Inaccurate speedo?

[Calabi]

Today I drove from Houston, TX to Manhattan, KS with my Garmin handheld GPS to monitor speed, distances, etc. Strangely, I noticed that the GPS was telling me I was actually going about 4-5 mph slower than my speedo read. Is this an intentional inconsistency by VW to make people drive a little slower or is something wrong here? I almost remember reading an article about speedometers being programmed in such a way.

Any thoughts?

[Mr_Diesel]

Whenever I change tire sizes, I always go and find one of those "Port-O-Radars" that you see in residential areas.... (those boxes that tell you what speed you are going). I have found that almost every MkII I have owned or driven has always been significantly innacurate. My MkIII 1994 Jetta is accurate within 1mph tho. It also depends on the quality of your GPS... I know that some cheaper GPS systems don't calculate perfectly accurate... I can tell you that those port-o-radars are accurate within 1/4 of a mph. It's really hard to say... Since you are running stock tires and no tranny mods I would really question this theory... Seems like a good idea, but that's really really annoying if they really did that.

[Calabi]

When I drove from Manhattan to Houston in the Jeep (which has larger-than-stock tires), the GPS told me I was going noticeably faster than what the speedo was reading (exactly what I would expect). So unless the satellites don't like me, I guess it's just inaccurate...no wonder everyone seems to drive faster when I'm cruising in the Jet :roll:

[Mr_Diesel]

The only thing I can tell you is compare it to another gps and see what happens. I'd be interested to know considering your drivetrain is pretty much stock...

Mabey VW uses the same speed sensor on all MkIV's.... there were so many wheel and tire combos with MkIV it was amazing.

[jettadude]

you could have someone drive next to you and mark the speed at like 30,40,50, 60 so see how they car.

[GoodDayForADrive]

no wonder everyone seems to drive faster when I'm cruising in the Jet :roll:

This is more likely due to the fact that you have a 2.0 :lol:

It's ok, I feel your pain. :? :D

[Calabi]

no wonder everyone seems to drive faster when I'm cruising in the Jet :roll:

This is more likely due to the fact that you have a 2.0 :lol:

It's ok, I feel your pain. :? :D


LOL!