Top speed poll

[gerry_miranda]

How fast have you gone and on what vehicle.

me: a speedometer indicated 157 on a 97 m3

[Yackedy Sacks]

never took the M3 past 110 before, I did top out my previous car... 135 on an Integra GS-R

[BAADDOG]

Here's mine at 167 mph on the road.

It was about 5:30 AM on an early Sunday morning.

We did a test run to check it out. Then my buddy postioned himself with a camera next to the radar timer to capture the display with a photo.

I made the first performance run, then we huddled to review how we did. Skip thought he had a good photo at a high speed. So we didn't want to risk any more attempts to achieve a higher speed.

We had been getting those "prickly feelings" and we knew that if we got caught by the police, even Johnny Cockran, the infamous OJ Attorney could not help us.

Here's a photo for you.

Enjoy.

[jaramill]

With my M3 I've gone to 145mph recently (don't need any more speeding tickets so it was done late at night - 2am). But out here I rented a 1994 Dodge Viper a couple of years back and on I-5 or I-405 Fwy, I pushed the Viper to 167......and THEN popped into 6th gear! In other words.....she was screaming for more! Granted I did this for 5 seconds then dropped out of hyperspace back to normal speed.

Gio

[Canatro]

a buck thirty five in my //m. i don't have the balls to do it again. (depends on the ricer i guess).

[mrclam]

speedo indicated 145

[Jim]

A little over 135 with the top down in an '83 911 SC cabriolet which cleaned out the interior.

Scariest was 110 MPH in a '59 Rambler station wagon at age 15.:o

[JCM3]

This morning, around 6 AM, 136 MPH on my speedo.
First time over 90 in this car....only had it about 2 months.

I went right past what must have been a sleeping cop!
I think I sh#! my pants !

I got real lucky.
Should I buy a Valentine One?

[jaramill]

Most DEFINITELY buy a radar detector (Valentine 1).

Gio

[///M3Luva]

143 mph on I-75 on the way down to Jacksonville for the Georgia vs. Florida game

[tampaturbom3]

160 on the speedo with the drag radials was about 173. i don't think that i had my C5 vette any faster than that,, i can't recall. if i did,, it took a lot longer to get there!! they have a high top speed, but it takes a while to get there. the turbo m3 can get to the topspeed rather quickly.

[FatBoyM]

Chris,
I love your pic. That's awesome.

[GMat]

An indicated 200 in this...



It was in montana 2 years ago. The headlight glass spiderwebbed and one of the magnesium wheels got a stress fracture... Not something i will probably ever do again.. Too damn dangerous. Got it on video though.. If someone can explain to me how to convert it to a mpeg ill post it sometime.

[Phantom]

1995 M3 -- 140 indicated, elect. limiter in 5th, stock motor, Michigan Speedway.

1993 Audi 100 20-valve Turbo Quattro -- 142 indicated, Washington, D.C. Beltway

1993 ZX-6 -- 132 indicated, drag-limited, main straight, Subic Int'l Raceway, Philippines and on Phoenix highway underpass (Loop 101 and I-17)

F-16 Block 32 Pratt&Whitney F100 motor -- 1,100 mph true airspeed/Mach 1.6, at 42,000 feet over the southern Arizona desert on a functional check flight

F-16 Block 30 Big Mouth GE F110 motor -- 610 mph true airspeed, at 500 feet above Malaysian jungle, in formation with RMAF A-4

[GMat]

Hey phantom if youre in az ill trade you a ride in the f40 for one in the fighter jet

[tampaturbom3]

ditto here,,,
i'll give you a ride in a disguised lear jet (my turbo m3) for a ride in the fighter too!

[GMat]

Hey tommy id be curious to run your car against that f40.. Youd destroy it off the line but i bet it would be a pretty interesting race from 40 and above. hehe in that car (im sure you have the same problem in yours) if you put it down more than half throttle in first or 3/4 in second it just boils the tires.. Anyways from 40 though it would be awesome. We have a little bit of work done on the car, like a modified waste gate, different turbo bearings and straight exhaust. Its most likely making a little over 600hp.. probably like 625.. (running 24lbs of boost).

Although the f40 is sweet i have to tell you i really envy your car. Sleepers are the best, theres nothing quite like getting that 'what the f@#%!' look from someone when you blow their doors off when they think theyre way too slick for you


by the way..... how much power are you at now anyways? And miles on car? thx

[Phantom]

Tommy / GMAT

Wish I could trade ya, dude, but it practically takes an act of god (or a general) to give someone a ride in an F-16. Even our own crew chiefs have to compete for a once-a-year incentive ride for doing a great job.

Every Christmas we have a lottery to see which pilot-wives get to just taxi in the back of a two-seater down the runway up to 100 knots. Hell, since I'm still single, it kinda sucked 'cuz girlfriends don't qualify!

Getting a flight in the simulator, though, is an easy deal, and almost as real as the real thing. We've had folks get airsick in those things, and they don't even have motion - just very realistic video!

I'll be in AZ this weekend, and at Buttonwillow next weekend. I could get you on the flightline to look at an F-16 hands-on, even sit in one. Whaddaya say? PM me if you're interested. A simulator flight will take a bit of coordination to do on a weekday. Tommy, same goes for you at Andrews Air Force Base if you ever get to Washington, D.C.

