Why are quick cars electronically limited to 155 mph? Why did all the manufacturers choose the magical figure and what's the point?

Anyone with any experience of this,is it the norm to remove the limiter?

155 mph = 250kph. Just a magical figure everyone could work to...........

250 kph as has been stated , and coincidentally , GATSOs wouldn't trigger above that speed.

It was partly a gentlemans agreement between the car industry and european governments , as there was talk of a lower limit being enforced by law as cars were seen to be getting too fast

coincidentally ' date=' GATSOs wouldn't trigger above that speed.

[/quote']

I'm sure Top Gear had to get their TVR up to 170 before their "tame" Gatso stopped flashing. I'm sure it's only a manufactured limit though - after all, all you'd have to do is paint more lines. It's not as though the radar technology isn't up to catching things going faster than that...

I kind of agree to calling a halt at 155, though. As Steve Berry says so eloquent when advertising Rustlers (ahem) "That's fast enough."

(Probably)

(If I'm being realistic and not macho)

I'm sure Top Gear had to get their TVR up to 170 before their "tame" Gatso stopped flashing. I'm sure it's only a manufactured limit though - after all' date=' all you'd have to do is paint more lines. It's not as though the radar technology isn't up to catching things going faster than that...

I kind of agree to calling a halt at 155, though. As Steve Berry says so eloquent when advertising Rustlers (ahem) "That's fast enough."

[/quote']

Top gear did one run past at about 130 and then the next at 170 so they were suitably vague about where the cut off was.

It's not just a case of painting more lines though. It's the actual code (and possibly hardware as well) on the cameras that would need to be upgraded.

In practice it's not an issue on the sort of roads that GATSOs are used on , and some of the other camera types don't have an upper limit.

As for what's fast enough , I've done 140 on my last bike and that certainly was as rapid as I wanted to be going.

I assume the 155mph limit also saves the manufacturer (& customer?) money, as the tyres, brakes, suspension, insurance etc do not have to be to as high a spec as if the car was allowed to attain it's 'natural' top speed.

Or do they fit top spec tyres etc anyway; just in case the limiter is over-ridden?

155 was a mfr limit... at the time it was for both environmental and tyre reasons.

both have been conquered now but the 155 limit stays to keep the speed differential close. until someone legislates the old / slow / crap off the motorways then faster than that becomes a lottery.

The 155mph limit was originally I believe a gentleman's agreement between the German government and BMW and Merc to cap the speeds of cars on the autobahn.

Didnt vauxhall upset the other manufacturers by breaking the gentlemans agreement by not limiting the top end of the lotus carlton?

The 155 limit is always slightly vague anyway as there is a 15% "allowance" to take care of production and other tolerances.

Most fast Audi's that have the capability will clear the 155 limit easily, the new RS4 has the limit applied to 6th gear only -- so you can travel quite a bit quicker in 5th!!

The 155mph limit was originally I believe a gentleman's agreement between the German government and BMW and Merc to cap the speeds of cars on the autobahn.

Exactly right!...gentlemans agreement between the Munich Manufacturers - Mercedes and BMW....hence why Porsche of Stuttgart don't have the 155 limit.

Didnt vauxhall upset the other manufacturers by breaking the gentlemans agreement by not limiting the top end of the lotus carlton?

I thought it was because of the Lotus Carlton that it was introduced? That the Green Party members sitting on the German cabinet at the time pushed for the 155/250 limit to be imposed because they thought it rediculous that a 4dr saloon was now capable of reaching those speeds. Especially as the German roads held the highest possibility of the cars getting up to those speeds, on the unrestricted stretches of the autobahn.

May well be urban myth though that....

Steve

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=11261

I'm sure Top Gear had to get their TVR up to 170 before their "tame" Gatso stopped flashing. I'm sure it's only a manufactured limit though - after all' date=' all you'd have to do is paint more lines. It's not as though the radar technology isn't up to catching things going faster than that...

I kind of agree to calling a halt at 155, though. As Steve Berry says so eloquent when advertising Rustlers (ahem) "That's fast enough."

(Probably)

(If I'm being realistic and not macho)[/quote']

as said above gatso's actually stop working by 170mph, they can't comprehend the speed

slightly off he 155mph topic ,but relevant to GATSOs , in that i had one flash me the other day whilst i was doing the 60 mph speed limit (honestly i was) for the road, i was behind a coach coming up to the camera which had to brake slightly , i being at the limit did not , so i don't know whether the camera picked up the coach or me , waiting for the letter now and of coarse will fight it all the way to court . p.s. i thought TOP GEAR drove a CIVIC TYPE R through their speed camera at 145+ and it did flash

Interesting...

I wonder if the same is true of US cars? Meaning that "normal folk" wouldn't want to go over a hundred I'd suspect (let alone 155), unless going in a straight line - but they do have lots of straight lines over there... :rubchin:

Cost-wise, it must be doing the manufacturers (designers) a favour having a common limit (almost like a cartel) that no-one has to prove reliability over that level.

Mo

Can't help the way my brain works.

Its mainly big two BMW and Merc who stand by it is known for a high% of M power BMW's to get de-restricted.

As for Porsche their thinking is that if its capable of 170-205mph then make sure it does and not put any limits on it.

Mercs, along with Porsches are from Stutgart, BMW are from Munich.

Oh and Audi are from neither

I think that some (all?) US cars are speed limited.

I was told by one of the blokes when I was there last week that 95mph was as fast as his car would go. I'd heard something similar before.