I'm driving around 350 miles tomorrow (all highway), and I'm debating about using the economy real time map over the Stage 1 93 octane. Any suggestions or experience? I might try one map on the way there and another on the way back on Sunday. It's also going to be raining tomorrow, so I don't think I need the highest performance for the trip. ;)

Once you are on the highway cruising, doesn't make a difference.

both. let us know how it turns out.

yeah...let us know. I'm getting Protuned on the 20th and have to drive 175 miles for it! I want to know if driving back in econo will make a difference. also (kind of a thread hijacking..sorry) does your MPG go up after getting a tune since you dont run as rich?

the STX one :)

yeah...let us know. I'm getting Protuned on the 20th and have to drive 175 miles for it! I want to know if driving back in econo will make a difference. also (kind of a thread hijacking..sorry) does your MPG go up after getting a tune since you dont run as rich?

It can....depends heavily on the tune.

If I stayed out of the boost, my stg 1 93 got just about the same mpg as the economy (85 mile hwy round trip commute). It's just a matter of discaplining the foot (not easy!). But a longer trip might show the benifits of the map better.

I think since on highways you do generally get MPG's, theres not much of a difference between a staged map or the econo. Its in the city and on the twisties (I live on a twisty road) where you use a heavy foot to get going (after the light or after the turn)

I'd reccomend waiting till yor actually on the freeway to load the realtime economy map.

placing the car under load (driving the car hard in any way)wouldnt be a good idea. Thats somthing to keep in mind.

You could read the map notes on the download page to know it's specific limitations.

Ya, Lets us know the diffirence. :cool:

i would personally skip the econo map. LIke parker said, if you have to get on it be careful (it runs more timing than normal). Just stay out of boost.

also remember to stay in your torque band. Look at your boost gauge and find the rpm that gives it the lowest reading on the gauge while cruising. I have noticed above 3k or around 85mph has provided the best fuel economy. and that was on my heavy 18" prodrives and stock ecu with no EM. I ended up getting about 26mpg on my way from TX to florida. These numbers have changed since EM due to the powerband moving left.

Good luck though and have a safe trip.

I noticed 4 to 5mpg cruising on the hiway in econ vs stg II.

I used the ECONO map on mine driving down from Flagstaff to Phoenix and back up. On the trip down I got 30.75 mpg or something like that, and up the hill i got 22 mpg on ECONO, seemed better than normal stage 2 driving, but that could be due to I didn't drive like a mad man like I normally do on stage 2.

Stick to the performance map. I feel much safer knowing that I could get out of the way in the rush if I need to; you never know when some a**hole might cut you off.

Ran 160 miles, over 5 mountain passes that were 6 percent, and managed 26.8 mpg on stage 2. 75 mph during the whole trip.

I have used both the stage 2 and econo map and found almost no difference. i went through 4 tanks of gas on the econo map, mixed highway/city driving, staying off of it as much as possible and only gain .5mpg average per tank. I determined it wasn't worth the lost horespower.

I once used the economy map on the way to a track (200 miles or so), and spaced it. After running a couple warm ups I gave her the berries for a lap or two, then oops! Remembered the map and switched it to stg 2. There was no audible knock or ill effects. I don't think you need to be too worried about taking it easy, and you can certainly drive on boost with econo mode. Just use it when driving "normal."

I once used the economy map on the way to a track (200 miles or so), and spaced it. After running a couple warm ups I gave her the berries for a lap or two, then oops! Remembered the map and switched it to stg 2. There was no audible knock or ill effects. I don't think you need to be too worried about taking it easy, and you can certainly drive on boost with econo mode. Just use it when driving "normal."
Yes you could do that on the older econo maps and not notice much of a difference in performance loss. :) But on the new econo map ...it sucks max boost of 7 PSi even when flored doesn't work for me. :( I just keep it in stage 2 all the time with no loss (very little) of fuel economy as compared to the economy map. :disco:

both. let us know how it turns out.

i did this on a trip from boston - stlouis & back and i lost mileage going to eco from stage II

had all the receipts at the time, i thought i posted up the info, but this was a year and a half ago now so i dont know where i put all that stuff. ill see if i can find a post regarding this.

just leave the car as-is since the computers happy and changing to eco map is 100% pointless when driving long distance.

Measuring fuel econmy to and fro is not at all a legitamite comparison. I went on a road trip of 500 miles round trip, economy map there, stg 2 back. Results? 26 mpg on economy, 22 mpg on stg 2. The catch: Decrease in elevation going there, climb coming back. Even though I used the maps as a fuel consumption test, the resulting figures were useless. If anything, the low boost of the economy map is less strain on the motor, and it is still as powerfull as a typical commuter car. The extra off boost responsiveness is nice too.

I too have watched economy vs. stage 2 or in my case VF34 map. On highway trips I have not noticed much of a difference. It definitely matters in city driving.

Sorry for the delay in update, but here are the results. On tha way to New Orleans, it was really warm, and I ran the A/C the whole way. I got almost 28 mpg while cruising on the highway around 70-75 mph. On way back, I was going to use the Stage 1 map, but the weather had changed dramatically. I decided it wouldn't be an accurate test given the different conditions, and the fact I wasn't going to be running the A/C compressor. So, I ran w/o the A/C on the way back and got not quite 30 mpg (29.7xx). I'm impressed. I normally get around 24-26 mpg on Stage 1 with my mix of highway and city driving.

I was also surprised that the car didn't drive different on the econo setting when driving normally. It wasn't as bad I was expecting.

driving niceley on cobb's vf34 map gained more milage/tank than on the econo map.

i usually keep it in fourth though and use less throttle to maintain its speed than in 5th gear.

yakko, Maybe you should say what map you were using. :)

just a question, I am running the vf34 , sti inj. mode and first, getting horrible gas mileage, but I amd getting a protune in a week, see if it makes a difference. Also, wont driving at 85 mph for 5 hours (highway) just pointelessly wear out your turbo? THanks

yakko, Maybe you should say what map you were using. :)
Oops, sorry. I was using the Econo map as a real time over the 91 oct Stage 1 base.