Insurance, Limited Mileage Policies, Lowered Bus?

[Alex VW Heritage]

Hi All

Just curious really?!?

How many people have insurance policies afftected by limited mileage clauses?

Also how many of those run lowered busses?

The reason I ask is I have always been bothered by the fact my speedo over reads, so says I'm doing 70mph when am actually only doing 58mph etc etc.

I have a limited mileage policy and always have. Due to running a lowered bus with smaller radius (than stock) front tyres, the speedo over reads, so every year I have been paying for miles on my limited mleage policy that have been eaten up by the van over reading.

I know its small peanuts but i think over the last ten years that has worked out to be a fair chunk of change.

Anyway I am curious and will be fitting the below to solve the issue, just curious who is in the same boat and if you have found a solution?

 

[gvee]

Are you saying that you've incurred charges for going over your mileage limit?

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

Are you saying that you've incurred charges for going over your mileage limit?

No not as of yet, I did ring and add some extra one year (at a cost £ of course) when I knew i was going to be a few thousand over.

No I mean I have paid for it indirectly by maybe having a larger limit than I needed to, or as with the year described above, adding and paying for extra mileage which maybe if it read correctly I may not have needed to do.

 

[StuF]

I had limited mileage with my RH insurance policy until I sorted out an agreed valuation (through Clem)
As soon as the agreed valuation was inplace the mileage restriction was removed - same insurance company!

Might be worth looking into that to save you being concerned about clocking up the miles

 

[*Sam*]

I have the same issue as you Alex, I will be sending my speedo to Tacho Tomas in France. ( i think that's what he is called)

 

[Alex VW Heritage]

I had limited mileage with my RH insurance policy until I sorted out an agreed valuation (through Clem)
As soon as the agreed valuation was inplace the mileage restriction was removed - same insurance company!

Might be worth looking into that to save you being concerned about clocking up the miles

Maybe my age, may be my home location but have both agreed value and limited mileage on my policy to keep it down to a sensible level.

 

[Tofufi]

My bus is lowered, and on a limited mileage policy, but I've stock tyres so the speedo is (pretty much) accurate. I voted in the poll before reading the thread :lol:

 

[paul_q]

I need to correct my reading but would prefer to keep my original speedo. Does any know the cost to recalibrate by tacho Thomas? And has anybody tried these http://www.speedycables.com/calibration.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[Graham L]

Yep same issue and having done 2 Euro Trips already this year clocking up over 2000 miles then its something I'm starting to think about, dothey do a matching fuel gauge so I can finally sort one that works

 

[Humphrey]

Waiting for the 120 mph version.

 

[aspro]

If the extra miles cause so much grief then just get your speedo calibrated.

The Smiths unit looks ok but they've made no effort to dome it like the original. Just looks wrong to me. I'd rather run 10mph out then install one of those. Just my opinion.

 

[Haveacamper]

Hi Alex,

As I am running porsche clocks this will not be any use to me, but it has got me thinking...

a passenger car weighing 1500kg running typical 195/65R15 tyres would have a static rolling radius of approximately 20mm less than the actual radius with zero load. If my quick maths is correct this is an unloaded radius of 1993mm and static loaded radius of 1854mm.... difference of 7% reduction in the circumference

Therefore, the inflation pressure of the tire can have an impact on not only the speed, but the mileage your odometer is telling you you have covered.

Also, if these old speedos were designed to have an error in them to start with (like those in modern cars so you dont speed) then this will also be telling you that you have covered more miles than you have. Unlike modern cars, our mileage is worked out directly off the speed of the front wheel. Even if the error was 5%.....

So conservatively, if you have a 5% reduction in circumference due to static loading, and a 3% error in your "factory" toloerence speedo, then you have 8% error to start with

Admittedly, I would presume the factory clock would probably be calibrated to the static loaded radius as opposed to the unloaded, but many people dont change tyre pressure with laden vehicles and not only run smaller tyres, but also stiffer tyres (lateral and vertical) than those crossply tyres from the 60's/70's

sorry to pepper the tread with this, but like you, it just got me thinking

NaFe

p.s. my camper has to have limited mileage and agreed value - it could be due to the level of modifications and/or storage location and/or actual agreed valuation of the camper...

