Hybrid - Turbos and Normal vs Sport driving

When driving the hybrid in normal mode, the RPMs stay relatively low, usually below 2k, and when you accelerate the turbos kick in pretty quickly.

When driving the hybrid in sport mode, the RPMs stay higher, usually around 2k, and when you accelerate the RPMs go up but you have to accelerate hard for the turbos to kick in.

So my observation is that driving in normal mode actually uses the turbos more than when in sport. Discuss.

 

What’s there to discuss?

in sport you’re in a lower gear, throttle response is tuned, and it’s more liberal in the battery deployment

 

Absolutely normal operation.
This applies to Hybrid and Non-Hybrid:
Turbos build boost based on engine load. (Among other factors.)

If you are in Sport mode your transmission is holding gears longer. (Staying in a lower gear longer than it would otherwise.)
This keeps the RPM's up, so you are loading the engine less, building less boost.

 

In day-to-day driving, which is better for the engine? Using the turbos more or holding RPMs higher so the turbos kick in less?

 

Can't say for certain which is better or worse, but I don't believe I am hurting anything by using Sport mode as my daily driving go-to.
I prefer the more immediate throttle response and it helps to mask some of the minimal lag from a dead stop.
I have also seen zero loss of mpg by running Sport vs. Normal.

 

Boost = more fuel burning

 

I actually get better mileage in Sport mode when I travel to our condo in the mountains. The engine does less shifting and boosting. It's become my normal daily driving mode too.

 

Interesting to hear the feedback for daily driving in sport mode, I'm gonna try it for a while. Intuition and the manual indicates better MPG in ECO or Normal modes. With the A/C running hard in the hot summer they all seem to be similar MPG but perform differently of course.

 

Same. I have a several hundred mile road trip coming up. I’ll give it a shot. Currently getting 20-21MPG normal mode so idk if that can improve much. The question will be if it gets worse in sport.

 

I have been meaning to do a post on the ShiftPower I bought for my 23 Hybrid Limited. It is similar to Pedal Commander. It is AMAZING how much of the perceived turbo lag is actually created by Toyota. I am sure they are doing it for mileage CAFE standards, but the amount they are retarding the accelerator signal is absolutely disgusting. Any turbo engine is going to have turbo lag, but when you purposely retard the accelerator input to the point that Toyota does, it creates a good portion of what we bitch about with our turbos.

 

My boost is in the foot! That is why the hybrid works so well!

 

Sample size of one but I put Sport Mode in cruise control (to take myself out of the equation) for a 250ish mile trip yesterday, upstate NY to southern PA. Not bad at all. I usually get around 20ish so this seems particularly good. Ideally I remember to repeat this drive (it’s one I do frequently) but in normal mode. Someone yell at me in a month if I forget

 

Agree with Sport mode. Get better mileage, better throttle response. Similar experience goes for the cruise control. I turn off adaptive cruise, and use conventional cruise most the time on highway & pickup better mileage. Even better mileage if I leave cruise off & drive the truck without in Sport. May be me, but eco mode doesn’t help my mileage at all.