GTI and GTI plus owners experiences

[monkeyhanger]

Barry: definitely not snake oil in a car set up for it - the difference is very noticeable if you put RON95 in the R (only did it once). The Polo definitely isn't set up to use RON99 properly.

Debating whether to take the Polo down to York this weekend (200 mile round trip) to pass that 620 mile threshold and see what mpg I could get on a run (in Sport). Bad memories of my MK5 Golf GTTDI 140 run in on motorway miles might stop me (first 800 miles sat at 80 on a motorway made for high fuel consumption and a real thirst for oil - glazed bores and poor piston ring sealing most likely).

As the car will be pushing 500 miles by the weekend, that's highly unlikely.

[barrywi]

I had a 16 valve golf Gti ( Mk 2 ..the first 16 valve) and a Jetta GT before that( 8 valve GTI engine) and both engines used oil for the first 1000 miles. After that they used little oil. I was told by the garage was that it was part of the bedding in system and not to worry. I have a vague memory of them saying that the oil they put in after the first service was different and also that the first service was at 1000 miles, but that could be my memory failing me!
I would have thought that the motorway run would be good for running in as the engine would not be under much stress, but who knows what is best for a new engine?
Maybe your Golf diesel had a problem anyway and it was nothing to do with the running in process. I have had many Peugeot diesels of various flavours in the past ( never new ones) and my brother , who serviced a fleet of Peugeot taxis said the diesels did not loosen up until after 100,000 miles. His only tip was to change the oil every 3000 miles, but not to worry what sort of oil was used! His taxis of course were working more or less 24/7 so never really had cold oil.
Those Peugeot 404 , 305 and 405 diesel engines easily did 200000 miles and surprisingly shock absorbers and clutches lasted ages. At that time Peugeot designed and made their own mechanical parts, these days the bits come from all around the world. They never really got the hang of preventing rust though! Nowadays I think the body of a car is the last thing to give up the ghost.
Sorry for rambling on folks.

[silverhairs]

How long ago was you brother working on taxis, and didn't worry what oil he put in. Are we going back to Duckhams 20/50 era, where any 20/50 would do? Duckhams was recommended then if your engine burnt a bit of oil.
With todays engines, the manufacturers are very specific what engine oil you use.

[barrywi]

Well the type of cars I mentioned would be a clue , nineteen seventies maybe, and dont forget the taxi firm bought oil in bulk in large oil drums. It certainly was not Duckhams but maybe a 20/50 of some sort.
Forgot to mention he is 81 now.

[monkeyhanger]

I would have thought that the motorway run would be good for running in as the engine would not be under much stress, but who knows what is best for a new engine?
Maybe your Golf diesel had a problem anyway and it was nothing to do with the running in process.

The engine needs variety as it is running in. To have a car sitting doing 2200rpm in 6th sat on a motorway for pretty much all of its runing in does it no favours at all - you get poor sealing of the piston rings to the bores (resulting in lower compression which will make mpg poor and you'll be lower on power) ,and the bores glaze/polish, so that they won't hold oil on the surface. This Polo GTI will be my 9th new VAG and only the aforementioned Golf used a significant amount of oil. The others used between zero and half a litre between services, that Golf used a litre at 400 mile (I drove it from Lookers Preston to Southampton, then across on the ferry to France (Le Havre) for a booze cruises, another at 800 miles (The return home to Newcastle) , and a litre per 1500 miles thereafter. VW claimed it was (just) within acceptable limits - Honda have a similar acceptability limit for oil consumption.

I have given most of my cars a moderately hard time on runing in (once the oil is warm) and have been rewarded with very little oil use and impressive mpg (compared to stated official figuress) without driving like a nun.

[JayT]

The engine needs variety as it is running in. To have a car sitting doing 2200rpm in 6th sat on a motorway for pretty much all of its runing in does it no favours at all - you get poor sealing of the piston rings to the bores (resulting in lower compression which will make mpg poor and you'll be lower on power) ,and the bores glaze/polish, so that they won't hold oil on the surface. This Polo GTI will be my 9th new VAG and only the aforementioned Golf used a significant amount of oil. The others used between zero and half a litre between services, that Golf used a litre at 400 mile (I drove it from Lookers Preston to Southampton, then across on the ferry to France (Le Havre) for a booze cruises, another at 800 miles (The return home to Newcastle) , and a litre per 1500 miles thereafter. VW claimed it was (just) within acceptable limits - Honda have a similar acceptability limit for oil consumption.

