Audi Drive Select -- Efficiency (VAGCOM)

[GreatZar]

So I used VCDS/VAGCOM to enable "Efficiency" on my C7 A6 (2013):

09 - Central Electronics
Security Access - 16
(enable)
Adaptation - 10
Read channel 66
change from 15 to 47
Test / Save

So why would Audi not have this option active? Not ready for prime time? Has anyone used this mode and seen better gas mileage?

[sciblades]

from what i read i heard you need to start stop program for it to be effective.

So I used VCDS/VAGCOM to enable "Efficiency" on my C7 A6 (2013):

09 - Central Electronics
Security Access - 16
(enable)
Adaptation - 10
Read channel 66
change from 15 to 47
Test / Save

So why would Audi not have this option active? Not ready for prime time? Has anyone used this mode and seen better gas mileage?

[GreatZar]

from what i read i heard you need to start stop program for it to be effective.

What does this mean? My A6 has the Cirlce-A button where the car will shutdown the engine at a full stop (light/stop sign) and restart the engine upon release of the brake. Is this what you are talking about?

I need to layout a specific traffic route (25 miles to work is 50/50 highway/surface, perform it 5 times with Efficiency and 5 times in Comfort and 5 times in Auto to really evaluate (of course, weather will need to be dry surface for all tests as well). Might take a month to do the test...

[sciblades]

yep that would mean you have it. Let us know how the test goes

[GreatZar]

Performed 1st test drive this morning. Some interesting things about Efficiency mode:

1) I have VAGCOMed to show the gear number active during a drive. Prior to this I've seen S1-S7 (Sport/Dynamic) and D1-D8 (standard Comfort/Auto drive). Efficiency mode causes gears to be labeled E1-E8.

2) While in Efficiency on an incline, if you apply slight/normal accelerator pressure the car will not shift down a gear if it's making progress speeding up. Efficiency mode appears to force the highest gear possible (lowest RPM) to accomplish driving goal. Might be an issue if a emergency comes up where you need to accelerate out of a potential accident. Not sure the car would respond the way you'd expect.

3) Got the best gas mileage ever on my drive in to work. Without showing the results yet, just comparing with my general prior drives it was over 15% better gas mileage (32 mpg). This is non-scientific from memory so we'll see. My next test will be using Auto or Comfort (haven't decided yet).

My test:

Enter vehicle in garage and power on without starting engine.
Set driving mode and ensure auto-start/stop is enabled/disabled depending on test
Note time and A6 mileage
3 miles driving w/cold engine condition (from sitting overnight in garage) on surface streets w/lights and stop signs to freeway
18 miles driving freeway
2 miles driving surface streets w/lights
Note time, weather/road surface during drive, and A6 mileage

The street/freeway route will be identical for all tests. For Efficiency test, I used light/normal pressure on accelerator to move from a stop to 25mph and then use ACC to let the car self accelerate to speed limit of road +2.5mph. ACC is used for all tests during freeway portion of drive.

Using A6 Prestige with winter 18" rims and Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 tires with only myself in the car (no extra weight being transported).

[GreatZar]

Finally got another test in...


Mode........Mile Start...Mile End...Time Start...Time End...Auto-Stops...MPG...Improvement
Efficiency.......2,224......2,247......~9:20am...~ 9:50am.......5.......32.7........+11.2%
Comfort..........2,495......2,518......~8:50am...~ 9:20am.......0.......29.4


Only 1 data point each, so I need many more runs in both modes before making any conclusions.

[ebi718]

So I used VCDS/VAGCOM to enable "Efficiency" on my C7 A6 (2013):

09 - Central Electronics
Security Access - 16
(enable)
Adaptation - 10
Read channel 66
change from 15 to 47
Test / Save

So why would Audi not have this option active? Not ready for prime time? Has anyone used this mode and seen better gas mileage?

I have a question; how did you determine your security access code for module 09? I have a C7 A6 as well. Thanks.

Edit: found it.

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

[NikosF]

How do you VAGCOM to show gear?

[sciblades]

How do you VAGCOM to show gear?