 

[mike202]

Maybe it's too early in the morning for maths, but trying to work out what the rolling radius is, and stock tyres compared to new ones is giving me a head ache! :shock: :lol:

I have 195/75/14 tyres from Karrman Konnection. Stock wheels, stock height.

I'm not sure whether my odometer part of the speedometer (measuring the miles covered) is out, or if it's just the speedo dial that's out of calibration. I know the speedo is not reading right because I use a speedo app (and a Satnav app sometimes) and when I'm doing 30mph the speedo says 42mph (etc etc). I know this true also because I can tell that I am not travelling that fast, although what speed I am doing exactly I couldn't say.

I use 30mph as an example because it's on these parts of the roads where there are most speed cameras, and I don't want any points. :roll:

I thought that the odometer was out as well until recently, when the satnav app said our holiday destination in Scotland was 245 miles away, but double checking on googlemaps which said 270 miles. (same route) The odometer actually measured about the same as googlemaps, which removed the 10% difference I had previously thought the odometer in the van was over reading. Are you still following me :lol: ??

So at the mo I may just re-position the needle on the speedo following this thread on the Samba. Although the digital speedo that Alex pictured does look very nice.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=474291&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then again I might just leave it for a winter project :mrgreen:

 

[Haveacamper]

Mike,

I'm not entirely sure you were wanting someone to calculate your rolling radius or not....

My point was more to do with the fact that in my example - which are approximate numbers from car data I have available to me - there is a difference between the rolling radius which is calculated from the tyre sizes and what is known as the static loaded radius or SLR. The SLR is a lot more representative of what your actual radius as it takes into account the tyre deflecting and is a function of the tyre pressure, vertical stiffness of the tyre you are running and the vertical load on that tyre.

NaFe

 

[mike202]

Mike,

I'm not entirely sure you were wanting someone to calculate your rolling radius or not....

My point was more to do with the fact that in my example - which are approximate numbers from car data I have available to me - there is a difference between the rolling radius which is calculated from the tyre sizes and what is known as the static loaded radius or SLR. The SLR is a lot more representative of what your actual radius as it takes into account the tyre deflecting and is a function of the tyre pressure, vertical stiffness of the tyre you are running and the vertical load on that tyre.

NaFe

It's a very interesting subject and I am sure you are right. I don't think I'm that much out from stock tyres. I used this calculator

http://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=185&aspect=82&diameter=14&wheelwidth=&offset=&width2=195&aspect2=75&diameter2=14&wheelwidth2=&offset2=#content" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I compared my tyres to stock at 185/82/14. There's a +1.68% difference which equates to 0.5mph out at 30mph. So the tyre size I have shouldn't affect the odometer very much.

After three years I'm still getting used to the fact that the two dials I have got, the speedo and the petrol gauge, don't really work properly. I just want to make sure I am using up the 5000 miles I'm allowed on the insurance and the speedo (odometer) is not lying to me. IIRC it cost me £45 to increase the limited miles, mid policy, from 3000 to 5000 in the first year of ownership.

At least the turn signal flashers light up otherwise I'd be driving down the A1 indicating for miles. :lol:

 

[alex4057]

Yep same issue and having done 2 Euro Trips already this year clocking up over 2000 miles then its something I'm starting to think about, dothey do a matching fuel gauge so I can finally sort one that works

It's in the pipe line!

 

[alex4057]

Waiting for the 120 mph version.

As is this 8)

 

[Humphrey]

Good man!

 

[aspro]

Waiting for the 120 mph version.

Why? Do you do over 90mph in your bus? :lol:

 

[Humphrey]

Yep.