Top Speed
#26
The Stickinator
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The US doesn't need such stringent speed limits what it needs is better driver training. Also I think (sorry Polak et al) that unless there are oustanding conditions (like a parent with a serious medical condition) that children under the age of 18 should not be permitted to drive without a parent. Most drivers don't know the rules of the road and some don't care. GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE UNLESS YOU ARE PASSING! I have a better idea than super slow speed limits how about you keep your kiddies out of the drivers seat until they are mentally mature enough and have enough time driving with mom and dad to actually count as some experience. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 18 and I lived in LA. I managed to get around and I am no worse off for it now. So stop whining about your babies and realize that most accidents involving youngsters have to do with inexperience and alchohol and drugs. It would be a more accurate warning to ask you to keep your kids off the road then to assume that my driving style (fast) is the danger if safety is your concern.
#28
Require IQ test to vote!
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devoid,
You are correct. As I've always said, speed does not kill, bad driving does, but speeding makes bad driving worse.
A good sports car (or whatever the RX-8 is) does NOT make YOU a better driver. In fact, especially with the DSC, I'd suggest that it offers false confidence in your own abilities, prompting more agressive driving, and more stupid decisions.
The BMW crowd (especially in Roundel, the club's mag) likes to jaw about how the "other" drivers are so bad and that the "chosen" ones who drive BMWs (I don't) are just that much better at everything, including driving, than the "commoners". Funny thing is, BMW drivers stick out in my mind as some of the WORST drivers (along with SUV's) on the road here in Tampa.
If you really think you're hot (as I once did) get yourself to a driving school. There are several good ones throughout the US. Check AutoWeek or the BMWCCA (their schools are good and cheap). You will soon realize that you are not as good as you think you are and that you CAN become much better at car control - all in an appropriate setting.
It is said that 80% of drivers think they're better than average. In this country (USA) average is WHOLLY UNSATISFACTORY. I'd say that 80% of drivers are inadequately trained and that 30% should not be allowed to drive. That probably (but not definately) applies to this group as well (sorry friends) and possibly to me, too. :-)
93rdcurrent,
While emotional maturity has a lot to do with the decisions made while driving (which has become the essence of this topic), age is only a strong correlation, not absolute. I know a few 17 year olds who I would have trusted with my well-sorted RX-7 on the track and plenty of 40 year olds who haven't made it yet.
ACHILLES,
I fall into the adreneline rush myself, but I know enough not to endanger others who have not chosen to accept the risk.
Attack that on-ramp! Out-brake that Vette! But be smart about WHEN and WHERE you do it.
[gets off soapbox]
You are correct. As I've always said, speed does not kill, bad driving does, but speeding makes bad driving worse.
A good sports car (or whatever the RX-8 is) does NOT make YOU a better driver. In fact, especially with the DSC, I'd suggest that it offers false confidence in your own abilities, prompting more agressive driving, and more stupid decisions.
The BMW crowd (especially in Roundel, the club's mag) likes to jaw about how the "other" drivers are so bad and that the "chosen" ones who drive BMWs (I don't) are just that much better at everything, including driving, than the "commoners". Funny thing is, BMW drivers stick out in my mind as some of the WORST drivers (along with SUV's) on the road here in Tampa.
If you really think you're hot (as I once did) get yourself to a driving school. There are several good ones throughout the US. Check AutoWeek or the BMWCCA (their schools are good and cheap). You will soon realize that you are not as good as you think you are and that you CAN become much better at car control - all in an appropriate setting.
It is said that 80% of drivers think they're better than average. In this country (USA) average is WHOLLY UNSATISFACTORY. I'd say that 80% of drivers are inadequately trained and that 30% should not be allowed to drive. That probably (but not definately) applies to this group as well (sorry friends) and possibly to me, too. :-)
93rdcurrent,
While emotional maturity has a lot to do with the decisions made while driving (which has become the essence of this topic), age is only a strong correlation, not absolute. I know a few 17 year olds who I would have trusted with my well-sorted RX-7 on the track and plenty of 40 year olds who haven't made it yet.
ACHILLES,
I fall into the adreneline rush myself, but I know enough not to endanger others who have not chosen to accept the risk.
Attack that on-ramp! Out-brake that Vette! But be smart about WHEN and WHERE you do it.