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...-complete-list

[OmaHahn]

Performed 1st test drive this morning. Some interesting things about Efficiency mode:

1) I have VAGCOMed to show the gear number active during a drive. Prior to this I've seen S1-S7 (Sport/Dynamic) and D1-D8 (standard Comfort/Auto drive). Efficiency mode causes gears to be labeled E1-E8.

2) While in Efficiency on an incline, if you apply slight/normal accelerator pressure the car will not shift down a gear if it's making progress speeding up. Efficiency mode appears to force the highest gear possible (lowest RPM) to accomplish driving goal. Might be an issue if a emergency comes up where you need to accelerate out of a potential accident. Not sure the car would respond the way you'd expect.

3) Got the best gas mileage ever on my drive in to work. Without showing the results yet, just comparing with my general prior drives it was over 15% better gas mileage (32 mpg). This is non-scientific from memory so we'll see. My next test will be using Auto or Comfort (haven't decided yet).

My test:

Enter vehicle in garage and power on without starting engine.
Set driving mode and ensure auto-start/stop is enabled/disabled depending on test
Note time and A6 mileage
3 miles driving w/cold engine condition (from sitting overnight in garage) on surface streets w/lights and stop signs to freeway
18 miles driving freeway
2 miles driving surface streets w/lights
Note time, weather/road surface during drive, and A6 mileage

The street/freeway route will be identical for all tests. For Efficiency test, I used light/normal pressure on accelerator to move from a stop to 25mph and then use ACC to let the car self accelerate to speed limit of road +2.5mph. ACC is used for all tests during freeway portion of drive.

Using A6 Prestige with winter 18" rims and Michelin Pilot Alpin PA4 tires with only myself in the car (no extra weight being transported).

This might sound picky regarding a true "all conditions/variables being equal," but you mentioned just yourself in the car and no extra weight. What about your gas in the tank? Are you filling up every night after work to have the same amount of gas/weight in the car for the next test?

[GreatZar]

This might sound lilke being anal regarding a true "all conditions/variables being equal," but you mentioned just yourself in the car and no extra weight. What about your gas in the tank? Are you filling up every night after work to have the same amount of gas/weight in the car for the next test?

Didn't realize with a 19.8 gallon tank that we're talking about 20-165 pounds depending on how full/empty the tank is. I haven't been factoring this in, sorry (and I haven't been ensuring a full tank each drive). However, the multiple runs have a variety of lights/stops that vary, so even if I top off tank before each run, there is additional variables that skew results (in addition to the pressure my foot applies to the accelerator from each stop).

Anyway, two more runs with Efficiency showed 30.5mpg (1 auto-stop) and 31.9mpg (2 auto-stops). Average mpg for Efficiency over three drives is 31.7mpg.

[GreatZar]

Here are some more test runs...


Date.....Mode........Tot.Miles.Tot.Time.Auto-Stops.....MPG
Oct.19...Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......5..... ...32.7
Oct.29...Comfort........23......~0:30.......0..... ...29.4
Nov.1....Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......1..... ...30.5
Nov.2....Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......2..... ...31.9
Nov.8....Comfort........23......~0:40.......7..... ...28.3...(Fwy Crash)
Nov.9....Lead foot/Dyn..23......~0:25.......0.........25.0
Nov.13...Comfort........23......~0:30.......1..... ...30.8
Nov.15...Comfort........23......~0:30.......1..... ...29.9
Nov.16...Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......3..... ...34.2

Efficiency.Ave.MPG:.32.325.[7.6% better than Comf, 29.3% better than Dyn] (4 runs)
Comfort.Ave.MPG:....30.033.[20.1% better than Dyn] (3 runs -- 29.6 w/fwy crash)
Lead.foot/Dyn.MPG:..25.0 (1 run)


The lead foot (Dynamic) was not as controlled a test as the rest (miles/route were identical but car was warm at start unlike all the rest where it's the first drive of the day after sitting over-night). Also aggressive passing/speeding.