BTW
A day at the track, in a driving school or otherwise, compares quite well to one dogfighting sortie in a fighter; same level of concentration, mental and physical exertion. Dogfighting is all about visualizing turn circles, placing your jet in a piece of sky, balancing control inputs with aircraft response, just like braking point/turn-in/apex/track out, driving the line, and throttle/steering/shifting/braking technique.

A day at the track is as much fun as a dogfight, no joke! And since I'm giving up flying fighters, it's a great substitute, along with karting and sport bikes.

[GMat]

Dang unfortunately im going to be racing at sears point this weekend.... BUT if youre going to be around right after easter they have something here called the copperstate.. Its a car rally that goes all thru az.. Anyways were taking the f40 and mercedes gullwing on that and around then would be a prime time to meet up. Right now the f40's in seattle getting sorted out for the summer, and it will be down here in the beginning of april.

Do you race carts here in AZ? I really want to get one, but im nervous about just jumping into it because i dont know what the crowd is like here. Ive done the bondurant karting school a few times and i used to whoop some ass in my 100cc yamaha, so id really like to get into shifters. Its fun and pretty easy to be competitive.

What track days do you go to? If youre going to be around during the summer im going to be testing my formula mazda a lot at pir maybe we could hook up for some on track fun.. Ive yet to go to a bmw event here, just been too busy with school and other types of racing. So... when the car gets down here ill let you know and hopefully youll be around cya

[Phantom]

Hey, I've heard of the Copperstate, even wore the T-shirt once (borrowed it from a girlfriend years ago).

I should have the beginning and end of April off. I have a kart race in Manila April 7th and 8th and I'm heading over there around April 3rd or 4th for track testing. Maybe we could hook up on the 2nd when I get back from Buttonwillow? I'm doing Las Vegas Speedway the last weekend of April. I'll be back stateside for that, but I'll probably be in the Philippines for Easter.

I looked into karting here, at the track on 43rd Ave and Pinnacle Peak on a race weekend. Seems like a good crowd and a great operation. KGB Karts have USA headquarters on 51st Ave between Bell Rd and Greenway, in the industrial park there. I stopped by and talked with the owner for an hour or so and got some great information. I don't have the number, but I found them in the yellow pages under karting or go-karts. You can also call Phoenix Kart Racing Assn at 623 780-9645. They're on the web, too.

I bounce back and forth between Asia and stateside, but for now I'm concentrating on karting over there.

I race 125cc Rotax Max class. 160Kg, non-shifter, approx 75 mph top speed. Single disc brake on the rear axle. The track there is 1200 meters in length, and we're turning 45 sec lap times, which works out to about 60 mph average speeds. A very challenging track.

I hear the shifters get up to 95-100 mph!! I'm looking into taking the Bondurant Shifter Kart Experience, too. Would you recommend it?

There's also Subic Int'l Raceway about 10 minutes from my house in the Philippines. The owners let me get track time whenever the track is free, so I turn laps on a ZX-6 occasionally. There's saloon racing there, too, which I may get into once I graduate from karting and BMW CCA driving schools.

We'll definitely have to hook up at PIR. Aside from kart race weekends in the Philippines my summer schedule is wide open. I'll let you know if I'm going to be around for Easter!

[tampaturbom3]

Originally posted by GMat
Although the f40 is sweet i have to tell you i really envy your car. Sleepers are the best, theres nothing quite like getting that 'what the f@#%!' look from someone when you blow their doors off when they think theyre way too slick for you


by the way..... how much power are you at now anyways? And miles on car? thx

thank you,, it is a lot of fun. it's got 400hp at the wheels which is about 500 at the crank (HP calculators say 575 with the MPH at the track, but who knows)
it has 62k miles and climbing (since i drive it every day)
i will probably be getting rims soon (taking away some of the sleeper look) because the tire store pointed out to me that 2 are currently bent and can't be balanced properly. Dang pot holes! i assume that's how they got bent since i havnt wrecked and they are constantly tearing up the roads around here.

[GMat]

Actually the bondurant kart course is awesome... if youre looking into doing it i would definitely do it again, perhaps we could do it at the same time.. Whats going on at las vegas motor speedway on the 28th of april? Driving school or something? Maybe we could hook up before that if you pass thru phoenix on your way to vegas.. Anyways just let me know youre schedule and hopefully we can work something out.. Cya!

[Phantom]

yeah, it's Sin City Chapter BMW CCA Driving School. I'll pass thru Phoenix to prep the M3 and drive it to Vegas, so we could hook up then. Plus, I often fly thru Seattle on my way to/from the Philippines, so that's a possibility.

I'm thinking the Bondurant school would make me more competitive in karts, so I'll look into school dates and let ya know.

Hey, Tommy, have you thought about repairs at a rim repair place like Wheel Collision Center? I remember reading an article in Car and Driver. They got good reviews. I just started a thread in "General Discussion" to see if anyone has had good experiences with 'em. I need to repair/refinish some rims myself.

BTW
I stayed at the Lighthouse Apts. behind Jai Alai on Dale Mabry when I went thru F-16 training at MacDill AFB back in '91. Familiar?

[Phantom]

Anyone notice that this thread has seriously gotten off the top speed subject?? Or is it just me? My bad. Apologies to Gerry.

[jaramill]

Yes it has gotten off topic..............but hearing about F-16 fighter jets gives me goosebumps! Makes me want to get in my M3 and just go full throttle!

"I have the need.........................THE NEED FOR SPEED!!" (insert sonic boom of F-14 Tomcat taking off the catapult)