Speedometer recalibration: is it possible?

[paultvx]

The situation may vary from dealer to dealer. Dealers in economic depressed areas are definitly not going to make their living selling new cars, that's for sure.

In general, I think the dealers makes a couple to a few thousand on the new cars they sell. Sometimes there are factory incentives that don't get passed down to the buyer. So, suppose they make 2 grand per car and within a 8 hour business day they sell 4 cars, that's 8 grand. On the service side, suppose on average they charge $80 for regular service and repairs per job/vehicle. How many cars would they have to service in a day to equal what they make by selling 4 cars?

Like I said... it's probably different from dealer to dealer. Some are service oriented (and have a lot of service bays)... some are more sales oriented. Depends on what their business model is.

[WyrreJ]

Gross yeah, but to net $2K per vehicle they are either selling luxo brands or something with enough hype that people will pay stupid money for it.

[paultvx]

Originally posted by WyrreJ
Gross yeah, but to net $2K per vehicle they

Was just an example.

people will pay stupid money for it.

And they do.

For example, I drove my bud's 82 yo grandmother's car today (97 Lincoln Mk8 with only 50k miles, 4.6L V8)... I've also done some maintenance work on it recently. That car is a total POS inside and out. Cheap plastic, cheap leather, you name it. I think her late husband paid 30 grand for this thing back in 98... it was a short-term lease return. 4 months ago it ran like a carb v-8 truck limping on 2 cylinders. It took us 3 hours and a lot of swearing to check and change the plugs. The work was a royal pain in the *****. It has the dumbest engine bay layout I have ever seen. After the new plugs were in, it still ran like a POS. Took it to the dealer and the dealer was amazed that we had changed all 8 plugs in 3 hours. It's a job they normally charge 4 hours for. He also mentioned that on the Navigator, it's even worse. It's a 5 to 6 hour job. 5 to 6 hours to change plugs?! And yet people are dumb enough to pay stupid money for them. So, after two days the dealer finally diagnosed the problem... a faulty plug wire. Guess how much a set of new wires came to... a whopping $250. Hell, a set of quality German made spark plug wires for the Audi A4 costs $80. The V6 VW I had the plug wires only costed me $75. The final repair bill came on the Lincoln came to over $350... and of course they try to convince us that the EGR needed to be replaced or it won't pass smog. Well, the car was tested at DEQ last month and passed with flying colors with the same damn EGR.

[Dallas4u]

I bet GM and Ford dealers make MORE money on service and parts than new cars, no doubt. Most money comes from used cars and the *****-ramming you get between your trade the the purchase. I LOVE looking at cars... but the negotiations and financing parts is a beeotch...

I read a little article in Consumer Reports (I know... many of you hate them for being under the corporate thumb), but they had a little investigative report on car buying in their 2002 Car Buying issue. They had people negotiate prices in person, over the phone, through internet-direct pages, and over the net using dealers "net special" deals. They found the lowest prices were actually had through the internet-direct websites like CarsDirect.com. I also know a number of people who have purchased new and used cars online and they have had great experiences (great as in not having to spend 4-5 hours at a dealer, having him bend you over, just to walk away knowing he will call you in a couple of days just to pull you back in and bend you over a second or third time... ba$tards).

Anyway, point is... I am sick of working and don't want to do the number of things on my plate for the day, so I think I may spend most of the day on this site while they record my internet usage through our proxy server.

[WyrreJ]

I read a little article in Consumer Reports (I know... many of you hate them for being under the corporate thumb),

What are you talking about? If there is any mainstream publication in this country that is free of the corporate thumb, it is CR.

[Tone]

I’ve got an AutoTrans Recalibrator for sale as Grant decided it is not that big an issue. $175 delivered in the continental US.