Don't get why Audi doesn't enable Efficiency mode stock. I'm convinced by above results and how the car drives that it clearly helps save gas. It acts as if it completely shuts down half of the cylinders and avoids down-shifts.

[GreatZar]

Here are my final test runs...


Date.....Mode........Tot.Miles.Tot.Time.Auto-Stops.....MPG
Oct.19...Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......5..... ...32.7
Oct.29...Comfort........23......~0:30.......0..... ...29.4
Nov.1....Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......1..... ...30.5
Nov.2....Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......2..... ...31.9
Nov.8....Comfort........23......~0:40.......7..... ...28.3...(Fwy Crash)
Nov.9....Lead.foot/Dyn..23......~0:25.......0.........25.0
Nov.13...Comfort........23......~0:30.......1..... ...30.8
Nov.15...Comfort........23......~0:30.......1..... ...29.9
Nov.16...Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......3..... ...34.2
Nov.19...Comfort........23......~0:30.......3..... ...29.8
Nov.20...Comfort........23......~0:30.......1..... ...34.1
Nov.21...Lead.foot/Dyn..23......~0:25.......0.........26.2
Dec.6....Comfort........23......~0:30.......2..... ...29.0
Dec.13...Efficiency.....23......~0:30.......2..... ...30.8
Dec.14...Comfort........23......~0:30.......2..... ...31.5

.....................Ave....Min/Max
Efficiency.Ave.MPG:.32.02..30.5/34.2..[4.5% better than Comf, 25.1% better than Dyn] (5 runs)
Comfort.Ave.MPG:....30.64..29.0/34.1..[19.7% better than Dyn] (7 runs -- 30.35 w/fwy crash)
Lead.foot/Dyn.MPG:..25.60..25.0/26.2..(2 runs)


Sorry for necro-posting. Done with this one...

[Franky_d]

Hello GreatZar,

I also activated this mode, although my prime interest was not efficiency....

I have not been happy with the steering in my Q5 3.0 2013 since I got it in September 2012. In order to change the steering somehow i decided to activate the ADS using info from this forum. Unfortunately, I did not have ADS from the factory and AUDI dealerships were not able to retrofit it.

I noticed, that compared to other modes (Comfort, Dymamic) in Efficiency the steering seems to me more firm. I tend to think, that the car is spending least electricity possible in Efficiency for the power steering (it is not electro-mechanical in 2013 model).

What is your feeling with respect to steering firmness in different modes and Efficiency in particular?
Do you have ADS from the factory?
Can you by any chance check the readings of byte 7 and byte 8 under 09 - Central Electronics - Coding. I am still not sure if i picked up the right values for these bytes as the difference in steering feel in various modes is so tiny (I wish it was more firm).

Thank you,

[GreatZar]

I have not been happy with the steering in my Q5 3.0 2013 since I got it in September 2012. In order to change the steering somehow i decided to activate the ADS using info from this forum. Unfortunately, I did not have ADS from the factory and AUDI dealerships were not able to retrofit it.

I noticed, that compared to other modes (Comfort, Dymamic) in Efficiency the steering seems to me more firm. I tend to think, that the car is spending least electricity possible in Efficiency for the power steering (it is not electro-mechanical in 2013 model).

What is your feeling with respect to steering firmness in different modes and Efficiency in particular?
Do you have ADS from the factory?
Can you by any chance check the readings of byte 7 and byte 8 under 09 - Central Electronics - Coding. I am still not sure if i picked up the right values for these bytes as the difference in steering feel in various modes is so tiny (I wish it was more firm).

My Cent-Elect-->Coding-->Bytes 7/8 are E2, C1. But I have a A6 with ADS factory installed (not sure you should mimic my settings in a Q5).

Haven't really tried to notice steering response in Efficiency mode (not something you'd think to want to do). I do notice a difference in Dynamic mode. I'll test this out in the next few days and let you know. You are probably right that Eff mode will stiffen up the steering (spend less fuel on squishy power steering). That'd be my guess at the results of the test (I'll see if I can tell).

