WILL SHE DO 160?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,094
Likes: 2
From: Seattle suburb wa
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
He asked me if the car will do 160.
or not been very knowledgable in general.
almost no (99.8%) stock C3 will come close to "an honest" 160. nor very many modded ones.
speed in gears is purely a function of rpms, rear tire height, transmission gear ratio and rear axle ratio. until overcoming wind resistance factors in, in which case then hp matters, as it takes a certain amount of rwhp to over come wind resistance, so even with the right tranny and rear end and tires, one still isn't going to hit 160 without about 300 rwhp anyway..
there's one quote above in this thread, re accelerating another 10 seconds after hitting 85, and being at something like 120 or 130. for the most part, ain't the way it works... look at the 0 - 100 times for many cars listed in the archives of the road tests of various C3's, especially as compared to the quarter mile trap speeds..
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 1,211
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From: Nashville TN
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Desertdawg)
"So how do you get a pic doing 100 MPH with no hands on the wheel???"
Left hand on wheel right hand holds digital camera under the chin to snap a picture. Take a few as you never know if they are going to come out or not.
Left hand on wheel right hand holds digital camera under the chin to snap a picture. Take a few as you never know if they are going to come out or not.
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2000
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From: Fort Knox, KY
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Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Desertdawg)
Goin By the tach, I think I have been to about 125-130...Then the head lights pop up by themselves...DOH !!!!Anyone know why :confused:
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 1,809
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Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
Gone around 120 a few times but that scares me some :sad: . However I normally have it over 100 each time I drive it.
The reason I'm over 100 is because in 1st rev it past 6000 rpm (55 mph), then 2nd past 6000 rpm (91 mph) and stay on it a little in 3rd. It truley is a rush. :yesnod:
The reason I'm over 100 is because in 1st rev it past 6000 rpm (55 mph), then 2nd past 6000 rpm (91 mph) and stay on it a little in 3rd. It truley is a rush. :yesnod:
Advanced
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 60
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From: Tacoma WA
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
I passed this ricer doing about 90, and (typical) they pulled into the fastlane and got on my butt. I put it to the floor and a few seconds after he had shrunk to a pinpoint in the rear-view I glanced at the speedo, and it said 135. Dunno if my speedo is 100 percent calibrated, but I do know there is one very disappointed Acura owner out there. When I slowed back down to 90, and grabbed the second lane, he eventually caught up. I just grinned, let him know he was .. umm.. number 1, and took my exit. :blueangel:
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 963
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From: melbourne,Australia
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
EASILY,on a recent club day at an airfield we were doing runs from a standing start with speed measured by police radar at about the 800 meter mark......my 74R with new 383,700R4 and 3.08 was doing 4500rpm and 219kph(136mph) in third and still accelerating hard,i was more concerned with stopping....Because the engine was still breaking in i was changing at 4500rpm......I found what has been said about lifting at speed to be rubbish......the rear was squatting under power and airflow over the hood was sqautting the front down making the steering heavier, not lighter...I'm no engineer but surely the laminar flow over a surface as large as the hood area would force it down rather than up.....before the flames start i know aircraft wings work the opposite way.....as i said,no engineer, but i can interpret what was happening ok........john :chevy oops,just been reminded that my maths is lousy,it must have been in top gear,ie .7 overdrive......see neither an engineer nor a mathematician..john
[Modified by jdunne, 4:37 AM 7/4/2002]
[Modified by jdunne, 4:37 AM 7/4/2002]
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 892
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From: GA
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Desertdawg)
I was over Steve Straus to get the baddest hood in the land and I gotta tell ya... if anyone is going to push the mark anytime soon.... it will be him and his AMAZING :eek: 427. Holy SCHITTT is that motor bad butt. I think his motor is bigger than most Honda... CARS. :eek: :crazy:
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 6,938
Likes: 1
From: San Diego CA
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
Once I go over 110 my steering is so light it scares the hell out of me. c :eek: and the engine has much more power in reserve but I'm too afraid of losing control of the steering. Just a little input at the wheel before I know it I'm 2 lanes over....so I'll never know what the Vette can do, not worth getting myself killed over this.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,286
Likes: 8
From: San Jose California
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Cali,77,L-82)
Quote:__________________________________ ____________________
Once I go over 110 my steering is so light it scares the hell out of me.
