your tires would be wet and you would not get very good grip, so the back end would swing out.

As for the traction control, I like it how it is. I am glad it does not cut in sooner. Plus, it's not like it can anticipate when your wheels will spin. You have to actually spin them first before it knows to do anything. I think once it senses wheelspin, it is very quick in cutting the throttle.

Outland

The ESP system is pretty good...about the only thing that does make it slip up is a severe turn and abrupt throttle closure...but that's not so much the ESP systems fault, the car still has to obey the laws of physics.

I like the fact that during normal driving, it keeps me from driving like an idiot...accellerate to hard, and you get that falling forward sensation when the car detects wheel spin...hey, gotta make them tires last awhile

moomeh

it jolts with me too. but it only seems to happen to me when i don't preheat the car. so on cold days, don't just drive off. give your car time to heat up, even if you leave it in the garage.

FrankW

W mode starts the car from 2nd gear instead of the 1st in S mode. The W mode also shifts early before the redline when you floored the gas. As for fuel economy, it should have no effect what so ever. The transmission still has the same gear ratio for each gear. The W mode doesn't do any things other than those two things that I've notice.