miked617
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Boston, MA
- Car(s)
- 21 VW GTI
Im assuming the oil was up to temp?
7
Blown engine on 2015 @ 53k miles
- Thread starter Talon
- Start date
Well crap. Thought 1/4 tank would be sufficient enough for launches and keeping the weight down. Guess if launching hard, it's safe to have at least 1/2 a tank.
miked617
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Boston, MA
- Car(s)
- 21 VW GTI
Which sucks for those like me that blend e85 and usually wait until almost empty before filling up!
JC_451
Autocross Champion
- Location
- NJ, one of the nice parts.
- Car(s)
- 2017 GTI Sport
When the tank is low enough for there to be a risk just don't drive like a lunatic on the way to the gas station 
You must have to be accelerating past a certain threshold for this to be an issue. I don't think you would encounter this in normal street driving.
You must have to be accelerating past a certain threshold for this to be an issue. I don't think you would encounter this in normal street driving.
CaptainRatty
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Winston-Salem, NC
- Car(s)
- MK7 GTI
How low of a tank are we talking? I fill up when I’m at 1/4, but usually never any earlier
I usually drive my car till the bottom of the tank and well past the zero range calculation. I guess I will change that habit now
Same here. Haven’t blown up yet. YRMV.
psychonosspaz
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- PNW
I think morale of the story is don't drive like a crazy race car driver if you less than a quarter tank
The issue isn't driving with a low tank out of boost, that's fine.
I have been through every fueling issue (unfortunately) with the mk7's as I basically drove mine from the dealer to the 1/4 and through all the setups available including fueling with diff pumps, mpi, pump gas, blends, race, etc.
The pump is designed with a small surge tank that fills from a collector/bottom of tank. What generally happens when you run on low fuel on the GTI is that you will eat away the surge tank fuel during a 1/4 pass and usually in the back half somewhere you will run the surge tank dry and the car will hit approximately 1.02-1.05 lambda before it will cut out (i've done this 4-5 times at the 1/4). This is from fuel slosh.
Lesson for GTI's at the track - half tank minimum IMO.
The R/S3/AWD MQB cars use the double tank baffled design, so running low on fuel and doing pulls isn't as bad. Their propensity to run out of fuel is small.
I've seen a few failures from this but also quite a few that never even knew what happened and just chalk it up to some "cut" of power.
I have been through every fueling issue (unfortunately) with the mk7's as I basically drove mine from the dealer to the 1/4 and through all the setups available including fueling with diff pumps, mpi, pump gas, blends, race, etc.
The pump is designed with a small surge tank that fills from a collector/bottom of tank. What generally happens when you run on low fuel on the GTI is that you will eat away the surge tank fuel during a 1/4 pass and usually in the back half somewhere you will run the surge tank dry and the car will hit approximately 1.02-1.05 lambda before it will cut out (i've done this 4-5 times at the 1/4). This is from fuel slosh.
Lesson for GTI's at the track - half tank minimum IMO.
The R/S3/AWD MQB cars use the double tank baffled design, so running low on fuel and doing pulls isn't as bad. Their propensity to run out of fuel is small.
I've seen a few failures from this but also quite a few that never even knew what happened and just chalk it up to some "cut" of power.
Hoon
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Rhode Island
You indicated "small damage" or whatever to your engine. How "small," and what does that mean for the future?
I'm not sure why everyone is suddenly assuming driving with under a quarter tank of gas is blowing engines. OP hasn't given any details, and there's no telling what happened. All we know is he was ED stage 2 (assuming IS20) running 25 psi, and likes to drive to Mexico now and then.
KawaZukiVdub
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Latveria