Exactly. It says maximum on the sign so anything significantly over that limit should be fined. In my area, the main road's speed limit has been reduced and yet people are still running at the speed they were used to.


See, error in the speedometer means that there's something wrong with the vehicle, and if there are other vehicles running, their speed should be an indication of how fast you're driving already. Error in the speedometer is analogous to headlights and brake lights not working, which can be fined for endangering public safety.


I don't know anyone specific, but if you're off by a few mph, you usually get a warning by mail of when that happened. If you're caught by going over by more than 6 or 7mph, you'll get a ticket.

If you ask me, Canadian laws are way too soft to everyone. If only our judges are as tough and as reasonable as Judge Judy~

I wouldn't say there's something wrong with the vehicle. A speedometer is an instrument and it usually will not stay 100% calibrated throughout it's service life. Plus, the indicated speed on your speedometer will vary as the tires wear, which is something out of anyone's control. If cops ticketed people for going any amount over the posted speed limit, then I'd never drive anywhere near the maximum posted speed limit as indicated on my speedometer simply because I don't know for sure that it's 100% accurate. Either way, the point here is that cops usually don't ticket people unless they are going significantly over the posted speed limit, which I agree is the right approach. A few mph here and there can easily be contributed to error, so why even bother?





Exactly. So that means they have a buffer built into the speed cameras as well.

_________________

Wait...you can't have it both ways. Either you think the laws should be strictly enforced or you don't. What you're saying is that the laws should be strictly enforced, but that anyone going "significantly" over the maximum speed limit should get a ticket. Don't you see the error in that logic? That's not strict enforcement. And BTW, who decides what is considered significant? And how is a driver supposed to know if that threshold is 2, 5, 10, or more mph over the posted limit?

_________________

I must have been tired when I wrote that. I don't know why the word "significantly" got threw in there... Sorry about the confusion, Shadow~

No need to apologize....it's an interesting topic. Personally, I'm glad that we generally have some wiggle room before we get ticketed for speeding. I was watching the TV show Cops just the other day and they were out on the highway setting radar traps. The cop watched a lot of people go by at 10 to 12 mph over the limit. He said something to the effect of "I'm waiting for a 'good' one to pull over", and then someone drove by at 17 mph over the limit and he pulled the car over.

_________________

when shifting closer to redline, who here looks at the tach to know when to shift?

im finding it very distracting but i dont wanna risk bouncing off the limiter, its not worth it.

You have to use your tachometer (or speedometer, and memorize speeds for each gear) if you're trying to shift as close to redline as possible, unless you have installed aftermarket equipment like a shift light. I can't imagine how much practice it would take to tune your ears that accurately for redline.

If it's a distraction then you're in a situation where you shouldn't be trying for redline. In that case keep your attention on the road and shift well before redline, accepting a decrease in acceleration. Generally, where it's a distraction you probably shouldn't be driving so fast anyway.

_________________
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig

I just go by engine sound most of the time. I can hear when I'm close to redline, but I do take a quick peek sometimes. With my current car, the power actually starts to taper off as it gets close to redline rpm, so there's really no point in running the engine right to the actual redline.

BTW, there's really no harm in hitting the rev limiter. You're not going to hurt anything if you hit it. I wouldn't do it all the time though (like using it as a way to know when to shift into the next gear) because that's just not a good practice. Rev limiters usually come in two different varieties: Soft cut, which usually retards ignition timing, and hard cut, which usually cuts spark and/or fuel. Either way, the idea is to stop the engine from reaching revs that are so high that they can cause damage.

_________________

I listen to the whinge of the engine, and take a quick peak at the tach. Although, usually I don't foray into the upper rev-ranges often; needless revving around where I live gets too much attention from the police. Generally I like to peak at the tach so I can short shift since my gears are pretty short (that's the one where you run up the tach quickly right? I know dumb question, but I can't wrap my head around tall v. short gearing and wide v. narrow ratios, everything about it seems counter-intuitive.)

This isn't strictly related, but I heard once that one engine revving at 4,000 RPM is louder than 200 (or something similar) engines revving at 2,000 RPM.

_________________
2013 Focus SE 5MT - Race Red (Clifford)
1998 Blazer LT 4AT - Black (Olie)
1998 Malibu 4AT - Powder Blue(The Costa Concordia)

You have it right. Here are the ways to think about it that don't include confusing language or numbers:

Short or low gears are used at low speeds to multiply power. Within your transmission, the shortest or lowest gears are named "1" and "2" and you can't go very fast in them but you can accelerate hard and tow a heavy load.

Tall or high gears are used at high speeds to go faster. Within your transmission, the tallest or highest gears are named "5" and maybe "6" and you can't accelerate very hard in them but you can cruise fast and save fuel.

Wide or long ratios are when your low gears and your high gears are very far apart. As you shift from one gear to the next, there's a big difference in each gear. You might wish you had a gear in-between.

Narrow (or sometimes "short" but that could get confusing) ratios are when one gear to the next is almost the same. You shift into the next gear and it's almost the same as the last gear. You might feel like there was no point shifting.

_________________
1980 Buick LeSabre 4.1L 5MT

Put your car in your sig!

Learn to launch/FAQs/lugging/misused terms: meta-sig

very very short gears, can be annoying if you want to get from a cruising rpm to a power band rpm

usually means a drop of 2-3 gears lol.

when i say distracting i find myself staring at the tach, and peeking at the road. i dont want to do this.

i mgiht reverse the proportion and stare at the road, go by sound then as it gets high ill take a peek at the revs.

Exactly. If you have to look at the tach, it should be just for a very brief moment. Your eyes will be trained (if they aren't already) on exactly where your tach is located, and even where the needle should be when you're in the upper rpm range, so you should really be looking at it for a fraction of a second. Your eyes will go from the road to the exact location of the tach needle and then back to the road again, all in less than one second.

_________________

yes i do that regularly when driving normally to check my cruising rpms, but when i go for a spirited drive:
im pre-occupied with seeing the vtec crossover at 5800rpm
and
im pre-occupied about bouncing off the rev-limiter

the result is a fun drive that is no longer fun cos im worrying about this and that.

Well, you should be able to hear and feel the VTEC, no? I remember that sound/feeling well in an older Acura of the past. And my best friend's brother used to have an Integra (manual trans) that I used to love driving just to hear the VTEC kicking in. I remember when I installed an aftermarket tach for him, I ended up taking it for a long test drive to adjust the shift light on the tach. Had a lot of fun with his car that day!

BTW, that gave me an idea.....why not get yourself an aftermarket tach with a shift light? You'd never have to take your eyes off the road again!

_________________