[gets off soapbox]
#29
My doctor prescribed RX-8
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we should adopt indian highway driving code.
1. Might is right (the bigger vehicle has right of way)
2. Those in front have right of way (ie watch out for those in front of you...there is no such thing as being "cut off" you simply should be watching for, and making appropriate manuevers to allow the person ahead of you to move in front of you)
Oh yeah...and there is no such thing as a speed limit...but if you get in an accident and kill a pedestrian and its your fault, they cut off an apendage. I like this one!
1. Might is right (the bigger vehicle has right of way)
2. Those in front have right of way (ie watch out for those in front of you...there is no such thing as being "cut off" you simply should be watching for, and making appropriate manuevers to allow the person ahead of you to move in front of you)
Oh yeah...and there is no such thing as a speed limit...but if you get in an accident and kill a pedestrian and its your fault, they cut off an apendage. I like this one!
#30
Crayzie Azn Woman Driver
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Hmm ... I live in So Cal and I remember days back then ... There is a nice stretch of the 210 that goes through a mountain pass between Pasadena and SFV, that I tested out the limits of my Passat on late at night in these curvy hills.
BUT - that's only 1. after 1AM in the morning ... 2. where there isn't an onramp for miles on end ... 3. There isn't a SOUL around. My top speed of 1.8T was ~135mph?
This was also when I was 17. Would I do that again now? Probably not ... but let's just say that I was always way more careful when speeding/racing than I was doing routine things like merging in traffic ... and it was the latter one where I total'ed my mother's Camry at the tender age of 16. I was going 45mph on the 605 when that happened and miraculously didn't hit a single other car even though there were ~30 other cars in sight. Since then, I have always been a careful and defensive (if not always lawabiding) driver.
There are a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions about driving, but I definitely think as a rule of thumb ... 1. You don't know your own capabilities and/or mortality until you've experienced a huge accident ... and most young people are guilty of thinking themselves better than they really are. 2. Accidents happen when you LEAST EXPECT IT ... the SECOND you take your guard down you are at risk. There is nothing wrong with going 140 in a safe place and in safe conditions as long as you can handle the speed and are prepared to face the consequences if something goes wrong.
BUT - that's only 1. after 1AM in the morning ... 2. where there isn't an onramp for miles on end ... 3. There isn't a SOUL around. My top speed of 1.8T was ~135mph?
This was also when I was 17. Would I do that again now? Probably not ... but let's just say that I was always way more careful when speeding/racing than I was doing routine things like merging in traffic ... and it was the latter one where I total'ed my mother's Camry at the tender age of 16. I was going 45mph on the 605 when that happened and miraculously didn't hit a single other car even though there were ~30 other cars in sight. Since then, I have always been a careful and defensive (if not always lawabiding) driver.
There are a lot of stereotypes and misconceptions about driving, but I definitely think as a rule of thumb ... 1. You don't know your own capabilities and/or mortality until you've experienced a huge accident ... and most young people are guilty of thinking themselves better than they really are. 2. Accidents happen when you LEAST EXPECT IT ... the SECOND you take your guard down you are at risk. There is nothing wrong with going 140 in a safe place and in safe conditions as long as you can handle the speed and are prepared to face the consequences if something goes wrong.
#32
Insanely Yellow
Well, I've had cars on public roads out to as fast as 170 mph, and let's just say that's not the smartest thing in the world to do (that was in a Porsche 930 turbo in 1985) - even when you're on a deserted highway in eastern Colorado with 10 miles of empty, visible road in front of you.
Here in the Chicago area, we have our own little version of the autobahn - it's call the Tri-State Tollway between the Wisconsin State Line and O'Hare airport. When it's not backed up with traffic, the prevailing rate in the MIDDLE lane is 80+ mph. The other morning (6:00 AM on a Tuesday) I was headed to O'Hare Airport for a flight out, and was faced with three lanes wide of open road for more than 1/4 mile in front of me. I was already going 91, so I downshifted to 3rd, pulled the redline, upshifted to 4th and pulled long and hard, and when I was few football fields length away from catching the pack in front of me I jumped off and watched the speedo digits dropping through 120 mph.
So, I'm guessing I was out around 125 or so. That's fast enough for me. I have three kids I have to think about all the time.
