Chocofishez

I have been using it a lot this summer. Pretty great feature and I do notice the fuel savings. Still can't make sense of what will change it from inactive to active, but I think the system works well. 577hp isn't useful in rush hour traffic so might as we'll take advantage of a system we all paid for.

When I am turning or something and don't want the car to turn off and the start in second I just turn the MCT to S, and then back again.

Our future AMGs will mix this sort of system with batteries, cylinder deactivation, regenerative braking etc... Get used to it guys!

BrabusNYC

There is a AMG button that you can set to your preferences and you can have ECO off...I never drive with ECO on because it drives me crazy with the start stop. I want to hear the car at all the times. Anyone that does this to save gas shouldn't have bought an AMG car...

sdg1871

Now THAT is a good tip!

Chocofishez

You don't own the car yet so you wouldn't know, but any transmission setting other than comfort will automatically disable the eco mode. Comfort starts you off in second gear and also gets you in the highest possible gear as fast as possible, for the speed you are driving. One of this car's tricks is its fuel efficiency when you are not driving in a sporting fashion. It's remarkable for a car this fast.

The AMG button is just your standard memory button that will bring you to your pre-determined transmission and suspension settings. Sadly, it does not work for traction control and I wish there was a second button to flip back to the mode I was previously in.

My last highway trip was on a busy single lane road with many passing lanes. I would want to be in comfort mode for both transmission and suspension when in traffic. Then when a passing opportunity opened up I would hit the AMG button, hold the left paddle down to select the optimum gear for acceleration, floor it and pass as many cars as possible (very easy in this car and even a late model Z06 could lose me) and then once the passing opportunity was over and I was stuck behind another set of cars I would go back into the comfort setting and chill out until I could let the car stretch its legs again.

In comfort mode at normal highway speeds the car is quite fuel efficient. Some may not care about this but it enabled me to make my entire 6 hour drive - complete with a dozen or so epic WOT passing moves - without stopping to refuel. Not possible in my previous C63 (albeit with a 10L smaller tank). Yes I had to p*ss in a bottle (tough due to the bucket seats btw) and my dogs were crossing their legs but I made good time!

sdg1871

Thanks for the pointers. Now that sounds like an epic drive. Use of the bottle is a really hard core move!

PeterUbers

Eco/comfort also does cylinder deactivation to further conserve fuel. If this car is your daily driver why would you want to be in s+ When you're cruising at highway speeds and burn extra fuel for nothing staying in 5th gear with all cylinders firing when you can do the same speed in 7th gear and sip fuel more efficiently?? Even if you don't care about the fuel costs isn't it a pain in the **** to keep having to fill the tank?

+1 for Eco/comfort in the amg

abcut973

All this coming from F1 technology

For sure you don't buy an AMG for its mpg but I think it is kind of cool to have the power and the efficiency at the same time. The feature is there for you to use it so why not. Particularly when you daily drive.

Zybane

Wait, are you saying you can't?

ace10

The M157 does not have cylinder deactivation.

The related N/A M152 does.


AMG engine specs

http://www.mercedes-amg.com/engineer...?section=55lv8

PeterUbers

I stand corrected

PeterUbers

From what I understand... When you get a tune you can have the tuner deactivate the Eco

My crankshaft sensor was replaced at 200 miles for sending a bad signal to the ecu and Eco would not work... Tech said that if any error code gets sent to ecu regarding any parameter of eco, it gets disabled until re activated by the Benz tech after the code is cleared

So I wonder if you just disconnect the crankshaft sensor plug and thereby throw this code ... The re plug the sensor ... You would achieve Eco deactivation

No idea if this is safe but just a thought

sdg1871

Definitely not. LOL. I am a lawyer and not particularly technically adept.

red60R

I absolutely HATE the eco mode and could have sworn that in some previous C or GLK loaner that if you set it to sport then it just stays in sport going forward and I don't have to hit it again every time I start the engine---am I dreaming?

Yet in my '14 E63S, I go right to the AMG button upon start since I prefer suspension in sport and trans in Sport+. Why can't it just leave it there until I decide to go back to eco?

Besides, I am not sure this is even a good thing for cars, if you are of the argument that the majority or main engine wear occurs during the start up phase of engine running, and this system basically will shut off 5, 10, 20 times a trip depending on traffic and distance, how can someone tell me that engine longevity (starter, engine mounts, belts, pulleys, and combustion chambers) isn't compromised over an engine that just runs continuously. I'd love to see the number of starter replacements required on cars who've been running in eco mode since they started putting these on the cars.

Why do you think the cops and taxi's always just leave their engines running....just saying...

looney100

This wins the Zombie Thread award!

The reason it defaults to Eco on is that manufacturers get fuel economy and carbon emission numbers based on default settings when the car is started. Allowing you to retain the more aggressive modes would cost MB millions each year.

Engines and oil have come a long way since the days where startup wear was a concern. It's simply not a problem any more. How many people do we know that put a car to rest because of engine wear?

Cops and cabbies leave engines running because they want the accessories functioning and/or are too lazy to shut off and restart.

Are you really using cabbies as the benchmark for proper vehicle maintenance? I can't remember the last time I was in a cab that didn't have the check engine light on, warped brake rotors or shot wheel bearings.

PeterUbers

I have yet to see the huge thread entitled "my starter got replaced" ... And Eco has been around for a while

Guess we will see in the next decade as these eco cars lose their b2b warranties

red60R

Ironically, there was just a thread on this from yesterday from someone.

Clk63blkseries

wish I could get rid of eco mode............ AMG does not = Eco

PeterUbers

MidCity engineering in Chicago has a module

Lenin

I had it turned off at the start via a Video in Motion module (not from MidCity) and don't miss it.

wolves.creed

There is no bug in the software, the reason its not working is because of a fault code in the gearbox or somewhere else. Just take it to the dealer and make them clear the codes. Done it, been there.

kponti

Renntech has. The green button still stays on, but the parameters for when it is activated is widened so in my case, it just never shuts off the engine

CliffJumper

I haven't minded this technology in most cars I've driven, including in my E63 for the 2 days I got to drive it before dropping it off to shipped home.

I find it requires a slightly different braking style. If I don't want the engine to shut off (e.g. about to make a left turn, or a brief slow down on the freeway), I simply keep my foot very light on the brake pedal, just enough to keep the car from moving. When I want the engine to shutdown, I push the brake pedal down further. To me, it's the equivalent of driving a stick shift. Short stops.... keep my foot on the clutch. Longer stops... shift into neutral and foot off the clutch. It means I have to anticipate an extra second of delay to get started, but I guess I'm used to that from driving M/T cars.

I find the light food method works 99% of the time, and only in certain freeway traffic jams do I bother to hit the Eco button to make sure it doesn't turn off.

I think the only thing that really bothers me is that one of the things I disliked the most about the new M3 is the fake engine noise.... and hearing how quietly the AMG starts up from Eco shutdown vs. when you start the car with the Start/Stop button, it makes me realize how fake the start-up sequence is, even though I love the sound.

kponti

No fake sounds in the AMG or did I miss something in your post?

rs4 tony

Regarding the sound when starting up in Eco mode. It's not using the starter to start the engine, the engine stops at a certain position so that when when you release the brake, it starts the engine by dumping fuel and igniting it. This is what my amg tech told me.

CliffJumper

Well, it's not fake in the sense that its electronically generated, like in a BMW, but fake in the sense that it's an artificially dramatic sequence designed to produce extra noise similar to the backfiring/popping sound that modern cars like the Fiat 500 abarth and new C63s are engineered to make simply to add drama, and not because it's a side effect of actually performance mods.