V5 first drive, holy smoke!

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
237
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Sipson
I didn't get to test drive on Saturday when I first looked at her as one of the coils had gone, so I said if they fixed it, and assuming everything else pukka, I would take her in part ex for my crappy Vec C 2.2dti SRI.

Picked it up tonight, first few minutes moving it in the yard to change first aid kit, cds, tools etc from Vectra to this, I was desperate to get going as I could feel the urge of that motor.

Finally done, pulled slowly out of yard, along some back country roads, took it easy whilst I got used to her, now, I'm used to the wifes 1.8SE, afterall, it used to be mine, but this just felt different, and given the responsiveness of the engine, then was stuck behind some doof in a TT so couldn't peel it anyway, then a boring drive from Maidenhead to Heathrow on the M4, averaged 44mpg, so quite pleased at this stage.

Got home feeling very happy, everything works, all tight and crisp, no rattles, nothing, and given its done 120000m, (dealer demo and 1 owner), is immaculate. Loved that its quiet until you rev the motor.

Anyway, after me man dinner (rear rump) took my daughter out for a stroll, then hit a quiet back road and floored it, oh man, the sound is fantastic and I will be struggling to keep that muted, the acceleration was great, from so low and with such little effort, I was amazed, I know I've only come from a 125bhp 225nm diesel, but still, very impressed, I've had skyline turbos, Cedric turbo, and Mitsi Diamante and Legnum 2.5V6s, and for progressive and responsive power, this wins.

The only problem I foresee, just those few squirts of redline chasing bought the average from 44 to 28mpg, I'll definitely have to manage that.

And the good thing, swiftcover only charging me an extra £40 for the rest of the year, after that, looks like Esure might be my next insurer as quoted me £460 FC.

Sorry to blabber, I'm just excited, shame I have to drive her into London tomorrow where I won't get to stretch her legs.
 

Muttley

Catch that diesel!
Mar 17, 2006
4,987
31
North Kent
It's a lovely engine. The only downside is the thirst. And you should have all the bells and whistles too, the V5 was the top-of-the-line car.
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
Yep, that sounds about right!! I also had a Vectra SRi in a previous life, one of the 2.5 V6's. It should have had 20 horses more than the V5 (rolling road on both cars), but the old SRi was just nowhere near as 'full' as the V5. Not just top speed, but acceleration, pull from low revs, oh ad the soundtrack. Only Vauxhall could take a big capacity V engine and make it sound like an inline four!
 

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
237
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Sipson
It's a lovely engine. The only downside is the thirst. And you should have all the bells and whistles too, the V5 was the top-of-the-line car.

Yep, and being an ex demonstrator has it all, including a bluetooth parrot kit, likely fitted by the last owner not the dealer though, but very nice. And even though the satnav antiquated, it worked, navigated me home successfully from the back roads of berkshire.

EDIT: oh yeah, and coming in this morning from Heathrow to Shepherds Bush averaged 27mpg, not exceptional, but adequate. Getting a service today as well, which will hopefully get an extra 1 mpg, woohoo.

No errors for the MAF, but my monitoring software only recording 2-3 G/S for the MAF, which seems mighty low.
 
Last edited:
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
No errors for the MAF, but my monitoring software only recording 2-3 G/S for the MAF, which seems mighty low.

I might be completely wrong, but I thought the g/s should be in the hundreds?

Edit: Ross Tech reckon peak airflow should be around 0.8 times HP, so 130 ish should be expected? 2-3g/s suggests horsepower in the single figures!
 
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krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
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Sipson
admittedly I only checked that at idle this morning, but I thought the mrs 1.8 sees in the teens when at idle. I'll check on the way home tonight what it pulls at speed.
 

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
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Sipson
at about 2900rpm in fifth, doing 70mph,ish, the reading was only mid to late 20s. Hmmm, no recorded errors and engine feels fine, but I may splash out on a new Pierburg MAF sensor anyway.
 

pocket

Active Member
Sep 11, 2007
51
0
Glasgow
your MPG is much better than mine. I'm getting about 26mpg if i drive like the grandpa my gold v5 looks like it should be owned by. :D 24mpg if i drive like a mentalist.

