Why Do Automakers Install Speed Governors?

Basically, manufacturers don’t want to kill you. Any car that goes 100 mph can turn into a deadly machine, so they install a speed limiter or governor (call it whatever you like) to keep you from exceeding certain speeds. Plus, the engine has its own limits too.

Take a Toyota Corolla, for example. It’s got 140 horsepower and a max RPM of 6,500. Sure, you could push it to 200 km/h or more, but at that point, the engine would be screaming past what the manufacturer recommends. That’s why they make sure those limits aren’t exceeded—for safety and durability. Toyota (and pretty much every other car maker) doesn’t want their cars to get a reputation for falling apart because someone floors them every day. They design their vehicles to be reliable and manageable. If you’re itching to go fast, the racetrack is where you belong.

On top of that, some countries have legal requirements for speed limits. In Japan, for example, cars are capped at 180 km/h, no matter what. I’m guessing that’s based on careful calculations about safety, considering that speeds above that are riskier. There might be other reasons I don’t know about, but you get the idea.

On the other hand, some parts of a car aren’t really designed for high speeds, like the suspension or braking systems. Just think about supercars—they usually have bigger brakes and beefier suspensions to handle high speeds. And it makes sense, right? At those speeds, the car gets “pressed” down by the wind, so the braking system has to be up to the task. Your everyday car? Probably not built for that. Sure, it can brake fine at normal, recommended speeds, but that’s why manufacturers install limiters—to keep you from pushing it too far.

Take aftermarket suspensions as an example. The struts and coils are bigger because they’re built to handle high speeds and more stress. Your regular suspension just can’t keep up with that kind of pressure—it has limits. And while manufacturers can’t exactly stop you from speeding, they can add engine limiters to make sure you don’t go past the car’s maximum safe speed or capacity. Some people bypass those limiters, sure, but that’s uncommon.

There are plenty of reasons for these limits—safety and vehicle design being the main ones. Plus, there’s this unofficial “gentleman’s agreement” between car companies to not make cars that go past a certain speed. Why? Safety, mostly. Imagine street racers zooming around at 300 km/h or more—terrible, right? It’d make the roads dangerous for everyone. And let’s be honest, not everyone needs to drive that fast. Limiters also help the engine last longer by keeping it from overdoing it. In a way, it’s like insurance for your car’s engine.

Some countries just don’t have the infrastructure—or the laws—that make fast driving possible. I mean, not every place is like Europe or Germany, where you’ve got smooth, comfy toll roads. A lot of countries have roads that are narrow, bumpy, or just not built for speed, so driving fast can be pretty risky. That’s why people don’t (or shouldn’t) go fast in those places—it’s just not safe.

It's actually the easiest way for car companies to stop you from going overboard in their vehicles. They can't enforce speed limits directly since the car’s in your control, but they can limit how fast it goes overall. That helps make sure everything under the hood is working properly and keeps you from pushing the car past what it was built to handle. Plus, they’d rather you didn’t turn the thing into a missile and accidentally kill someone. So yeah, it’s basically a safety net they put in place to keep you from going full Fast & Furious.