When was the last...

"jdrgoat - Ponticrack?" (jdrgoat) 06/06/2016 at 23:36 • Filed to: None

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When was the last car sold that, straight from the showroom floor, had a higher top speed than its speedometer topped out at?

My Fiero, above, could do 125mph according to the car mags of the time. And yet, it was saddled with the mandated 85mph speedometer. Even this was supplanted by a 120mph speedometer (which had a stop so the needle couldn’t go past that top like mine can) that still didn’t reflect how fast the car could go.

Then, you have modern vehicles. As long as the formatting works out, above are the gauges from my truck. I haven’t been over 85mph in it (yet), but I’m sure it’s limited to 98mph just like GM trucks have been for ages. So why the 140 speedo? Switching to km/h mode only changes the digital readout in this case.

I can understand the overenthusiastic speedometer in my GTO going to 200, because when in metric mode, it effectively has a 124mph speedometer, which is easily exceeded. But as a 200mph speedometer, it can only do 85% of that (less with the factory limiter in place).

Heck, my friend’s 115hp Civic has a 150mph speedometer.

So, I’m curious, if anyone knows when did we go from having speedometers that were pessimistic, to overly optimistic.

CAR_IS_MI > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/06/2016 at 23:40

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My 2005 Mustang had a 120 MPH speedo but in factory form I think it could go upwards of 145.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > CAR_IS_MI 06/06/2016 at 23:45

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GT? With a 4.6L V8? I thought the V8 cars had 150mph speedometers for a while now.

camaroboy68ss > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/06/2016 at 23:46

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they were optimistic in the 30's as well. My 33 Ford pickup still has the original speedometer in it and it tops at 90, but the original 4 cyl would never get near that speed in 33. Its now broken thanks to my grandpa racing it in the 90's and turning 110 in 1/4 multiple times,lol

Liam Farrell > CAR_IS_MI 06/06/2016 at 23:46

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The rover has a 120 KM/H speedo, thank god it only goes like 80ish. It would fall apart going 120

smobgirl > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/06/2016 at 23:54

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I always thought it was funny that my 280ZX had the 85 mph speedo and my base model Sentra had one that went to 135 or something silly.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > camaroboy68ss 06/06/2016 at 23:56

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Nice! That’s another opposing view. I know in the 60's, muscle cars often had 160mph speedometers, too. And if you got the ‘hot’ rear gear option, you couldn’t touch that before redline.

Maybe I’ve just been looking at this from the wrong side...? And It’s always been in fashion to be overly optimistic, except when the government won’t let you...?

TheRealBicycleBuck > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 00:14

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It didn't just affect cars. My first motorcycle topped out at 135, but the speedo quit counting at 85. I was fortunate that there wasn't a needle stop, so I had the thrill of seeing it wrap around.

camaroboy68ss > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 00:15

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I don’t know, my 68 Camaro goes to 120mph and if you had 3.08 rear gears and a 4 speed and a fast and furious airstrip you might hit that with stocker. I think it was Chevy’s standard that 120mph was used throughout the 50's and 60's.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/07/2016 at 00:21

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Nice. That’s something the kids these days won’t understand...

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/07/2016 at 00:24

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The only needle I’ve had wrap around was the tach needle on my Rabbit GTI when I accidentally downshifted from 4th to 3rd at redline. Damn thing pointed straight down, albeit only briefly.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > camaroboy68ss 06/07/2016 at 00:25

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I guess I was thinking mostly of the Corvette. I don’t know if any other Chevies, or GM cars at all, had the 160 speedo. But you’re right, the highway gears were required to do that. 3.73s were fun, 4.11s said you wanted to go fast, and 4.56 meant you only wanted to drag race in 1/4 mile.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/07/2016 at 00:33

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The car ahead of me was slowing for a left turn on a two lane highway, so I eased on the brakes and went to downshift from fifth to third. I missed and got first instead. My little truck couldn’t handle the strain and the clutch plate exploded. My mom was not happy

My bird IS the word > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 00:37

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It is an interesting question. My mini’s speedometer goes up to 160, but I know it is electronically limited to 120 ish. As far as old cars and trans ams which I know a good deal about, in the early 70s ( which featured the 455 h.o. Which basically was a race engine) you got 160mph speedos. I doubt they could have done that with the aero at the time. In the mid 70s they dropped it to a 100 mph speedo, which actually IS what my t/a tops out at. (Not tested yet) I think some extra speedo room is a good idea from an aesthetic standpoint, but it shouldn't be excessive and unrealistic like my mini. Maybe 20 mph more tops.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > TheRealBicycleBuck 06/07/2016 at 00:40

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I did that redline 4-3 shift twice, with no ill effects. The motor and trans in that car were great, but everything bolted on or around those parts were crap.

