OT: Talking Cars Tuesday - Speed Edition
Maybe it was from your motorcycle as you listened to K-Log and drove down a runway next to an F-14.
Maybe it was chasing your girlfriend who had a REALLY awesome and badass Porsche
Maybe it was on a work trip to Germany on the unrestricted Autobahn. What's the fastest you've ever driven? Was it legal? What was the fastest car you've ever driven? We did a biggest/most powerful/etc. a while ago, but let's hear about the need... the need for Speed!
always gets you there faster. I made a trip up to Macinac this fall with my wife, and we made the trip from Plymouth to the boat in 3.5 hours. I went 80 the whole time and took the inside corner in as many turns as possible. Really wanted to make the 6 oclock boat.
Was an early Sunday morning around 6am (nobody on the road) and I had a tee time with a buddy down at a golf course near Toledo. Great stretch of road on southbound 23 right around Summerfield that's really straight. It was in my 2012 Charger RT. Surprisingly smooth, then cruising at 80 felt like I was going 35. Traded that in for a 2014 Charger RT AWD which I drive now... found out that tops out at 128. Bounced that off the governor on 94 racing a Camaro.
Between Monroe and Toledo....147 mph and climbing with top up.....142 mph and climbing with top down. I got scared and shut it down both times. Got pulled over after going 127 mph on 475 in Toledo. Clocked at 98 going from 23 to 475... Ticketed 5 miles later for 93 in a 65..
Ha! I learned my Ohio speeding lesson driving back and forth to interviews. 98 in a 65 on a Friday followed the next day by 92 in a 65. How did you not get reckless driving?
EDIT: NEVER speed in Ohio.
The cop was great... His words "I clocked you at 98 coming out of the 23 berm. Would have never caught you if you wouldn't have pulled over. If you tell me how fast you were going, I won't ticket you for 98 but rather 93." 98 was reckless. 93 cost me $160+ but no careless or reckless.
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1990 Mustang Notch...Needle was buried past the 140 on the speedo...Was going from I96 at wixom Rd to I275 9 mile....It was scary as hell but exciting too..
Sweet Jesus! anyhting over 90 in those cars is sketchy.
Fun, but sketchy.
Years ago, I managed to get my dad's 1971 Oldsmobile up to 100 MPH on I-696 somewhere in Warren - eastbound between Dequindre and Hoover, as I recall. Not really challenging that car yet at that speed, of course, but more of an exercise on seeing what a substantial violation of traffic laws felt like. Of course, no one on I-696 noticed, so it felt like I was doing nothing astounding. I think I might have even been passed once or twice.
Is the fastest I've ever knowingly driven a car. Infiniti G37x. It was still pulling like a monster at that speed too. I'm pretty sure it could hit 170 if it wasn't limited to 155.
Even at that speed it felt tight and secure. Not nearly as scary as doing 120 in my 1970 Cutlass, which in retrospect was a pretty damn stupid thing to do.
My old LTD II got interesting above 90.
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The suspension was, not great, to put it kindly. The thing jumped around like a bounce house and I'm pretty sure it wasn't capable of being driven in a straight line.
The brakes went out on it eventually. I left it on the side of the road to die and walked home. Never saw that car again.
I have a bit of a history of abandoning cars once they betray me.
if you want to jam as many people in for a nice road trip as possible. But that suspension is hell on a hangover the next day.
I had a '94 Crown Victoria when I went to college at GMI. The amount of alcohol you could fit in the trunk was staggering. And the rear air suspension kept the back end pretty much level. It was also the only car I've ever driven that was nearly comfortable on Michigan's roadways.
Fastest - 1985 Audi GT on 696 between Southfield and Novi - 120mph - and yes I did get pulled over. But by the time the cop could catch up and track me (he was not using radar) I was going 70 in what I think was a speed limit of 55 at the time, I was able to talk the judge down to 5 over.
Fast - My parents 1970's Old Toronado with a 455 CI V8 - about 1974. I know I was doing 110 on old US 23 between Higgins Lake and Houghten Lake.
Most rubber burned - tied between the Toronado above (lighting up the front tires) and my 1974 Firebird Formula 400. 400 CI V8 that averaged about 8 miles to the gallon.
Got my Volvo S60 up to 130 on the backroads in Kansas while there for work a long time ago. Stupid.
147 in a Porsche 911 at MIS during a Porshe club event. Still had a little left but we were not allowed to pass.
Just got a tuned Ralliart a few weeks ago which is stupid fast. Haven't had the time or space to see what it'll do yet. May not until I take it to Mid Ohio sometime. I'm not as young and dumb as I used to be.
up the back stretch at Watkins Glen (before NASCAR ruined the track with their "inner loop"). Sadly, the model of the Ferarri escapes me. Plenty of times @ 130+ in a Shelby GT-350 vintage race car (off public highways, of course).
My fastest driving stories are all fairly commonplace - open highway, low 100s, nothing happened.