________________________________________ ____________________
Cali,
This is not how the car was intended to feel or behave at such modest speeds. Something is wrong and should be fixed! Once it is, you will be rewarded with a vastly improved driving experience, even at legal speeds.
Chuck
Once I go over 110 my steering is so light it scares the hell out of me.
________________________________________ ____________________
Cali,
This is not how the car was intended to feel or behave at such modest speeds. Something is wrong and should be fixed! Once it is, you will be rewarded with a vastly improved driving experience, even at legal speeds.
Chuck
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 963
Likes: 0
From: melbourne,Australia
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Chuck Harmon)
I agree with chuck,there is something badly wrong with your suspension/alignment if that is happening.......i have adjustable Konis with new springs and it tracks like a train......i have rebuilt the steering box,new rag joint,no power steering and all new linkages all properly aligned....the faster i went the heavier the steering was indicating that the suspension was loading up........john :chevy
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,825
Likes: 56
From: Shawano WI
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Cali,77,L-82)
Once I go over 110 my steering is so light it scares the hell out of me. c :eek: and the engine has much more power in reserve but I'm too afraid of losing control of the steering. Just a little input at the wheel before I know it I'm 2 lanes over....so I'll never know what the Vette can do, not worth getting myself killed over this.
All of the race cars metioned above had the nose lowered and some type of spoiler to overcome the lift created by the C3 nose design.
In 1978 Jim Rathmann tested the 78 Corvette to pace the Indy 500 and said the car was unstable at extended speeds over 100MPH. (The pace speed was raised that year from 100MPH to 120MPH). That is the reason Chevrolet added the Pace Car spoilers and the car became the first car ever to pace the 500 without any body, engine or suspension mods. (except tires which were shaved)
I have owned and driven a lot of race cars and know what to results of a light front end can be, I wouldn't drive a C3 at extened high speed without some mods like gkull's.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,286
Likes: 8
From: San Jose California
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Pete79L82)
Pete,
We are going to have to agree to disagree. I have over 200,000 miles in C3's, over 100,000 miles in C4's, and only 10,000 miles in ZO6's. I couldn't disagree more!
Chuck
Bill Mitchell's design was the racing Sting Ray, the predecessor to the C2 which did have a lifting problem. The C3 was designed by Larry Shinada (sp?). Rathman's comments were likely made regarding the car with the tops off, which is how the pace car was driven much of the time at INDY. The fast back glass trapped a lot of air if driven fast with the tops off. My '85 could only do about 120-125 with the top off, 155 with it on. I never drove my '79 that fast with the tops off, but I would expect it would make a lot of difference too.
[Modified by Chuck Harmon, 1:34 PM 7/6/2002]
We are going to have to agree to disagree. I have over 200,000 miles in C3's, over 100,000 miles in C4's, and only 10,000 miles in ZO6's. I couldn't disagree more!
Chuck
Bill Mitchell's design was the racing Sting Ray, the predecessor to the C2 which did have a lifting problem. The C3 was designed by Larry Shinada (sp?). Rathman's comments were likely made regarding the car with the tops off, which is how the pace car was driven much of the time at INDY. The fast back glass trapped a lot of air if driven fast with the tops off. My '85 could only do about 120-125 with the top off, 155 with it on. I never drove my '79 that fast with the tops off, but I would expect it would make a lot of difference too.
[Modified by Chuck Harmon, 1:34 PM 7/6/2002]
Race Director
Joined: Apr 1999
Posts: 11,520
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From: CORVETTE 77 385 C.I. TEXAS
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Chuck Harmon)
Both C2 & C3 were run OVER 160 mph. Chassis refinement was carried out at 100 mph. Some need to upgrade sus. to FE-7 & get alaigned. Pace car ft. spoiler rec. for 68-77. OVER 160 mph is not a problem properly set up w/ enough power.
:cool:
:cool:
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 113
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From: Grand Rapids MI
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
Been to 158. Speedo is not working- used my GPS and the tach. Calculating from RPM's agreed with the GPS. This is with 4.11's. oh yeah...and overdrive! :)
Matt
Matt
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2000
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From: WANTED: '68 rear valance with b/u light assemblies IM, e-mail, or PM me here. Thanks!
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (Mr.Gearhead)
I don't think my car would do 160 if I drove it out the back of a C130 at FL 310.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,286
Likes: 8
From: San Jose California
Re: WILL SHE DO 160? (63Banshee)
I don't think my car would do 160 if I drove it out the back of a C130 at FL 310.
Chuck