eTorque: 6 Things You Probably Didn't Know

[dswoboda2120]

I wonder is the constant starting of the engine causes more wear on the engine than it is worth. Mind you I know nothing of engines, but it seems like it would be hard on them.

 

[SpeedyV]

Right! Agree!

Me too. The modern HEMI, in particular, was designed from the very beginning ('03) with MDS in mind. Here's a good short read on the subject. I find myself playing the "Eco" game (trying to keep MDS active as often as possible), just for fun.

 

[RebelMike]

That is the best explanation I have seen yet. I asked several dealers, and none of them gave me that kind of information on the etorque system. The sales brochures don't even come close to explaining it that well. As a side note, I was told by several, that the battery pack is covered under the powertrain warranty.

 

[riccnick]

@SpeedyV, that's a great read! Thanks!

 

[alacombe]

That is the best explanation I have seen yet. I asked several dealers, and none of them gave me that kind of information on the etorque system. The sales brochures don't even come close to explaining it that well. As a side note, I was told by several, that the battery pack is covered under the powertrain warranty.

I would want to see in on paper not just hear it from others if its covered.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

Ive never understood that theory, the "deactivated" pistons don't stop moving so how would that cause uneven wear? even if there is no fuel going to those cylinders the MDS only works at idle RPM's so very little fuel is injected in the cylinders. And the ECU should vary which cylinders get shut off anyways.

It doesn't work like that. MDS activates when the vehicle is moving under extremely light loads at rpm above idle. Mine kicks in when the instantanious mpg display stays above 22 for over a second. Any signuficant increased change in load drops it out. The same 4 cylinders are dropped. MDS can't selectively drop cylinders. GM just introduced that ability this year.

I suppose if one could manage to stay in MDS frequently, uneven cylinder and cam wear would occur at a faster rate.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

I wonder is the constant starting of the engine causes more wear on the engine than it is worth. Mind you I know nothing of engines, but it seems like it would be hard on them.

I doubt it. The constant idling would cause more wear. Because the motor is spun back to life by an electric motor that shares the same serpintine belt, there are no engage/disengagement of parts to wear out. A regular starter slams into the flywheel and does cause mechanical wear as well as a whining sound. That's what you still here when you start the truck with the button or remote. The auto start/stop at red lights by contrast is extremely smooth and gentle on the motor.

 

[ponypride]

I would want to see in on paper not just hear it from others if its covered.

I spoke to the warranty people at Zigler and thy stated it was covered under the 60K warranty (same as emissions).

 

[Jordan2929]

It doesn't work like that. MDS activates when the vehicle is moving under extremely light loads at rpm above idle. Mine kicks in when the instantanious mpg display stays above 22 for over a second. Any signuficant increased change in load drops it out. The same 4 cylinders are dropped. MDS can't selectively drop cylinders. GM just introduced that ability this year.

I suppose if one could manage to stay in MDS frequently, uneven cylinder and cam wear would occur at a faster rate.

Still gotta disagree the cam is still being fed continuous oil, also gasoline is a solvent so it has pretty bad lubricating qualities. And you said it yourself “extremely light loads”

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

Still gotta disagree the cam is still being fed continuous oil, also gasoline is a solvent so it has pretty bad lubricating qualities. And you said it yourself “extremely light loads”

I agree. I was just stating how it works. The service dept manager told me the cam on a Hemi is good for around 200k. That's a probably 30k miles premature for modern v8's. I can only speculate that this may be due to uneven wear due to cylinder deactivation.

 

[Northeast16SS]

This has been my experience as well. I love how smooth everything operates, I just wish I could see the advertised 17 MPG with city driving. Part of my issue is that it has been warm here for most of the time I have owned the truck and so the climate control has prevented start/stop from operating on my drive home most of the time. As the weather cools off, I am noticing it engaging more often now so I'm hopeful my fall and winter MPG will be better.

It still takes some effort and driving with fuel economy in mind. I am averaging 17.5-18 mpg. I have the gauge display set to instant fuel economy and with focus you will get there but you have to try and that's not as fun when you have a HEMI.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

It still takes some effort and driving with fuel economy in mind. I am averaging 17.5-18 mpg. I have the gauge display set to instant fuel economy and with focus you will get there but you have to try and that's not as fun when you have a HEMI.