My fastest FEELING driving story I was actually a passenger. I was like 15 or so, caught a ride home from baseball practice with a senior. I honestly don't remember what he drove, some reasonably quick, not very expensive coupe. I lived off of Newport Road (near Rudolf Steiner), we were coming down Maple heading towards Huron River. He was, per usual, hauling ass, wasn't totally paying attention, and the turn from Maple to Newport came up faster than he was anticipating. We took that turn at probably 70 miles an hour, tires squeeling the whole way - I still am mildly shocked the car didn't roll. I've driven faster than that, but the feeling of speed around that corner is the fastest I've ever felt like I went.
I once managed to pop off a couple of hubcaps on my Dad's '55 TBird taking a corner in a similar fashion. Thanksfully I was able to track them down with a minor scrape or two.
just a few weeks ago in a new Porsche 911 TTS. A definite rush but pretty damn foolish outside of a closed track.
on a somewhat regular basis. the speedometers did't work past that point. got pulled over once with my body guard doing that in colorado (i was not driving). turns out i knew the guy's brother back in socal where we were headed. genuine apologies. good laugh. no ticket. 3 colorado state trooper cars went back to work...
EDIT: remembered another - doing ~ 105-110 mph in a bus. we were in NY to play football and NYPD was escorting us. i could tell our speed because I could see the speedometer of the NYPD motorcycle unit that was slowly sliding by us at about 115 mph, working to get to the front of the formation while we were in the holland tunnel. fast for a bus.
I keep getting little tidbits of your life on here. I think you played a sport here at Michigan (Hockey?) but can't remember, and it sounds like you've done a million things since. Farming? Something in Alaska? Something with a badge? a body gaurd? on top of having a bunch of kids. I might be exhagerating based on my poor memory, but it always seems like you have relevant life experiences an its amazing how much you've done.
It's weird how we get little tidbits into complete strangers lives on this forum.
I went 140 MPH on a flat, straight state road in a 1994 Toyota Camry.
The fastest I have ever gone is 175.
That was on an 8 mile oval at Continental's test facility in Uvalde, TX. They let me drive a Shelby 500 Mustang and told me to put 500 miles on it.
I treated that oval like I was in the Indy 500. To say it was a blast is a huge understatement.
I hate to be the one to break it to you, but you weren't doing 140mph in a Camry.
I hit 130+ in my 1986 Porsche Carrera on my way from LA to Phoenix on I-10 once. Just then I looked across the highway devider and saw an overturned car with injured people, bags and clothes all over the place...and decided to slow down to 100.
The older Porsches were designed to really hunker down at speed. The car sits low and aerodynamically gets planted. Its very nice sensation. The car was still climbing and could have hit 145 easy.
I hit 120 several times in my other 911. Eventually I sold both and now only hit 100 on the way to Vegas or Bakersfield in the BMW. I love speed but only do that when there are not other cars around.
About 18 months ago, I got popped going 96 in a rented Dodge Challenger on my way up to Lake Tahoe on old 395. That is a notorious speed trap and I foolishly got popped. 96 in a Challenger is nothing and no one was on the road... but the trooper did not care. Ticket cost almost $600 and I was able to get it off of my record thanks to traffic school. Not worth 96MPH for sure...
photoshop out the index finger below is how i felt about that cop
We're blessed with some of the best mountain roads on the East Coast according to a riding friend who rides and lead group tours in Europe. The Dragon in NC is one of the exceptions but it's getting too crowded.
Anyway, riding with my older more experienced friends we were doing 105-110 in sweepers and 120-ish on the straights. The feeling of being glued to the bike and the bike glued to the road is unlike anything I can describe. Better than sex?
The next riding season we had a daughter and my days of riding like an asshole ended. I still ride but stay much more on the good side of the margin for error.
German Autobahn, July 2012 on my Ducati 1198 280kph, so roughly 174. Had to keep my head really low as the wind sheer was trying to rip my full helmet off my head. Only managed for about 2 minutes, and then was very tired the rest of the day from all the strain on my body. Did it with 3 friends and we were all tired afterwards. I would much rather do the twisty windy roads at a much slower speed, but had to do it.
In a car it would be about 240km in a few cars while I lived there, last one being my BMW 335.
135ish on a late 90's YZFR6 I was test riding from a local dealership. Definitely not legal or recommended as I was on a straight stretch of Ohio SR13 passing several cars. The fact I was still picking up speed at a pretty good clip is what scared me out of buying the bike. No doubt I would have ended up dead or uninsurable after a few months. I now prefer to push hard through the twistys than go fast in a straight line.
Fastest in a car was my 1973 Dodge Polara on I-70 East leaving Columbus in a hurry late one night. It took me forever to get there, but I buried the speedo at 100 or 120 (pretty sure it was 120, that sounds better anyway). The whole car started undulating up and down around 100 and I thought I was going to take flight!
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I drove 100 just once. I was in a big 1972 Delta 88. I did this on I-96 on the West bound side in the Detroit/Livonia area during the day. I was lucky this was pre cell days or I would have been called on. Once was enough!!!!
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135 in a 98 Trans Am. Still felt solid with a plenty left in 5th gear. I also had a 98 z28 at one point. It came with W rated tires from the factory so they had an electronic governor at, I think, 112. I got pulled over after having a "spirited" run getting on the highway. Cop said he got me going 115. I was able to talk myself out of that one explaining that the car was incapable of that speed because of the governor. Still can't believe he let me off with a warning.