Hi all...just got my 08 MCS pure silver! i love it! just wondering..in certain pictures online i have noticed the center speedo reads 0 - 240 while other pics and my MCS also reads 0 - 150?? are the 240 cars euro?

 

I would guess the 240 would kilometers per hour.

 

150 mph = 241.40 kph, so yes

 

Methinks you'll also see 160/260 on JCWs.

 

It irks me that my speedo reads speeds the car can not obtain, so I'm left with using a small fraction of the gauge. If I actually could do 140+, would I really be looking at that thing?

 

Considering the wild optimism of that Gauge, if you got it to the "126 MPH' that MINI COOPER HIGHLIGHTS lists for "Top Speed", it would probably read past 140 on the dial.

(Most other automobiles that I have checked, read accurate speed. )

 

Maybe we could go back to the 85 MPH speedometer.

 

Although the 85 MPH Speedometer was not as bad an idea as the seatbelt/ignition interlocks,
there were other safety/economy requirements that should have been kept, those 'truck' exemptions
were a large part of the push into 'trucks' like Linclon Navigator and Cadillac Escalade.

 

I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at there, could you explain your POV?

And didn't I read in a thread here a few weeks back (I searched, but couldn't find it) that the new 09's might be getting the same 160 mph speedo that was initially *exclusive* to the JCW'S?

 

After the first 'fuel shortage crisis' of 1973 (worse than seeing the prices double & triple was seeing {from airplane} all the Tankers anchored out-of-sight because all the fuel storage tanks were filled) you had to get in line if you found a station with gas to sell and so the US Government enacted Federal Rules for Safety and Fuel Economy.

Along with the National 55 MPH maximum speed limit came regulation limiting automobile speedometers to a maximum of 85 MPH, Corvettes and all.
(Actually there were few new cars of that period that could exceed 85 )

There was an even dumber idea, your car could not be started unless you first buckled your (and passengers) seatbelts. If someone unlatched and you stalled on the tracks, no restart allowed until buckled. I am convinced seatbelts save lives and would be uncomfortable in a moving car without them, but that rule was over-the-top.

There were a lot of other rules, that added to safety (such as body and door construction) along with rules for fuel conservation (CAFE Standards and Guzzler tax) that were greatly relaxed or eliminated during the '80's and '90's.

Also these regulations were often applied to automobiles, but 'trucks' would be exempt and this was before the most popular 'car' became a pickup truck. All of the 'SUV' type like Chevy/GMC Suburbans and like competition from Ford and others also fell into this 'exemption' for economy and safety as they were not considered passenger cars.

There can be no doubt about the fact that if it were not for the undue influence by Automotive and Energy Industry upon our leaders that we would not be in the situation we have found ourselves now.

There was a great opportunity missed and gone forever, when after such a short conservation period, the energy cost dropped so dramatically and instead of continuing with our conservation, we went back to sucking up the supply like it would never end.

It appears that we are now experiencing another 'reduction' in cost of energy, I hope it has the effect of making MINI's available and affordable for all true MINI lovers, but don't expect it to last beyond November 4th
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From a production/parts bin outlook, it would make sense to have One Speedometer for all MINI's, they still need faces for miles or kilometers.

That was my Point Of View and let me apologise if it violates NAM's posting preferences.

I will write no more on this subject, as it has no effect on my life at all (I must say I do like the great reduction in boat and highway traffic) and I have purposely avoided 'offspring' to inherit the world I fear would be left for them

 

That's one extreme to the other. Seriously, what value does a 150mph speedo provide? Maybe we should have a tach that goes to 11k.

 

Anyone ever confirm if the Tachometer is accurate? (considering the accuracy of speedometer and fuel quantity......)

Other than that Federal Mandated Maximum '85 MPH' fiasco, most all automotive, marine or aircraft speed gauges dial range exceeds capability.

One 'nice' thing to say about the '150 MPH' Dial is that it puts 75 MPH at top center and that would probably be the most typical interstate highway cruising speed.

I stay with traffic and never look at speedo, but I do like the Cruise Control's digital display when the (+)/(-) buttons are pressed

Too bad that you must still do the -10% calculation with digital as well.

 

Yea, the Tach itself has got to be more accurate , it measures the ignition pulses direct from the engine, not like the spedo that has to take into account the entire drive train / tire ratio, with plenty of variables in wear, etc

 

Because not everyone drives slow. The picture below was a run which ended at 148. By the way this does not break any Forum rules as I live in Germany and this was taken on Autobahn 5.

 

This my have been discussed elsewhere, but if the speedo is ~10% optimistic, is the odometer off as well? This would be the case in more traditional cars, so we'd actually be racking up miles ~10% faster, similiar to putting smaller tires on the car.

 

thanks for all the responses.

 

Your personal beliefs may vary, but the theory I've read every time this question comes up on the boards is that while the input is the same, the speed and distance calculations are separate entities; so while the speedometer is generally optimistic, the odometer is much more accurate.

If you want, you can test it using a GPS and checking its distance measurement against the odometer over a good length (on the order of tens of miles; hundreds of miles would be better). I did a sanity check like this over ~20 miles and found a discrepancy of 0.1-0.2 miles. (Note that I'm driving an R53, so take that for what you will.)

There has been the occasional person who believe that the odometer is just as faulty as the speedometer and tries to get people to push MINI/BMW for a fix, but either people don't care or they are satisfied with the accuracy of the odometer.

 

You may have forgotton another thing about the '73 fuel shortage (actually an embargo by OPEC). You could only fill up your tank on odd or even days depending on the last digit of your tag number. (Or was that just in my State?)

For me, there was one extraordinary benefit from those days that I do remember. I was in 10th grade at the time and my home-room teacher gave passes to myself and Cheryl M. (the class hottie) to take her car down to the filling station, wait in line and fill her tank. It was a great way to get out of class. ......Legally!