Hi there. My VW Golf 1.6 se Mk4 [1999] seems too slow. I am not a speed freak, but on all the websites I have visited it has said that my cars top speed is 117mph, although mine will not exceed 105mph. At this speed my car is revving at 5300rpm. A friend of mine has said my exhaust sounds like it is blowing, if it is, would this have an affect on the speed of the car?

Matt Harris, July 2009

on many golfs it states in the handbook that top speed is acheived in 4th not 5th, due to gearing 5th is only really for saving fuel on motorways, hope this helps

Wayne (if I cant fix this the wife wont be happy), July 2009

Matt you cannot expect a 10 year old car with XXX miles to perform like a new one. Exhaust blow may have an effect, to check if there is a leak, block the end of the exhaust for a brief time and you will soon see / hear any exhaust leak. Also you have no idea how accurate your speedo is, odds on it will over read. Taking into account the speed limit in this country you could check it out on a airfield or go to Germany and cross check your speedo against a SATNAV!
The other factor that will effect top speed is the wheel and tyre size (smaller rolling radius will reduce top speed) check wheel and tye size are same as the original fitted to the car

Maurice, July 2009