Speedo

[E TEA 66]

Funny how I found myself back on the forum after looking on the tinternet for an answer to why my Focus felt slower than my old Accent I previously had which was less powerful so it's now obvious after me driving my Focus in test mode that it's down to the speedo calibration being 4mph down and the speedo in my old Hyundai mustn't have been calibrated down that much hence why it felt quicker at 30mph .

And yes I know it's an old thread but thought i'd give it a bump since I've found it as i'm sure theirs other members who've wondered why their cars have felt sluggish at 30  even though their cars a well looked after ..

[mjt]

I very much doubt the difference between the two speedos would be enough to account for the feeling of sluggishness. All speedos are calibrated to over-read by a few mph to make sure you can't accidentally exceed speed limits so the difference between cars is unlikely to amount to more than about 2mph.

 

[Devonboy]

On my frequent trips from East Anglia to Mid Wales which I have undertaken for 15 years always using exactly the same route, Outward journey 279 miles. Return journey 281 miles.  Explain that. The same reading using four different makes of cars.

[mjt]

The most obvious reason is the the route is not dead straight (on average, that is, with an equal number of right-hand and left-hand bends). That would mean that on the outward leg you're on the inside of a bend more often than on the outside and vice versa in the other direction.

[CyprusPluto]

42 minutes ago, Devonboy said:

On my frequent trips from East Anglia to Mid Wales which I have undertaken for 15 years always using exactly the same route, Outward journey 279 miles. Return journey 281 miles.  Explain that. The same reading using four different makes of cars.

As Mike has said, road bends affect distance as do roundabouts. A left turn on the way there becomes a right turn on the way back and so a greater distance. It won't be much per roundabout, but they all add up. My drive to my mum and dad's house is 238 there and 239 back using exactly the same route but on the other side of the road. 

[E TEA 66]

6 hours ago, mjt said:

I very much doubt the difference between the two speedos would be enough to account for the feeling of sluggishness. All speedos are calibrated to over-read by a few mph to make sure you can't accidentally exceed speed limits so the difference between cars is unlikely to amount to more than about 2mph.

 

Well it certainly feels like it so maybe it's just down to the weight difference as my previous car did feel a lot nippier even though it had 10bhp less and the torque was down by around 15lb-ft  any way what ever the reason all speedo's are calibrated to over read upto a maximum of 10% hence why the law allows you 10% over the 30 on the car your driving when checking your speed which is 3mph over the legal limit and not all speedos are calibrated exactly the same from what i've read ...

 

[Phil21185]

Wow I can't believe I've just been 'liking' posts that are 3 years old.

Bit of a tangent but touched on in 2014 (!):

The drivers I really can't stand are the ones who do do 60 on the open road but slow to 35 at every bend or because there's someone coming the other way.

Then they give you the 'wasn't I going fast enough for you?' hands when you overtake them at the next good stretch of road when they're doing 60 again.

In this case, it's not your lack of speed that is annoying me, it's your lack of predictability and consistency. Driving behind such a person requires so much more attention (not that I'm exactly daydreaming otherwise) and anticipation that it can make the journey actually tiring.

THAT'S why I've overtaken you so you can stop looking smugly into my rearview and saying 'got far didn't we?' when you catch me up at the next red light!

[mjt]

9 hours ago, Phil21185 said:

The drivers I really can't stand are the ones who do do 60 on the open road but slow to 35 at every bend or because there's someone coming the other way

I'd add to that the ones who do 40 on an unrestricted road then continue at that speed when they enter a 30 limit.

[Devonboy]

How do you know what's round that bend, could be a traffic accident. Best to follow the police driving school method, decelerate around a left hand bend, accelerate round a right hand.

[alexp999]

3 minutes ago, Devonboy said:

How do you know what's round that bend, could be a traffic accident. Best to follow the police driving school method, decelerate around a left hand bend, accelerate round a right hand.

Yeah, but I think what Phil means is the slightest curve in the road. They slow down too much. I've been behind people like this.

I slow down for bends, but not unnecessarily 

[Micro]

8 hours ago, Devonboy said:

How do you know what's round that bend, could be a traffic accident. Best to follow the police driving school method, decelerate around a left hand bend, accelerate round a right hand.

I've never heard of that method - I was taught that you drive at a speed that you can stop in the distance you can see to be clear, and on your side of the road.

I was always under the impression that you want to provide some accelerator input going round a bend aswell to offset the tendancy for your car to slow - and to keep all the tyre grip and  forces mumbojumbo in check 

[CyprusPluto]

When I drove the A and B roads in my Focus ST in Shetland and Caithness, I rarely slowed down in bends, because that's the fun bit. Where's the fun in driving at 60mph along a straight road; I could have done that in Smart car. I have to be honest I'm a little more tentative in my Fiesta. I should add that there are few trees and large bushes in those areas so you could see a long way ahead and if there weren't double white lines and I could see well ahead, I frequently used the whole road.

If you drove every corner thinking there could be an accident around there or a patch of oil or something else, you'd be a nervous wreck and better off using the train

[Stoney871]

Brake into a bend and accelerate out of it.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

[Phil21185]

11 hours ago, alexp999 said:

Yeah, but I think what Phil means is the slightest curve in the road. They slow down too much. I've been behind people like this.

I slow down for bends, but not unnecessarily 

Yeah I meant like, hard braking on any and every bend.  Just basically not driving sensibly to the conditions.  I  have a 7 letter word for these people.

It rhymes with Duck-wit.

[CyprusPluto]

Just now, Phil21185 said:

Yeah I meant like, hard braking on any and every bend.  Just basically not driving sensibly to the conditions.  I  have a 7 letter word for these people.

It rhymes with Duck-wit.

Such drivers existed many years ago. I remember going on holiday as a family, mum and dad up front, kids in the back and my dad use to get really frustrated with these drivers, because you couldn't get past them. They'd slow inordinately in the corners and then get up to the speed limit again on every straight; of course you can't overtake in the corners and that left overtaking on the straights at speeds well in excess of the speed limit, because they speeded up every time (and remember he had his kids on the back seat). My mum always tried to make light of the situation and called the Duck-wits, "Cautious Clarence Corners". It's something I remember every time I'm stuck behind one now and it makes me smile

[Phil21185]

1 minute ago, CyprusPluto said:

Such drivers existed many years ago.

The problem is that those drivers are now many years older and are still on the roads using the same driving practices...

[Devonboy]

Todays breed of drivers are taught to drive defensively.  Speed does not kill, it's the sudden stop that does it. 

If you are in that much of a hurry you should have left the day before is my guide line.

[Phil21185]

Well in that case why don't we abolish these dangerous car thingies and walk everywhere?

I take it in that as you refer to today's drivers as a "breed" that you are one of yesterday's drivers to whom my previous post could possibly apply?

'Dangerous Driving' doesn't necessarily mean 'fast'.

One of its possible meanings is not caring much about other people on the road and just driving the way you want to drive, whether that causes undue hazards or inconvenience to others or not, which is what I have been referring to all along.

I drive a small family car with a 1.6 diesel engine, not a Lamborghini. I do not wish to drive everywhere at 140 miles an hour. Maintaining a sensible speed and driving style so we can all get to where we are going, yes, safely but preferably before the Earth gets sucked into the Sun is, I believe, not too much to ask of other road users.