Modifying gear recommendation display

[JonP01]

As much as I love my new Polo I find that recommended gear selection dsiplay very annoying. I bought the manual because I am perfectly capable of being in charge of the chosen gear and to be honest, its "suggestions" are often silly. It will often recommend too high a gear to the point where the car would be labouring. 6th gear at 60kms on the flat or up a mild incline is overly optimistic, for example, especially given the car is geared more like a 6 cylinder than a 4. Is it at all possible to modify this segment of the display so as to show something of value to me? Id rather it just show me the gear I am in rather than the annoyingly ubiquitous 6 with an upward arrow at suburban speeds.

[gavs]

Doubtful without some serious software tweaking my friend. Or,some black tape over that part of the display

[Ryan_R]

Or adjust the steering wheel/seat position so that the rim blocks it

[readerr0r]

Or go nuts and get a MFA+ tacho.

Polo 6R - R-Line Look - Instrument Cluster MFA+ 240 km/h - Diesel - 6R0920870A

But your dealer has to install it...

[JonP01]

I did some more research into this and apparently the SGI (as it is known) is part of a broader range of indirect emission control requirements in Europe, the theory being that if a driver follows the suggestion, emissions are further reduced. Infact I downloaded a massive research document on it and it had some interesting figures provided by VW on the fuel savings gained from following the suggestion versus ignoring it. Of course, a major provision of the requirement is indeed that a driver can simply ignore the display, but it does not go so far as allowing it to be turned off.

The interesting thing was that there was virtually no fuel saving at all at low speeds in 6th gear - and I say interesting because my Polo loves suggesting 6th gear at the low speeds where according to VW research the savings are very insignificant - certainly nowhere near enough to compensate for the engine labouring at such low speeds (the Polo 77TSI gearing is roughly 51 kmh / 1000 RPM in 6th gear, so suggesting 6th gear for anything below around 70 is a bit silly if you ask me. I'd likely not even use 6th gear at 70 going downhill for anything but a relatively short distance because there is no engine control at all in such a situation).

Apparently the suggestions will also change according to driving style - the harder you drive the less likely it is to suggest higher gears. So I guess my light throttle / early change-up driving style is partly to blame, as the computer is merely trying suggest a gear consistent with my driving style. Time to use more throttle and more RPM I guess The salesman did tell me this when I test drove the car but I thought he was having me on.

[amazeer]

I wonder if these displays advising people to labour the car are part of the cause of the engine issues across the range.

[JonP01]

I wonder if these displays advising people to labour the car are part of the cause of the engine issues across the range.

Well they fit the exact same thing to all the Audi cars so I understand and I am not sure the Audi cars have engine issues to the same extent. I also wonder how many people would follow the suggestions unless they are determined to save $1 at fill up time. I'd certainly be curious to know what these displays show in the GTI version. I mean seriously, how many people would buy the Polo GTI and use 1/4 throttle and change up at 2,500 RPM? all the time? I am happy to drive my TSI around like that if no one is behind me but that is because the car allows one to drive it as they would a small 6 cylinder car if they feel like it. But the SGI takes consveratism to a whole new extreme.

My layman opinion is that following the SGI religiously could result in engine issues, since the display is neither intelligent, nor can it react to a situation like a human could and nor can it look far ahead up the road. And it has a "slow" brain. It wants you to drive the car everywhere at 1500 RPM, which is 50 RPM below maximum torque. That might be OK for a large normally aspirated 6 or V8, but for a small 4 cylinder turbo the engine does not like it at all, unless you are going downhill, despite having the pulling power to maintain speed easily in 6th gear except up hills. But drive the TSI around everywhere in 6th gear at 1500 RPM and the engine is about as smooth as the 3 cylinder I had in my old Charade years ago - it is definitely happiest of all at around 2,000 RPM, at which point it is very smooth and has instant power on tap in standard tune.

[PoloDave]

I'd certainly be curious to know what these displays show in the GTI version.

It just shows current gear, GTI is DSG only. My 77TSI runs fine @ 1100 rpm? But my country is flat.. biggest 'mountains' are speedbumps here.

[JonP01]

It just shows current gear, GTI is DSG only. My 77TSI runs fine @ 1100 rpm? But my country is flat.. biggest 'mountains' are speedbumps here.

I find mine runs very smooth at 1,000, but only up to 3rd or 4th gear. In 5th gear or higher at such low RPM, it will still be smooth, but only at constant and very light throttle or with the throttle closed. There is no way I would try 6th gear at such a low RPM except on a closed throttle, though I find 6th OK at around 1500, but that means over 70 kmh. It still feels happiest at around 2,000 though. My car still only has 1200 kms on the clock. Maybe as time goes by it will become smoother in higher gears at lower speeds. The engine is already noticeably smoother at low speeds than it was when brand new.