Fastest Comfortable Speed, with stock suspension
#41
Team Owner
With a soon-to-be mostly stock 22 year old car, I felt a little uncomfortable when I approached 90mph on the Expressway passing in the left lane.
I quickly passed the row of cars, pulled over to the center lane, and got back down to 75mph, a very comfortable cruising speed, only to have my doors blown off by a 4 door Corolla (circa 1990) being driven by "Ugly Betty", who gave me the Evil Eye as she passed.
No high speed bragging from me, I know the car is capable of much higher speeds, I just don't feel the need to find out what that speed is.
Perhaps I'm getting too old for that kind of stuff, I just enjoy cruising around on the occasional weekends of late spring-summer-early fall.
Back to hibernation for me.
I quickly passed the row of cars, pulled over to the center lane, and got back down to 75mph, a very comfortable cruising speed, only to have my doors blown off by a 4 door Corolla (circa 1990) being driven by "Ugly Betty", who gave me the Evil Eye as she passed.
No high speed bragging from me, I know the car is capable of much higher speeds, I just don't feel the need to find out what that speed is.
Perhaps I'm getting too old for that kind of stuff, I just enjoy cruising around on the occasional weekends of late spring-summer-early fall.
Back to hibernation for me.
#42
Drifting
126MPH on a track coming up on a 70 MPH corner and she didn't miss a beat. The suspension is stock 84 Z-51 with Single adjustable Koni's.
The car will only do 128 without clicking into OD so thats about as far as I can push it. Have not had it at Road course with a straight away onger than 3000 ft. Feels great though!
AL
Stand corrected had it at 128 at nelson ledges. long sweeping straight is a bit unnerving but great fun!
The car will only do 128 without clicking into OD so thats about as far as I can push it. Have not had it at Road course with a straight away onger than 3000 ft. Feels great though!
AL
Stand corrected had it at 128 at nelson ledges. long sweeping straight is a bit unnerving but great fun!
Last edited by AUTO_X_AL; 12-30-2006 at 11:14 AM. Reason: brain fart
#43
Team Owner
Member Since: Aug 1999
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St. Jude Donor '10
Personally I think its crazy to go that fast in a car that might have 100k+ miles on it. Bushings, shocks, springs...all are very worn. I went fast in my younger years in my base suspension 85...like 140mph...it didnt' feel that good.
Now my 35k mile Callaway Twin Turbo w/ Z51 was a different story. At 165mph the car was rock solid and still clicking of digits like crazy...I got scared of seeing a cop. The difference is it got to 165 way faster than my 85 could get to 120...going fast is fairly easy. Taking miles and miles to get there is what scares me.
Now my 35k mile Callaway Twin Turbo w/ Z51 was a different story. At 165mph the car was rock solid and still clicking of digits like crazy...I got scared of seeing a cop. The difference is it got to 165 way faster than my 85 could get to 120...going fast is fairly easy. Taking miles and miles to get there is what scares me.
Last edited by SurfnSun; 12-30-2006 at 11:16 AM.
#44
Fastest I've ever been is 178 KM's and it felt fine.
In NJ one trip I was following a Porshe SUV at 95 MPH. The Vette felt fine.
My wife was reading a book and happened to look up then look at the speedometer and ask why we were doing 95 MPH.
I pointed to the Porshe and said "because he is."
She was OK with that and went back to reading not even being concerned about the speed.
As long as the road is fairly smooth the Vette handles well.
Rougher roads cause to much wheel hop for me to feel comfortable.
Gary
In NJ one trip I was following a Porshe SUV at 95 MPH. The Vette felt fine.
My wife was reading a book and happened to look up then look at the speedometer and ask why we were doing 95 MPH.
I pointed to the Porshe and said "because he is."
She was OK with that and went back to reading not even being concerned about the speed.
As long as the road is fairly smooth the Vette handles well.
Rougher roads cause to much wheel hop for me to feel comfortable.
Gary
#45
JrRifleCoach
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kinkajou View Post
130 on a smoth road for about 30 minutes and was ok.
But if the road is not smooth or is bumpy it can really get scary even at 60. The car wanders to the side very easy, and will not inspire confidence at all.
Shock been replaced recently? Like in the last 5 years?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kinkajou View Post
130 on a smoth road for about 30 minutes and was ok.
But if the road is not smooth or is bumpy it can really get scary even at 60. The car wanders to the side very easy, and will not inspire confidence at all.
Shock been replaced recently? Like in the last 5 years?
But nothing more.
What I found is that using less psi in the tires makes the car fell very solid, but I have read that tires can overheat very quickly and the sides can break away!
#46
Race Director
Lots and lots of 130's here, mostly at Road America. Try out some HPDE!
#48
Team Owner
Member Since: Jan 2006
Location: Hampton, VA Yea, i'm a redneck... but you love it
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Cruise-In 8-9 Veteran
aka/Trunk Monkey/Banned For Life/Corvette For Life
a little above 100, felt as stable as 40. with stock suspension and 113k
#52
Melting Slicks
I've gone 100+ though twisties on back roads where I live, these are nice long curves though. Z51 here, to tell the truth I think the car can definitely go way beyond what my nuts are capable of.
I've gone 130 and it feels like 60 in any other car. That's about as fast as I want to go.
I've gone 130 and it feels like 60 in any other car. That's about as fast as I want to go.
#53
Burning Brakes
Hit 120 about 10 minutes ago on the way home-car has seen just over 140. I've had my bikes in the 170's and 180's many times at the faster tracks. My personal best though is 202 on a highly modded ZX-11 that was faster on top end than my current bikes now(it topped at 175 or so in stock form).
#54
I've done 130 on a closed course many times in my '89 with no drama at all. I had the opportunity to drive an '88 on the long straightaway at the GM Proving Ground in 1988 and reached 154 mph. Stable as a house, but the road was glass smooth.
I've never been over 100 on public roads in my car, but it's stable at those speeds.
Some of the posts in this thread that talk about speeds of well over 100 in cars that have 100,000+ miles are very concerning to me. High speeds put significant amounts of stress on chassis components. Chassis parts like shocks, ball joints, etc., are usually designed with a service life of 100,000 miles. Once you reach these types of mileage, normal wear can can result in enough play in the suspension to make very high speed driving a dicey proposition. Frequent inspection is critical if you plan to drive at high speeds in a high mileage car.
This is not a public service announcement against high speed -- I just would hate to see anyone get hurt.
I've never been over 100 on public roads in my car, but it's stable at those speeds.
Some of the posts in this thread that talk about speeds of well over 100 in cars that have 100,000+ miles are very concerning to me. High speeds put significant amounts of stress on chassis components. Chassis parts like shocks, ball joints, etc., are usually designed with a service life of 100,000 miles. Once you reach these types of mileage, normal wear can can result in enough play in the suspension to make very high speed driving a dicey proposition. Frequent inspection is critical if you plan to drive at high speeds in a high mileage car.
This is not a public service announcement against high speed -- I just would hate to see anyone get hurt.
#55
Race Director
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140 in a dice with a CTS-V. The car felt fine, but I had to back off because of front tire imbalance. Oh, yes, I'm FE1 suspension with Koni shocks. (soft springs w/ stiff shocks: the recipe for a liveable suspension)
Larry
code5coupe
Larry
code5coupe
#59
While on our way to Effingham, myself and two other cars were doing about 90 mpg and thought we were doing pretty good. About that time Chuck Mallett and his wife passed us with his Chevy truck pulling a trailer with two of his modified cars on board!!