Speedometer Is Out

[curlyjimbo]

Hey guys,

Recently, I've bought my self a Toyota Hilux - and wow what a change from a Skyline.

Last night I was driving home from Rosebud along the Frankston Freeway (100Km/h zone), and my parents were following me from behind. According to my speedo, I was just sitting on 97Km/h the whole way, although my Dad reckons I was sitting on about 115Km/h. I went past one of those parked camera car things (I spotted it and slowed down to ~95Km/h), but neither the car in front or behind slowed down either. Parents reckons they were all sitting on 110 - 115-ish.

I've only had the car for 2 weeks, and I didn't notice that the speedo was out by so much. (going from a car thats 11cm off the ground to 45cm off the ground is way different!)

My question is - If I did get flashed at 10Km/h over I will lose my license, but is there anyway that I can contest this? Remember I am a P-Plater, and I never speed.

Off the top of my head I only have like 3 demerit points?

Any advice would be great.

Thanks!

Edited August 15, 2010 by curlyjimbo

[GTR-N1]

I wish I had better news for you, but on a different note...

it's getting to a stage in NSW as well as VIC that whenever one buys a used car, it's wise to check the speedo against a GPS or a mate's car with a GPS - especially if the acquired car has aftermarket wheel/tyre setup with a possible different (ie larger) rolling diameter.

[curlyjimbo]

I wish I had better news for you, but on a different note...

it's getting to a stage in NSW as well as VIC that whenever one buys a used car, it's wise to check the speedo against a GPS or a mate's car with a GPS - especially if the acquired car has aftermarket wheel/tyre setup with a possible different (ie larger) rolling diameter.

The tyres have been changed - to 32", not sure what they came with though - I bought it like that.

Maybe I should invest in a GPS Unit haha

[blind_elk]

You might be lucky, and it's your dad's speedo that is out (reading high). I'm surprised you don't have a GPS.

[curlyjimbo]

You might be lucky, and it's your dad's speedo that is out (reading high). I'm surprised you don't have a GPS.

I though of that, but unfortunately his is dead on the knocker

I'm getting the vibe that Vicroads wouldn't give two sh*ts about it - and to them speeding is speeding, even though according to my speedo I wasn't...

[mad082]

your speedo was out because of the tyres, and they certainly won't let you off the fine because of that because the tyre size has been increased more than the legal limit (which is only 15mm bigger in vic, and i'm pretty sure that the stock tyres for a hilux are only about 30", so you are 50mm bigger).

unfortunately you are screwed if you do get the fine in the mail because you were speeding due to illegal modifications. unforetunately the old "i bought it like this and it had a RWC" won't help you much. RWC's aren't so much a certificate of legality of a vehicle but of the general safety of the vehicle. also the seller may have put smaller tyres on to get the RWC and then put the 32's back on after it was done. my mate is a mechanic who does RWC's and he takes pictures of every car that he does for that exact reason so if someone buys a car and then comes to complain he can show them how the car was when he did it.

[some_cs_student]

I'd recommend a GPS, off some websites. like oo.com.au you can get TomTom's pretty cheap. The garmin is apparently better but I have not used it yet...

[mad082]

i have a garmin that i got from dicksmith a while back for about $160. works well.

[blind_elk]

I've got a Garmin navigator, and I also have a Garmin E-trex (I call it my "fekawi meter"). If you want to call round to my place sometime, I can let you check your speedo against the E-trex.

The other thing to do is use the advisory radar speed checks - there's one Melbourne-bound from Geelong on the Princes Fwy, and one at Beveridge northbound. I find the Garmin agrees with these advisorys, and my speedo reads about 2kph under @ 100.

[curlyjimbo]

Thanks for all of your help guys - I've purchased a Tomtom 740 GPS.

Looks like I've dodged a bullet!

[blind_elk]

Looks like I've dodged a bullet!

So, does that mean your speedo is ok?

[curlyjimbo]

So, does that mean your speedo is ok?

Nuh, it is out by 13Km/h at 100Km/h.

I was shitting myself so I actually rang Vicroads to check if there were any fines on the car (because they can take up to 3 weeks to be sent out to you), and luckily they reported with no fines on the car.

Thanks for you help again mate.