I've had my G37 Coupe for a couple weeks, and have driven almost exclusively in RWD, but I have occasionally hit the "snow" button to see how MPG is affected. I've read that AWD gets less MPG, but my experience is better MPG. Most of the time I would prefer MPG over the best performance and I am thinking about keeping the "snow" button "on" most of the time, but I was concerned about maintenance and wear issues having it in AWD most of the time. Should I get better MPG in AWD and are there maintenance problems with too much time in AWD? Thanks!

 

i have an awd coupe too. i normally leave the snow mode 'off' but i could sure use some better gas milage. i might have to try leaving it 'on' now. maybe itll same me from filling up at the pump once a week!

 

I'm pretty sure the awd is always active in our cars. It stays rwd until the vehicle determines the need to use the front wheels. I could be wrong but my understanding of the snow mode was to limit the throttle sensitivity to minimize wheel spin. If thats the case, maybe you are seeing better gas mileage because the engine isn't working as hard. I got 25 mpg on a 70% highway / 30% city trip with an awd sedan.

 

The way our AWD works is that when you're under normal driving conditions, all the torque goes to the rear. However, when the car senses loss of traction, it can send up to 50% of the torque to the front, but ONLY when it senses traction loss. If you turn on the snow mode, it splits the torque 50/50 at all times when your speed is less than a certain speed, I think 15mph or something. Faster than that, your car drives like the normal default AWD mode.

Generally, AWD gets worse mileage, due to more drivetrain loss, and as well, the AWD adds 205 lbs to the weight of our cars.

 

From the manual:
When the SNOW mode is
activated, engine output is controlled to avoid
wheel spin.

It controls power output. I use it sometimes when my wife complains about how fast I am taking off.

 

Get a new wife.

 

I can feel the cut back on power at all speeds with the snow button "on." I go through periods of time where I drive a lot and become more fuel economy conscious and other times I don't care. I don't know much about the mechanics of cars, but it sounds like if I want to have the snow button "on" for extended periods of time at any speed I am not doing any damage to the vehicle. Please let me know if I am incorrect on this. Thanks for all the helpful information.

 

So can snow mode be used for better gas mileage? The manual doesn't indicate that the power is split 50/50 for snow so I'm guessing that it doesn't hurt the drivetrain. Any thoughts?

 

I doubt using the snow button is going to improve your mileage at all, might even make it worse since it's sending more power to the front wheels at slow speeds/take off. The throttle response is horrible in snow mode, good for snow, not for everyday driving.

 

The MPG indicator immediately goes up with the snow button "on". I've only had it "on" for a few minutes, but I assume it would hold for an extended period.

 

It probably would help gas mileage, since it greatly limits the power output of the engine. Especially if you tend to be heavy footed.

 

I can tell you that your MPG is 95% a factor of your right foot.
the throttle pressed down 5-10% enables fuel economy AFRs.
the AWD switch limits throttle response, hence better mpg

if you put a brick behind the gas pedal, that limited you from ever
pressing the pedal down furthur than 10%, your mpg will improve.