All internet egos aside, why would you ever want to go faster than 155mph?

 

does that speed rating decrease or increase if you have the 21" wheels or larger?

 

to catch those bikes

 

NO.... it wouldn't.

I was talking to someone else after I brought up this issue with Scott in that reaching speeds that high is absolutely NO JOKE!

The only vehicle I ran that fast on a public road was my '97 Z28 out in Arizona. I got the needle to rest on the cutout of the steering column. I know this because my passenger told me. He had to tell me because my attention was 100% on keeping the small bumps and impefections of a straight and smooth desserted Arizona highway from sending us in a direction that I didn't want to go, and to also keep a lookout for any Arizona wildlife that might be thinking about slithering or crossing the freeway.

The point is, and I've also lived in North Carolina, and have driven across country at least 6 times over the years, if you don't live west of the Mississippi, I have yet seen or heard of any public road where you can somewhat safely run over 150, let alone attempt to run 170.

Between the length of straight, safe, flat, level, smooth, desserted, & well paved streach of road you'll need to simply accelerate to that speed (at least 2 miles), that also has high visability for at least a mile ahead, I seriously doubt anyone who says (or the sanity... and not in a complementary way... of anyone who actually did) reach that type of velosity on a public road back east.

At 155 mph, you're traveling over 2 1/2 mile per minute (or 13,640 ft). If you have a 1 second reaction time (and that's lightning quick, btw), that's 227 feet just to react to something you see. If you see an animal or even a rock in the road a quarter mile away (with Superman-like vision), you'll be on it in 5 seconds. considerably less at 170.

If it's something that takes alot of effort going down an empty interstate in Arizona, Nevada or Texas in the daytime (at that speed, as soon as you see any car that could be a cop, your car is already confiscated... radar detectors are useless at that speed), I serious doubt has done (and highly reccomend AGAINST trying... or even thinking about) a run of that speeds on public roads.

Don't EVEN think about running that speed at night!


That said....

I brought up the speed limiter issue with Scott because I'm very interested in the V6 Camaro. While the SS is getting all the press, I feel the V6 is the car that's a steal and has the most potential. A simple change of axle ratio yields a car that accelerates at least as hard as an LT1, the V6 will have better balence in the twisties, and being out here in the west, I do routinely get a chance to run tripple digits and perhaps a few times per year, have the chance to do a short burst of 145-150 or so in my B4C. A 300+ horse, 6 speed, sub-$25K V6 5th gen Camaro that runs over 150 makes a compelling case.

Any car that can run 155 (which takes a couple of miles to get up to) will have no problem with a 90 to 140 punch, which constitutes much of the impromptu "Freeway Grand Prix" runs that occasionally happens on those runs to Vegas or Phoenix out this way. My '93 Z28 (with the 110 mph governer that came with the automatic that year) was an utter embarrasment. The car looked like it could kick some serious a**, but when I Honda came along and wanted to run, just as things lit up, I was out of the race.

Challenger R/Ts 138 mph governer isn't going to cut it.

 

its not that you would be crazy to do speeds of 150+. its more about being smart if you are. you also have to be a very good driver and pay attention to everything around you. ive gone 150 before. i was in PA going to a car show and wanted to have some fun on the turn pike. it does get scary, but my car was built to handle speeds,turns,and braking obsticles. no way would i ever do 150 in a civic. but i felt very comfortable in my trans am. it is a rush and really gets your blood pumping , but you have to be careful. doing speed like this, is nothing to germans. they have the autobahn. granted, their cars are built to withstand a major accident at very high speeds. high speed driving is part of every day life for them. i guess, if your going to go fast, make sure you can handle it and make sure the car can handle it.
i am not condoning speeding.

 

The idea that the car can do XXX MPH is nice, but essectially worthless. I topped 150 in my SS once in the 8 years I've had the car. A 155 speed limiter would likely never be an issue in a car. On a bike, it would be a different story. It's easier to do a top speed run on a bike. My old ZX-12R dragged me to the high end of 185 (195+ indicated) on a couple of occasions. I had almost nothing to do with it. I blame the bike.

 

I wouldn't have much of a problem attempting it in a car under the right conditions, but I have to believe that doing 185+ on two wheels would be REALLY scary. No thanks.

 

thats one reason i can not own a bike. i know i would be doing all kinds of crazy things on it. topping it out would be one of them.

its nice to just do as much in your car(speed) as you can atleast once. i dont speed alot and i dont do it every day if i were goign to drive 155. its just one of those things that happens when the occasion arises.

 

The bike was extremely stable. Funny thing is that the speed felt more natural on the bike than in the car. The hardest part was dealing with the wind's desire to compress my neck into my shoulders.

 

Jason,

This is really just bench racing. Seems like the appropriate place for it. The realities of traffic, road conditions, and law enforcement mean you aren't really going to head out to the nearest straight stretch of highway and do it.

But it's still fun to talk about and learn about the 5th gen's factory top speed, theorietical delimited top speed, and what the real limiting factors are - lift, drag, gearing, etc... e.g. I find it very interesting to know that the critical speed of the stock driveshaft in my 99 Z28 was the only reason the factory put a 160mph speed limiter in the stock computer program.

The open road racing and 1 mile drag crowd might even be able to apply some of the information that comes up in such a thread.

So, back on point - anyone got any info on how fast this thing could go with no limiter, and what the real limiting factors might be in terms of lift (front or rear?) drag, cooling, etc....?

 

Interesting to see that they make 18 inch sporty tires with only a T speed rating. That surprises me more than the Camaro having an electronic limiter.

 

Its not that I want to go more than 155mph, its the fact that its not the machinical/areodynamic limit of the car.

Its like when someone tells you, that you can't eat that cookie. Right after the person says that, you want to eat that cookie.

The limiter to me is like a buzz kill. It's just how I get down I guess...

Yes it would

 

a man i recently talked to said the manual SS get's up to 170 mph.

 

I've been in a ws6 slushbox with 3 other dip****s at 145. I can tell you even on a grade as steep as an overpass, you'll be asking yourself "How did I get into this situation?" when the rear suspension unloads. OH, and a burn out at 65 will blow out your shorts.

 

not to sound mean or anything.......

...but what about:

"......we know there are a lot of people out there that THINK they can handle a car at 170 -- when in reality most cannot!......"

The simple fact is that people should never try driving at these speeds on any public road - -and frankly, most people (and some journalists..) "think" they drive better than they really do......


GUARANTEED:

>>>>a vehicle crash at speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour will ALWAYS be 'spectacular' -- and I do not mean that in a 'good' sense.......