Burying the needle

[Win]

My Xj12 speed limits at 158. I've never hit the limiter but did pop a transmission line in it at 140+. What a mess that made. Red ATF EVERYWHERE. On a white car, it looks like measles.

Our Xj8 speed limits at only 121 for some crazy reason, but even the tiny V8 should get it to 140 - 150 ish if it was removed, I would think.

I don't know if the V6 G8 is speed limited - I expect it could do 130 or a little better if it's not, even with the tiny V6. Aerodynamic drag starts to be a real big deal around that speed, though. My GTO (Monaro) was supposed to be limited at 155, but I never tried to hit it.

All three of the above cars are very stable and composed at triple digit speeds.

The S-10 is gutless, probably couldn't hit the century mark in free fall from an airplane, and the others are wife driven, so I doubt they've seen over 70. They'll never see a speed limiter, if they have one.

 

[OVERKILL]

I've gone ~260Km/h in the M5, which is 162Mph. I was under the impression it was limited to 155Mph however.......

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
150+ when I added the turbo to my former SVT Contour. Wasn't the smartest thing I ever did.


How much Tempo is still in that car?

I know the rims on both were a weird 4x108.

I myself had a 4 cyl automatic contour. Had typical good ford handling when pushed in the corners.

 

[mechtech2]

Some cars were limited to about 95, and 106ish is common now.

 

[Shannow]

20+ years ago, I used to drive my cars pegged , but not worth it these days...roads aren't as good, and to many disco lights around.

That being said, my old E30 was good for over 150km/hr in third, and the Caprice gets to the same when overtaking...don't want to spend too much time on the wrong side of the road you know.

 

[rslifkin]

I've taken the Jeep up to about 105 once (before all the mods). Limiter was at 115 stock (current tires are rated for 112, so I won't take it past 110). I've gotten it just shy of the 100 mark since the mods, it feels surprisingly happy at triple digit speeds (and gets there faster than you'd expect), although the wind noise is pretty loud past 90.

Given an empty, smooth road and higher rated tires, I'd be tempted to go for broke, as it doesn't have a speed limiter anymore. People have indicated that a stock one will get up to around 130 (speedo goes to 125) without the limiter, so I figure mine would probably see 140 - 145 before running out of power (being brick shaped kinda hurts).

 

[calvin1]

Had a guy in a 90's F350 utility body try to pass me on an interstate on ramp. I was kinda curious if I could get him to run it up to the limiter. He did and it must have been the first time because he didn't seem to understand what happened when the governor tripped. The look on his face when it died right in the middle of his glory run was everything I had hoped. Mine was far from pegged but the noises that poor 460 was making made me feel sorry for it.

I don't think I'll tell any other stories here.

 

[javacontour]

Maybe the Ford logo. It was an all new car. Two "new" engines. The 2.5L Duratec V6 and the 2.0L Zetec 4 cylinder.

The SVT warmed over version would do 143 out of the box. I got chicken in the 150's on a public road.

The turbo added about 100HP to the factory 195-200 peak HP the engine produced. But covering 2.5 miles/minute is a bit scary on a public interstate, early Sunday morning or not.

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: javacontour
150+ when I added the turbo to my former SVT Contour. Wasn't the smartest thing I ever did.


How much Tempo is still in that car?

I know the rims on both were a weird 4x108.

I myself had a 4 cyl automatic contour. Had typical good ford handling when pushed in the corners.

 

[javacontour]

Oh and on the weird rims. I posted some that came off another Contour for sale and for a while the only guy interested was someone with a Merkeur. But being RWD the offset wasn't right.

But he did let me take his car for a drive. For some reason, it just didn't have the zip, even though the engine was almost as big and was also turbocharged.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Thats a smart thing to do.

I still think it's the best option in that situation. There's always some danger involved in driving, and I don't think it's any worse than the alternative.

I could stay behind the herd of tightly-packed nervous drivers on all-season tires going 30 to 40 mph, but even if I leave a reasonable distance there will eventually be a bunch of those same ill-equipped drivers tailgating me. Some might even try to pass me because the gap between myself and the car ahead indicates that they can gain a position in the all-important points chase. Or, as long as visibility is good and it's a straight line shot, I can get by them all very quickly, set the cruise at the 62 or 70 mph speed limit (FWD or 4WD), and relax until I hit the next pack a few miles down. I don't want to turn what should be a three hour trip into a ridiculously boring five or six hour trip. The passing also helps to keep you awake. I use plenty of shoulder for a buffer and focus primarily on watching for signs that one might pull out without checking their mirrors.

It probably does sound a little dicey to those who don't have much experience driving icy highways on studded tires. On soft warm ice you have many times the friction coefficient of those on all-seasons. The vehicle is constantly sliding around a little but grip is consistent. It's a pleasurable feeling that you can't get on clean pavement, and very stable because weight transfer effects are minimal. Gravel road driving at higher speed is similar, but less consistent and far less forgiving.

I should clarify that I don't have any problem with people driving slowly in less than ideal weather conditions. I just don't understand why they bunch up so closely that you'd have to force yourself into the minimal gaps in order to pass any less than all of them. I do derive some pleasure thinking about how horrified some of them must be as I scream by them at thrice the speed that they're apparently comfortable with.

 

[Cujet]

I was able to get my 1978 Rabbit diesel up to an indicated 79MPH while drafting a semi.

 

[mcrn]

Originally Posted By: Astro14
I used to take my Mercedes up to max speed on nearly every drive to work...it was a 1981 240D...so that was, uh, about 75MPH...maybe 80MPH with a slight tailwind or a downhill...

And with that silly 85 MPH speedo...pretty close to burying the needle...almost every day in Colorado (legal limit 75 MPH)...

On the other end of the spectrum, I have buried the needle in the F-14...that needle went a bit higher than the Mercedes did...



I had an 83 that I would max out and set on cruise at 83mph! LOL would do it all day long too! LOL

 

[javacontour]

I had an 81 Rabbit diesel. Acceleration was best measured with a calendar.

Originally Posted By: Cujet
I was able to get my 1978 Rabbit diesel up to an indicated 79MPH while drafting a semi.

 

[CourierDriver]

in its day, my old 67 beetle peaked at 80. 58 hp , lol.

 

[9296D21B14]

My '80 gas Rabbit topped out on I-55 heading for the hospital with my wife in labor at about 4:30am. The shorter the interval between contractions the more I pressed on the gas pedal. All three of us survived the ride, delivery, and the next 30+ years and counting... I loved that car.