Mind you i have had a seized rear break calliper the whole time. i had it cleaned but it didnt last long. about £180 to get a new one fitted so i left it as there was a chance i wouldn't own it long. Only bought it as we needed a second car to drop the kid off at school before moving house. But no ones bought that yet and the cars MOT is due soon.

Your figures have got me thinking that there is something else wrong with my car.
 

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
237
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Sipson
well it was only 22mpg going home last night, but a good portion of that was sitting in stationary traffic or 1st gear shuffling.

However, I really do think my MAF is affecting my MPG too, very low readings must causing some issues somewhere, even if not throwing a code.
 

Matt-V5-Duffy

Parts, parts, parts...
Oct 6, 2010
482
3
Nottinghamshire
The v5 is a nice engine, plus the sound is awesome when you have the centre box taken out of the exhaust!! :D
I get about 22-25mpg around town but a marked improvement on motorways.
The V5 does idle quite low too, and due to having 5 cylinders can feel quite lumpy but you get used to it after a while.
 
Feb 26, 2009
5,275
1
Wolverhampton
Be careful with the bolts, it should be a two minute job but one of my bolts sheared so it ended up going to the garage for a few hours extraction!

Definitely worth it though, along with new wishbone bushes.
 

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
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Sipson
maybe I might look at that too. Just showed my mechanic the torque application on my phone, he was blown away, said if I sort it for him on his phone and get an OBDII connector he'll do some work on my car gratis.

I've not really experienced any problems with power yet though, not really had a chance to properly test it in the sort of conditions where traction might be lost, traffic stifles me.
 

dvance

Active Member
Mar 23, 2010
273
0
maybe I might look at that too. Just showed my mechanic the torque application on my phone, he was blown away, said if I sort it for him on his phone and get an OBDII connector he'll do some work on my car gratis.

I've not really experienced any problems with power yet though, not really had a chance to properly test it in the sort of conditions where traction might be lost, traffic stifles me.

Do tell us more about this application :D

My experience is any gratuitous application of the throttle in 1st gear leads to spinning/hopping, 2nd gear is better, except when it's greasy/damp, which it always is. Don't get me started on how easy it is to drift around roundabouts as if the car was rear wheel drive :D
 

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
237
0
Sipson
The app is torque, available on the android market and I think itunes, only £2.99. Get a bluetooth ODBII connector from ebay (about £12). It reads and clears P error codes, reads various sensors on the car, like timing adv, MAF, RPM, GPS speed, intake temp,coolant, also based on cars weight, engine and fuel type, it then determines from the GPS acceleration what your HP and torque is, apparently very accurate, certainly close on the wifes Toledo and my old Vectra C, but not on the V5 yet, but I'll explain in a moment why I think that is.

Anyway, the app is great, as it uses the phones GPS it also can trace all your journeys, so interesting to note and compare the slow spots on a trip home, it overlays them on the phones google maps. Also does graphing, though I'm yet to use it, always forget about, and the test results, not sure what that is, infact I'll go have a look in a mo.

It saved the wifes Toledo 2 weeks ago as well, I'd just replaced her MAF so by chance I had my phone talking to her car, I noticed the app was saying 110c, but the needle was still 90C, but then the needle starting rising, and the temp was high 11x, so I pulled over. Long story short, no thanks to RAC, but the water pump impellor had failed so no coolant was getting to the top of the engine, or the radiator, and the fans weren't coming on either. Fortunately no head damage and car is as good as new now. Had I not had my phone I may not have noticed the needle going up.

Anyway, yes, discovered tonight, in slightly damp conditions, much too easy to loose traction in 1st and 2nd, didn't get to try in 3rd, but then the last owner saw fit to install Triangle Talon Sports, which are a likely contributor to the lack of traction, though they performed fine in the dry the other night when I had a quick opportunity to belt it.
 

krisby

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Nov 17, 2010
237
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Sipson
Triangle Talon Sports :D

Indeed, more like :rofl: though. In the dry they do feel ok, though haven't pushed it. But in the damp again this morning, could not get the power down, made me look like a muppet at traffic lights spinning my wheels when I'm not trying.

Maybe new tyres before the dogbones.
 
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