My v5 fuel consumption, does it sound right? any tips for best performance?

[car_guy143]

I've had my V5 for nearly 3 weeks now. It's a 99 T reg with 83k on the clock, so it's the older 10valve version with 150bhp. I have been keeping an eye on my fuel consumption and it says i am averaging about 26-28mpg per tank. When accelerating the consumption obviously increases. When i'm cruising on the motorway or A roads it says i'm doing about 34-35mpg. Does this all sound about right for the v5?

Does anyone have any tips to help me drive the car better, as in what RPM to change up/down gears etc? I'm used to diesels with all the low down grunt, not petrol cars lol

 

[kewe]

Doesn't sound too bad although you do have the different engine to mine. I tend to check the average consumption over a tankful as a more accurate measure and I usually struggle to get 30mpg tbh.

However on a run at 50-60mph over 200 miles I did once manage to average 42mpg.

I find mines has so much power delivery low down I tend never to rev much above 3.5K and can easily get into 5th @ 30MPH driving about the city.

In the end I don't think driving style makes a huge difference and if I was looking for economy I certainly wouldn't have bought this car.

PS I also always use shell optimax

 

[car_guy143]

I didn't really buy this for economy, i wanted something nice to drive with some power behind it when i need it most. I mean i'm probably only spending an extra few quid a week more on fuel compared to when i had my 306 dturbo lol. But i must say the official figures for this car are slightly better than some other cars i was looking at which included a Xsara VTS, and some Civic of some sort..

I am running on just "standard" 95 RON in mine, the fuel cap and handbook reccomend this fuel for my V5, and doesn't mention anything at all about super unleaded for my car. It simply says use 95 RON, or a minimum of 91 RON may be used if 95 RON is unavailable in your area.

I work out my fuel consumption between filling the tank i simply fill my car once a week and that's it; usually have about just under 1/4 tank left.

I do block change the gears a little sometimes too, usually from 2nd to 4th, or 3rd to 5th when i am able to do so. You're right about the low down grunt though, i tend to shift up after about 2.5k. I also use the gears to slow down as much as possible as i've heard these engines don't use fuel when being used for braking.

 

[Crayfordp]

i've had a v5 (150 bhp) for about 6 years - Great car and never really had much trouble.... Over it's life I've had average fuel consumption (from the onboard computer) ranging from 32mpg to it's current 29mpg - but i do less motorway milage and have a mountain bike roof rack now.... so i understand why it has dropped - plus it has done nearly 170,000 miles, so the engine probably isn't what it used to be.

I sometimes (normally when I've just been paid) but 98 ron in, with no, strange effects, other than some extra performance....

 

[GrayT]

Totally depends on type of driving. I have the same model. I am London based and my average mpg is therefore returning about 27. Traffic free A roads should get it up to high 30's if there's not much traffic. Motorway says nothing to me. On the limit at 70 the returns should be fair, but with increase to 85-90 (lets be honest many people do) average mpg on any car drops significantly. I thought a diesel driver might adjust to the V5 nicely for the very reason that there is low down torque. Change gear relatively early I would say as it picks up well from low down. You get the extra power at approx 4300 rpm when the rotary valve in the intake manifold shortens the path to the performance port. Change before then and you will get better economy. Change after and you'll get spirited performance - but still don't change gear late like you are a anything but a V5

 

[car_guy143]

Some useful little tips so far. Didn't know anything about a "performance port" on these engines. My old diesel was a simple contraption, 1.9 Turbo Diesel with a MECHANICAL Lucas pump, then later a Bosch pump.

I must admit i do find the V5 very similar to drive compared to my old diesel, with all the low down power it's nice.

 

[kewe]

Also i think you'd be Ok to try a couple of fill ups with the higher octane fuels like optimax.
Some people report no difference at all, but I feel my car runs smoother, pulls better and get about 30-40 miles more out a full tank compared to standard fuel. Bear in mind you do need at least a couple of consecutive fill ups with it before you will notice the difference.

Anyone know if there would be a difference in gains felt from a 170 compared to the 150
when using the higher octane fuel?

 

[GrayT]

Can't speak for the difference between 150/170 Kewe but I would echo your thoughts that higher octane helps. It made a noticeable difference to mine, although I did cut back on optimax when fuel costs were at their peak. I never go for standard 95 though unless I've really been caught out. Some reckon that you recover the costs of what you pay for quality higher octane fuel in increased efficiency and economy and you suggest the same. Like you say, takes a couple of tankfuls for the ECU to adjust but it seems to like it.

 

[GrayT]

Also car guy, there is very limited information available on the V5 on the web (you get more on the golf forums) and the one brilliant document I found on the web translated from Russian has now disappeared. Google comes up with an HMTL version but there are no pictures and it is harder to read. Worth persevering though if you want to learn more. Loss of pictures is a shame:

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache...ion&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

The factors I was referring to in my original post are explained from page 20.

 

[car_guy143]

GrayT nice find there with that doc. Definately a shame about the lack of pictures though but a good read all the same. I didn't know the 150 had a "learning" ECU that could self adjust.

 

[Zizal]

Also car guy, there is very limited information available on the V5 on the web (you get more on the golf forums) and the one brilliant document I found on the web translated from Russian has now disappeared. Google comes up with an HMTL version but there are no pictures and it is harder to read. Worth persevering though if you want to learn more. Loss of pictures is a shame:

http://74.125.77.132/search?q=cache...ion&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

The factors I was referring to in my original post are explained from page 20.

Do you think http://volkswagen.msk.ru/engine/agz/agz_eng.pdf ?
In some browser server doesnot support direct links so you have to go to main page check for engine link and then for AGZ - itś in english directly no need to translate and loose pictures

 

[car_guy143]

Do you think http://volkswagen.msk.ru/engine/agz/agz_eng.pdf ?
In some browser server doesnot support direct links so you have to go to main page check for engine link and then for AGZ - itś in english directly no need to translate and loose pictures

Found it and downloaded it. Thanks

I HAVE UPLOADED THIS FULL DOCUMENT TO MY ACCOUNT ON SCRIBD. CHECK OUT http://www.scribd.com/doc/8762040/23-V5-AGZ-info-doc

 

[GrayT]

Do you think http://volkswagen.msk.ru/engine/agz/agz_eng.pdf ?
In some browser server doesnot support direct links so you have to go to main page check for engine link and then for AGZ - itś in english directly no need to translate and loose pictures

Found it and downloaded it. Thanks

I HAVE UPLOADED THIS FULL DOCUMENT TO MY ACCOUNT ON SCRIBD. CHECK OUT http://www.scribd.com/doc/8762040/23-V5-AGZ-info-doc

That's brilliant guys. Thanks a lot.