My favorite speed in this car is between 45 and 75 - in the lower/mid gears - 2nd, 3rd, 4th - the car pulls like an F-16 on afterburners. For that matter, it sounds like one too.
To the guy that said "no room in Chicago", give the Tri-State a try ... just don't do it in traffic.
Oh, and Saturday and Sunday during the day sucks because that's when all the cheeseheads from Wisconsin are passing through going 66 mph ("because you know, for cripes sake, that the speed limit is 65, fer sure.") in the left lane, getting confused at the toll plazas and shaking their hands at all the FIB's who are blistering by them at 80+ mph.
Like me.
Here in the Chicago area, we have our own little version of the autobahn - it's call the Tri-State Tollway between the Wisconsin State Line and O'Hare airport. When it's not backed up with traffic, the prevailing rate in the MIDDLE lane is 80+ mph. The other morning (6:00 AM on a Tuesday) I was headed to O'Hare Airport for a flight out, and was faced with three lanes wide of open road for more than 1/4 mile in front of me. I was already going 91, so I downshifted to 3rd, pulled the redline, upshifted to 4th and pulled long and hard, and when I was few football fields length away from catching the pack in front of me I jumped off and watched the speedo digits dropping through 120 mph.
So, I'm guessing I was out around 125 or so. That's fast enough for me. I have three kids I have to think about all the time.
My favorite speed in this car is between 45 and 75 - in the lower/mid gears - 2nd, 3rd, 4th - the car pulls like an F-16 on afterburners. For that matter, it sounds like one too.
To the guy that said "no room in Chicago", give the Tri-State a try ... just don't do it in traffic.
Oh, and Saturday and Sunday during the day sucks because that's when all the cheeseheads from Wisconsin are passing through going 66 mph ("because you know, for cripes sake, that the speed limit is 65, fer sure.") in the left lane, getting confused at the toll plazas and shaking their hands at all the FIB's who are blistering by them at 80+ mph.
Like me.
#33
Mentalhealth is overrated
I agree its all about where and when. I haven't checked the profiles but I would lay money on catagorizing the responses by age. I think the older you get the more aware of the world around you. Maybe its because you've had more experience at beating it back. Maybe its because you are aware of the outcome of your actions. I'm a father of two young kids. If somebody took those kids from me because he needed to know how fast his car could go I would also hunt him down.
That being said, there can be a time and place for testing your limits as well as the car's limits. You will probably hit your limits first. Most people aren't as good as they think they are. I will find a stretch of highway pavement that is clear so that if I screw up, the only person who bites it is me.
That being said, there can be a time and place for testing your limits as well as the car's limits. You will probably hit your limits first. Most people aren't as good as they think they are. I will find a stretch of highway pavement that is clear so that if I screw up, the only person who bites it is me.
#35
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Originally Posted by Chrisbert
Speed doesn't kill...
Massive deceleration does! :p
Massive deceleration does! :p
#37
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Let's not kid each other . . . we all want to know how fast our 8s will go. If I had open road, or a racetrack, I would love to see what our cars are capable of doing. Who wouldn't ?
#38
Well guys (and girls)... today im going to see what this car tops out at. If I can video tape it, i will (might have to tape the camera to the steering wheel)... I have hit 152mph already and it was still pushing... but the turn up ahead made me take my foot off the gas. I'm going to Ocean Parkway today (about 15 miles of straight almost deserted highway out on Long Island) for this little speed test. Hopefully I'll bring back a video.
#39
Originally Posted by rotten42
I agree its all about where and when. I haven't checked the profiles but I would lay money on catagorizing the responses by age. I think the older you get the more aware of the world around you. Maybe its because you've had more experience at beating it back. Maybe its because you are aware of the outcome of your actions. I'm a father of two young kids. If somebody took those kids from me because he needed to know how fast his car could go I would also hunt him down.
That being said, there can be a time and place for testing your limits as well as the car's limits. You will probably hit your limits first. Most people aren't as good as they think they are. I will find a stretch of highway pavement that is clear so that if I screw up, the only person who bites it is me.
That being said, there can be a time and place for testing your limits as well as the car's limits. You will probably hit your limits first. Most people aren't as good as they think they are. I will find a stretch of highway pavement that is clear so that if I screw up, the only person who bites it is me.
