Why Are Speedometer Limits Never Reached?

Have you ever paid attention to the speedometers of the cars you ride? While most cars have similar values, when you see the speed limit on some cars ‘Can this car really go that fast?’ you can sigh.

So let’s ask; Does that car go that fast? It won’t go. At this point, another question inevitably arises; Why do cars have a maximum speed limit above the vehicle’s capacity?

In other words, why does the speedometer show the maximum speed of 240km/h for cars that can’t even exceed 200km/h?

This There are two main reasons; first, producers’ efforts to reduce costs, and second, consumers’ desire for more power.

Automakers, in order not to increase costs, they produce they do not take new measurements for every vehicle. For this reason, most automakers use the speedometers of their high-performance models in their mid-range performance models to start mass production.

Although this situation partially misinforms consumers, vehicle owners are satisfied with this situation. Although the drivers have the same performance, the speedometer prefers higher value vehicles.

Therefore, although the method used by automobile manufacturers to reduce costs is not intentional, turned into a commercial sales gimmick. Realizing that consumers wanted to see a higher maximum speed, manufacturers designed the gauges this way.

At first glance, it seems like ‘the buyer is satisfied, the seller is satisfied’, but this is not exactly the case. Stewart Stewart Reed, of the Art Center College of Design’s Department of Transportation Design, says that having higher limits on speedometers pushes drivers to go faster.

According to Reed, when the speed limit is low, when drivers drive at a normal speed, the indicator looks up and the driver is convinced that he has a normal speed. When the speed limit is high, since the indicator is tilted to the left at normal speed, the driver thinks that he is going slow and accelerates.

As a result, automakers avoid costs with indicators that do not accurately reflect the vehicle’s capabilities. Even though car owners know it’s not true when they see it. they feel like the vehicle is more powerful. Drivers, who see the indicator tilted to the left, think that they do not do the right thing to the vehicle and go faster. the result can be catastrophic.