Kill switch on financed cars

[happy days]

I'm surprised that cars can still go faster than the speed limits. You'd think sat nav technology would have made this quite easy to install.

[Pete]

I'm surprised that cars can still go faster than the speed limits. You'd think sat nav technology would have made this quite easy to install.

It's not consistent. Sat Navs won't know about recent changes in speed limits or be in sync with smart motorways. For me, an updated Sat Nav map would cost £300+ without really knowing just how up to date that map is.

I'm not sure the police would take "My Sat Nav made me do it" as a valid excuse for ignoring posted speed limits.

The comment I made above was more in jest, although could be triggered if the GPS speed consistently rose above (60/70mph + allowance).

[happy days]

I'm surprised that cars can still go faster than the speed limits. You'd think sat nav technology would have made this quite easy to install.

It's not consistent. Sat Navs won't know about recent changes in speed limits or be in sync with smart motorways. For me, an updated Sat Nav map would cost £300+ without really knowing just how up to date that map is.

I'm not sure the police would take "My Sat Nav made me do it" as a valid excuse for ignoring posted speed limits.

The comment I made above was more in jest, although could be triggered if the GPS speed consistently rose above (60/70mph + allowance).

Fair point on inconsistency and I suppose on temporary speed limits, but I think it will happen eventually. Isn't the Nissan GTR speed restricted unless the GPS detects that it's on a track? Or was I dreaming about that on Top Gear?

[Pete]

You're not wrong, but I think the speed restriction is only in Japan.

In a review by Motor Trend editor Scott Kanemura, it was revealed that the GPS system fitted to the GT-R would remove the 180-kilometer per hour (112 mph) speed limiter when the car arrives at a race track, but only on tracks approved by Nissan. Aftermarket ECUs have been developed to bypass the speed limiter, in addition to stand-alone speed-limiter defeaters. The GPS check will not be implemented in American models.

We know that the Nissan GT-R's ECU wizardry is impressive, but this little tidbit left us in awe. According to our friends over at the GTChannel, the GT-R's integrated computer limits the vehicle's speed in Japan to 111 mph (180 km/h), but once the GPS system detects that you've arrived at a domestic circuit, it removes the top speed limiter for all-out track assaults.

In the U.S., they've bumped up the electronically-limited top speed to 156 mph (250 km/h), but there's no integration with the GPS here in the States, meaning that anyone that wants to go faster on track has to have the ECU modifed. Nissan has made several overtures that the GT-R's ECU will be a tough nut to crack, but we're sure that enterprising tuners both here and abroad will be able to coax a few extra ponies out of the twin-turbo'd 3.8-liter mill and remove any electronic nannies that go with it.

[Col Lamb]

Somebody should have pushed the kill switch on the stupid idiotic female who was driving her Golf this morning whilst displaying a working video on her mobile phone that was fitted at high level on her centre dash.

[Ian.g]

It always amazes me that cars aren't limited here by law to 70-80mph. Or even 90mph. It would be difficult to complain about such a law and would stop people doing stupid things on motorways

[Pete]

I often see white vans with a 'speed limited to 70mph' socket on the back. Quite clearly read as they overtake me doing 90...

[Ian.g]

The sooner someone speed limits white vans, the better. Does anyone remember the days when you used to get carved up by speeding coaches on the motorways? Never happens now they are speed limited.

[Dandock]

I often see white vans with a 'speed limited to 70mph' socket on the back. Quite clearly read as they overtake me doing 90...

Kph of course!

[Wing Commander]

Some fast cars are limited to 250kph/155mph, so the technology must be easily adaptable to a lower limit, surely... (The so called gentlemens agreement between BMW, Merc and Audi.)