#40
Originally Posted by CUE2's RX-8
Let's not kid each other . . . we all want to know how fast our 8s will go. If I had open road, or a racetrack, I would love to see what our cars are capable of doing. Who wouldn't ?
Whew! And you guys thought YOU had to go find out for yourself on public roads. What a relief, huh?
#41
Originally Posted by StewC625
Here in the Chicago area, we have our own little version of the autobahn - it's call the Tri-State Tollway between the Wisconsin State Line and O'Hare airport. When it's not backed up with traffic, the prevailing rate in the MIDDLE lane is 80+ mph. The other morning (6:00 AM on a Tuesday) I was headed to O'Hare Airport for a flight out, and was faced with three lanes wide of open road for more than 1/4 mile in front of me. I was already going 91, so I downshifted to 3rd, pulled the redline, upshifted to 4th and pulled long and hard, and when I was few football fields length away from catching the pack in front of me I jumped off and watched the speedo digits dropping through 120 mph.
BTW two people were killed in the accident which happened on the stretch across from the dodge neon plant in rockford IL. This highway also has more fatal accidents than any highway in IL.
#42
Risk vs Reward. I have spent some time driving my 8 at the track and still think its crazy to go over 120 on the street. Know your limits and the limits of the car. The risk is high and unless you peak and orgasm at 150 then I don't see the reward.
We love you though. Give a call if you need to make bail.
Originally Posted by BlackRotarySE3P
Well guys (and girls)... today im going to see what this car tops out at. If I can video tape it, i will (might have to tape the camera to the steering wheel)... I have hit 152mph already and it was still pushing... but the turn up ahead made me take my foot off the gas. I'm going to Ocean Parkway today (about 15 miles of straight almost deserted highway out on Long Island) for this little speed test. Hopefully I'll bring back a video.
#43
Originally Posted by Selesti
BUT - that's only 1. after 1AM in the morning ... 2. where there isn't an onramp for miles on end ... 3. There isn't a SOUL around. My top speed of 1.8T was ~135mph?
I've had my RX-8 to 130.
#44
Insanely Yellow
Well, actually, CPChester, you're confused between the Northwest Tollway - which is I-90 and is exactly what you said - a two-lane hell of bad, rough pavement with toll plazas every 15 miles for extra fun, and populated with nothing but trucks (that sound like your road out by Rockford?); and the Tri-State Tollway - which is I-294 and 94 - the run from O'Hare to Milwaukee.
The particular stretch where people really seem to "air it out" is from the Lake County IL line south to about Golf road - along there, the road is brand new pavement, three very wide lanes wide, with wide shoulders and a double-width left shoulder and a large "jersey barrier" in the middle.
At the time I blasted down there, I had just crested the hill southbound just south of Lake Avenue, and could see ahead three miles - the road runs wide and smooth through a long, shallow valley - up to about Golf Road, and the traffic "pack" was at least 1/4 to 1/2 mile in front of me.
I was going 91 mph in the left lane which was slightly, and I mean SLIGHTLY faster than everyone else - it took me a 1/2 mile to pass the last guy in the middle lane next to me, and then there was no one across all three lanes for the next open stretch.
OK, if we want to get technical, if the car decided to barf a tire at that speed and I spun, I could have jumped the center divider and killed a bunch of folks. You're right about that ... but on smooth pavement in a straight line, with no one around me, why not.
For the record, in traffic, around town, etc., I'm the most docile driver on the road. I've had a large amount of "seat time" in real race cars over the years and have no need to drive like an idiot all the time.
The reason I call it the autobahn (and believe me, not alone) is because the prevailing speed on that stretch of road is so fast - again, if you're not going 80 mph, you're getting passed a lot.
Out by Rockford, the pace is still about 80, but I won't exceed the flow out there.
Hope you have safe travels.
The particular stretch where people really seem to "air it out" is from the Lake County IL line south to about Golf road - along there, the road is brand new pavement, three very wide lanes wide, with wide shoulders and a double-width left shoulder and a large "jersey barrier" in the middle.
At the time I blasted down there, I had just crested the hill southbound just south of Lake Avenue, and could see ahead three miles - the road runs wide and smooth through a long, shallow valley - up to about Golf Road, and the traffic "pack" was at least 1/4 to 1/2 mile in front of me.
