So just how inaccurate is the polo speedo??

[pomme]

Driving home to the city 30 minutes ago... on wynnum road morningside, between gibson and beverly st (for those that know the road), and *flash*. Took a second to realise what had happened, but i look down an i'm doing about 82 (in a 60).

Although i'm pretty outraged they have a speed camera out at 11:10pm and the road was so dead, i was pretty impressed that it managed to get me parked on the other side of a 4 lane road (2 each way)

Anyway... i was thinking the speedo is about 8% out isn't it? Which would equate to around 75 real speed...

I'm just trying to work out how many points are gone.

I may get lucky and the photo doesn't turn up... either way... she'll be looking hot, i'll add it to the collection.

[PoloGTi]

Bugger Sounds like u need to use cruz controll lol From memory at 100kmh on the speedo the real speed is 94kmh but could be wrong.

"Although i'm pretty outraged they have a speed camera out at 11:10pm" They got you didnt they ppl speed no matter what time it is.

[Adam]

hey dude sorry to hear that.
from memory, there is an error around 100+, but the error below 100 isn't much at all...80 would be like 78 or so...etc.

[Kai]

hey dude sorry to hear that.
from memory, there is an error around 100+, but the error below 100 isn't much at all...80 would be like 78 or so...etc.

nah....

There is an error pretty much the whole way through the speedo.

GPS systems show you how **** the current speedo is :P

[Kai]

and to the topic.

If you want to know what speed you were doing. Put your computer onto the average speed mode. Than go to 82kph. Press the reset button. And the first speed which is shown is normally the correct speed.

[Ben_GTI]

If I sit the speedo on 109km/h I'm doing 100km/h actual.

[blutopless2]

vw apparently puts in a deliberate error throughout the speedo range so that you should never be doing more than the indicated speed.
I have found this with our nbc and our polo.

[Funkdancer]

and to the topic.

If you want to know what speed you were doing. Put your computer onto the average speed mode. Than go to 82kph. Press the reset button. And the first speed which is shown is normally the correct speed.

I still had to correct my ECU's speed by -2 or -3% to get it to read correctly, via my Scangauge (see my separate thread on that device). Might be just my tyres. So yeah, always use a GPS from time to time to get a correct reading.

Agree with the Polo's speedo being a POS. Especially when you reach 80kph, it's a bad joke. For a definition of a clear, easy to read speedo, try the Honda Accord Euro. Or better yet, any new Civic with its motorcycle like big letter display. (Provided it is calibrated correctly that is, can't say anything about that).

[Funkdancer]

vw apparently puts in a deliberate error throughout the speedo range so that you should never be doing more than the indicated speed.
I have found this with our nbc and our polo.

This is a crap philosophy by VW, imnsho. It's much better to have an accurate reading so that you know what you are doing, rather than it being a guesstimate of something.

Besides, if you think you're doing 80kph when it says 80 yet you're really only doing 72kp, any time stop to wonder why people get impatient with you when you 77-78 (apparantly) as you actually see it on the speedo? In real life you'll be going 10-15 kph less than the limit! (UGH!%#@!)

[poloplayer]

and to the topic.

If you want to know what speed you were doing. Put your computer onto the average speed mode. Than go to 82kph. Press the reset button. And the first speed which is shown is normally the correct speed.

Tried that today, 65 on the speedo shows up as 60 on the computer :o

[pomme]

100 came up as 92. I'll steal a gps off someone

[blutopless2]

This is a crap philosophy by VW, imnsho. It's much better to have an accurate reading so that you know what you are doing, rather than it being a guesstimate of something.



i agree... i have found that all we do is sit 5k's over the limit to compensate for it.

[Funkdancer]

Apologies for using the word that combines bull with manure, didn't mean to upset anyone. ;)

Yep having to compensate for the speedo is a bit suboptimal, all manufacturers do it to some degree (e.g. my Accord is 4%) but in the Polo it has been taken a degree too far. When money and your license is on the line, we deserve to have proper information about the speed our vehicle is doing.

Another thing is that the odo will be displaying an over inflated figure, which will affect resales price.

How would we go about getting it fixed / adjusted?

[PoloGTi]

We could just send VW Australia an email asking why and by how much its out???? Might give us the real reason for doing it.

[ACTGTI]

all manufacturers do it to some degree (e.g. my Accord is 4%)

Hate to be pedantic, but my Peugeot 206 GTi180's speedo was 100% accurate at all speeds! So, not all manufacturers provide inaccurate speedos. This was apparently done by measuring speed at each wheel through the ABS sensors, then taking the average of all 4 wheels.

