This is going to be the combination of various topics but stick with me and I will try and get point across!
Most cars nowadays will do over 100 mph, but how many people actually use that? I can put hand on heart and say fastest I have driven on a public road in UK is well short of that.Yes, some enthusiasts make go to a track day or an autobahn but they would be in the very small percentage.
Chipping of cars is very common now and is accepted by the technicians in the forum as engines have tolerance levels built in for different countries, fuels etc.
Therefore would it be possible for manufacturers to build engines that have the acceleration, torque etc that is required and used in every day driving, but do away with the top end speed that, lets face it, very few would need? As a result, could the engines then be made more economical? And, could this then be used to lower ins groups or is top end speed not so much a factor in the grouping?
Could manufacturers fit speed limiters at say 100mph in return for a lower insurance grouping?
Or is it just a fact that to develop engines that are acceptable for everyday driving then the top end speed is a necessary by product?
As you can tell, I am not in the slightest technically minded, just seems a waste to have all that extra mph scope but it not to be used. You wouldn't pay extra for options and accessories for your car that you know you wouldn't utilise?
Hope this makes sense!
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I'm afraid life is not that simple. Insurance groups are determined by a number of factors including cost of repairs, number of claims or predicted number if the vehicle is new against a particular vehicle, performance, value of vehicle etc.
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Perfect sense Bobby.
Top speed is probably one minor part of the insurance group of a vehicle. Cars which are in Groups 2 or 3 are capable of almost 100mph, when there predecessors in the same groups were probably only capable of reaching 85 or 90 aven then not all day like these modern cars can.
However, it would be interesting to discover if instead of producing say 130bhp and 45mpg from a modern diesel, could the same engine produce only 90 bhp and 60 mpg. There are already many examples of different engine tunes from the same capacity, but none with such a startling difference in performance or economy.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I run a 100bhp Passat Estate and when I borrowed a 130bhp Passat for the day, the mpg was considerable better than mine. According to the instantaneous/overall trip computer anyway.
The offical overall figures are virtually the same IIRC.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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Insurance groups seem to defy logic sometimes, but always to the benefit of the insurer.
I changed from 2.8l Scorpio to 2.0 - same group! When I enquired about a 2.0l Xedos, quoted double the premium for the Scorpio.
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Your scenario re improving acceleration whilst not increasing top end speed (well not much) is exactly why we had our smart remapped. Quicker in gear acceleration and ability to stay in 6th at motorway speeds (the standard set up means dropping in to 5th regularly). Top end speed has increased from 84 to 94.
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I see your point, BobbyG. To an extent this already happens; most posh German stuff is limited to 155mph.
I'm not sure that extending this would make much difference, though. If no-one uses that bit of performance then presumably few claims are caused by the ability to exceed those speeds. So making it impossible would not change the claims experience.
And the cars that would really benefit - say a 911 presently rated at 177 mph - would be the ones whose owners would not want them to be limited as they would be the few that go to track days etc.
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I get your point patently re the insurance, but what about the performance side of it?
We currently have cars that need 4/5 gears between 0 and, say, 40mph; and then a top gear that could, depending on car, take you from 40 to 155mph in the one gear!
Could there not be scope for more gears or remapping of engine or whatever, to make it more ecomomical and useful for everyday driving?
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