I was going 91 mph in the left lane which was slightly, and I mean SLIGHTLY faster than everyone else - it took me a 1/2 mile to pass the last guy in the middle lane next to me, and then there was no one across all three lanes for the next open stretch.
OK, if we want to get technical, if the car decided to barf a tire at that speed and I spun, I could have jumped the center divider and killed a bunch of folks. You're right about that ... but on smooth pavement in a straight line, with no one around me, why not.
For the record, in traffic, around town, etc., I'm the most docile driver on the road. I've had a large amount of "seat time" in real race cars over the years and have no need to drive like an idiot all the time.
The reason I call it the autobahn (and believe me, not alone) is because the prevailing speed on that stretch of road is so fast - again, if you're not going 80 mph, you're getting passed a lot.
Out by Rockford, the pace is still about 80, but I won't exceed the flow out there.
Hope you have safe travels.
#45
Nothing Less Than Ninety
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Originally Posted by 8_is_enuf
Please be responsible.
What is going to happen when a drunk floats over into your lane at those speeds.. I know you feel like you are in control. But you are not. Please think of other peoples children before you act this reckless and irrisponsilbly again.
What if a deer had run out in front of you?
You should go to jail for this and you would have if you'd have gotten caught. Probably lost you job too. Is it worth that?
What is going to happen when a drunk floats over into your lane at those speeds.. I know you feel like you are in control. But you are not. Please think of other peoples children before you act this reckless and irrisponsilbly again.
What if a deer had run out in front of you?
You should go to jail for this and you would have if you'd have gotten caught. Probably lost you job too. Is it worth that?
i thank you for your concerns though. everyone wants to see limits of thing they own whether its a car, a tool, or anything that is meant to be used. its human nature. but once agian thank you for your concern. i dont plan on making the top speed a weekly thing. the car was broken in and i figured i would test its limits.
#46
Nothing Less Than Ninety
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Originally Posted by devoid
Ok...to all those nay sayers out there, speed is NOT the leading cause of motor vehicle deaths. Its your drunken, high, talking on the cell phone, putting on their makeup, etc, etc, motorists. Period! That's the statistics. As already talked about by this forum, the US speed limits were created during the oil crisis and economy was the big concern. Vehicles of that time were designed to be most economic at 55. How many countries are without speed limits for that matter? I'm not advicating blaring down the highway at 100 some odd mph, but having done so in appropriate situations, I can attest, sometime you just wanna see what your car can do. Know the road, know the situation, know the car. Use common sense. So on that note, let's continue with the purpose of this thread...what's your top speed?
on another note, i know a car is different on track or on a straight away. that is why i plan on trying it both places and getting used to both conditions. so for the people out there who say top speed is nothin...it is something, its knowing your possessions and enjoying and respecting what they can do.
as for someother questions i saw while trying to read the responses after ebing away, its a manual. as for handling, it was like floating on glass. maybe it just my 8 but even when im in the coty i can feel little bumps once and while, so the small bumps i felt why driving that fast, felt normal. other than that it seemed to squeeze the road.
#47
Nothing Less Than Ninety
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Originally Posted by HeelnToe
So what's the REAL point in "seeing what the car can do?" We already KNOW what the car can do.
#49
Torque is Good
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Originally Posted by devoid
Ok...to all those nay sayers out there, speed is NOT the leading cause of motor vehicle deaths. Its your drunken, high, talking on the cell phone, putting on their makeup, etc, etc, motorists. Period! That's the statistics. As already talked about by this forum, the US speed limits were created during the oil crisis and economy was the big concern. Vehicles of that time were designed to be most economic at 55. How many countries are without speed limits for that matter? I'm not advicating blaring down the highway at 100 some odd mph, but having done so in appropriate situations, I can attest, sometime you just wanna see what your car can do. Know the road, know the situation, know the car. Use common sense. So on that note, let's continue with the purpose of this thread...what's your top speed?
#50
152 MPH, I don't know what the RPMs were but it felt like I was hitting the rev' limiter or whatever it is.
BTW: I am a 59 year old male. I only slowed down when my false teeth fell out, I didn't feel safe looking around on the floorboard for them.
BTW: I am a 59 year old male. I only slowed down when my false teeth fell out, I didn't feel safe looking around on the floorboard for them.