I wouldn't think Sport mode would change the AFR enough to see in the GPH at idle. But, it was worth a try.

 

After 15,250 miles I definately use sport mode in all necessary traffic conditions even slick roads. I go back to normal once driving gets normal again.

 

Why slick roads?

 

Isn't it obvious? To make tires squeel! Jag

 

I've never needed Sport mode on the highway, but I also drive like an old woman. But anytime I'm up in Vermont, and going along rolling hills, Sport Mode keeps me from having to mash the gas pedal. I love this feature so much!

 

We have a 90-year-old female friend that we refer to as "Parnelli". She is an old woman, but you better stand clear!

 

Go sport mode, select advance track sport mode, select ELocker on, put the gear selector in (M), lock out 1st gear via selecting 2nd and brake building rpm's and boost. Then go shifting to third manually near the red lines. Enjoy !

 

Get on a level stretch of highway, set your cruise control to a safe MPH, and then look at Gallons Per Hour, as you switch thru the different modes, that are intended to adjust shift points, and throttle responsiveness, and you should find out GPH, is NOT changed.

 

I actually tried this over the weekend. Unfortunately the nice flat road was 50 mph, so putting it into Sport mode kicked it down to 5th gear. Couldn't find a nice open stretch of 70 mph freeway without an idiot to avoid. Maybe someday...

 

Just wondering what is so much better about an after-market tune vs. Sport mode. I love Sport mode around town, as it can easily be activated then turned off, and it does not appear to hurt fuel economy with 'normal' driving. It holds gears a bit longer than I would like, especially between 4th and 5th, but overall it seems like a nice compromise to installing a tune, which costs hundreds of dollars and as previously stated could affect my warranty.

Thoughts?

 

Sport and tow/haul modes are in fact tunes, from Ford. The default is the one used for EPA numbers.

 

My Tundra-driving brother and I just completed a 2000 mile odyssey towing a 2000 lb car hauler trailer one way, and added probably 7000 lbs of 1985 F250HD and parts for the return. And Tow/Haul was on 100% of the time. Boy, was he impressed with the truck, and T/H was a big part of that. That feature is huge.

 

Wow, you have more control than anyone I've ever know. Sport mode for me is the go-fast switch.

 

Nothing wrong with that

Honestly I mostly use Sport Mode to enjoy better throttle response and shift points while tooling around town. Since I have the 5.0, which performs so much better at >1500 rpm, Sport mode keeps the revs up a bit, and prevents me from dropping into 6th gear at 41 mph. At that point it feels like I'm driving through a wall of Jell-O...

While it is fun to use for merging into traffic and other situations, I just have a more enjoyable motoring experience in Sport mode while driving 'normal'. Also, it's cheaper (free) than changing to 3.73 gears, and safer (stock) than an after-market tune, which is why I asked why scott91370 said Sport Mode was 'not even close' to an after-market tune.

 

An aftermarket tune I see going to actually adjust your air/fuel ratio, boost and shifting. It is made to extract power from the engine.
From what I understand tow/haul and sport adjust shift points and throttle percentages but do not actually add more power to the truck. By throttle percentage I mean that in regular when you press the throttle 1/2" you get X amount of throttle. But in t/h or sport you get X+Y. So say 20% in regular mode and maybe 30% in sport.