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There is no circumstances under which a maximum speed of 112 would bother me. I drive a Honda Fit. I don't think I have ever driven it over 85 miles per hour (1

There is no circumstances under which a maximum speed of 112 would bother me. I drive a Honda Fit. I don't think I have ever driven it over 85 miles per hour (137km/hr). I'm not comfortable driving faster than that. What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! The only answer I've ever seen that makes sense is that it's a marketing tool, but who honestly buys a Honda Fit and thinks to themselves "if this thing can't do 140 then forget it!" The downside is that it's actually very hard for me to tell exactly how fast I'm going because in general I'm driving less than 60mph in my daily commute and yet that range is only 43% of my analog speedometer. I honestly wish it only went up to 100mph, then I'd be using 60% of the resolution of the dial. Instead I have no idea whether I'm going 35 or 40 unless I really stare at the thing :(

rightnow 8y ago
Tbh i dont think a Honda Fit goes above 85.
tracker1 8y ago
I drive a 392 challenger scat pack shaker... I don't think I've ever had it over 100, though the max is 201. I'm not sure I'd be bothered by a regulator for the top speed. That said, I don't think speeding is even close to the number 1 killer these days... Cell phones seem to be the leading cause of accidents these days. Maybe they should detect motion over 5mph and turn off display of messaging apps, only bluetooth voice interactions allowed.
- bryanlarsen 8y ago
  Distracted driving is definitely the leading cause these days; driver fatigue, drunk driving and aggressive driving are the other leading causes. But even if it didn't cause the accident, accidents at reasonable speeds (<30km/h for car-pedestrian, <120km/h for car-car) are usually survivable. At higher speeds, fatalities increase dramatically.
- sorenjan 8y ago
  High speed is one of three problem areas Volvo has identified according to their press release. The other two are drunk driving and distraction, including phones. They will present ideas to tackle the other two on March 20. https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/249678/volvo-cars-to-impose-180-kph-speed-limit-on-all-cars-to-highlight-dangers-of-speeding https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressrele...
- jefft255 8y ago
  My new iphone will actually ask me to confirm that I am not driving before unlocking when it thinks I am
  - saagarjha 8y ago
    This depends on whether you have this setting enabled.
    - jefft255 8y ago
      I know, but for me it was on by default.
  - Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
    All that adds is an extra step. The type of person who texts while driving is going to lie to their phone and tell it they're a passenger right before they start texting.
    - conductr 8y ago
      What’s worse than distracted driving? Being interrupted while distracted driving.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
  > accidents I prefer to use the term "collision" because "accident" implies there's nobody to blame.
  - edgarvaldes 8y ago
    I saw the movie last night :)
    - Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
      I saw it years ago, and it was passed off as a joke, but I think it's incredibly true. I would be willing to bet money that at least 90% of crashes are caused by at least 1 driver doing something stupid. Using their phone while driving, not adequately looking before changing lanes, ignoring signs or traffic lights, driving drunk, etc. Calling these types of crashes "accidents" lessens the responsibility on the person that caused it. When you're in control of a 2,000+ hunk of steel, there's no room for carelessness.
  - glitchcrab 8y ago
    Wunnnnnderful
  - ensignavenger 8y ago
    My Ag Science teacher used to say that. (not so much about collisions, but other incidents)
    - Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
      Definitely. Like, there's no such thing as a gun accident. If someone ever accidentally gets shot, it means someone wasn't following one of the prime rules of gun safety.
      - hackerman12345 8y ago
        There have definitely been recalls/warnings for firearms which have misfired without anyone's finger on the trigger. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/06/investigates/sig-sauer-p320-drop-fire/ https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/06/investigates/sig-sau...
- emaginniss 8y ago
