85mph on speedo?

[ybn533]

is that all? why it made that way?

[aoncurly]

My understanding is goofy US regs had this for model years 1980 and part of 1981. My 1981 911SC was a later model and has a regular speedo thankfully.

[ybn533]

Don't you think it's a little bit embarrasing for this type of car?

[ybn533]

Originally Posted by aoncurly

My understanding is goofy US regs had this for model years 1980 and part of 1981. My 1981 911SC was a later model and has a regular speedo thankfully.

It's a speedo of 911 1982

[Andy911sc]

It was around the time the big fuel crisis was going on. Federal law made all highways max speed of 55 hence why it is also highlighted. They figured if the speedo didn't go any higher then the drivers wouldn't try to hit that top speed.

aoncurly: are you sure that your speedo hasn't been changed. The 85 speedos went well into 82 and I think some early 83's had them.

[toddu]

Send it off and get it rescreened....

Todd

[aoncurly]

From Wikipedia:
"On September 1, 1979, in a regulation that also regulated speedometer and odometer accuracy, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) required speedometers to have special emphasis on the number 55 and a maximum speed of 85 mph (137 km/h). However, on October 22, 1981, NHTSA proposed eliminating speedometer and odometer rules because they were "unlikely to yield significant safety benefits" and "[a] highlighted '55' on a speedometer scale adds little to the information provided to the driver by a roadside speed limit sign."

Although you can't believe everything in Wikipedia, this seems accurate. I am the second owner of my 1981 911SC and it might be possible that it was changed.

If the law was repealed in late 1981 to early 1982, I would think possibly some of the 1982 models might still have the 85 speedos, but not in 1983? Anyone with a 1983 SC got a 85 mph speedo?

[Andy911sc]

Maybe I am a year off will how long they ran it. So the late 81 to early 82 makes more sense than late 82 to early 83. I have an 82 with the 85 speedo, but my build date from what I remember seeing on the tag was november 81.

That law "the government" might say it was for safety reasons, but we all know it was because of that gas crisis. When has the government been completely honest with us...haha.

[Andy911sc]

Also I think I heard about it somewhere, that if you asked the dealer for the higher speedo they would put it in. That could have been what happened with yours.

[aoncurly]

Lol, true. It did say that "However, on October 22, 1981, NHTSA PROPOSED eliminating..." so it could have been enacted in 1982 or possibly 1983.

Anyways, if the PO did change my speedo face, I'm glad they did! If I had an 85 speedo, I think I would have North Hollywood Speedo redo the face.

[porwolf]

My US model 1979 SC has the full range of 150 MPH:

[Andy911sc]

Yeah, I have the 85 speedo and am not sure yet what I want to do. Imagine getting pulled over on the highway doing above 85.

Cop: Sir, do you know how fast you were going?
Me: Absolutely not! Somewhere between reset and 85...haha.

[Etarga]

Originally Posted by aoncurly

Lol, true. It did say that "However, on October 22, 1981, NHTSA PROPOSED eliminating..." so it could have been enacted in 1982 or possibly 1983.

Anyways, if the PO did change my speedo face, I'm glad they did! If I had an 85 speedo, I think I would have North Hollywood Speedo redo the face.

The PO probably changed out the speedo, not just the face. Your speedo would show you're doing about 140mph when in fact you are doing about 85. Nice way to impress the ladies tho ....

[xbrumossalesman]

Originally Posted by Andy911sc

Also I think I heard about it somewhere, that if you asked the dealer for the higher speedo they would put it in. That could have been what happened with yours.

If a Porsche dealer replaced an 85mph speedometer they were required by law to put a sticker in the driver's door jamb indicating the mileage at time of replacement- also noted in service records for warranty purposes- which combined with the mileage on the new odometer was an accurate representation of the true mileage-of course many do it yourselfers swapped out their own speedometers & then when they sold or traded the cars inserted the 85 mph one back in claiming lower miles - bottom line is there are a lot of early 80's cars floating around with questionable mileage but the truth be told you should be able tell a 30 year old car with 60K miles from one with 250K.

[Driver_X]

It wasn't until the 90's that I drove a car that didn't have an 85mph speedo. My first car (that I shared with my mom) had a digital speedo that flashed when you went faster than 85. Not that I ever did, nope....never.

[Bob Kontak]

My 81 was made in March of 81. In the maintenance book there is a notation that the 85 MPH speedo was changed out at 7,500 miles.

[garmo]

I had my faceplate changed, but the speedo had to be recalibrated as well. 85 was just embarrasing for this kind of car.

[ybn533]

It seems there a lot of speedo's out there.

Can anyone tell me which speedo is the original? How can I trust the miles on it when I see too many kinds of speedo?

Btw, my speedo is with the top speed of 85miles

[Andy911sc]

Originally Posted by ybn533

It seems there a lot of speedo's out there.

Can anyone tell me which speedo is the original? How can I trust the miles on it when I see too many kinds of speedo?

Btw, my speedo is with the top speed of 85miles

If you are talking about your 82 911sc then yes yours should be the max of 85 for U.S. car.

[ybn533]

Hi Andy,

Mine is a U.S. car, this speedo is from a car listed on eBay (nice one I have to say).

Porsche : 911 Porsche : 911 - eBay (item 150776882525 end time Mar-19-12 15:37:11 PDT)

so, what is the different between the two?

mine has the 85max. so the speedo will continue until it will hit the reset button?