I have given most of my cars a moderately hard time on runing in (once the oil is warm) and have been rewarded with very little oil use and impressive mpg (compared to stated official figuress) without driving like a nun.

Hi Mate,

Thanks and appreciate the very informative post.

I'm in the process of getting myself a new Polo GTI wiht all the trimmings. Just waiting for a dealer to get one in so I can test drive the car.

In regards to running in the first 1000km, what is considered best practice?

This will be my first VW and hot hatch so want to make sure I start off on the right foot.

[monkeyhanger]

Jay: Once warm, drive it as normal, with varied revs and load. Don't go thrashing it all the time, but don't be afraid to give it a bit of brief welly (again, once warm). Don't labour the engine or keep it under 3000 revs 100% of the first 1000 miles.

[barrywi]

Second that ,especially as living in Sydney the car should warm up quickly .
Re the eco mode.
Going down a steep hill here the gearbox went into the coast mode( freewheel) and after I touched the brake pedal briefly it switched off coast and gave some engine braking, very clever.
Also loving the VW Connect after fitting the dongle to the OBD port, which is under the steering wheel to the right. A mirror is useful when fitting. It quickly connected via bluetooth to my iPhone where I had previously installed the free App.
It records every trip on the phone with time, mpg etc and allows you to analyse a years driving performance. It gives you the cars voltage and records the petrol fill up, plus a load of other things. A great free extra for an anorak techie like me!
During our wedding anniversary last night I got bored( just kidding) and looked at it for a minute and was surprised to see it gave me a map with my BBT’s ( Big Boys Toy) parked position on it. Ok it was only 200 metres away and I am not senile enough quite yet to forget ,but it could be useful in an unfamiliar town.
Not sure if this is something new but a kind of free bonus.

[JayT]

Jay: Once warm, drive it as normal, with varied revs and load. Don't go thrashing it all the time, but don't be afraid to give it a bit of brief welly (again, once warm). Don't labour the engine or keep it under 3000 revs 100% of the first 1000 miles.

Brilliant!

Thanks mate.

Now the wait for a test drive!

[roywolfey]

Just forgot one item.
The LED headlights did not really impress. Not so bad on full beam when both dipped and main beams were on but on dipped they seemed to be set a bit low and were not very bright. Not as good as the discharge dipped beams on my Jaguar or as good as my previous cars with uprated halogens. Part of the Gti plus package but would not specify them as an extra.

My only real criticism of my car is that the LED headlight dipped beams seem to be set conservatively low. For A-Road driving at night I find myself naturally looking at the non-illuminated road beyond where the beam patter finishes. I'll be looking to get the alignment checked and beam raised if possible.

[JayT]

Anyone here got the optional beats sound system in their Polo GTI?

I've yet to see any review on the options Beats sound system itself. My current car have an fantastic Rockford Fosgate sound system so I'm hoping the Beats will be just as good.

[barrywi]

It is not available in the UK on the gti and plus as an extra , maybe because the battery is in the boot so no room for a subwoofer and the slim spare wheel.

[Dark_cze]

It is not available in the UK on the gti and plus as an extra , maybe because the battery is in the boot so no room for a subwoofer and the slim spare wheel.

Iam not sure if other european polos have battery in trunk but I ordered gti with spare and beats audio

[JayT]

Interesting.

I thought the battery is in trunk (boot) for all Polo.

[Cadwest]

Took the car in today to have the voice control activated, it was done as a goodwill gesture by VW for missing components from the winter pack. I can confirm that to activate you have to input three sets of codes via the obd port for it to work and the codes are then locked to the specific vehicle. Tested it on the radio on way home and everything seemed to work pretty well, going to give it a go with the navigation over the weekend.