  That would really suck if you were a passenger in a car, train, bus, or airplane.
- cpursley 8y ago
  > I drive a 392 challenger scat pack shaker... I don't think I've ever had it over 100 I don't see the point of a vehicle like this unless you drag race it on a regular basis. It has limited utility, is larger than an Abrams tank, guzzles fuel like it's 1998 and couldn't make it around a slalom cone course even with a skilled driver. It's a make a lot of noise and go really fast in a straight line car. That's what it does (nothing wrong with that).
  - piptastic 8y ago
    it's fun to drive entertainment has value to some people
    - cpursley 8y ago
      I get it (I'm an amateur race car driver). What I'm saying is, OP is not using the car to it's full potential.
      - noxToken 8y ago
        Most people don't use things to their full potential. We have cars with larger engines than needed, CPUs and memory banks that rarely stay above 90%, food that gets tossed out daily, laundry washed and dried at half capacity and below, and so on. Many developed nations would look differently if we used everything to their full potential potential.
  - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
    Well, "scat" is in the name.
  - wbond 8y ago
    It’s a five seater that is comfortable for a tall person, with classic muscle car looks, cruises nicely, can accelerate half-decently and has a throaty sound. I don’t have the 392, but a 345, and no other car hits those same bullet points.
  - tracker1 8y ago
lawlessone 8y ago
>that range is only 43% of my analog speedometer. I don't know why electronic display isn't more of a thing. My 13 year old Toyota displays the number using LED lights, it's far easier to read.
- tracker1 8y ago
  It takes more effort to read a number, than a relative position on a gauge. Yeah, you don't know the exact speed, but you do know the rough speed while taking your eyes off the road and being distracted for less time. Of course, a lot of new cars can do both. ;-)
  - mcast 8y ago
    I used to own a Honda Civic with a large digital speedometer above the steering wheel. With my eyes focused on the road, I could see the speed I was traveling at. Of course, newer cars have HUD speedometers which project your speed onto your windshield glass.
  - scotty79 8y ago
    No it's not. Digital display makes me costantly aware of my speed. Analog gauge makes me focus on 1cm of length and bunch of nearby numbers to figure out the speed. And for rough estimation I just look outside.
- benj111 8y ago
  Personally I prefer analog. I think its mainly down to analog giving you feedback as to whether you're increasing or decreasing in speed. If I'm approaching a speed camera in a 30mph zone, a glance at an analog speedo, and peripheral vision to confirm it isn't increasing is enough. Digital I need at least 2 full readings. Plus you have a spacial element to analog speedos. I know where 30mph is, I don't need to read 30mph.
- julianz 8y ago
  Many studies show that's not really true, it takes you longer to read and process the number than an analog dial. You don't notice the time it takes though.
clircle 8y ago
> What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! It used to be that car companies would simply put the same speedometer in every vehicle to cut costs and make production easier. So that's why you could see a minivan and a race car with the same speedometer. Car companies cut weird corners.
retube 8y ago
> What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! It's a standard dial they stick in all models / engines
- ken 8y ago
  Which Honda goes 140 mph? As the article points out, Japanese domestic cars have been limited to 112 mph for years. High performance cars like the NSX and Type R trims go far faster than that.
  - vvillena 8y ago
    Surely both the Civiv Type R and the NSX do, although I don't see those two models using the standard instrumentation.
  - mrguyorama 8y ago
    Without the speed limiter, I'd guesstimate that any Civic or Accord could brush up against 140 mph. 2.0L 4cyl engines make surprising power nowadays
    - ams6110 8y ago
      Most of these cars are not fitted with tires that can safely handle that speed. It would be a dangerous thing to try, even on a track, if the car is not properly prepped beforehand.
      - icebraining 8y ago
        Maybe so, but not knowing your speed would be even more dangerous.
      - cpursley 8y ago