I did let a co-worker drive my 525i once, and he did that 5-1 downshift when going for 3rd. It did vaporize the remaining clutch material, but that was the extent of the damage. If it didn’t already have 231,000 miles on it the outcome might have been considerably more expensive.

camaroboy68ss > camaroboy68ss 06/07/2016 at 01:16

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3.73 is about your best all around gear set but it's even a little more closer to an around town gear over a hwy gear. 4.11s are a 1/4 gear. My 33 used to have the, just cruising around town the motor was screaming.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 01:55

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the speedometer in my GLI goes up to 160mph. I know for a fact that it can do at least 151mph. given enough space (and maybe like 20 more hp...) i could V-max it.

My dad at one point owned an E36 M3 that had a decent amount of work. he technically maxed out it’s 280kph speedometer, although he had wider rear wheels so he was probably going 265-270kph (in germany on the Autobahn)

Flyboy is FAA certified insane > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 02:38

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Well, American Crossfire’s are limited to 155, and the speedo stops at 160. German sold cars will hit 168 with no limiter.

As for my Dakota, the speedo stops at 120 but it sure as shit kept going.

sonicgabe > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 03:21

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My old 1981 Corolla Wagon’s speedo went to 85, but I buried it several times. One particular time, I’m sure it went over 100; though that was descending one side of the Skyway bridge. I crested at 80, floored it and didn’t back out until right before the bottom. Does that count? Also, that was a very stupid thing to do. It was on Christmas Day in 1994 and I was the only car on the bridge, so I only put myself in danger. But it was still very stupid.

DKerstan > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 04:45

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I have a 2010 Ford Fusion V6 and its speedometer only goes up to 120mph. Its factory limited to 110, but with the limiter removed and properly rated set of tires many people on the forums say its possible to hit 130 or so.

TA4K > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 05:21

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Well my Mazda MX-6 has a speedo that goes to 260kph, however the car runs out of gears and revs at 250. On the other hand, my old Toyota would go north of 195kph, well off the end of the 180kph dial. Lots of Japanese spec cars are like that, with the speedo maxing out at 180 while the car is capable of a lot more. Some even had speed limiters at 180 that were easily disabled with one wire cut.

MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 08:06

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A lot of GM cars back in the late 80's/early 90's had 85mph speedos.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > MR2_FTW - Group J's resident Stig 06/07/2016 at 08:36

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Every car sold in the U.S. had a speedometer that topped out at 85 for a while. They also had special emphasis on the 55 as it was mandated by NHTSA rules. According to Wikipedia the NHTSA rule was implemented in 1979, and it was repealed in 1982. Even though it was only mandated for a couple of years the 85 mph speedometer held on for a bit longer due to automakers development cycles.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 08:45

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Newer vehicles tend to have speedometers that are formatted to show the needle pointing somewhere around straight up when travelling at usual highway speeds. From an ergonomics viewpoint it is easier to quickly read a gauge if the needle is roughly in the middle of its range and if it is pointing in the same direction as any other gauges in a panel. Here is a picture of a 2016 GMC Sierra:

If you take a look, all the auxiliary gauges (except the fuel gauge and tach) should be pointing straight up if the truck is operating properly. The speedometer will also be pointing straight up when travelling at posted speeds on most freeways, allowing you to quickly scan the gauges and see that everything is working properly without having to study each gauge to determine its reading.

just-a-scratch > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 11:37

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According to Wikipedia:

On September 1, 1979, in a regulation that also regulated speedometer and odometer accuracy, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required speedometers to have special emphasis on the number 55 and a maximum speed of 85 mph (135 km/h). However, on October 22, 1981, NHTSA proposed eliminating speedometer and odometer rules because they were “unlikely to yield significant safety benefits” and “[a] highlighted ‘55' on a speedometer scale adds little to the information provided to the driver by a roadside speed limit sign.” [

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > jdrgoat - Ponticrack? 06/07/2016 at 11:47

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On the original Mustang SVO they simply stopped lettering the speedometer at 85 and called it compliant.

The car could really get up to 135 or so and Ford left the tick marks on the gauge to show it.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 06/08/2016 at 21:58

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That’s actually one of my most favorite speedometers ever.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 06/08/2016 at 22:01

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Going to first instead of third, like I wanted, at 60mph in my GTO pegged the speedometer. Apparently it doesn’t go higher than the sweep on the gauge face. That was a little scary. Doing the math says my LS1 was at 8000rpm for a short period.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 06/08/2016 at 22:03

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And this is kind of what got me wondering more about my question. One of my neighbors has a mid 90's F-150 that has an 85mph speedometer. I had no idea that anyone kept them around for that long.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 06/08/2016 at 22:09

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That’s been my thought for a while, as to why they do it that way. (Seriously, a 150mph speedo in a 115hp Civic made me ponder.) But it doesn’t answer my curiosity, either.

Also, there’s nothing that says a gauge should have the standard sweep that we’ve become accustomed to.

Oh. And for a while now, the “auxiliary” gauges in cars have just been dummy gauges. It varies from make and model when it started to become common... but the oil pressure and water temperature gauges on that truck will stay in ‘the middle’ when at ‘operating levels’ regardless of the actual values.