Oil be: it’s back July 24, 2009
Posted by richard in : Minutiae of cars , trackbackVOLKSWAGEN’S Golf GTD is an inspired bit of engineering.
Take one Golf GTI. Remove petrol engine. Replace with 2.0-litre TDI 170. Job (almost) done.
OK, it has 40hp less, but it counters with 258lb/ft of torque, compared to the GTI’s 206lb/ft. Plus, on my drive home the other day, 60mpg. Tidy.
It looks fantastic. As with the Golf GTI, there’s just enough to mark it out as special – particularly here, with just-so 18-inch alloys.
I’ve road-tested it on Flickr, but there’s one device that merits special attention. The trip computer. Now, since the days of the MkI Golf, this has been a feature of VW’s GTIs. Today, it’s fitted to all Golfs, of course. But I was delighted to see one MkI/II must-watch has carried over.
Yes, the GTD has an oil temperature readout.
Which, even better, reads in degrees Celsius, just like my old MkII. Just like that car, it doesn’t say anything until 50degrees is reached – if the dashes are showing, never thrash it.
Experts reckon you need around 70degreees in oil for it to be working properly; oil doesn’t warm up as fast as water, so even if the water temp is reading ‘normal’, it’s still not fully safe to max the engine.
Normal operating temp is around 95 degrees. Just as it was, again, in my old MkII. Needless to say, as I did back in the day, I’d leave it showing permanently if this were my GTD.
Interestingly, it’s also highly sensitive. Trickle at 70mph and it shows 95. Come across a hill and it ticks up to 96 (extra load on the engine, see). Speed up to 80, uphill, and she’ll show 97, 98, 99: soon drops, though, when the load reduces.
I love this sort of stuff. Would never get bored of it. For me, it proves that, while most car makers continually strip instruments from the driver, there are a few that understand we still like to know what’s going on…
VW Golf looks to history for GTD inspiration
Comments»
[...] most drivers both don’t like revving engines all the time, nor continually changing gear, this means that, everyday, the TCe is the more [...]
[...] Oil be: It’s back [...]
[...] Oil be: It’s back Tags:404, skoda [...]
[...] Oil be: It’s back [...]
[...] driving, and would crash. Indeed, my dially preoccupation would be complete if I called up the oil temperature readout, [...]
[...] Yes. The Skoda Superb estate has an oil temperature readout. Just like on a VW Golf GTD. [...]