        Not not sure why you're getting downvotes. I'm an amateur race car driver (Champcar). Our Honda Civic is fitted with a professional roll cage, hans device and fire suppression system (not to mention the fireproof suit and helmet). I'd be nervous in any vehicle over 100mph without these added protections.
zamadatix 8y ago
The Fit's estimated top speed is 115. Applying logic to the problem I'd say it goes to 140 because it probably supports switching to km/h mode (e.g. if you need to drive through Canada) and 140 km/h = ~85 mph which as you say is probably the reasonable limit to take the vehicle
- ocdtrekkie 8y ago
  Most speedometers have a second ruler specifying the km/h speed. It would add a lot of unneeded complexity to change the speedometer's movement rate depending on mph vs. km/h: It's a lot easier to just use a different guideline on the existing dashboard.
  - subway 8y ago
    The secondary ruler is clearly just that -- secondary. The text and markings are often smaller. It's likely way easier to flip a switch on the spedometer, then swap out the faceplate than you think.
    - mrguyorama 8y ago
      If you are switching out the faceplate, then it doesn't make sense for the MPH faceplate to go to 140
      - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
        You would have to reconfigure the hardware to move the needle differently. Depending on the vintage of the control electronics this may be easier said than done.
    - robjan 8y ago
      I don't know if it's true of all manufacturers but I know for certain that BMW does change the faceplate. It's why on MPH cars the MPG dial counts down, whereas the litres/100km counts up on metric cars (which makes more sense)
    - 8y ago
Shivetya 8y ago
I guess I am getting old, my first thought is "my efficiency would suck". Still I wonder how a speed considerably higher than the highest speed limits I could find in a google search was determined. Is there particular energy threshold for impact they were looking at? I am not sure that speed is survivable in any front end or offset crash with current technology but a crash where the car spins of control and doesn't impact anything won't much care unless the speed they picked is at the threshold for the average car to lose total control at.
- LyndsySimon 8y ago
  > Still I wonder how a speed considerably higher than the highest speed limits I could find in a google search was determined. My assumption is that they used the tires' speed rating. "S" rated tires are intended for a maximum speed of 112 MPH, while "H" rated tires are intended for a maximum speed of 130 MPH.
Ductapemaster 8y ago
I've always wondered the same thing - My theory is that at normal freeway speeds, the indicator points more or less at 12 o'clock, which is easier to see for a driver.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- keanebean86 8y ago
  I think it's related to gear ratio and redline. My 89 Honda Accord LX-i needed around 3250 RPM to hit 70. The speedometer maxed at 130. If you extrapolate that's about right. I found out it was drag /horsepower limited to just over 100 but if it had the power the actual max before possible engine damage would be 130. Of course this is based off one car so I could be totally wrong.
izzydata 8y ago
Thankfully an additional digital speedometer is becoming common. I get the logical design of making your speedometer going from zero to the max speed of the vehicle under its own power, but in practice it isn't very useful.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
thatfrenchguy 8y ago
There's a sizeable number of people on german highways driving at 180kph though. There's a lot of good arguments against it though.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- ttsda 8y ago
  plenty of people on Portuguese highways every day driving at 200kph... and a whole lot of them between 160 and 180.
pickle-wizard 8y ago
It is funny that you mention the speedo goes to 140. The speedo on my Miata goes to 150, except in 6th gear you hit the rev limiter at 136. I'd rather them make the top end more reasonable and make the scale s bigger.
- cpursley 8y ago
  Free upvote for Miata. What a fantastic vehicle.
- redsky17 8y ago
  6th gear is usually an overdrive gear (meant for cruising on a highway to preserve fuel). It's very possible that you'll get a higher top speed in 5th.
  - flyingfences 8y ago
    GP said "hit the rev limiter" not "run out of engine power".
sevensor 8y ago
What we need here is a log scale speedometer. Goes up to 140 in case your brakes and transmission fail while descending a steep hill, but gives you plenty of resolution at the lower speeds.
- benj111 8y ago
