FirstMBAMG

Hi all,

I realize this is going to be an unpopular post, but I think a useful one since I haven't seen a section for it.

As you all know, we have 5 options I, E, C, S, and S+. However, a perhaps lesser known "hidden" mode is the sail mode. Many of you may recall trying to conserve some gas in the past by getting going and then coasting down hills. However, the "sail" mode will activate during deceleration in E mode and disconnect the engine from the drive train at which point kinetic energy is all that is being used to move the car.

It comes with it's downsides (obviously) in vehicle performance, but can be useful if you are trying to make it to the next gas station or get above 30 mpg.

Those more knowledgable about this than I...

- Does this "sail" mode have any programming in the car or is it just indicating you are not using gas?
- Have you found this mode useful in a pinch?

Maybe everyone already knows, but I didn't and couldn't find much in the owners manual about it. At any rate, cheers!

munis

I use sail mode all the time. No need to be ashamed about not being wasteful. Not all of us ham their cars all the time.

Sail works like you said only in ECO. The way to trigger it is by filling up the charge(you can see it in your trip info in the central screen of your odometer) and then letting your gas go. Your car would enter sail mode. The car will engage the clutch again, if you accelerate, brake or you are going downhill. This feature have saved me a lot of gas. I have averaged 6L/100 day before yesterday which is Honda Civic mileage.

On the other hand I drove 100km yesterday and my mileage was 28.6L/100km at the end of the trip, haha. This car has a two faced personality like none of my exes had.

Dieseldan9

iTrader: (1)

This so cool thanx for this post

imj0257

Interesting.

The only time I've used Eco is when I had to fill up with 87 gas due to the shortage. Got great gas mileage of course.

cenzo86

Kinda unrelated, but I've found that Eco mode (with On/Off disabled) is excellent for bumper to bumper traffic. The longer throttle travel helps to modulate speed better than the other modes.

FirstMBAMG

Absolutely relevant, I think this car was built specifically with the daily driver attitude in mind that the c63 design politely threw out the window. You can average 29 mpg on a tank easy in eco mode, though not the true purpose of the car, a great option to have in the back pocket of an AMG

Star4life

you can on highway if not in stop and go traffic. i struggle to hit 23 mpg in eco mode on my commute. if i get on it once, ill see 20 mpg and twice ill be in the teens. my commute is only 10 miles though. 5 of which are non highway.

on longer trips 29mpg in eco is no problem but if your commute has any traffic or hold ups i dont see 29 mpg possible.

tpmbz67

I agree this is an extremely useful post. Though I'm still not clear on how to enter sail-mode after going into Eco. I got this car because of its "dual personality" in passing for an everyday driver but having the option to open it up and go when one wants to. Learning to drive it with a subtle touch is as much a learning curve as learning to drive it in full Sport or Sport+. Admittedly, I've only had it three days now.

Star4life

you put the car in eco mode and with the right conditions (ie. grade, speed, temperature, and many other variables i am sure) when you let off gas completely to coast it will go into sail mode automatically.

sean1.8t

So jealous of the extra few features you 43 guys get. The sail mode is lower on the list but I'd really love to have it. I'm always in manual mode so that I can ride the motor on hills and downshift at lights to save gas and my brakes. Even though I love to hammer the throttle, when I'm just cruising around, I can be pretty OCD about driving the most efficient way possible. Having the sail mode would really help with my condition lol

ItalianJoe1

Sail mode is the opposite of what you're doing. It stops the engine braking effect to allow the car to conserve more energy.

There's no way engine braking saves gas. Brakes, sure, but brakes are cheaper than the added wear and tear on your transmission/engine for the amount of savings you will get, IMO. I use engine braking on my manual cars, but that's more so that i'm in the correct gear in case I need to move off, not because it's saving the brakes.

Sail mode isn't some magic function, cars have been shutting off fuel systems on decel/coasting since the beginning of electronic fuel injection. Most cars also disengage the TCC to prevent engine drag. On a car with no normal torque converter, it has to disengage the multi-clutch to let it free-wheel. They named this sail mode, but it's the same thing that's been going on forever.

cenzo86

Sean, our c450s do this too. Sail mode is only in Eco when you are doing 30+ mph.

sean1.8t

I know they are opposite. That's exactly what I was saying.

And downshifting will most definitely save gas. Will it be a lot of gas? No, but it'll add up over time. As far as most cars having a 'free-wheeling' function, this is true. I've seen it on many. Easiest way to tell is to watch the RPM gauge. If you let off the gas and the revs drop down to 800-1000rpm then it's disengaged the TC. If it holds the RPMs, then it's obviously riding the engine as well as shut off the fuel system.

Huh, I guess I should try out that "eco" mode one of these days lol

Do you get the icon in the cluster?

cenzo86

No icon on the dash. There will be so superficial reward, on your deathbed you will achieve total consciousness.

sean1.8t

So keep driving in Sport+ or drive in Eco and achieve total enlightenment?

Meh, I heard enlightenment is overrated anyways

SPORT+ 4 LYFE!!!

unr1

hlieberg

Eco mode? The fuel is so cheap in the US that eco mode shouldn't be allowed to be mencioned In Norway we pay approx. $7,30 - $8,30 pr. gallon ($1,90 - $2,20 pr. litre) for 98 octane

unr1

RichardCranium3

But not $8/gal expensive either!

Gungaslow

unr1

Ouch

Ramsino

I know this is an old post but I have a 2020 C43 AMG and wanted to update this in case there are others with the facelift version of this car.

- Does this "sail" mode have any programming in the car or is it just indicating you are not using gas?
You will know that sail mode is activated when you lift off the gas pedal and your RPM drops below what it normally would be at. Say you're in 9th gear going around 60mph and you let off the gas, your rpm will probably drop down to around 2,000; if you're in sail mode (activated by putting the car in Slippery or Individual with Reduced engine power) and you lift off the gas pedal, your rpm will drop to around 1,000 or even lower.
You will also know you're in sail mode when the number for which gear you're in disappears (it wont show 7 - 8 - 9 anymore) when you lift off the gas pedal.

- Have you found this mode useful in a pinch?
I don't use this in a pinch but I do setup my Individual drive mode to use Reduced engine power and so I do "sail" and this helps me get to 31-32mpg on the highway, as oppose to the usual 22-25mpg I would get in mix driving comfort/sport+ modes.

stockbmw

If you drove manual car before, sail is same as when you press clutch to coast. In automatic transmission, it uses multiple clutch packs to switch to and from various gears and to disengage and reengage. Knowing how much obscene amount MB charges to replace anything, the clutch packs more or less would fail after warranty period and imo best to save the wear and longevity of the transmission instead of saving a buck on gas.

gpouliniii

How do you, or can you at all, turn off the eco start/stop coming on when you start the car? I can’t stand it when it comes on all the time when you start the car and why can’t the car start up where you left off. Like if I drive in sport mode all the time, why can’t it just stay in sport mode all the time until I turn it myself? Comfort mode is ok, but I live in the city, so it’s sport or sport+ because I’m constantly accelerating around traffic and it seems the stupid Eco mode would be useless and the Comfort mode is a bit better, but still not responsive enough for where I live, especially with that GD Eco Stop/Start on! I really can’t stand it lol

stockbmw

You can pay $200 for obd2 device or disconnect wire clip from the negative terminal battery that powers capictor for Eco start/stop.