MDS vs ECO

[Quyonmob]

ECO shows on 4th gen ram pentastar and ecodiesel, no MDS on either.

simply indicates a high level of fuel economy, which likely means the MDS is on in hemi trucks.

 

[Ludville1]

I have a hemifever 93 tune in my Ram with the MDS written out in the tune. Yet the ECO mode still shows up on the panel while cruising. I questioned this with Sean (hemifever tuning), and he said that MDS and ECO mode are not the same.

 

[ColesRAM]

This is interesting, because as a new RAM owner I have the same question. Two year old thread and the best that can be determined is - we don’t know……… no wonder this poor horse gets beaten ………

 

[SouthTexan]

I am surprised you can put Eco and Hemi in the same sentence. All three of my friends that have 1500 Hemi's get worse fuel economy at the end of each tank than my 2500.

 

[ramffml]

Can't speak for 4th gens, for 5th gens it absolutely is, 100% equivalent.

How can I say that for certain? Because I set the little ECO light on in the settings, turn off MDS with my gear limiter, and never (like for months at a time) have I ever seen the ECO light show it's silly face.

Only when I forget to turn off MDS; then I get a little shake and the little light on the dash shows up.

 

[ramffml]

I am surprised you can put Eco and Hemi in the same sentence. All three of my friends that have 1500 Hemi's get worse fuel economy at the end of each tank than my 2500.

Sigh. Now you did it.

This MPG is why I bought the 3.21

Couldn't resist after seeing a bunch of negative posts on the 3.21. I get why this forum is so lopsided, it's an enthusiast forum so many will be drawn to the 3.92. But this week I just crushed my best record to date (which was 2 years ago). Back then the best I got was 9.4 l/100 km = 25 mpg...

www.ramforum.com

 

[SouthTexan]

Sigh. Now you did it.

This MPG is why I bought the 3.21

Couldn't resist after seeing a bunch of negative posts on the 3.21. I get why this forum is so lopsided, it's an enthusiast forum so many will be drawn to the 3.92. But this week I just crushed my best record to date (which was 2 years ago). Back then the best I got was 9.4 l/100 km = 25 mpg...

www.ramforum.com

28 mpg is very good for a highway trip averaging about 65 mph. With a 32 gallon tank, I have never taken a long enough trip to know what a complete tank of highway mileage is. Best I have done around that speed was an hour of back roads down to the coast getting 22 mpg according to the computer(which is always 5-10% off from calculated at the end of every tank). Of course my 3.42 geared truck is a 4wd with a leveled front and very aggressive 1 inch oversized off road tires(speedo is calibrated) so who knows what I would get at that speed at stock height and street tires.

 

[Xsen]

Just my 2c, but I took the scanner and went driving to confirm the relation between ECO light and MDS mode.

Active V4 mode would throw the ECO on.
Active ECO does NOT mean that V4 mode is active. I have been monitoring actual engine parameters to make sure.

 

[ExpressRules]

Wow, horse has to be dead by now. On the 4 generation 1500 one has nothing to do with triggering the other. If people want to continue with this debate they should bring another horse in and drag out the dead one.

 

[Duuplo]

I have a hemifever 93 tune in my Ram with the MDS written out in the tune. Yet the ECO mode still shows up on the panel while cruising. I questioned this with Sean (hemifever tuning), and he said that MDS and ECO mode are not the same.

2016 1500 5.7L here. So, two case studies from me. I started out with the Pulsar in-line module, which has several modes and each has an MDS On or Off option. Whenever I had it an MDS Off mode, say Performance/MDS Off, I would never see the ECO light turn on. If I was in Stock/MDS On, the ECO light would come on and off like normal.

Then, I swapped out my Pulsar for a Diablosport Trinity EX with PCM swap. I installed the 91 octane tune and selected the MDS Off option. Interestingly, the ECO still comes on while driving around, eg. when letting off the throttle or cruising on the highway.

Perhaps it’s a difference in the way the two tuners affect the system? IDK, but there it is, a real life comparison.