[Daver]

Car & Driver was the magazine that posted statistics they gathered on speedometer error from the factory:

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

-Daver

[Clyde]

Has anyone done any more research on the speedometer recalibrator since the last discussion? If so, how does it work? Good? Bad? I like the 18" wheels that came on my VX, but don't like the tires that fit them. I use my VX as a daily driver and the Duellers don't provide a good wear with my 100 mile roundtrip commute. I would like to use something with a better treadwear, but don't like to have my speedometer off calibration. I just can't bring myself to spend $100/tire for something that isn't a good quality tire in my opinion. So, I have also wondered about speedometer recalibration so I could use a different size of tire with a better UTQG (treadwear) rating.

[Maverick]

10 mph" tolarance " is pretty generous, many depts. only allow about 5mph from my experience, especially on local roads..

I checked my speedo with my old magellan (cheapo) gps, found it to be right on up to about 45 mph, and about 1mph off(fast) at 65 mph.. not bad.. it seems to get progressively less accurate the fast i go, but no measureable difference between 65 and 80mph..im guessing its probably about 1.5 mph off at that point, but cant tell without much more accurate equipment.. checking the speedo (and the other gauges if possible) is one of the first things i do when i get a "new to me" vehicle.. ive had a few cars that had gauges that were way off..

ive no plans for any radical tire size changes, but if i did, id definatly want the recalibration. running mental recalibration equasions while driving makes it more stressfull and takes concentration away from things like avoiding idiots on the road..

[Tone]

Grant has been running the Recalibrator he got from me for several months and hasn’t had any problems to my knowledge. I’ll get pricing for anyone interested but less than $150 if I recall properly.

[Clyde]

Hey Tone,

Does the recalibrator make it so you can adjust the speedometer to any tire size? Exactly how does it work?

I'm not looking to fit a radical tire size on my VX and I'm definitely not going to lift the vehicle or cut into body cladding to fit new tires. It's just that I want to have a properly adjusted speedometer with a different set of tires for the 18's (summer set of wheels). There are so many different tires out there that are better, in my opinion, that I could use if it weren't for throwing off the speedometer.

[Tone]

Yes, set with dip switches -email me if you want Grant’s most excellent install instructions.

[psychos2]

i have larger tires and the speedo is now off by 5 mph.checked with gps.i think my tire size is 31.5 inches. 2 inches bigger than stock. shawn

[Clyde]

Thanks for sending me directions on how the recalibrator works Tone. That gives me a lot better idea as to what and how it works. How much would one of these units cost out the door? Any information you could give me on price would be appreciated.

[t2p]

Clyde:
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$100 for an 18" tire is relatively cheap ..... almost 'budget'.
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You may want to consider the 255-55-18 size - this size will provide a little bit more rubber on the road (compared to the OEM 245-60-18), but the diameter is very close to the OEM 245-60-18 size, so there will be no speedo issues.
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There are a number of quality tires available in 255-55-18 size -
you need to consider the type you are looking for: high performance ('V', 'Z') rated), or a tire with good tread wear characteristics. Not that both are mutally exclusive, but (generally speaking) a HP tire will provide better handling and cornering characteristics, but at the expense of wear. Many HP tires are also poor in snow. A tire with good wear will (again - generally speaking) will not provide the feel and handling of the high quality HP tires.
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Pirelli, Michelin, Yokohama, Kumho (these come to mind quickly) offer HP tires in the 255-55 size. Most of these tires will probably run (approx) $150-225 per tire - with the Kumho being the low cost exception at around $100 per tire. The Kumho also has a higher tread wear number compared to most other (all ?) tires in this category - around 320 vs 220. I know the treadwear numbers can be misleading - but it is noteworthy.
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I have 255-55-18 Mastercraft Courser HTR Plus (mfg by Cooper) tires on my VX. They are not what I would consider a performance type tire - they are an 'S' rated all season 'touring' type tire. They do have a decent tread pattern, raised sidewall to protect the rim, and are relatively quiet. They have a 460 treadwear number. They cost (approx) $100 per tire. If I faced a 100 mile roundtrip commute, I would consider these.
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t2p