why do speedometers go as high as 140 – 160 mph but some average cars can’t go faster than 100 -120?

Question

why do speedometers go as high as 140 – 160 mph but some average cars can’t go faster than 100 -120?

In: Technology

Answer 1

I’d suspect it’s a holdover from mechanical gauges. Mechanical gauges are usually most accurate in the middle 1/3 of the range (e.x. a 0-120 gauge is most accurate in the 40-80 range).

With digital gauges this doesn’t matter because our speedometers are run by a sensor and motor so there’s no middle 1/3 benefit.