[Cygnus]

Does that mean we don't have to worry too much about an increase in wheel diameter when we get bigger rims? :rolleyes: j:

[Funkdancer]

Hate to be pedantic, but my Peugeot 206 GTi180's speedo was 100% accurate at all speeds! So, not all manufacturers provide inaccurate speedos. This was apparently done by measuring speed at each wheel through the ABS sensors, then taking the average of all 4 wheels.

That's good stuff. However, how would it know about tyre inflation? Some system to correct for this?

The ECU of the Accord actually got it just about 100% correct at the current 36 PSIs. However if filled with less air, the ECU itself would be off.

In the Polo the ECU itself is 4% off at 36PSIs, which would probably be slightly improved by running a softer configuration. Then there's another few % between the ECU and the speedo.

[blutopless2]

Another thing is that the odo will be displaying an over inflated figure, which will affect resales price.


i have read posts on new beetle forums from the states saying that this is not the case... the odometer is actually a true reading whereas the speedo reading is altered.

i have not tested this theory and i dont know how they came up with this idea either.

[Funkdancer]

i have read posts on new beetle forums from the states saying that this is not the case... the odometer is actually a true reading whereas the speedo reading is altered.

i have not tested this theory and i dont know how they came up with this idea either.

It'd appear to me that the ECU data is what's going to the odo. The ECU is still off by about 4% (showing too high speed). However the ECU reading is not as bad as the actual speedo.

[ACTGTI]

That's good stuff. However, how would it know about tyre inflation? Some system to correct for this?

The ECU of the Accord actually got it just about 100% correct at the current 36 PSIs. However if filled with less air, the ECU itself would be off.

In the Polo the ECU itself is 4% off at 36PSIs, which would probably be slightly improved by running a softer configuration. Then there's another few % between the ECU and the speedo.

Don't know how it corrected for tyre inflation, but it was spot on for both 36 PSI and for 41 PSI anyway, I know that.

[Timbo]

Well, hang on a minute. It's not just the speedo that's out, it's also the odo. Mine typically reads about 6-7% over on those 5k test strips. GPS confirms this for speed

As to something being "100% accurate", I wonder how that can be given the circumference of tyres changes with wear. Does the Pug have some inbuilt correction?

The ADR is that the speedo must read within 10% of the indicated speed, and any error should be "optimistic"; there is a risk of being defected if you make a wheel/tyre change which breaches this. Not much room to move with the Polo

A bigger problem with the Polo is just reading the bloody speedo, especially when it decides to change from 10k to 20k increments. Whose idea was that? (Step forward so we send you the speeding fines :rolleyes: )

[PoloGTi]

Ok just rang Volkswagen Australia,
They sate that its to allow for tyre wear and so that your always within the limit no matter how worn ur tyres are and there is no chance of readin the other way around.
Also asked about that speedo why it jumps 20kms an hour this is due to having a more acurate speed reading at low speend wher high speed autobarns dont matter so much.

[locus]

A friend of mine has a Polo GTI, his GPS confirms that the speedometer is out by around 9%. When he queried the VW dealership he bought from, they said that it was due to some court case in the USA, I think he was trying to say that they make the reading higher than you're actually going so VW can't be sued for people's fines/accidents if by chance the speedo was displaying under their actual speed. Sounds pretty naff to me.

[Funkdancer]

Thanks PoloGTI, you just confirmed to me that VWA have no clue whatseover when it comes to certain aspects of their product design. ;0

Sorry about my venting this another (final!?) time; I guess I'm spoiled by the speedo in my Euro, but whilst driving the pug I just can't properly use its speedo for the reasons of 1) it being 1/4 of a "proper" size, and 2) it being so much off, and 3) the scale changing on top of this - I mean, c'mon, from a normal driving position (I'm 6'3") there's about 1.5 nanometers of difference between the 80 and 90 positions! :mad:

Hopefully they'll improve readability in future models, until then they deserve to cop some manure until they decide to change.

From a safety aspect the less time you spend looking at the speedo the better; I think Honda got it right in their new Civic Type R, it being a floating numeric display above the steering wheel. Bravo.

Whilst you may now think I'm a huge Honda fan, I was actually looking at buying their Civic Hybrid as my #2 car but decided not to as it didn't have ESP whilst the overseas version does (!!!) - the most important safety invention since the seatbelt (*). Suzuki Swift Sport was next to go for the exact same reason (why oh why strip one of the most important features), and then I came across the Polo GTI (where ESP is only avail on the top of the range model...). j:

Cheers,
Funky

*) read latest Wheels anyone? Some chilling stats; no wonder why the US are making it mandatory next year - and it only adds $180 or so to an 4 channel ABS equipped vehicle, it's completely wrong on a major scale that it's not mandatory already down here.

