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Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

arstechnica.com

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Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#141

Post by cpursley »

piptastic wrote: post #127
cpursley wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

it's fun to drive entertainment has value to some people

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.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#142

Post by gknight »

serf wrote: post #110

Bummer for track folks. It's easy to get a new set of rubber that has a speed rating higher than what the factory provided; It's a lot more difficult for a layman to flash out a speed limit. It's a shame that less and less companies are producing products that take into account that perhaps the potential buyer might actually know better.

In Japan, the Nissan GTR unlocks the speed limiter when it detects it at a race track: https://gizmodo.com/nissan-gt-r-detects-when-car-is-on-a-rac...

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#143

Post by [deleted] »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #79
chasingthewind wrote: post #5

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…

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]

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#144

Post by meddlin »

Any enthusiast wishing to operate their vehicle closer to the engineering limits will most likely flash the ECU anyway (or simply not purchase the vehicle if you lock them out via DRM). On top of that, I drive a 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe (3.8L); the car can reach 140mph or 150mph rather easily, can be found for under $10k.

However, with most vehicles on the road, the tires are more susceptible to failure than the powertrain is to not delivering the speed. (i.e. my all-season, mid-grade tires are only rated to safely operate up to about 130mph). I would expect this from Volvo, and for the people who care it's more of a moot point.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#145

Post by lazerpants »

mrguyorama wrote: post #70
leetcrew wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

on the one hand, I agree, and it's always scary to see this rationale. on the other hand, it looks like they are just limiting the speed based on the rating of the stock tires. as long as there's a straightforward (and legal) way to increase/remove the limit when you upgrade the tires, I'm not sure I have a huge problem with it.

I'm not convinced how many tracks will run into this limit, at least on the "lower end" Volvos. My understanding is that tracking is not about high speed, but instead handling.

I've gone over 112mph on every track I've been to, despite handling being important.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#146

Post by DKnoll »

serf wrote: post #110

Bummer for track folks. It's easy to get a new set of rubber that has a speed rating higher than what the factory provided; It's a lot more difficult for a layman to flash out a speed limit. It's a shame that less and less companies are producing products that take into account that perhaps the potential buyer might actually know better.

Just buy a tuner and remove the limiter. If you're taking the car on the track you probably have a tuner already anyway.

Limiters are nothing new.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#147

Post by 0db532a0 »

itslennysfault wrote: post #136
teilo wrote: post #73

Even when I was on the Autobahn (in a Volvo S6 no less) my max speed was 108 mph, and most of the time I settled in at 100 mph. But there will definitely be some people pissed off at this, as I saw people clearly going closer to 120 on occasion.

I cleared 150 mph as a teen 'cause the speedometer went that high and part of being in a new car was seeing if you could actually pin the speedometer. However, that was a very stupid choice, and I'm glad no one got hurt. Outside of a track there is no valid reason to go over 100 mph.

I did 150mph on the Autobahn last year on my motorbike on a straight stretch with three lanes. I thought I’d play it safe and stay in the outside lane in case someone from the inside lane decided to overtake another. Two cars undertook me, albeit very considerately, on the inside lane at considerably higher speeds. At that point I felt defeated and decided to take things a bit easier for the rest of my trip.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#148

Post by ttsda »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #79
chasingthewind wrote: post #5

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…

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

plenty of people on Portuguese highways every day driving at 200kph... and a whole lot of them between 160 and 180.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#149

Post by 013a »

chasingthewind wrote: post #5

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…

> 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.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#150

Post by DKnoll »

chris_mc wrote: post #108
derp_dee_derp wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what does poor people not being able to afford to get speeding tickets have anything to do with this conversation? should the OP not drive his car in the way that he wants to because of the price of speeding tickets? should people in wyoming, with access to long stretches of highway with little traffic, not be able to drive their vehicles in the way they want to because manhattan doesn't have highways and has lots of…

The only reason to go fast is for thrills. Going fast is dangerous to other people, hence: fuck you, go slower. I don't care what situation you pull from your ass to give a counterexample, 99.99% of people driving over the speed limit by more than 10-20 are driving dangerously.

> Going fast is dangerous to other people

Depends on where you are. If you're on private property or a track (lots of them open to the public), you're only a danger to yourself.

OP didn't say he was on a public roadway when he hit the limiter.

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