95 SE queries.

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jackois
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2018 8:58 am
Drives: Polo SE 1.0 TSI 95ps manual
Location: Southampton

95 SE queries.

Post by jackois »

Hallo all,

A couple of questions that I promise I have googled and searched the forum as well.

Firstly - what speed should the engine idle at?

Mine is 1400 on a cold start which drops to 1000 when warmed up. it, occasionally, will sit at 1150 with the handbrake on which i suspect may have something to do with the hill holder. My previous car, 1.2 sport Fiat 500 started at 1000 revs and the down to 700rpm once warmed up.

Secondly - the fuel gauge.

I always have the 'miles remaining' displaying between the speedo and rev counter and refill when it drops below 80 miles remaining. I've noticed though that the fuel gauge at this point shows half of the last segment and the red section still to be used on the fuel gauge. How far, theoretically, is really left at this point? Would the 80 miles take you to empty or is there more to go after the red line? I haven't been brave enough to even reach the fuel warning light coming on.

many thanks in advance.
GregStudio
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Drives: Highline 1.0 TSI 95
Location: Macedonia

Re: 95 SE queries.

Post by GregStudio »

jackois wrote: Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:56 pmFirstly - what speed should the engine idle at? Mine is 1400 on a cold start which drops to 1000 when warmed up. it, occasionally, will sit at 1150 with the handbrake on which i suspect may have something to do with the hill holder.
Secondly - the fuel gauge. I always have the 'miles remaining' displaying between the speedo and rev counter and refill when it drops below 80 miles remaining. I've noticed though that the fuel gauge at this point shows half of the last segment and the red section still to be used on the fuel gauge. How far, theoretically, is really left at this point?
1. Yep, mine does the same when cold started. Although it drops to 1,000rpm after about one minute of idling, before the engine is warm.
I'm not sure why hill assist would affect anything if you've got your handbrake on. AFAIK, hill assist only engages for a few seconds if you're on a slope, release the footbrake and pull away.
I've observed that on rare occasions the idle speed can be a bit above it's usual 1000rpm, even when the engine is warm/hot. The two conditions I've noticed: A. When I've come to as stop, am still in gear and have the clutch depressed, the idle speed can hold at a steady 1150. On occasion it seems that I haven't actually FULLY depressed the clutch pedal, there's still a tiny bit of travel left. I'm guessing the anti-stall feature is maybe the culprit, anticipating and holding the rpm a bit higher even though this fractionally raised clutch position is a long way beyond where it starts to bite. The first thing I do therefore, when I notice the rpm idling at about 1150, is to push the clutch pedal harder and virtually always the rpm immediately falls to 1000. B. Very rarely, the rpm has held above 1000rpm, regardless of clutch position, even if I'm in neutral with no clutch. However, this has always been in situations of very high power draw, for example Climate Control running at full blast plus radio, charging phones, etc. My guess is that the power management software is instructing the engine to idle higher and generate more electricity.

2. Obviously your car can only know what your fuel consumption has been, not what it will be. The "range remaining" is therefore just a guess, calculated from your average consumption for the last x number of minutes (probably about 5) and the amount of fuel left in your tank. If for example you're driving in town and your fuel consumption has been high, then it would indicate 80 miles remaining when you still have quite a lot of fuel in the tank. If however you've been steadily cruising on the open road and your fuel consumption has very been low, then 80 miles remaining will be indicated with far less fuel in your tank. The calculation is very conservative though, no car company wants to be sued because someone has run out of fuel when the car was still indicating some range remaining. So, there's no way to know how much fuel you have left from your "80 miles remaining" reading, just that it will be more if your recent consumption has been high.

Greg
jackois
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Joined: Fri Jun 29, 2018 8:58 am
Drives: Polo SE 1.0 TSI 95ps manual
Location: Southampton

Re: 95 SE queries.

Post by jackois »

That makes sense,

Many thanks, Greg,
ranxzy
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Re: 95 SE queries.

Post by ranxzy »

To provide some sort of insight to the second question, see the below article.

In general you can usually find the reserve amount of fuel in the owners manual and estimate what sort of mileage you will get after the fuel light is on.

In my old 2012 Ka there was a gallon in reserve, so I always knew I wouldn't dare go over 30 miles after the fuel light came on. Best to underestimate how much you can get away with, as you don't want to be running on the dregs due to potential sediment anyway.

https://www.moneysupermarket.com/car-in ... -light-on/
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