[Timbo]

Actually, according to GPS, the strife's car, which is a Honda Accord Euro, also has a fairly consistent 5% error. Funk, you must have one of the "good" ones :D

[Funkdancer]

Actually, according to GPS, the strife's car, which is a Honda Accord Euro, also has a fairly consistent 5% error. Funk, you must have one of the "good" ones :D

Ah interesting :) However note that I was actually referring to the speed reported by the ECU to my Scangauge2. The actual speedo needle is about 3% off. However with the way much clearer speedo display this is a lot easier to work with.

[pomme]

Never got the ticket...

:D:D:D

[poloplayer]

I was doing a 110 down the eastern fwy according to the speedo when out popped a police bike from behind me, instictively i took my foot off the accelerator. Policeman on the bike went by, giving me a look, and drove on. So i guess 110 on the speedo is ~100 in reality?

[Ben_GTI]

I find 110km/h is 100km/h and I've been followed by cops on the freeway doing 110km/h indicated.

I've gone through fixed speed cameras at 107km/h indicated and haven't received anything in the mail.

[Lukev85]

In most car in Aust, the speedo is usually like 2 or 3 kms less then what your actually travellin

[Timbo]

Really!:o Usually the other way around, in my experience. Most mfrs aim for the speedo to be optimistic, not pessimistic! Not sure about '62 beetles, though :? (although I can say the closest I can remember to a near death experience was to be passenger in a 60's beetle, at night, where the driver exceeded 70mph, down the hill to Spit Bridge. There's no doubt that's the "fastest" car I've ever been in :D

[Lukev85]

What a beast lol

[shaneth]

decided against my original post :D

[blutopless2]

I was doing a 110 down the eastern fwy according to the speedo when out popped a police bike from behind me, instictively i took my foot off the accelerator. Policeman on the bike went by, giving me a look, and drove on. So i guess 110 on the speedo is ~100 in reality?

probably just caught a copper on a good day.
I have been past cops on freeways doing over the speed limit by around 15k's and not had them chase me. Usually on my own, middle of the day, sunny conditions etc.... that's the good thing about a cop doing the radar stuff... they can use a little common sense in their decision to chase or not. a speed camera does not care.

[langers_sydney]

I have used my GPS and I can tell you 100 percent that 122 on the VW POlo GTI Speedo is exactly the 110 limit. Quite an error range.

Also I go thru Lane cove Tunnel everyday at 90 on the speedo and its about 83 to 84. Never had a ticket.

[Gti Dave]

I have used my GPS and I can tell you 100 percent that 122 on the VW POlo GTI Speedo is exactly the 110 limit. Quite an error range.

Also I go thru Lane cove Tunnel everyday at 90 on the speedo and its about 83 to 84. Never had a ticket.

Yeah I pretty much agree with that. I drive back and forth between melbourne and Bendigo twice a week and there's cops along the way or mobile speed cameras most days and when the speedo needle hit around 118, the actual speed of the car is around 110. There's also a speed check on he way back to Melbourne so that kinda helps to confirm our suspicions too.

[pixl]

I drive past two fixed speed cameras on the Western Ringroad quite often with cruise control set at 108 on the speedo (GPS tells me that's 99) -- never had a ticket. And about 64 will see me doing 59.

[firdausasri]

When I top 250-ish, my gps reads about 230 true speed...

[Ralfi]

I've only tested mine in a 60kmh zone....speedo was on 60, speedo display sign on side of road showed 55.

[VW GTI]

I've had mine tested on a dyno it was somewhere between 7.5 and 8% out. I have 17s with 205/40s on them.

[Coaster]

The wifes Honda Jazz (with good tyres and pressure) went past 3 speed checks at 90k/h on the speedo, every time it read 83k/h on the speed check. Which is 8%. The Aus Design Rule is 10% maximum variation. I assume that means it shouldn't be 10% over!

[leasaunce]

don't you hate it when next month, new road rules and you get caught by some stupid cops doing 1kph over the limit :P

[DeanB]

If I have the cruise control set on about 122km/h my GPS is reading 110km/h exactly ... find this a fair bit out, especially when I'm running standard wheels/tyres. The wife has a new Pug 207 and her speedo is 115km/h when the GPS reads 110km/h.

Quite a decent error in the Polo, although at least it reads over what it really is !! Would hate it to read the other way !! :eek: