Yep, I lost my windshield trim at Sebring, it blew off on the front straight @ about 110mph. Here it is the trim is gone from the top and drivers side.

Click to view attachment

I went 87MPH on GPS (1.8L 40IDF Webers) - the car had more (just a little) in it - my passgenger was white as a sheet - had to back off before he soiled the seat...

The non-GPS speeds are bunk! My yellow car has short gears. Tops out a 104 MPH in Fifth at redline GPS. The speedo indicated something a lot faster (like 125 or something). Plus the car has 205/50/15s. The blue car has the same tires but stock gearing it's already 10mph optimistic at 40.

GPS or it's fake!

But the timing system and traps at the dragstrip is O.K., right?

I would agree, however I looked down at my max speed and it showed 384 MPH. I don't have a jet turbine on top of my trunk so I kinda doubt it !

165Mph at Brainerd and 175mph (and still accellerating!) on 35E in St Paul, MN racing crotch rockets. I feel a lot safer on the track at those speeds.


widebody Ls6 powered full cage 914 w/ 540Hp & 930 box.

Hi Bill......

Interesting - according to my gear chart, my car with the current tires and gears is limited to 125. (More like 130 if I actually hit the rev limiter).

However, it should get there hella quickly with the new engine...

Thanks for insulting everybody that doesn't have a GPS. I can look out a car window and tell how fast a car is going.

GPS units are for people that don't know where they are going and can't read Maps.

T.C.

Either you're joking by saying I insulted you or you have some pretty thin skin over there.

Joking = high five

Not joking = grow a pair dude

Must be some of those famous Klamath Falls Peacock Speed-bumps we hear bout'
I would seriously avoid the cows...that would leave a lasting impression!

I recall the 105-110mph range- though that was not "it" /all the -1.7 engine- could do, but the chassis was way++, too squirly over 110 and maxed out without sway or any tuning. (mine+for me)

Agreed. (As stock~ 110 and Real squirly~)

I took my former 70 911 Targa up to 120-ish on the (empty) freeway once, long ago, and I remember that it was pretty stable directionally but the front end felt distinctly light...sorta like an airplane about to nose-up off the runway. The wind noise was extreme. If it had not had a completely redone suspension and great tires, no way I would have even tried that.

In contrast my Audi barely feels like it's moving at 110-120. However I am sure it would feel light and squirrely much above that.

In the '68 Mustang the north side of 130 racing a '66 Shelby on the Mass Pike. In the 914 just under 100 needle started to bounce too much to read it after I passed 95. In the 951 - once the needle passed 120 I was afraid to look down again, silly 911 next to me backed down and got caught by a statey.

Since being laid off all fast cars and toys have been sold. I've had time to reflect on the stupid driving/racing I was doing on the highways and will not be doing it again. Spending time with my kids is more important to me!

125 on the front straight at No Problem Raceway

Calculated 138 banging the rev limiter in 5th.

We should have a fastest 914 trophy for 1.7, 1.8, 2.0, modified, etc. We need to go to a lake bed and set it up. That would rock!

RRC 09 Monument National Park: 3400 RPM's 5 gear (HB gear) 255/50/16's=125 mph.

6500 rpms would be somewhere north of 230 mph... In a 914? That would make you pucker

clocked @ 75 on a 12 speed...1979...downhill on east side of
sierras to hwy 14, extremely tucked and my ass had a
death grip on the seat...
105 in explorer near orlando, felt like 80
131 in 911 returning from Sebring
108 in 73 914 75 south
55 with 74 914 (being trailered)...someday, I'll bust triple digit...
95 in wife's Jeep...she'd kill me if she knew...it was a handful...
145 on autobahn in 1971, between Frankfurt and Heidelberg, returning
from Frankfurt Fleughaven. Held it for about 15 minutes...
afterwards felt like I could get out and push at 35...
15 on roller blades, fell about three times, no more for me...
0.01 on a pogostick...my kids fell down laughing because my pants fell
around my ankles.
5.1 with my daughter in the grocery cart at Target...was pulled over by
a guy with a red shirt and walkie-talkie...
5,321 on a aluminum disk down a very steep mountain side in the snow...
haven't been the same since.