  Because as I was hurtling down the hill doing 140 with no brakes, my first concern would be knowing what speed I was doing. Presumably if the speedo only went to 112mph, it would be impossible to go faster (that's how it works, right?), so you'd know what speed you were doing anyway.
  - sevensor 8y ago
    > Because as I was hurtling down the hill doing 140 with no brakes, my first concern would be knowing what speed I was doing. Exactly -- it would be hard to discriminate between 120 and 140 on a log scale speedometer, but when you're going that fast, does the speed really matter?
013a 8y ago
> I'm not comfortable driving faster than that. Of course you're not comfortable driving faster than that in a Honda Fit. That's like saying you're not comfortable going faster than 30 in a golf cart. In the right car and on the right roads, hitting 120 is as simple and easy as hitting 70 in typical econoboxes. And actually, I'm not even talking about a Porsche 911; more like, every German car, especially Audi/BMW/Merc and up. Effortless is the best word for it, like you push the pedal down and you don't even realize you're in the triple digits because it's so smooth. But the big problem is the roads and the culture around speed. America doesn't have either of those things, and probably never will.
- arcticfox 8y ago
  > But the big problem is the roads and the culture around speed. America doesn't have either of those things, and probably never will. A culture of safety is not a "big problem" IMO. The "big problem" is that a vehicle at 120mph requires an insane stopping distance. On dry asphalt: * 60mph: 172 ft * 120mph: 688 ft [1] http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-braking-distance-calculator http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-braking-distance-calcul...
  - tiernano 8y ago
    Doesn't this stopping distance depend on the car? Said German cars have bigger breaks and bigger tyre surface and have been proven to stop quicker. Top Gear showed this often (Australian trip with the m6, Bentley and gtr) all stopping in less than half the Highway Code distance...)
    - tomatotomato37 8y ago
      Yes, it matters enough that you should pretty much ignore any skid calculator without a weight component. Consumer reports even put together a list on which cars have the best "safety performance" that measured things like braking distance; the SUVs rank pretty hilariously https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/best-car-safety-performance/ https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/best-car-safety-p...
    - 8y ago
justin66 8y ago
> What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! For your answer, take a look at this modern Ferrari speedo: https://www.straight.com/files/v3/styles/gs_large/public/images/15/06/ferrarispeedometer_0.jpg https://www.straight.com/files/v3/styles/gs_large/public/ima... If the link doesn't work, the key thing is: the bottom right quadrant of the speedo is just blank. Top speed is indicated at three o'clock on the face of the speedo. You'll see a similar layout on some of their modern tachometers. This is by no means universal but it's more popular nowadays. The idea is that when you're travelling at high speed you've minimized the amount of time and effort involved in looking at the instruments. You can sort-of, kind-of rely on your peripheral vision, but that's harder to do as the needle moves further and further downward, away from the road and closer to the center of the steering wheel. With collectible sports cars with traditional instruments, you can often see examples of this that involve having rotated the speedo, or more likely just the tachometer, to a position where it's most easily readable when the redline is reached. That invovles getting the needle vertical and/or putting it where it's not obscured by the steering wheel, also an important factor. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/286011-why-do-people-tunr-their-gauges-sideways.html http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/2... It's also becoming common to see replacement faces for those old instruments available for sale, so they look a little less goofy when rotated ninety degrees (or whatever) counterclockwise. With a subcompact car that isn't super fast, these visibility purposes can be served but the owner can also sort of feel like their car is a lot faster than it actually is if the speed numbers keep increasing down and to the right. That part is stupid, but it actually does make the speedo more readable most of the time.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

