V4 - v8

[Dominick]

Maybe its because I'm a newbie, but with gas topping $4 I've been trying to pay attention to my MPG and when my driving style gets me from V8 to V4.

After a week of mostly highway driving, my Yukon only seems to go into V4 mode when im coasting. The minute I touch the gas pedal she goes into V8

Anyone else notice this?

 

[felixgun]

I noticed the first day I got it.. pretty much never in V4 unless you are coasting or on cruise control

 

[soulsea]

Mmm, I tried to pay attention to the trip computer once whilst driving to see how that works but it was too distracting so I stopped. From the ten or so minutes I observed it, it would use 4 cylinders on flat highway driving. Any incline or downhill it goes into 8 mode. This I believe is how it is supposed to work.

Caveat being that I don't know if my hybrid drive affects mine differently and I was in cruise control when I was trying to figure it out. Basically I am no help at all.

 

[emann_01]

its all about engine load...i believe its 40% of the engine's power and it goes to v8...less than that it will drop to 4 cyl mode

on another note...you bought the wrong truck/suv/brick on wheels to be worried about mpg

 

[soulsea]

on another note...you bought the wrong truck/suv/brick on wheels to be worried about mpg

That is a valid statement of course ... although it should be noted that any mpg/$ saving measure when power isn't needed is in principle a good idea.

Furthermore, over let's say a five year/60000 mile ownership span, my truck for example will yield relatively significantly more $ savings than a person's car which is a civic hybrid vs a regular civic. That's simply because a regular civic is fuel efficient to begin with, so the savings to a hybrid are small. Whereas the opposite is true of the T/Y/E Hybrids. [/rationalization ftw]

But ya, we don't buy these things to save gas.

 

[skippy737]

exactly we dont buy them to save gas--- i was haggling over price and it was geting down to 1-2 dollars per month when the salesman had enough and stated -- look if u are that worried about the payment going up that much, maybe you shoudlnt be driving that car ( we were kidding) i said yeah but ever dollar per month is 72 bucks more i pay for the car overall--- went right over his head.

i accelerat like a grandma and coast -- i get 16 mpg city and about 20 highway and never go above 70 and use the cruise.

its all on how you drive and the gradient of the terrain.

 

[phileaglesfan]

I get about 18-19 on the highway with my 09 Yukon XL Denali AWD at around 75 mph. These vehicles are not that good on gas if you compare it to other vehicles but compared to vehicles that can also carry 7 people it is pretty close.

I have V8-V4 mode on my Impala and it stays in V8 mode unless it is level (without a strong headwind) or going down hill. My Denali does not have it. Corvette doesn't either and it will average about 28-30mpg on the highway but it is not a brick on wheels.

Personally I wouldnt haggle about $1-2 a month unless they are trying to make me pay $300 or so for doc fees. It all depends on what kind of car you are buying. $1-2 a month is a bigger percentage of the sales price for say a Cruze compared to a loaded Denali.

 

[07Burb]

I've notice the exact same thing as the OP. Another thing that I hate about the fuel management system is that I can actually feel it 'flip' back and forth between v8 and v4 when cruising on the highway. Drives me nuts!!!

 

[jd08]

I've notice the exact same thing as the OP. Another thing that I hate about the fuel management system is that I can actually feel it 'flip' back and forth between v8 and v4 when cruising on the highway. Drives me nuts!!!

Same here.

Also I noticed is when it v4 mode it will lose speed and then kick into v8 mode and it has to work harder to get back up to speed. Now you tell me how this helps with gas milage. I got better gas milage this winter driving with no overdrive(3rd gear) it stayed in v8 mode. But I drive in the most of the time 60 mph or less to and from work.

 

[07Burb]

One reason I'm looking forward to getting a tune so that I can get rid of it!