Exactly. The truck WILL achieve EPA numbers, even exceed them, if you drive the way the truck HAS to be driven to get there. If you drive the way you want, you get what you get. That's a choice not a truck failure.

My fellow employees at work have Ford Ecoboost trucks they drive on the job and the 3.5EB Limited 4x4 gets 16-17 average with 80% highway but the driver doesn't attempt to economize. The other has an 2.7EB SLT and he drives intentionally for economy. His truck hits or exceeds his EPA numbers routinely.

 

[Northeast16SS]

I'm still waiting for the Pulsar version to come out for E-Torque, and I will be disabling MDS in 1-2 days at the dealership.
Reason: Exhaust sound, and the fact 4 cylinders will wear unevenly and cause issues down the line.

The engineers behind these things are some of the best in the world. There may be an impact, but it also may not be a factor in the useful life of a vehicle in today's world. To each his own however.

 

[Ram19Va]

The engineers behind these things are some of the best in the world. There may be an impact, but it also may not be a factor in the useful life of a vehicle in today's world. To each his own however.

The main impact will be all 8 cylinders all the time and more power. Those with aftermarket exhausts understand the MDS drone sound is very annoying. Aside from that once MDS cuts on there is such loss of power that at the same pedal pressure on the accelerator you actually lose speed forcing it to cut on/off.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

The main impact will be all 8 cylinders all the time and more power. Those with aftermarket exhausts understand the MDS drone sound is very annoying. Aside from that once MDS cuts on there is such loss of power that at the same pedal pressure on the accelerator you actually lose speed forcing it to cut on/off.

That's not my experience with my 2019 5.7 E-torque Limited. When MDS kicks on I feel a very slight boost, almost imperceptable....certainly not a "loss" in power. The motor is probably making 20-30 hp on all 8 cylenders under conditions that allow MDS anyways. Under MDS, the same power is developed because the truck doesn't slow down. If it does due to a hill, MDS kicks off. If you need power, it's there.. just press the skinny pedal and MDS is off immediately. At that point my motor responds just like a non-MDS motor.

To each their own, but power isn't an issue on mine. Exhaust note, which is aesthetic, is definitely different. I don't have an aftermarket exhaust and MDS is inaudible unless I turn off the AC and radio and try to hear it.

FYI, the Edge Pulsar "disables" MDS by applying throttle automatically to kick MDS off when it engages. You can feel the truck surge slightly and see the MDS light flash when this happens.. That's not a real solution but a patch at best.

 

[Ramit392]

Cylinder wear will be even since the cylinders are still moving just not fueling. Idling a motor is the worst possible thing you can do to wear out motors and transmissions. idling is very hard on any motor/transmission. The stop idle would add many miles of life to a motor and transmission.

 

[Ram19Va]

Dealership says they can't deactivate MDS here, but a tuner spot could.....sounds like a runaround. So I'll wait till Pulsar comes out for E-torque.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

Dealership says they can't deactivate MDS here, but a tuner spot could.....sounds like a runaround. So I'll wait till Pulsar comes out for E-torque.

No need to wait...several on here are running it with eTourque without issues.. Keep in mind the Pulsar DOES NOT disable MDS despite their claim. It just toggles it back off immediately after it kicks on. The wear and tear from that could be worse than letting it work as intended.

 

[ExcursionDiesel]

I'm not sure anyone has mentioned it on this thread but there IS a single button press that disables MDS. Simply press the max gear + button once on the steering wheel to disable MDS. Unfortunately this must be done each time the truck is started.

Edit: It's actually the "-" button. I tried it this evening.

 

[Northeast16SS]

I'm not sure anyone has mentioned it on this thread but there IS a single button press that disables MDS. Simply press the max gear + button once on the steering wheel to disable MDS. Unfortunately this must be done each time the truck is started.

I'm not familiar with how the system operates and I can't find anything in the manual about it. Can someone point me to it in the owner's manual?