Speedometer range is off on the e-golf

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Oct 5, 2015
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I've owned VW product for ever... my first new car was a 1981 Jetta Coupe diesel with a whopping 52 HP and 62 or 64 lb ft of torque. I've owned pretty much every version of TDI out there also. They all had speedometers that while I was driving, the speed indicator needle at 60 to 65 mph was standing straight up, at 12:00.

Driving in Normal mode... psychologically, coming from every other VW out there, 65 MPH has the needle at 2 o'clock... which leads me subconcsiously when looking down at the needle, to think that I am speeding, when I am not.

VW, be consistent with your speedometer gauges and where the needle sits at 100 or 110km, among your product lines. It's really screwing me up, getting tired of seeing birds fly by me by irate tailgating drivers in a hurry.

Way confusing VW, I own 4 models, and the e-Golf speedo, range wise, is waaaay out of line with the rest of your products.
 
jack8trades said:
Don't those other cars have top speed and speedometer reading higher than the e-Golf's 87/100?

It's about consistency, top speed is irrelevant when the speed limit in California is 65, and if you actually read the owners manual, top speed on the car is 87 MPH, which they probably did to protect the battery from overheating from running it too hard discharging, causing thermal runaway on a lithium ion battery. An e-Golf is not a Tesla. Different battery chemistry.

It is common in industry practice to run analogue gauges so that the normal operating range of the gauge, where it should be running, is pointing straight up, at 12:00. On an e-Golf, that's 50 mph.
 
With a top speed of under 90 MPH, if you put 65 at the 12 o'clock position, you'll end up either with a lopsided speedo (0-65 on the left hemisphere, and 65-90 on the right), or VW will have to add a bunch of numbers to the right hemisphere that the eGolf will never reach, short of strapping a rocket pack to it :lol:

Having gotten my driver's license during the Reagan Administration and the heyday of both the 85 MPH speedometer, and "55" being in a larger/bolder font than the rest of the speedometer, I prefer that VW do it the way it did. I remember my mother's '81 Rabbit whose speedometer abruptly ended at 85, and the lower right quarter of the speedometer being one huge empty space.

BTW putting 65 at the 12 o'clock position is not consistent across all VAG brands. My 2006 Audi A3's speedo has 85 MPH at the 12 o'clock position, which makes sense since 130 km/hr (a bit over 81 MPH) is the top limit in many European countries, and is even Germany's "suggested" speed limit on unrestricted stretches of Autobahn. I'm sure on higher performance cars like Porsches, the speed at the 12 o'clock position will be even higher.

As far as "normal operating range", like most any other EV, the eGolf's biggest sales numbers are expected to be in California, due to the CARB-ZEV requirements here. NOBODY drives 50 MPH on the freeways here if traffic volumes allow a higher speed. The state's 65 MPH posted limit on most urban freeways is treated largely as a suggestion.
 
RonDawg said:
With a top speed of under 90 MPH, if you put 65 at the 12 o'clock position, you'll end up either with a lopsided speedo (0-65 on the left hemisphere, and 65-90 on the right), or VW will have to add a bunch of numbers to the right hemisphere that the eGolf will never reach, short of strapping a rocket pack to it :lol:

Having gotten my driver's license during the Reagan Administration and the heyday of both the 85 MPH speedometer, and "55" being in a larger/bolder font than the rest of the speedometer, I prefer that VW do it the way it did. I remember my mother's '81 Rabbit whose speedometer abruptly ended at 85, and the lower right quarter of the speedometer being one huge empty space.

BTW putting 65 at the 12 o'clock position is not consistent across all VAG brands. My 2006 Audi A3's speedo has 85 MPH at the 12 o'clock position, which makes sense since 130 km/hr (a bit over 81 MPH) is the top limit in many European countries, and is even Germany's "suggested" speed limit on unrestricted stretches of Autobahn. I'm sure on higher performance cars like Porsches, the speed at the 12 o'clock position will be even higher.

As far as "normal operating range", like most any other EV, the eGolf's biggest sales numbers are expected to be in California, due to the CARB-ZEV requirements here. NOBODY drives 50 MPH on the freeways here if traffic volumes allow a higher speed. The state's 65 MPH posted limit on most urban freeways is treated largely as a suggestion.

My 2014 Passat TDI SE speedo goes to 160mph. The car has a limiter at 120mph, so I've read. I usually do half of that, 60 to 65mph on freeways and interstates. Asperger's keeps me honest, and within the letter of the law, speed wise, I just can't exceed it, ever.
 
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