Does police radar count for anything?

Calculated 138 banging the rev limiter in 5th.
[/quote]


had the same experience, on ramp entering north on I-5.....135MPH

I thought jet planes,speed(thunder)boats and 3 stage rockets
did'nt count??? (are you experienced?)

I had my 1.8 up to 115 indicated before I backed off (she still had just a bit left), but the actual speed was probably 104.



In 2003 got the opportunity to pilot a BMW M5 down the same stretch @ 270kph (approx 167mph) for a short distance. I just wanted to be able to say I had an M5 against the 6500rpm red-line in top gear That car would go no faster!!

[quote name='RoadGlue' date='Oct 16 2009, 11:48 AM' post='1226677']
The non-GPS speeds are bunk!


Damn we been made boys ..Scatter

Massachucetts State Police pulled me over going a little fast many years ago.

I was driving up Rte 93 north and a 944 pulled up to me & was calling me on. Thought it was a good idea to play. The police didn't think so. The 944 put the hammer down & was gone. I pulled over.

He walked up to the car & started flipping out. "What the f--- to you think this is, the mother-f---ing Autobahn? Licence & registration a--hole!"

When he walked back to the car, he called me a few more choice names, threw the ticket in at me & said "We pulled your buddy over up in Andover; he will be spending the day with us."

I have never seen a Cop that pissed!!!! I remember sitting in the car thinking that I was going to be locked up. I think the only reason that I wasn't arrested was that I was in the Army Reserve & was in uniform.

Still have a copy of the ticket. Estimated speed - 90 to 95 in a 55. That was a $300 fine back in 1989.

A 74 2.0 goes fast enough to really piss off the Mass State Police.

What's up Chappy? I suppose you aren't too thrilled with the weather as of late? Not exactly sports car weather...huh?

well today was the my day. Pulled over doing 82 in a 65.(personally think it was way faster.) Yep got a ticket and the cop was a car guy. Almost thought he was going to let me off.....but it was prob what i needed. I have been going a little too fast lately. THANK god it wasnt the other night.

Boost now turned down from 17 to stock 7lbs and no longer racing gas. That should keep me in check.

I got pulled over on 395 one night in the 951 after a Camaro kept doing the dart and drop lets race dance. I fell for the bait dropped the hammer and suddenly the Camaro went all friggin Transformer on me and blue lights were flashing all over the place. The Camaro was a trooper trying to bag aggressive drivers. They sure can hide those new little xenon flashers good! I rolled the dice fought the ticket and won, the magistrate wasn't impressed that I was lured into it and that the trooper didnt show for the hearing.

Bill looks like it's going to be a nice day today for a spin....

Although I cannot say what the speedometer error is, I had my 73' 2.0 at 140 without the rev limiter. In fifth gear the car just kept pulling right on up well into the red. I thought it was a pretty sight. When I crested a small hill, that was when I felt I was going a little way to fast! That was Fifteen years ago now. Haven't been there since. I will go back some day though just to see if it can still do it!

I slowed down for the pic.

That's funny Demick, I have a cellphone pic just like that titled "Fly Porsche"
Mike

About ~135mph @ 6800 rpm with a stock 901 (hitting the rev limiter) going uphill climbing the sierras on Hwy 80 from Reno to Tahoe with a fully loaded car and a passenger (coming back from the RRC).

Andy

funny stuff

i look back and think of the P.O.S. 's i had over XXX m.p.h. and cring

On the back straight at Mid-Ohio (between Keyhole and China Beach), I was able to reach 6500rpm in 5th with my Raby 2270. According to the tire size and gear ratio calculators on this site, that translates to approximately 135mph. No idea what the speedometer was indicating, but the car felt nice and solid.

I had my '76 at 110 and that was all it would do on a flat road at about 5000' elevation. I don't think a stock 914 will go any faster, I think non-stock tire/wheel changes screw up the speedo.....

I must be reading the transaxle gear charts wrong. The charts I have, show a stock 901/914 transaxle (A F N V ZD) producing a top speed of 155MPH using 24.3" tall tires at 6750RPM. Andy and Geoff posted that they were at about 135MPH at that RPM.