rightnow 8y ago

Tbh i dont think a Honda Fit goes above 85.

tracker1 8y ago

I drive a 392 challenger scat pack shaker... I don't think I've ever had it over 100, though the max is 201. I'm not sure I'd be bothered by a regulator for the top speed. That said, I don't think speeding is even close to the number 1 killer these days... Cell phones seem to be the leading cause of accidents these days. Maybe they should detect motion over 5mph and turn off display of messaging apps, only bluetooth voice interactions allowed.

bryanlarsen 8y ago
Distracted driving is definitely the leading cause these days; driver fatigue, drunk driving and aggressive driving are the other leading causes. But even if it didn't cause the accident, accidents at reasonable speeds (<30km/h for car-pedestrian, <120km/h for car-car) are usually survivable. At higher speeds, fatalities increase dramatically.
sorenjan 8y ago
High speed is one of three problem areas Volvo has identified according to their press release. The other two are drunk driving and distraction, including phones. They will present ideas to tackle the other two on March 20. https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/249678/volvo-cars-to-impose-180-kph-speed-limit-on-all-cars-to-highlight-dangers-of-speeding https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressrele...
jefft255 8y ago
My new iphone will actually ask me to confirm that I am not driving before unlocking when it thinks I am
- saagarjha 8y ago
  This depends on whether you have this setting enabled.
  - jefft255 8y ago
    I know, but for me it was on by default.
- Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
  All that adds is an extra step. The type of person who texts while driving is going to lie to their phone and tell it they're a passenger right before they start texting.
  - conductr 8y ago
    What’s worse than distracted driving? Being interrupted while distracted driving.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
> accidents I prefer to use the term "collision" because "accident" implies there's nobody to blame.
- edgarvaldes 8y ago
  I saw the movie last night :)
  - Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
    I saw it years ago, and it was passed off as a joke, but I think it's incredibly true. I would be willing to bet money that at least 90% of crashes are caused by at least 1 driver doing something stupid. Using their phone while driving, not adequately looking before changing lanes, ignoring signs or traffic lights, driving drunk, etc. Calling these types of crashes "accidents" lessens the responsibility on the person that caused it. When you're in control of a 2,000+ hunk of steel, there's no room for carelessness.
- glitchcrab 8y ago
  Wunnnnnderful
- ensignavenger 8y ago
  My Ag Science teacher used to say that. (not so much about collisions, but other incidents)
  - Sohcahtoa82 8y ago
    Definitely. Like, there's no such thing as a gun accident. If someone ever accidentally gets shot, it means someone wasn't following one of the prime rules of gun safety.
    - hackerman12345 8y ago
      There have definitely been recalls/warnings for firearms which have misfired without anyone's finger on the trigger. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/06/investigates/sig-sauer-p320-drop-fire/ https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/06/investigates/sig-sau...
emaginniss 8y ago
That would really suck if you were a passenger in a car, train, bus, or airplane.
cpursley 8y ago
> I drive a 392 challenger scat pack shaker... I don't think I've ever had it over 100 I don't see the point of a vehicle like this unless you drag race it on a regular basis. It has limited utility, is larger than an Abrams tank, guzzles fuel like it's 1998 and couldn't make it around a slalom cone course even with a skilled driver. It's a make a lot of noise and go really fast in a straight line car. That's what it does (nothing wrong with that).
- piptastic 8y ago
  it's fun to drive entertainment has value to some people
  - cpursley 8y ago
    I get it (I'm an amateur race car driver). What I'm saying is, OP is not using the car to it's full potential.
    - noxToken 8y ago
      Most people don't use things to their full potential. We have cars with larger engines than needed, CPUs and memory banks that rarely stay above 90%, food that gets tossed out daily, laundry washed and dried at half capacity and below, and so on. Many developed nations would look differently if we used everything to their full potential potential.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
  Well, "scat" is in the name.
- wbond 8y ago
  It’s a five seater that is comfortable for a tall person, with classic muscle car looks, cruises nicely, can accelerate half-decently and has a throaty sound. I don’t have the 392, but a 345, and no other car hits those same bullet points.
- tracker1 8y ago

lawlessone 8y ago

>that range is only 43% of my analog speedometer. I don't know why electronic display isn't more of a thing. My 13 year old Toyota displays the number using LED lights, it's far easier to read.

tracker1 8y ago
It takes more effort to read a number, than a relative position on a gauge. Yeah, you don't know the exact speed, but you do know the rough speed while taking your eyes off the road and being distracted for less time. Of course, a lot of new cars can do both. ;-)
- mcast 8y ago
  I used to own a Honda Civic with a large digital speedometer above the steering wheel. With my eyes focused on the road, I could see the speed I was traveling at. Of course, newer cars have HUD speedometers which project your speed onto your windshield glass.
- scotty79 8y ago
  No it's not. Digital display makes me costantly aware of my speed. Analog gauge makes me focus on 1cm of length and bunch of nearby numbers to figure out the speed. And for rough estimation I just look outside.
benj111 8y ago
Personally I prefer analog. I think its mainly down to analog giving you feedback as to whether you're increasing or decreasing in speed. If I'm approaching a speed camera in a 30mph zone, a glance at an analog speedo, and peripheral vision to confirm it isn't increasing is enough. Digital I need at least 2 full readings. Plus you have a spacial element to analog speedos. I know where 30mph is, I don't need to read 30mph.
julianz 8y ago
Many studies show that's not really true, it takes you longer to read and process the number than an analog dial. You don't notice the time it takes though.

clircle 8y ago

> What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! It used to be that car companies would simply put the same speedometer in every vehicle to cut costs and make production easier. So that's why you could see a minivan and a race car with the same speedometer. Car companies cut weird corners.

