I kissed 147 in 5th gear after about 1 minute on the throttle from 78 mph. Took my foot off, and slowed back down to under 100 in much less time without touching the breaks.

 

Thats hot.

 

Thanks, expo.

 

http://www.openroadracing.com/

Go as fast as a stock 8 can go on roads for decent distances if you add a bit of safety equipment. Costs are very reasonable. It will cost you more to get there than it will to race.

Looks like their was a silver 8 in the last few races.

 

Don't they have a big track in Joliet?

I wonder if they let regular folks ever use it.

 

Good luck proving it. A post probably wouldn't hold up in court as it is not in your hand writing, you don't sign it and it's not notarized. I would definately take it to court.

 

1) Don't speed in Wisconsin. I have a $500 speeding ticket that shows it's a bad idea.

2) Sending you a PM about joining EVOLV-Chicago. We have meets scheduled and lots of track days coming up (I think the first one is Road America in April) I'm pretty sure top speed in the 8 there is 120 or so on the front straight.

3) Anyone else in Chicago who wants to join our group ... it's FREE! Just send me a PM

 

So, following the same idea, anybody know where someone in Massachusetts could legally get an 8 up to speed?

 

You far from New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Louden NH ?

 

I'm not to far from there, less than 2 hours. Do they let regular folk drive? My lease is almost up, I'd be more than happy to redline 6th gear NOW :-D

 

You would need to be a part of a club that runs on that track. Try contacting the track to get the names of clubs that rent it out. Or Google that tracks name+clubs. FYI you would not need to use 6th on a track, 5th tops out around around 145.

 

I ran the road course at Michigan, you only get to use about 1/3 or less of the tri-oval. Autobahn Country Club dosn't have any straights long enough to gain much speed over 100.

 

100 in an RX8 is a non-event. You can quite easily 'accidentally' hit 100.

 

So does the New Hampshire Motor Speedway have enough straight to get the car up to (or at least near) the top?

 

Looking at this http://www.nhis.com/technicalinfo.htm I would guess no.
The two tracks within your range that lets you fly might just be Pocono and Watkins Glen. At Pocono on " big track " days once you exit the North infield down the main straight you can take turn 1 at speed because it's big and banked 14 deg. Then stay on the gas towards turn 2. There is a map in one of my other posts in this thread. As for Watkins Glen once you leave turn 11 you can down the main straight turn 1 can be taken fast is the club set it up wide. Turns 2,3,4 can be taken at speed because your going uphill so the change in elevation provides enough 'braking' as you enter the back straight, the fastest part of the Glen. Top speed on these tracks only can occur with track tires, hitting all the right apex's, track knowledge and having the nerve to take the right turns at full speed, ie noobs will not see 145 even on these tracks. But that's all the more reason to keep on doing track days.

 

Here is a thought. The Silver State Classic is a legal race on the roads in Nevada. There are several classes and if you are in the say 120 mph class, you try to average 120 mph for the distance of the event. If I remember correctly, it is about 80 miles long. Most of it is straight road, closed to normal traffic. There are a few curves though. I have thought about doing this event.

 

Alnielsen you have the geekiest sig ever.

 

He's still a cool dude in my book ...

 

Thanks, I take that as a complement.

 

my dealer knows that i have had mine that fast.... i told them....

yesterday... had the car at the dealer and the service manager wanted to drive it (CEL)... HE hit 100 on the on ramp to the interstate... not a concern for me

 

If you're near Chicago you have a couple options as others have said...

Road America- (Elkhart Lake, WI)
There's three main straights and this is a horsepower track. I have a modded '93 FD and I can easily get above 140 in each of the straights. I would say that with good tires and good driving I get close to 150. I know a couple of other guys who can do similar in other cars. The 8 has substantially less power so I'd expect you might get to 120-135ish.

Autobahn- (Joliet)
There's two courses, North and South, and then sometimes (rarely) they combine them into one.

The North track is more compact, and the straight isn't that large. I get to a little over 100 with proper exit speed and tires, etc. I have a video of this track up.
Video Page If that link doesn't work for you right click and 'Save link as' this link: Video File

The South track is more fun (for me) and a little larger. The back straight is longer than the north, and I get well into 4th gear, and top out around 120ish. There is also a front stretch where you can get moving pretty good. Within a couple weeks I will have a video from this track as well.

Mid America Motorplex (Pacific Junction, IA)
If you're willing to go a little further, MAM is a great place for your first road course driving. There's a main straight that I can get to 130-140ish and several other straights as well as some excellent combo turning areas. I am part of a group that runs events there during the summer, with a emphasis on lots of track time and low cost. The of that is
Find The Line.

BIR (Brainerd, MN)
This would be even further from you, but if you want all out top speed, the main straight at BIR is a mile long, literally. A friend of mine (he also has a FD) has videos showing him going through turn one at the end of that straight at close to 160 mph. It would be probably close to 8 hours from Chicago though.

Some other road courses nearby (< 10 hours away)
Blackhawk Farms, in Beloit, WI
Putnam Park, in Indianapolis
Gingerman, in South Haven, MI
Mid Ohio, in Lexington, OH

The real deal is though, your car isn't setup to be fast in a straight line, it's setup to be fast on a road course, so it's not really important exactly what mph you get to on the straight. It's surprising how fast 60 or 80mph can feel when you're at the limit of traction going through a carousel down a hill toward a wall. :D

 

I'm sure I wouldn't get even *close* to 145, but that's fine, if I can open it up up to my limits as a driver, that would be very cool. Thanks for the info!

 

I happen to think it is an outstanding sig. Certainly made me grin the first time I read it.

 

There's a place in Orlando FL where they land the space ship. Try there! 8 mile runway