Question about the eco mode tune.

[Dunk]

Hi, my names Dan I'm a 20 year old sales rep, on average I drive to 3 grocery stores a day to work and log 1000 miles a month, i saw they made an eco tune that mentioned 48 mpg I have a few questions however.

1. Does it void the warranty or is there a way that if I need to have it serviced i can flash the ecu back to the factory tune?

2. 48mpg, does it still have power? Or is it like driving a walmart electric scooter up a hill?

3. Whats the total cost for the tune and the cable, I didnt really understand how purchasing the tune works, i saw the no lift shift, and eco tunes, do you get both for one price or pick one?

I'm good with computers so applying the tune shouldn't be an issue, I just purchased the car Saturday and am trying to get as high of mpg as i can so I don't spend much in gas. My dad just wanted to know more about it before we got modding ecu's and tinkering with an $18,000 car.

 

[Dunk]

So does the car have to be in cruise control or can i just set it and not be using it to use the eco? I have the 1.4

 

[rdss]

Yes, if found it will close your warranty. Like said, flash back to stock if you go in for service.

Most people are finding that driving sensibly with the performance tune nets the same or better mileage.

What for a sale on the tune/cable.

 

[sx sonic]

Also don't expect it to boost your mpg to 48mpg, there's no arbitrary mpg you'll get with a tune.

owever most people see a 2-3 mpg gain with the after the tune or the 1st datalog revision.

I recommend going to the BNR threads in the Vendor section and going thru the 1st page of the "official trifecta sonic tune thread". They've compiled most of the common questions and awnsers in 1 post.

And yes the tune is Amazing

 

[Beastlick]

also the eco tune will not make your car faster. It restricts the amount of boost even less than stock in turn you would get better MPG. I have my tune set up with stock tune when cruise is on and performance when its off. I rarely take it off the performance mode because I am getting 45-50 MPG as long as I dont hammer of it. It is a completely different animal when you push its limits!

Be sure to do the research in the BNR threads. Its all great info especially discussions about the transparancy mode. There isn't a day I drive my car and regret purchasing the tune!

 

[Swordsmith]

I have seen very few people talk up the eco tune, seems most have gotten dissapointing results with it, equal to or less than the stock tune. Your mileage may vary on that (pun intended). The Performance tune also delivers pretty much the same MPG as either of the above, maybe a little better actually.

The main thing though, as far as MPG goes, is how you drive the car. If you accelerate gently, shift early (like, before 1800rpm early... really really early if you aren't used to doing this sort of thing) keep your speed down to the speed limit, and avoid using your breaks by easing off the pedal well in advance of anywhere you are going to slow down, you can easily beat the EPA mpg, getting up into the 40s for your car without being a hazard to anyone around you.

If on the other hand you drive like I usually do, pounding the pedal down, no-lift-shifting just before hitting redline, going 20+mph over the limit and hammering the brakes, you can easily get your mpg down into the twenties. The performance tune really helps there, because it lets you spend gas faster for more power!

 

[sx sonic]

Oh I forgot to mention I'm currently sitting at 525 miles on this tank with the display reading 58.0 mpg and another 70 or so miles to empty.

That's with the eco tune on. My best on the performance tune has been lower each time BUT I can use cruise control on Eco and Can't on Perf so that's a big variable. Steady state (ie at a set speed) they are both damn near if not identical. So from my observations the MPG of either mode is pretty close


As for our talk about switching between the Eco tune or Performance tune, it is a Trifecta feature called "select-a-tune" that allows the driver to switch between modes by turning the cruise control "arming" button on or off (CC does not have to be on).

If you don't have cruise control you cannot get select-a-tune. You could request both tunes and flash between them as you desire but there's little point, just get the performance tune.

 

[Beastlick]

lets be honest, you don't buy a tune for MPG saving......

 

[rodslinger]

So does the car have to be in cruise control or can i just set it and not be using it to use the eco? I have the 1.4

Just wanted to add that the tune can be reversed and as others have said the ECO tune is pretty horrible. If you get select-a-tune I you can request it with stock and performance mode. Reversing the tune works like this.

With cruise control off - Stock mode -

With cruise control on - Performance mode -

I had mine reversed and like it this way. I've taken the vehicle in for service and the dealer is unaware there is any tune on the car. It feels stock with the cruise off and nobody is going to turn on the cruise just to check the performance of a car. If anyone other than yourself drives the car and turns on the cruise it is usually because they actually want to use it thus helping hide this little performance boost.

Great feature to have.

 

[Swordsmith]

Good explaination, Rod, but just to be clear, CC on and off is not setting a speed and letting the car keep it automatically; the switch we are talking about is the one that turns CC on (lighting up a symbol on the dash) which then allows you to set a speed, not set a speed, come on and off set speed, alter set speed, all that stuff. If you have a set speed the light is green, if not it is white. When it is off, the light is off, and it doesn't matter what you do with the other CC buttons, it stays off.

It is this on/off switch that Trifecta uses to swap between your two modes, if you ask for them. Rod's idea of switching stock or eco and performance around makes some sense because it seems there's not really any mpg advantage to using the stock or eco mode, and it is easier to keep your mpg up if you set the CC to keep your speed from edging up.

 

[ecohauler]

lets be honest, you don't buy a tune for MPG saving......

I would. Unless there's some claim to be made in terms of longevity or resale value (certainly not the case here), the only way any mod is cost-effective is for it to save fuel. If you're saying most people don't mod their cars to save money, I agree with you. For me, though, the potential for a mod to make my car even less expensive to drive is a major selling point.

 

[River_Rat]

Then I would not recommend that anyone buy the tune for the sole purpose of higher mpg. The tune is definitely worth it, but you have to have your priorities straight. I would expect to be disappointed if I had bought the tune for that sole purpose.

 

[Xecutionr]

yeah, not gonna lie... I feel the eco (~48MPG) is a joke but oh well i paid good money for a good "Go fast" tune and it def goes fast now haha