retube 8y ago

> What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! It's a standard dial they stick in all models / engines

ken 8y ago
Which Honda goes 140 mph? As the article points out, Japanese domestic cars have been limited to 112 mph for years. High performance cars like the NSX and Type R trims go far faster than that.
- vvillena 8y ago
  Surely both the Civiv Type R and the NSX do, although I don't see those two models using the standard instrumentation.
- mrguyorama 8y ago
  Without the speed limiter, I'd guesstimate that any Civic or Accord could brush up against 140 mph. 2.0L 4cyl engines make surprising power nowadays
  - ams6110 8y ago
    Most of these cars are not fitted with tires that can safely handle that speed. It would be a dangerous thing to try, even on a track, if the car is not properly prepped beforehand.
    - icebraining 8y ago
      Maybe so, but not knowing your speed would be even more dangerous.
    - cpursley 8y ago
      Not not sure why you're getting downvotes. I'm an amateur race car driver (Champcar). Our Honda Civic is fitted with a professional roll cage, hans device and fire suppression system (not to mention the fireproof suit and helmet). I'd be nervous in any vehicle over 100mph without these added protections.

zamadatix 8y ago

The Fit's estimated top speed is 115. Applying logic to the problem I'd say it goes to 140 because it probably supports switching to km/h mode (e.g. if you need to drive through Canada) and 140 km/h = ~85 mph which as you say is probably the reasonable limit to take the vehicle

ocdtrekkie 8y ago
Most speedometers have a second ruler specifying the km/h speed. It would add a lot of unneeded complexity to change the speedometer's movement rate depending on mph vs. km/h: It's a lot easier to just use a different guideline on the existing dashboard.
- subway 8y ago
  The secondary ruler is clearly just that -- secondary. The text and markings are often smaller. It's likely way easier to flip a switch on the spedometer, then swap out the faceplate than you think.
  - mrguyorama 8y ago
    If you are switching out the faceplate, then it doesn't make sense for the MPH faceplate to go to 140
    - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
      You would have to reconfigure the hardware to move the needle differently. Depending on the vintage of the control electronics this may be easier said than done.
  - robjan 8y ago
    I don't know if it's true of all manufacturers but I know for certain that BMW does change the faceplate. It's why on MPH cars the MPG dial counts down, whereas the litres/100km counts up on metric cars (which makes more sense)
  - 8y ago

Shivetya 8y ago

I guess I am getting old, my first thought is "my efficiency would suck". Still I wonder how a speed considerably higher than the highest speed limits I could find in a google search was determined. Is there particular energy threshold for impact they were looking at? I am not sure that speed is survivable in any front end or offset crash with current technology but a crash where the car spins of control and doesn't impact anything won't much care unless the speed they picked is at the threshold for the average car to lose total control at.

LyndsySimon 8y ago
> Still I wonder how a speed considerably higher than the highest speed limits I could find in a google search was determined. My assumption is that they used the tires' speed rating. "S" rated tires are intended for a maximum speed of 112 MPH, while "H" rated tires are intended for a maximum speed of 130 MPH.

Ductapemaster 8y ago

I've always wondered the same thing - My theory is that at normal freeway speeds, the indicator points more or less at 12 o'clock, which is easier to see for a driver.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
keanebean86 8y ago
I think it's related to gear ratio and redline. My 89 Honda Accord LX-i needed around 3250 RPM to hit 70. The speedometer maxed at 130. If you extrapolate that's about right. I found out it was drag /horsepower limited to just over 100 but if it had the power the actual max before possible engine damage would be 130. Of course this is based off one car so I could be totally wrong.

izzydata 8y ago

Thankfully an additional digital speedometer is becoming common. I get the logical design of making your speedometer going from zero to the max speed of the vehicle under its own power, but in practice it isn't very useful.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

thatfrenchguy 8y ago

There's a sizeable number of people on german highways driving at 180kph though. There's a lot of good arguments against it though.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
ttsda 8y ago
plenty of people on Portuguese highways every day driving at 200kph... and a whole lot of them between 160 and 180.

pickle-wizard 8y ago

It is funny that you mention the speedo goes to 140. The speedo on my Miata goes to 150, except in 6th gear you hit the rev limiter at 136. I'd rather them make the top end more reasonable and make the scale s bigger.

