Speedometer Error
09-05-2006, 09:24 AM
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My Ride: '04 545i, Silver Gray-Black Dakota, Cold pkg, Prem. Sound, Sport pkg, Nav, Voice Activation
I used to own a 2002 M3 that had a speedometer error of about 5mph over the actual speed. I am curious if the E60 series has the same issue? Also, why doesn't BMW correct this defect? Thanks 
09-05-2006, 09:43 AM
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It's not a defect!
The speedo shows a little more than you're actually doing to protect you from accidentally speeding.
No speedo in any car is correct, unless somebody has corrected it aftermarket...
The speedo shows a little more than you're actually doing to protect you from accidentally speeding.
No speedo in any car is correct, unless somebody has corrected it aftermarket...
09-05-2006, 11:08 AM
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Originally Posted by Iceman' post='331091' date='Sep 5 2006, 01:43 PM
It's not a defect!
The speedo shows a little more than you're actually doing to protect you from accidentally speeding.
No speedo in any car is correct, unless somebody has corrected it aftermarket...
The speedo shows a little more than you're actually doing to protect you from accidentally speeding.
No speedo in any car is correct, unless somebody has corrected it aftermarket...
I understand that the 5-Series is about 3-4 mph off actual speed at 60mph. You can check it with GPS.
Has anyone figured out the exact differences? This really sucks for leased cars because they deprive you of a lot of miles. Someone stated that the odometer does not read off the speedometer, but I am not sure that this information is right.
The advantage of going from 17" to 18" tires is that you reverse the effects of the speedometer problem (bigger diameter). Oddly enough, when you go from 17" to 19" tires, I was shown that the two sizes have nearly identical diameters (the low profile 19" creates a similiar overall diameter). There is a website that you can go to that shows speedomter changes with different size tires. Very interesting stuff.
Best.
09-05-2006, 11:13 AM
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Yes, right.
And when you change the size of the rims you need to code the computer with it, so that there's no difference.
And when you change the size of the rims you need to code the computer with it, so that there's no difference.
09-05-2006, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by monacobmw' post='331136' date='Sep 5 2006, 09:08 PM
Totally agreed here.
I understand that the 5-Series is about 3-4 mph off actual speed at 60mph. You can check it with GPS.
Has anyone figured out the exact differences?
I understand that the 5-Series is about 3-4 mph off actual speed at 60mph. You can check it with GPS.
Has anyone figured out the exact differences?
--
Przemek
09-05-2006, 12:58 PM
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Yes, when my speedometer showed 260 km/h my Garmin GPS said 250 km/h.
09-05-2006, 01:36 PM
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09-05-2006, 02:38 PM
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There is no "exact" difference - every time your wheels make a revolution and lose a molecule of rubber, the delta will change ever so slightly.... so unless you're going to have a wheel-rotation based speedo that calibrates itself constantly, forget having it accurate.
09-05-2006, 03:03 PM
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My Ride: 535ixT � On Order: 2010 E61, Ordered 1/05, Est. Birth 3/09, Est. Delivery 4/09, Carbon Black, Cream Beige Dakota Leather, Steptronic, M-Sport Pkg., Type 135 18
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My '06 530xiT has 18" OEM wheels and 4 x 245/40-18 tires with approximately 7k miles on them.
I recently ran a check vs. a GPS: at 70 MPH - the GPS read 68 MPH - or about 2 mph optimistic.
However, when I check my auto's speed against those 25 . . . MPH speed check radars located by local cops about our towns, my speedometer checks out as a bout 4 MPH fast. Perhaps the local cops tune their radars to read 2 MPH slow???
When we drive from Colorado to Connecticut next week I plan to do a series of speedo vs. GPS checks over a range of speeds (30-to-90 in 10 MPH intervals) and will post same.
I recently ran a check vs. a GPS: at 70 MPH - the GPS read 68 MPH - or about 2 mph optimistic.
However, when I check my auto's speed against those 25 . . . MPH speed check radars located by local cops about our towns, my speedometer checks out as a bout 4 MPH fast. Perhaps the local cops tune their radars to read 2 MPH slow???
When we drive from Colorado to Connecticut next week I plan to do a series of speedo vs. GPS checks over a range of speeds (30-to-90 in 10 MPH intervals) and will post same.