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Speedometer Inflation
Is there any good reason for cars to have such ridiculously high numbers on the speedo?
The only way a Mini Cooper could ever see 150 mph is going downhill with a tailwind while being bump-drafted by a C63 AMG.
The only way a Mini Cooper could ever see 150 mph is going downhill with a tailwind while being bump-drafted by a C63 AMG.
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2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
If I ran the world, I'd have speedometers top out at about 100 mph, with each 10 mph increment marked and hash marks at every 5 mph increment (but no more).
One frequently praised car company had to extend warranties as a result.
If I ran the world, everybody would use the guage cluster / instrumentation in my 911S (997 model). Large 8,000 rpm tach right in the middle with a digital speedometer readout inside the dial, The smaller 200 mph analog speedometer dial is to the left. I rarely look at it. I think it's almost unnecessary - perhaps only there as a backup or from "tradition". The other guages - oil temp, water temp, oil pressure, fuel level - are perfectly positioned.
Even my former Honda S2000, with its large horizontal digital LED tachomter and digital speedometer readout was better than any analog dial, no matter how limited it is and how many hashmarks it has. Plus, the Honda was deadly accurate. I'd match it abainst a GPS on a laptop computer and on a highway cruise, its speedometer would change form 64 to 65 at exactly the point the GPS readout on the laptop went from 64.9 to 65.0.
P.S. Where the heck is the tachometer in the Mini? Not having that dead center would be my biggest complaint. I guess you can tell I only drive manual transmissions.
Centered behind the steering wheel.
first: Analog/digital - I prefer Analog, probably for tradition, even though digital is simpler, easier to read etc, etc. Same reason I prefer analog watches (until I try a quick glance at either my watch, or my cell phone).
second: in my opinion, analog gives a greater sensation of speed - the needle is positioned someplace on an absolute sweep - if it is "over there" I must be going fast. This of course, leads to a problem with many speedos that top out at 150+ mph... the "sweet spot" on the speedo is around 80. As an example, in my car the speedo goes to 155, and the car will do 155+. However, if I glance at the speedo, 80mph is just around straight up. Mentally (for me) 60 looks like where 40 should be, etc.
third: I think that for many manufacturers there is still a catering to the adolescent in many buyers - I remember as a kid bragging to friends about our Olds Cutlass with the 120 mph speedo - after all, if GM said it could go 120.....
fourth: Mass production - some cars are sold internationally, so if the car is capable of speeds that are legal elsewhere, too expensive and complicated to produce speedos for different markets
fifth: Legal - If the speedo tops out at 100, but the car can do 110, who gets to answer the product liability questions if I hit something. And of course - who gets to retrain all the highway police whose first question is "Do you know how fast you were going?"
And I have taken my FWD RSX up to 130 (indicated) at which speed it was remarkably stable-feeling. But then, I am not in the habit of twitching a lot. And in reality that was probably actually 125 mph, as the speedo in that one also over-read by 3% or so.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
is the only possiblity. I spend many weekends and some week days running
around road courses like Laguna Seca, Sears Point (Infineon), Thunderhill, Button-
willow and Reno-Fernley Raceway. Even get to Spring Mountain MSP in Pahrump,
NV on occasion. There are a hundred or so other folks with mostly street cars that
they drove to the event and most drive home at the end of the day. BTW, a well set
up MiniS on DOT-R tires can be as fast as a C5 Corvette on street tires. Even the
non-race cars will get up to 150mph at some points on various tracks, while my
C5 Coupe has never gone beyond 135 and usually tops out between 105 and 120.
Learning to control what is capable of doing the numbers in front of you isn't a bad
idea for anyone.
Randy
BTW, my GPS is within a couple tenths of matching my Heads Up Display speed.
P.S. i'm in Ca. & AZ. every week... Az has the nicest smoothest roads and freeways ever....I can see the Sonata man achieving 147 no problem... I did 139 in my 740i between Lake Forest Drive & El Toro Road, which is only 3/4 mile apart... so im sure 3 or 4 miles would work in Az. BTW.. Az's Freeways are much better than Ca. roads
Later
Caaz
But checking out the analog speedometer on my 911, which tops out at 200, you need a magnifying glass to see the difference between 65 and 70. So if I'm trying to shave it close to the "ticket limit" in cruise control on the highway, I'm using the digital mph readout in the center of the tach, not the analog speedometer. Yet I would be the first to complain if Porsche took the analog speedometer completely away, as, from an aesthetic standpoint, the 911 has the most attractive guage cluster I've seen. Just like I don't think Rolex will be dropping analog in favor of a digital face. It's not about function as much as looks.
25 to 50 = Amber
50 to 110 = Red
All the above in the '46 Chrysler Windsor.
(Some claimed that above 110 the radio played, "Nearer My God To Thee"
At low speeds ca. <25mph, it is yellow. From about 25-40 it is yellow-red striped, and from 40+ it is red. It reads to 120, but I think the car is only good for about 110.