If you don't have factory installed ADS, then I think you're pissing in the wind. Instead of picking an ADS mode, I would be looking at all VAGCOM bits that deal with steering independent of the mode (can't really help you here -- I'm new to VAGCOM). The bytes you called out did appear to be steering related, so that's good.

[Franky_d]

I had a chance to test drive A6 yesterday and also to check the coding with a VAGcom. The engine response seems to be very similar in different modes to what I achieved after activating the ADS. However, the steering firmness differences in different modes is more noticeable in A6. Could that be because of the different chassis? Or maybe due to some more coding necessary (steering specific). Probably the later and I agree with you - it is like shooting in the air.

At the same time I noticed a lot of posts about lousy steering in 2013 S4 and 2013 A4 and software updates done to resolve the issue... I Have not seen any complaints about q5 though...

Looking forward to hearing from you.

[GreatZar]

I tested switching from Comfort to Efficiency mode and the difference between steering response was strong. Sorry it took so long...

[Franky_d]

I tested switching from Comfort to Efficiency mode and the difference between steering response was strong. Sorry it took so long...

Thank you, GreatZar!
It confirms my theory!

[legaltop]

GreatZar,
Do you think it's possible to enable "Efficiency" even in A7 MY 2011 ?
Thanks

[sciblades]

Should be able to

Sent from my Z10 using Tapatalk 2

[Soft]

So I used VCDS/VAGCOM to enable "Efficiency" on my C7 A6 (2013):

09 - Central Electronics
Security Access - 16
(enable)
Adaptation - 10
Read channel 66
change from 15 to 47
Test / Save

So why would Audi not have this option active? Not ready for prime time? Has anyone used this mode and seen better gas mileage?

I cannot find channel 66, there are no channel numbering in the adaption menu?
only a scroll lost of items but no item 66 either ?

[SinCityA6]

I cannot find channel 66, there are no channel numbering in the adaption menu?
only a scroll lost of items but no item 66 either ?

The C7 forum has separated from the C6 forum after this thread was created. May want to post up over there for insight on your issue.

[Soft]

The C7 forum has separated from the C6 forum after this thread was created. May want to post up over there for insight on your issue.

I do have an C7, I belive, A7... :-)
Anyway, I cannot find channel 66 in adaptation

[VeryBadman]

I guess the S/RS folks are not really interested and stick with "screw the MPG" mode.

[PB4UGO]

I'll look into this with my '14 TDI...kind of curious now!

[dennisg]

I guess the S/RS folks are not really interested and stick with "screw the MPG" mode.

Hahaha... I have an S6 and I am filling it with 7 dollar a gallon 100 octane and putting my foot into it like I am running from the cops!! lol

[stoian21]

Hi, have you been yousing the efficiency mode long term and have you noticed any negative impacts? I have a 2013 A6 3.0T PP. I just enabled it but can't seem to notice any difference from the comfort mode in terms of transmission and throttle mapping other than the gear display changed to E1-8. The gear shifts appear very similar to me at below 2k RPM in normal driving. Also, i don't notice any throttle response change. If i press the accelerator a bit more than normal it still downshifts. From what i read on forums and AOA's responses, this feature is designed for S Tronic transmissions where the clutch disengages where feasible to save gas and those transmissions have different gear mapping and a very sluggish throttle mapping for this mode. I am assuming the only impact to US models might be to steering and HVAC. Thanks,

[Pampedout6]

Awesome!! Worked on my S6!! I'll mostly use this on long highway cruises and see if I can find MPG improvements.

[flyfishing]

if you enable this in vag com, where is the option to enable and disable it? in car menu?

[MadAboutCars]

Under drive select. An extra entry is shown where you select comfort, auto, dynamic and individual.

It was standard (already enabled) in my S6. I'm not a big fan of the S-tronic coasting (both clutches disengaged), but I've used it when running low on gas.

[flyfishing]

how do you find the security access code

[stoian21]

VCDS gives it to you when you select the field.

[JackCheung]

Sorry, but I just couldn’t find the access code.

[OmaHahn]

Dang! A 2-year bump!

[DGVR6]

Just in case someone searches this thread and needs the security code it’s 20113