RedRobin Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 ....Legally on the German Autobahns. Having just driven over 2,000 miles in the last week on unrestricted roads I had plenty of opportunity to 'test' how my Mk5 GTI behaves at high speed. The answer in a word is simply "Excellently!" She pulls very strongly from 90 up to about 130 mph and then acceleration is not quite as fast. It obviously depends on load and incline etc but the power is still available. The max I saw on my Road Angel was 142 mph with a passenger, four suitcases and over half a tank of fuel. Talking of which, driving for hours at a time at well over 100 saw my mpg at only 22 overall and sometimes 18. At 140 the car began to feel a bit lighter than I was used to. Inevitably there were occasions when I had to brake quite hard but the car was very stable. However, although my car is not re-mapped, it has full suspension mods, big brakes, and Hi-flow exhaust and Cold Air Intake. The suspension and brakes are what will have been more important at high speeds imo. It was also inevitable that I occasionally came across other cars that were more closely matched to mine, as opposed to 'The Big Boys' in their RS Audis, Mercs etc, and who wanted to 'play', so I naturally obliged whenever the conditions felt safe and had a lot of fun without worrying about Mr Plod trying to catch me. I was continually impressed by acceleration from speeds even as high as 90. It really is a very stable and comfortable car and didn't feel in the slightest stressed. She had done about 20,000 miles at the beginning of my trip and so is well loosened up. It's such a shame that we can't more fully use on the UK roads what the Mk5 GTI has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhs Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Too true Great to hear your trip went well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonoNZ Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome back Red! Did you get any good pics of Wolfsburg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 I got some pics at the Autostadt but didn't take the VW factory tour - I'll report later in a separate post. I need to find out how to post pics in the TSN Gallery - I've never managed to successfully do that for some reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petsy Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I need to find out how to post pics in the TSN Gallery - I've never managed to successfully do that for some reason. [/ QUOTE ] maybe it's a Mac idiosyncrasy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winrya Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 so what speed did the speedo say at a gps indicated 142mph. Also, was there anything left at 142?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 My VW speedo is grossly inaccurate and so I don't actually take much notice of it, preferring both the larger display and accuracy of my Road Angel. Yes, it felt as if there was a bit left at 142 but only by creeping up "142-elephant-143-elephant-144" type of acceleration. My foot was hard down but I backed off approaching cars overtaking lorries. Also, I didn't much like the lighter steering feel but probably cos I'm not used to it. The car felt just as stable at 130 as at 90 and I tested my AP Racing brakes a few times from around 130 too and they were truly awesome. I'll post a brakes write up soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simonl Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 When you've had a high speed crash (like i have @ 100mph) you realise just how little control you can have and just how fast that kind of speed really is. At the upper end of any machines limit, you are literally on a knife edge, you just don't think you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 10, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 ....The 142 felt as if it was at the GTI's limit but the 120-130 felt solid, especially with my suspension and brake mods. However, you are absolutely right in that you have less control as you go closer to your car's limit. I'm glad I have experienced what my car feels like at high speeds but I can also have lots of fun at much slower speeds. The 142 was just me checking out how she felt on a clear and dry 3-laner and legally!! I very much look forward to driving on Autobahns again though and I'd doubtless stay under 130 in the GTI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timski Posted November 10, 2006 Report Share Posted November 10, 2006 Welcome back, Red. Those Millteks must have been red hot! It must be nice to be able to legally drive at these speeds for mile after mile. Just stick your right foot down and eat some road! Over here, if you fancy a blast you daren't drive at over 100 for more than a few feet for fear of being busted by the feds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domin8 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 [ QUOTE ] Welcome back, Red. Those Millteks must have been red hot! It must be nice to be able to legally drive at these speeds for mile after mile. Just stick your right foot down and eat some road! Over here, if you fancy a blast you daren't drive at over 100 for more than a few feet for fear of being busted by the feds. [/ QUOTE ] I've been lucky