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Fastest ever was 176, GPS recorded, in my modified 2004 GTO. It was pretty much out of huff and straining at the top end of 5th, which was a .76 overdrive gear. The speedo was suprisingly accurate showing around 180 at the time. It was on a public road, so was completely stupid and I never did it again. I did, however, routinely see 140 as that marked the top end of fourth, so most highway races ran out to that speed.
Most track days that I have been to involved much lower speeds, with most street cars barely topping 120 on the long straights. However, the feeling was very different and going 80 through a turn is much more exciting than going 176 on a straight wide open highway, totally different sensation. The GTO owing to its weight and suspension didn't feel much different at 176 than it did at 140.
176 on a public road sounds a bit too scary and like a bit too much adrenaline.
128 for me in an audi a4 before traffic began forming
155 in a 1976 Chevy Blazer back in 1980 on the I-5. My speedometer did not go that high but my friends Ferrari did.
Took my bike up to 150 on PCH, felt safer than the truck did at that speed.
I call bull**** on this, unless you did some serious, serious work.
176 on a public road sounds a bit too scary and like a bit too much adrenaline.
128 for me in an audi a4 before traffic began forming
lol, it was on a very deserted stretch of good highway with no entrance/exit ramps for a few miles, very early in the morning and I had a scout car that ran ahead and gave us the all clear for no traffic/cops. I started the run at 75, so it didn't take too long to get up to 176. Heck, it took longer to get from 160 to 176 then it did to get from 75 to 160.
This was at the peak of my racing days and I had a camerman in the car to verify the speed as well as the GPS. It all started because someone called BS and said it couldn't be done.
I hit the top speed, coasted down to a more reasonable 120 and then used the brakes to catch the exit ramp and headed to my friends house a couple miles off the ramp and spent a few hours there just in case, lol.
176 on a public road sounds a bit too scary and like a bit too much adrenaline.
128 for me in an audi a4 before traffic began forming
It is scary just due to the speed involved even with no other cars around etc etc etc. Even on a wide open 2-lane highway with no one around for miles.
Z06. Owners manual says if you are going >170 to have at least 41psi in the tires. Unmodded they top out 195+.
See, this is what I always find funny about these threads. People will take exception to folks going well over 150 in cars that are built/designed for those speeds and generally with someone experienced behind the wheel. Yes, a lot can happen on public roads, but those factors can be extremely minimized if you are smart.
FWIW, I'm more scared/shocked at a kid in a Honda Civic EX pushing it for all it's worth at 110, then I am about someone who took their Z06 or other actual performance car and ran out to 175+.
It is scary just due to the speed involved even with no other cars around etc etc etc. Even on a wide open 2-lane highway with no one around for miles.
This is very true and I didn't mean to downplay the scary aspect. If you've never driven at those speeds, you just can't understand the feeling. I had quite a bit of racing experience at the time, but even then the amount of concentration and effort required to drive that fast is exponentially greater than driving at regular highway speeds.
For instance, it takes you exactly one minute to go a mile at 60mph. At 175, you go that same mile in 20 seconds. Driving at 60 you can comfortably look a mile up the road and have plenty of time to respond. At 175 you need to look roughly 3 miles up the road in order to have the same response time. The problem is you can't always looks 3 miles up the road, so your reaction time needs to be much faster.
You get a bit of tunnel vision at that speed and everything else kind of fades out as you concentrate solely on the driving and the road as pretty much anything else near you that could be used for reference is just a blur. The inputs to the car, especially steering also require a much different approach, small inputs have a LARGE effect on where you are going at those speeds.
Oh, yeah. This is definitely a "How Big Is Your's?" thread. But I'll play. I have no idea. I went to the Bondurant School years ago so I'd guess whatever they got us up to there. I consider technique, knowledge of how to handle a car and capability a lot more important than flat-out speed.
I grew up around racing and knew a lot of drivers. So I'm guessing the fastest I've ever gone was as a passenger in a car on the track at Riverside. Foyt maybe? Or Rick Mears? I can get really annoying when I start dropping names.
Good post, you did your speeding where it really means something. Doing 120 on a road course requires some driving skill. Driving 175 on the highway requires as much driving skill as backing out of your driveway.
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