I have never hit the rev limiter in 5th (my 3.2 only has enough power on the straights at PR or BR to pull about 6,000RPM). I am usually concentrating on hitting the braking points and not watching the bouncing tach needle.

Speedometer ... what's that?

Eddie

Been Ticket'd @ 125 in a 911. Fastest I've driven 192MPH.

T.C.

143 mph on the back straight at Road Atlanta and Papa Smurf felt perfectly smooth.
I know the speed because I had a friend in a 996 run with me and tell me the top speed we hit - though I swear I was pulling away from him

FWIW, my speedo is pretty accurate - it said 140ish...

The only way to tell is to get a GPS unit that can record top speed, make sure to reset it before use and stuff it under the seat. I would hazard a guess that a 914 speedometer is not very accurate since it is mechanical, had a huge cable and a really sucky drive off the rear of the gear box?! I have found gearing charts with tire sizes (diameter, etc) to start dropping accuracy once you get over 70 to 75 MPH. Goodyear used to post the revolutions per mile of their racing tires at various speeds up to whatever they were rated for. As I had imagined, the cantilever slicks changed very little due to the stiff side walls, but some of the older models would change quite a bit. Now of course everyone races with those rubber band tires that have nearly no sidewalls for flexing.

I presume my gearbox is stock, but I honestly have no idea what gear stacks are in there. According to the gear charts and tire size, my track tires are 23.1" tall. Never thought about measuring.

Now my curiosity is piqued - I'll try the GPS next time I'm at the track.

I had mine all the way to 85 (GPS) tonight. It had a lot more to go, but I did not. Just passing a truck on 83. Got there faster then expected, actually. This is going to be a fun car when I actually get carbs dialed in and the exhaust made more better.

Zach

Mhmmmm. I just looked at my gear chart and you're right. According to the chart, i'm running a MSX box ...
Andy

Gearing charts lie.
They don't take into account friction from road surface, drag, or any of the other factors that dictate actual top speeds. The faster you go, the more drag becomes an issue. Your actual speed is going to be increasingly wrong (slower and slower) compared to the gearing chart as speed increases due to drag increasing at a faster rate. I know I'm not saying this well, perhaps someone more versed with physics or engineering can step in.

Zach

Zach,

I don't understand what you are trying to suggest with your last post.

Gear charts do not lie, and if you are going a specific RPM with a particular size tire, in the same final drive and gear ratio, you will all be doing the same speed.

Certainly, the ability of an engine to push the car to those speeds (given power and torque multipliers of the gearing and such) are an issue, but speed at gear at RPM is a constant...

...unless your tires grow in diameter or something is slipping.

Yes, drag losses due to tires and gearbox are pretty constant throughout the speed range, where aerodynamic drags grows exponentially due to speed.

I hope that helps.

OR, and a BIG OR, I didn't understand what you are trying to say.

No.

Friction and drag make it harder for a car to get to a certain speed, but if your engine is turning a certain rpm and you have a certain gear ratio and tire size, your speed will be exactly what the gear chart predicts.

Some cars just get to that point faster than others. (And some may never get there )
Andy

A thought just occured to me in this discussion. If the fully aired up tire is 24.0 inches tall what if you let some air out and it's only now 23.0 inches tall. It's still the same diameter so the revolutions would be the same but the distance from the axle center to the ground is less. Sooo therotically the fd would be a slightly lower ratio and you would accelerate quicker but the calculated speed would stay the same.

Nope.

Fully inflated it would be a nice round circle at a radius of 12".

Under-inflated the effective radius of the circle is the distance from the axle center to the ground, in your example 11.5".

Andy

Bad terminology I meant circumferance.

I know. My post above still applies. The circumference of the tire is irrelevant as it is deformed when under-inflated.

The important part is the circumference of the circle described by the radius from the axle center to the ground.
That is your effective circumference.

On a fully inflated tire, it just happens to be the same as the circumference of the tire.
Andy

Was pulled over for doing 95 in a 40 zone once (not in a 914)...no ticket.... .....the badge in my wallet helped me out with a verbal warning.