5 ms·

Not a big Problem, but being limited to 150 was one of the main things why my old ICE car to me felt unsafe to drive on the Autobahn. For short periods its just

Not a big Problem, but being limited to 150 was one of the main things why my old ICE car to me felt unsafe to drive on the Autobahn. For short periods its just safer to be able use the most left lane at 160-180 than to go 120-130 in the Center and wait for a chance to overtake with not much headroom over the left at 140-150.

Xylakant 10y ago
germany is one of the last countries where that may be perceived an issue. Literally all other countries in the world have a speed limit that is way below 150km/h. So top speeds above 150 are just there for germany and for bragging rights, not for any practical purpose. What's more interesting is the torque and acceleration available at higher speeds.
- patrickk 10y ago
  Sluggish acceleration or below par top speed isn't a perception problem on the Autobahn, it's a real problem. It's completely practical to drive long distances at high speeds because of the well-maintained road surface and well-maintained cars. There are plenty of stretches of the Autobahn with no speed limits. This is a common scenario: you're in the middle lane, and a particularly slow driver is in the middle lane (who should be in the right lane), you attempt to overtake in your underpowered econobox, and out of nowhere a Porsche or high-end BMW is sitting on your tail, and you try to overtake asap to get back into the middle lane to let the other guy pass. This is doubly true if you're going up a slight hill, which exaggerates the lack of torque. Another common scenario is a truck driver, overtaking another truck driver in the middle lane, and you have to move to the left lane to avoid him (truck drivers are supposed to keep to the right lane). Source: someone who's driven plenty of shit, underpowered rentals in Germany, e.g. a Fiat 500X and a Renault Captur. Why anyone, apart from rental companies, would buy these ugly, overweight, underpowered shitboxes is beyond me.
  - Xylakant 10y ago
    lack of torque and sluggish acceleration are an issue that is unrelated to a top speed that is artificially limited for whatever reason. Electric cars tend to have vastly superior torque and acceleration at the same horse power rating. They are perfectly usable on the autobahn. you're attacking a point that I never made.
    - slededit 10y ago
      Motors lose torque as speed increases, its a fundamental limitation caused by back-EMF. ICE engines tend to have peak torque at several thousand RPM depending on their design. Therefore while electric motors are much better accelerating from a stop they are not as suited for providing torque at high speeds.
ygra 10y ago
Our car tops at 155 km/h and the most problematic thing to me is acceleration above 100 km/h rather than actual top speed. Overtaking is something that takes a while and you always have to factor in a lot more distance to oncoming cars in the left lane considering that they may be a good deal faster than you. I tend to be comfortable at 120–130 km/h in the right or middle lane, but admittedly, other people may prefer to drive faster. It comes with an efficiency trade-off that may prevent them from using EVs, though ;-) Acceleration shouldn't be a problem for an electric motor, though, so despite a somewhat slower top speed I'd envision that things like being on the on-ramp to the Autobahn, or overtaking maneuvers are less of a problem than for ICE-powered cars with a weak engine.

Xylakant 10y ago

germany is one of the last countries where that may be perceived an issue. Literally all other countries in the world have a speed limit that is way below 150km/h. So top speeds above 150 are just there for germany and for bragging rights, not for any practical purpose. What's more interesting is the torque and acceleration available at higher speeds.

patrickk 10y ago
Sluggish acceleration or below par top speed isn't a perception problem on the Autobahn, it's a real problem. It's completely practical to drive long distances at high speeds because of the well-maintained road surface and well-maintained cars. There are plenty of stretches of the Autobahn with no speed limits. This is a common scenario: you're in the middle lane, and a particularly slow driver is in the middle lane (who should be in the right lane), you attempt to overtake in your underpowered econobox, and out of nowhere a Porsche or high-end BMW is sitting on your tail, and you try to overtake asap to get back into the middle lane to let the other guy pass. This is doubly true if you're going up a slight hill, which exaggerates the lack of torque. Another common scenario is a truck driver, overtaking another truck driver in the middle lane, and you have to move to the left lane to avoid him (truck drivers are supposed to keep to the right lane). Source: someone who's driven plenty of shit, underpowered rentals in Germany, e.g. a Fiat 500X and a Renault Captur. Why anyone, apart from rental companies, would buy these ugly, overweight, underpowered shitboxes is beyond me.
- Xylakant 10y ago
  lack of torque and sluggish acceleration are an issue that is unrelated to a top speed that is artificially limited for whatever reason. Electric cars tend to have vastly superior torque and acceleration at the same horse power rating. They are perfectly usable on the autobahn. you're attacking a point that I never made.
  - slededit 10y ago
    Motors lose torque as speed increases, its a fundamental limitation caused by back-EMF. ICE engines tend to have peak torque at several thousand RPM depending on their design. Therefore while electric motors are much better accelerating from a stop they are not as suited for providing torque at high speeds.

ygra 10y ago

Our car tops at 155 km/h and the most problematic thing to me is acceleration above 100 km/h rather than actual top speed. Overtaking is something that takes a while and you always have to factor in a lot more distance to oncoming cars in the left lane considering that they may be a good deal faster than you. I tend to be comfortable at 120–130 km/h in the right or middle lane, but admittedly, other people may prefer to drive faster. It comes with an efficiency trade-off that may prevent them from using EVs, though ;-) Acceleration shouldn't be a problem for an electric motor, though, so despite a somewhat slower top speed I'd envision that things like being on the on-ramp to the Autobahn, or overtaking maneuvers are less of a problem than for ICE-powered cars with a weak engine.