cpursley 8y ago
Free upvote for Miata. What a fantastic vehicle.
redsky17 8y ago
6th gear is usually an overdrive gear (meant for cruising on a highway to preserve fuel). It's very possible that you'll get a higher top speed in 5th.
- flyingfences 8y ago
  GP said "hit the rev limiter" not "run out of engine power".

sevensor 8y ago

What we need here is a log scale speedometer. Goes up to 140 in case your brakes and transmission fail while descending a steep hill, but gives you plenty of resolution at the lower speeds.

benj111 8y ago
Because as I was hurtling down the hill doing 140 with no brakes, my first concern would be knowing what speed I was doing. Presumably if the speedo only went to 112mph, it would be impossible to go faster (that's how it works, right?), so you'd know what speed you were doing anyway.
- sevensor 8y ago
  > Because as I was hurtling down the hill doing 140 with no brakes, my first concern would be knowing what speed I was doing. Exactly -- it would be hard to discriminate between 120 and 140 on a log scale speedometer, but when you're going that fast, does the speed really matter?

013a 8y ago

> I'm not comfortable driving faster than that. Of course you're not comfortable driving faster than that in a Honda Fit. That's like saying you're not comfortable going faster than 30 in a golf cart. In the right car and on the right roads, hitting 120 is as simple and easy as hitting 70 in typical econoboxes. And actually, I'm not even talking about a Porsche 911; more like, every German car, especially Audi/BMW/Merc and up. Effortless is the best word for it, like you push the pedal down and you don't even realize you're in the triple digits because it's so smooth. But the big problem is the roads and the culture around speed. America doesn't have either of those things, and probably never will.

arcticfox 8y ago
> But the big problem is the roads and the culture around speed. America doesn't have either of those things, and probably never will. A culture of safety is not a "big problem" IMO. The "big problem" is that a vehicle at 120mph requires an insane stopping distance. On dry asphalt: * 60mph: 172 ft * 120mph: 688 ft [1] http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-braking-distance-calculator http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-braking-distance-calcul...
- tiernano 8y ago
  Doesn't this stopping distance depend on the car? Said German cars have bigger breaks and bigger tyre surface and have been proven to stop quicker. Top Gear showed this often (Australian trip with the m6, Bentley and gtr) all stopping in less than half the Highway Code distance...)
  - tomatotomato37 8y ago
    Yes, it matters enough that you should pretty much ignore any skid calculator without a weight component. Consumer reports even put together a list on which cars have the best "safety performance" that measured things like braking distance; the SUVs rank pretty hilariously https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/best-car-safety-performance/ https://www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/best-car-safety-p...
  - 8y ago

justin66 8y ago

> What makes me mad is that my speedometer goes up to 140mph! Why?! For your answer, take a look at this modern Ferrari speedo: https://www.straight.com/files/v3/styles/gs_large/public/images/15/06/ferrarispeedometer_0.jpg https://www.straight.com/files/v3/styles/gs_large/public/ima... If the link doesn't work, the key thing is: the bottom right quadrant of the speedo is just blank. Top speed is indicated at three o'clock on the face of the speedo. You'll see a similar layout on some of their modern tachometers. This is by no means universal but it's more popular nowadays. The idea is that when you're travelling at high speed you've minimized the amount of time and effort involved in looking at the instruments. You can sort-of, kind-of rely on your peripheral vision, but that's harder to do as the needle moves further and further downward, away from the road and closer to the center of the steering wheel. With collectible sports cars with traditional instruments, you can often see examples of this that involve having rotated the speedo, or more likely just the tachometer, to a position where it's most easily readable when the redline is reached. That invovles getting the needle vertical and/or putting it where it's not obscured by the steering wheel, also an important factor. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/286011-why-do-people-tunr-their-gauges-sideways.html http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/2... It's also becoming common to see replacement faces for those old instruments available for sale, so they look a little less goofy when rotated ninety degrees (or whatever) counterclockwise. With a subcompact car that isn't super fast, these visibility purposes can be served but the owner can also sort of feel like their car is a lot faster than it actually is if the speed numbers keep increasing down and to the right. That part is stupid, but it actually does make the speedo more readable most of the time.

deleted 8y ago

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