enough (?) to have lived and driven in Germany for a few years now, and your right it is nice to be able to drive at high speeds for mile after mile......up to a point! I've found that the concentration levels required can be wearing after a while and despite travelling at warp speeds there is always someone who is capable of going faster! It's all about respect over here, because if you forget for a moment your involved in what is basically a plane crash! The German Police can be pretty unforgiving if you transgress especially if you drive agressively in unrestricted zones, tailgating is a big no-no. Mate of mine had his picture taken by an unmarked patrol car in one such situation, here it's a case of smile please None of this who was driving stuff as in the UK. The other thing is speed cameras are everywhere here and if get caught in a residential area they throw the book at you Anyway having said all that i'd rather drive here any day than back in blighty, stressfull or what Red Robin glad you enjoyed your blast too Wolfsburg and your right suspension and brakes play a big part when your driving at high speed. I had an unmodified MkV GTI and it was great on the autobahn up to about 120-130mph (indicated)when I always thought that it didn't take much to unsettle the car. Knife edge might be a bit dramatic, uncomfortable maybe? The R32 is much happier on the Autobahn and driving at high speed it's much more stable, the extra weight comes into play there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGK512 Posted November 12, 2006 Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 Had my R32 up to 140ish over the water and I have to say if you want to go much fatser than that you need some brave pills ! The shed aero start to take it's toll and I have to say the suspension (stock) was starting to 'float' .... stroking the controls was defo the name of the game. Although the road was clear at over two miles a minute if you've not been along it before it can change pretty rapidly. For me personally the R32 feels like a rock to 110 fine to 130 but much after that you need to be a bit more careful/sensitive with your actions. Wouldn't like to have to do a sudden/rapid lane change for instance ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 12, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2006 That's exactly how it is with my GTI - but feeling rock solid up to 130 (probably helped by my modded suspension) and then 'lighter' above 130. 120-125 was my happiest high speed on the Autobahns. I had occasion to brake hard and switch lane quickly at about 115 and she was no problem at all - But not what I would want to incorporate as a driving style. I also tried out heavy braking from 130 but I'll report all about the AP Racing brakes in a separate thread with pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzGTI Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 I have to say the sound of travelling at 120 or 130 in my GTI sounds great but I would have to drive about 3,000km just to get to a place where we can do those sort of speeds in the Northern Territory - there's a long straight - think Musanne but longer, a lot longer called the Stuart Hwy about 1,500 km of essentially open road between Darwin and Alice Springs. Even now the pollies are talking about applying the same 110km limit as the rest of country. I think the fastest I've gone in my car is about 130km (80mph) - that's 30km over the speed limit here in Victoria and sufficient for a 6 month licence cancellation. I was brave butonly briefly!! Sound puny when you guys are talking abouy 100mph plus. I do get there rather quicker though since I had the remap done. I'll post on that shortly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richy Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 [ QUOTE ] I have to say the sound of travelling at 120 or 130 in my GTI sounds great but I would have to drive about 3,000km just to get to a place where we can do those sort of speeds in the Northern Territory - there's a long straight - think Musanne but longer, a lot longer called the Stuart Hwy about 1,500 km of essentially open road between Darwin and Alice Springs. Even now the pollies are talking about applying the same 110km limit as the rest of country. [/ QUOTE ] What is the speed limit on that road at the moment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRobin Posted November 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 Fecking 'Ell, Oz!! It must be really difficult to keep a GTI under 80 mph - They are so eager! National limit of 110 kmh !!??!! That's 68 mph....Er.... .... Er, rather close to 70 mph. British pommie govn'ment influence! Looking forward to reading about your re-map - Especially in the context of speed limits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzGTI Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 The majority of the 1,500km or so is open road - so no speed limits at all. This is unlike the multi lane autobahn, auto strada or M roads in that it is a single lane each way. You also have raod trains sharing your space. A road train is like your B double but with an extra trailer or two attached - over 100 metres long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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