An Open Letter...

[Bimmer p.i.]

Dear BMW,

Today I was driving down the highway in my 328i - while it felt like I was driving around 100 k/h, when I looked at the speedometer, it read 145. What. The. Hell?? Where do you get off risking my license with such well made, finely tuned cars that I can hit 145 without even realizing it? Moreover, how irresponsible are you to not realize that, upon noticing this, that I would want to go even faster to see just how much it has left in her??

Fortunately, I practiced self-retraint, no thanks to you - and slowed down to a more respectable 120. Perhaps next time you'll build automobiles that FEEL like they're going well over the speed limit? Shakey steering, wind sheer - something??

Thank you!

[SiR]

I cant think of any car I have been in ...in the last 10+ yrs that felt scary or like it was going really fast when it wasnt...

actually 1 car did. a pontiac firefly . thats it. Even rental cars feel fine.

[pawcio]

hahahaha....good one.

[Nick_V]

You weren't going as fast as you think. BMW speedos (not sure about all generations, but E36s for sure)are known to be quite optimistic. Check it against your GPS. If it's reading 145 you're probably only going 135.

[SiR]

a lot of makes do that! ^ honda had a lawsuit going on in the states about it.

its good in that it probably keeps a lot of peoples tickets lower/or out of a ticket...but its bad for the owner in terms of warranty since youll tick out of warranty faster.

[pawcio]

i think every manufacturer underrates the speed...maybe not by 10km/h but by a few. i've tested mine with gps...so with stock wheels its ~4km/h under but with my summer tire size i'm dead on.

[Bimmer p.i.]

I have used my iPhone Speedo APP to measure actual speed vs. speedometre rating for the car - it has been pretty accurate - but I haven't tested it out at higher rates.

In my defense, my previous cars, in descending order -

Nissan Pathfinder
Dodge Caravan
Dodge Durango
Ford Expedition
Cadillac Escalade
Ford Windstar
Hyundai Accent (ex-wife's car)
1972 Dodge Challenger 440cid
Jeep Cherokee
Dodge Aries K-Car
Mustang foxbox 5.0
Buick Century 350cid

So basically if I was hitting close to a buck-fiddy, I KNEW I was hitting 150!

The Beemer just glides! I'm really starting to enjoy it.

[blk325i]

wait till you hit 200+ and it still doesn't feel like you're going 150

i'm pretty sure that most speedos are off by 7%

[Nick_V]

The only car I've ever tested against GPS is my E36 328is, and it was off by close to 10km/h when reading 130 on the speedo. Actual speed was 122-123 max. Either way...

I definitely understand what you're saying, OP. I think the E36 was probably the beginning of the 'softening' of the 3 series. Any E30 I've been in, you're much more aware of how fast you're going at comparable speeds, IMO.

[Dr. Flyview]

I've only hit 200 once or twice, but man is that exciting!!! Still feels so stable but you can definitely tell you're going fast.

[sparkybp]

bahaha, i did it on the stock 328 suspension before and bad balljoints and felt pretty good. I can only imagine now. Now i've got a racing ticket so can't afford to find out.

[iverson03tj]

i gotta say. took my baby out today since it was +3 degrees!! and i got into the same situation as you... i only realized how fast i was going once i shifted to 5th gear and was at 4500 rpm .. IMO all bimmers need a 6th gear