Cars just should not be made to go 150 kms +

[pmh013]

This debate topic showed up on another board I belong to. I thought it would be interesting to get our point of view.Here's the original post:Cars just should not be made to go 150 kms +Cause I don't think education helps one iota! There were more deaths over the weekend due to street racing in Vancouver. Why do car manufacturers make vehicles that go over the legal speed limit? Should there be a speed cap on new vehicles? Here's my answer:Most new cars do have engine rev limiters on them already. Most top out around 140 km/h (at least my car does, so I'm told). If these kids got their car to go 150 km/h, then they've altered the car from stock. They knew the danger they were potentially getting themselves into.Car manufacturers make cars that go over the legal speed limit because the speed limit varies from region to region. Our top speed limit is 110 km/h. However, there are instances when you need to go faster, like when passing (it's not safe to pass a car doing 109 at 110). Also, in Germany, they have the Autobahn, which is designed for speeds of 140 km/h and higher. Many cars use the same electronic components, regardless of their country of destination. It's cheaper, and that makes good business sense.Thoughts, anyone?

[joatmon]

my brain does do metric, so 110 is about 70 mph, 150 is about 95 mph?That would be a real pain to have a car with a top speed of only 110 kph, I have come close to 150 kph while passing someone.

[03VibeGT6Spd]

You must mean 150mph.I only had my car upto 130mph 3 times this weekend, and that's not dangerous to me.IMO, dangerous is when your out running cops on the highway, going over 145mph and you become airbourne. (Did I mention that was on my YAM FZR600)

[kostby]

To be totally (removed) about this...150 kph (kilometres/kilometers per hour) is about 93.2 mph miles per hour.110 kph is about 68.4 mphMetric Conversion Factor kilometres to miles: Multiply kilometres by 0.6214 to get miles.(So, why do I still remember this after 35 years? Because my home address was 6124 when I learned it, so the conversion was simply a transposition of the two middle numbers of my home address!)Now, for my opinions on 150 or 50 or 5kph vehicles... Fools will ALWAYS find ways to kill themselves. If we outlaw fast cars, it will be fast rollerblades, fast tricycles, fast tennis shoes, running head-on into trees, sharp sticks poked into ones' abdomen, or choking on one's own (insert favorite body fluid here).If you believe in evolution, then the problem with trying to make things foolproof/"safer" is that nature keeps making smarter fools. If you believe in survival of the fittest, then all these inane safety restrictions are NOT preventing the inevitable, only delaying it a while. We'll spend billions of dollars (suing corporations and) trying to make THINGS safer, instead of trying to educate PEOPLE about the fact that LIFE is HAZARDOUS, and we're ALL going to DIE eventually!In general, I do NOT support government attempts to make THINGS 'safer', because 1) It creates huge government bureaucracies to 'make sure' that things are really getting 'safer', AND 2) Manufacturers forced to comply with these inane 'safety' regulations naturally pass the cost increases on to consumers.In summary, I guess I vote 'H*LL NO' to restrictions!

[ragingfish]

Two words: NATURAL SELECTION!

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Two words: NATURAL SELECTION!Definitely! lol.. I just hope that in the process, innocent motorists doing the speed limit aren't taken out by the guys driving way too fast than they should be.

[joatmon]

Since pmh013 is up in SK, I'm pretty sure that she meant 150 kilometers per hour, not miles per hour. I know I rounded the conversion, I guess I just couldn't imagine seeing sign that read "Speed Limit 68.4" I usually approximate the conversion as 5 miles = 8 km, makes it easier to do the math, 5/8 = 0.625. I read here that the base is speed limited to about 115 mph (that's about 185.066 km/h to kostby ) pmh013 has the AWD, since it's the same 1ZZ engine, is the AWD speed limiteed to 115/185 also? I would hate to buy the first new car to have such a 110 km/h speed limiter though. On many roads, the traffic average speed is well over the posted limit, and a car going the speed limit instead of keeping up with the flow can be dangerous. You'd be tooling along at the speed limit, your car's maximum speed, and everybody else who had ever bought a car would be zipping past you, bunching up behind you , cursing as they pass, cutting each other off to try to get around your rolling roadblock.

[pmh013]

On the highway to & from my house, the speed limit is 110 km/h. Most people go about 115 to 120. The debate as posted was in reference to street racing - apparantly some kids were going 150 km/h on what is probably not a highway ... most likely a deserted stretch of freeway.Putting a rev limiter for 110 km/h is just plain stupid, IMO.

[ShadowRuleZ]

Most street racing doesn't get going that fast. Most 14 and 15 second cars in a quarter mile will only get up to 80 or 90 if they are lucky. People who street race always talk about doing 120, but their speedos aren't calibrated that well, and no one else was in the car to back up their claims that the speedo read whatever they think.My monte is going to have a rev limiter, but it's an MSD 6AL in case I miss a shift. Most people who want to go fast end up re-writing the computer anyways and erasing any limiters in it.

[PhillyVibeGT]

Those people are crazy! Who would want a car that couldn't go over 95mph. I'm not a speed demon, but come on. It's nice to know that if you need it, you got it. If I only wanted to do 80mph I would by an electric car! 2cents

[Merzbow]

Here's my take. There are WAAAY more important things to worry about than speed limiters.For one, elminating street racing has been discussed a billion times. Like my area, if I'm not mistaken, the nearest drag strip is 3 hours away so if they built more strips there would be less street racing.If you were trying to get away from a giant crab that could run at abuot 137mph, I'm sure you would be upset about your top speed limiter. That's probably why they don't put a lower cap on the speed, just incase you happen to run into a giant crab.

[drunkenmaxx]

Quote, originally posted by Merzbow »That's probably why they don't put a lower cap on the speed, just incase you happen to run into a giant crab.that reminds me of a girl i once took home...

[PhillyVibeGT]

Quote, originally posted by drunkenvibe »that reminds me of a girl i once took home.......your pubes we grab.....and pinch your nuts!

[drunkenmaxx]

Quote, originally posted by PhillyVibeGT »....your pubes we grab.....and pinch your nuts!stop pinching my nuts philly!!!

[cieglo]

Quote, originally posted by kostby »In general, I do NOT support government attempts to make THINGS 'safer', because 1) It creates huge government bureaucracies to 'make sure' that things are really getting 'safer', AND 2) Manufacturers forced to comply with these inane 'safety' regulations naturally pass the cost increases on to consumers.In summary, I guess I vote 'H*LL NO' to restrictions!Amen brother!I think the same general rule applies to just about everything. Let people make their own decisions, their own misteakes, learn from them and give everyone who was watching a good laugh...fireworks for example. Played with them all the time as a kid. Only the stupid kids ever hurt themselves and they're probably the ones who became lawyers and legislators that made laws against them...If you believe in this sort of thing: God gave man the freedom of choice, the right to choose between good and evil, the right to make our own decisions. What legislator has more power than a god in saying what I am and am not allowed to do. Yes, you must suffer consequences for your decisions & mistakes, but dammit, let me make that decision.