Normal, Sport, Eco

[pango1in]

I can't see that this has been discussed on the forum yet. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what the differences are between Normal, Sport and Eco (excluding DSG and DCC). The way I see it is as follows:

Aircon - fairly straight forward. Normal is colder than Eco.

Steering - again, fairly straight forward. Sport is heavier than Normal.

ACC - Sport gets you up to speed and slows you down quicker. Eco accelerates much slower. Normal seems to be a balance.

Engine - I'm not sure about this one... It seems to me that the only difference is a change in the throttle response map. Sport has a steeper line to Eco - i.e. Sport is more sensitive to movements in the pedal and gets to full throttle sooner. For example, when the accelerator is half pressed, in Sport the pipe is 3/4 open, whereas in Eco it's only 1/4 open (simple example, but you get the point). I find i can get the same performance from the car in Eco as I can in Sport, I just have to push the pedal more.

I don't think there's any remapping of the ECU for two reasons: 1. ECU's remap differently and wouldn't it be dangerous to just change these instantly. 2. When mentioning the low fuel economy on diesels, the dealer said that the ECU had to "learn my style of driving", which implies that the ECU can't change that quickly (?).

If I'm right about the above, then Eco mode won't save that much fuel. But an aggressive throttle response sure is fun

Anyone else's thoughts???

[maisbitt]

I can't see that this has been discussed on the forum yet. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what the differences are between Normal, Sport and Eco (excluding DSG and DCC). The way I see it is as follows:

Aircon - fairly straight forward. Normal is colder than Eco.

Steering - again, fairly straight forward. Sport is heavier than Normal.

ACC - Sport gets you up to speed and slows you down quicker. Eco accelerates much slower. Normal seems to be a balance.

Engine - I'm not sure about this one... It seems to me that the only difference is a change in the throttle response map. Sport has a steeper line to Eco - i.e. Sport is more sensitive to movements in the pedal and gets to full throttle sooner. For example, when the accelerator is half pressed, in Sport the pipe is 3/4 open, whereas in Eco it's only 1/4 open (simple example, but you get the point). I find i can get the same performance from the car in Eco as I can in Sport, I just have to push the pedal more.

I don't think there's any remapping of the ECU for two reasons: 1. ECU's remap differently and wouldn't it be dangerous to just change these instantly. 2. When mentioning the low fuel economy on diesels, the dealer said that the ECU had to "learn my style of driving", which implies that the ECU can't change that quickly (?).

If I'm right about the above, then Eco mode won't so that much. But an aggressive throttle response sure is fun

Anyone else's thoughts???

I would agree with all the above there with my very limited experience in my dad’s GTD and his tinkering with it whilst on a long journey (Newcastle to Southampton – 350 miles), also considering how my Scirocco 170TDI CR and previous TDIs behave. In ECO mode for everything, the automatic acceleration back up to speed after the ADC had slowed him down was incredibly slow, it was faster in NORMAL and faster again in SPORT.

If Engine setting is as you say then there is probably no saving there – you’ll just end up pressing the throttle harder to get it to do what you want it to do. If you don’t want to drive the car like a nun then using ECO modes isn’t really going to offer a saving. Like you I think there is only one map, and the NORMAL/ECO modes blunt the throttle response to varying degrees. The way you use the aircon is probably going to have most bearing on economy in the summer.

With regards to car cooling I will open the windows on a hot day to 40mph max, and from then on I would have them closed and would rely on the aircon (heat exchange with the aircon radiator isn’t very efficient until you have a decent volume of air passing over it) and use the air recycle button to get the car cooled quickly. Going down the motorway at 70-80mph, the aircon isn’t much of a drain on the system, but the air resistance of the car with the windows open at those speeds would be.

I have found with TDIs that moderate and hard acceleration both make the mpg dip a lot while you do it, with not much between the 2. My driving style is to get up to the cruising speed quickly – a short burst of moderately hard acceleration followed by sustained speed (where the mpg shoots up again) seems more economical to me than gentle acceleration for 4 times longer to get to the cruising speed you want.

I don’t seem to find much of a pattern in ECUs knowing your driving style in my Scirocco (170TDI CR). There will be days where the car seems unusually powerful despite what was done on the previous trip, same can happen when the car seems unusually sluggish, seemingly unrelated to the previous trip. Perhaps the MK7 ECU is more intelligent.

[GTwebb]

Not had the pleasure of experiencing the settings as yet to comment unfortunately but I'd expect them to operate as you suggest.. it'll be interesting to see other people experience!

[dcdick]

Agree with the OP's assessment & my DSG seems to work this way as well while seeming to use more fuel than the petrol versions which I can't explain
Also agree that a short burst of acceleration seems to work better than gentle acceleration (as eco mode would like you to do) & full performance is always there even in eco if you floor the pedal

I was initially impressed with the DSG way of doing things but (on a diesel) I'm not so sure now, petrol does seem to fare better with the DSG system

As for the ECU "learning" a driving style I have seen no evidence of that so far.

D

[pcr]

I don't think the ecu learns your driving style, certainly not long term, else the car would only suit one driver.

[maisbitt]

The car can remember selected preferences, they're specific to the key used. Nothing worse than occasionally having to use the spare key and finding all the MFD accessed functions set to default rather than the settings you're used to seeing because you "always" use the other key.

Stored driving styles? Possible but unlikely - you'd be wanting an ECU wipe every time there was a change in ownership for the car. My car sometimes appears to remember how it was driven the last time it was used e.g. drive like a nun and next time it doesn't seem as willing from the off or been driving pretty spirited and it seems to be willing to do that from the off next time you start up. A short term memory from the last trip is more likely if anything is going on.

[dickt]

I am pretty sure that my Mk 7 does not remember anything in any of its memories. If it can't remember 3 seat positions for the electric seats, (promised in the brochure, but still not available) how on Earth could it remember driving styles? Driving styles are much more complicated and subtle than the simple seat position parameters.

[anilberke]

found a gtd video for normal & sport mode ...

Is this the standart gtd sound?

[maisbitt]

found a gtd video for normal & sport mode ...

Is this the standart gtd sound?

As far as i'm aware, the "soundaktor" device that is a standard fit on my dad's GTD gives you cabin noise only - but I haven't knelt down at the back of the car while my dad revved it to check. Apart from the initial growl in "sport" mode, it doesn't seem to sound any better therough the rev range externally - but it makes a hell of a difference in the cabin.

That car looks to me like it has ACC/DCC fitted, you can see and hear the suspension firm up when it is put into "Sport" mode.

[anilberke]

As far as i'm aware, the "soundaktor" device that is a standard fit on my dad's GTD gives you cabin noise only - but I haven't knelt down at the back of the car while my dad revved it to check. Apart from the initial growl in "sport" mode, it doesn't seem to sound any better therough the rev range externally - but it makes a hell of a difference in the cabin.

That car looks to me like it has ACC/DCC fitted, you can see and hear the suspension firm up when it is put into "Sport" mode.

Yes car is fitted with DCC... You can see the cable connected to the rear suspensions. Exhaust system is different from a standart tdi engine in this GTD.

My car:

Monreo DCC suspension ...



And the standart 1,6tdi exhaust ...