Just once, I figured

And this proved what? That your as big a jerk as the other guy? Congratulations!!!!! Hope that effort managed to put a hair on your balls....

**snip**

I figured I hit 260kph or around 158mph.

*cough* bullshit

KJK

Never thought of it this way. I hit 177kph on my way home for lunch on Friday. Cool.

:()

I gotta call possible BS on an '88 LX 5.0L clocking in at 160 mph. Back when I was invincible and had a long, empty, slightly downhill stretch of I-66 I managed to get my slightly modified '89 LX hatchback up to

135-140 mph and that was about all it could muster. Getting another 20 mph out of it would have taken some serious horsepower. Also, the stability of the car was absolutely horrible at 135 and even if it could have gone to 160 mph I'm not sure I would have had the guts to do it. Also, the conversion factor from kph to mph is 0.621 so his 260 kph is closer to 162 mph.

We've all probably succumbed at least once to that temptation. And Rich's body of posts points out that he writes the incident, not in boastfulness but as a stream of conciousness report.

But I'm reminded of something I learned through observation, as a kid.

I had occasion to stay with my aunt and uncle and she was driving me somewhere .. I forget where.. and I noticed that she steered her car much like you see done on TV comedic skits... constantly moving the steering wheel, left and right. Now it was a NEW car, they never kept a car more than 3 years, so it couldnt be play in the steering.. which I knew of because I was a farm kid and DID have experience in driving, if only off- road.

But I was smart enough not to ask her why she did that... instead I reasoned it out. And the answer I came up with was that she was LITERALLY DRIVING the car, instead of looking down the road and guiding the car toward a point, she was actually ACTIVELY KEEPING the car in the proper lane.

I think we've all ridden with someone who does that. And therein lies the danger of speeding to excess.

Many people NEVER look further down the road than a quarter mile... some not even that far. So instead of driving defensively, they bank on the fact that almost all drivers drive within the law and statutes.

Another good example of this are those who assume that, because the light has just turned green, they're in the clear to proceed through the intersection.. and they dont bother looking left and right to see if someone's going to try to beat the light and/or run a red. I'm also guilty of sometimes assuming that..

Statistically this is supported by UN accident and death figures for some countries in which we KNOW there are 'crazy' drivers but relatively low collision rates.

And that is why, in North America....

Rich wrote in news:bqj8m1d6ogk7lm128gvu14tpp3enhfqfla@

4ax.com:

There's no way a stock or even moderately modified '88LX is going that fast. The aerodynamics of the Fox body are about as brick-like as they come. As speed increases, the power requirements just to overcome the air resistance are enormous.

All that aside, I agree with Warman (oh my). Only a complete tool would do something like that on a public roadway. Wanna go fast? Go to the track. That way, there are plenty of bystanders at a safe distance to scrape your entrails off the walls when you screw up.

Can you read? Its his 2004 Mach-1 he's talking about. Also, at those speeds, factory speedometers are (historically anyways) notoriously inaccurate.

Given a factory gear ratio and the high revving DOHC in his car I wouldnt necessarily say bullshit. I'd be more interested in knowing what his tach said. Ever better would be if he had a quality aftermarket tach as you should be able to closely calculate speed based on an accurate tach reading.

I have a factory sunroof in my LX and at 135 mph it sounded like it was on the verge of being sucked off the car. Combine that with the feeling the car was going airborne at any second and it was a performance I have not cared to repeat since then.

There's a time and place for everything. I the USA there are places, and times, when a driver can open up their vehicle and be of no danger to anyone but themselves. If someone is on an interstate highway in a remote area with no one in sight then I really don't care if they want to dance with the Devil. Doing top speed runs in a metropolitan area or on highways that are not restricted access isn't very wise and endangers innocent people and property. The top speed run I referenced was on a deserted stretch of I-66 and there was not a car visible for as far as I could see either in front or behind me. If I had wrecked then the worst I could have done was to take out a road sign or two. I would likely be dead from the crash too.

Well, all ya'll are calling bullshit on the LX, I'm still calling it on the Mach.

Ummmm... yes I can. Can you? At the bottom of his post he states the following:

"It's not something I'd do again anytime soon, the most I'd ever gone was 248kph in a 1988 LX 5.0."

My factory speedometer wasn't off 20+ mph and I seriously doubt his is, or was, either.

The Mustang isn't a very aerodynamic vehicle and the Mach I engine is around 280 rwhp stock so 160 mph runs are somewhat a stretch unless he was going down a relatively steep incline or had a very stiff tail wind. Besides, I was commenting on an '88 LX going 160 mph not a 2004 Mach I.

Well if you read his original message he claimed 6600rpm in 4th.

A long time ago 60 Minutes did a segment on driving where they attached a measuring device to see how many times a minute the average driver corrected their glide path. Supposedly the less number of changes made on a straight lane the better the driver. I can't remember all of the details since it was such a long time ago (Mike Wallace was young).

ZombyWoof wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

What was interesting upshot of that... is that while I was in Navy, I was a very ordinary guy in both boot camp and schools. Until tests that looked on how you actually DID something.

I had to test for an on base driver's license, and during the 'school', the instructor pointed out how I drove as the way to do it, he was watching for signs of 'looking down-road'.

Come, now... you KNOW that's impossible. But at least it isn't life threatening.

Well, I've compared my 03 cobra with a gps to see how accurate the speedo is and I must tell you that up to 100 mph it is right on. I am not sure what happens above that but it probably is still pretty close. I doubt the mach-1 does 160mph though but that's another issue.

well, who knows. I'm not saying I never speed, but doing 160mph on public roads is not a good idea in my opinion. Take it to the track I say.

Well, I think the steering system has a lot to do with it too. Some systems are so overpowered that you need to correct it constantly. Then things like tire wear, alignment and the road itself also add up to that.

Of course, it might also be reasoned that someone might have needed to see an optometrist : 0 )

Defensive driving is the key, and it's not just how far down the road one looks, but all around. I've had to chase people with reds and siren for several miles before they realize there is someone behind them. And seen accidents in the middle of nowhere with essentially unlimited visibility, where someone pulls out directly into the path of another vehicle (or train). Among some of the reasons for the constant correction could be attributed to a) steering system b) vision problem c) insecure/timid/nervous diver d) weather (gusting cross winds).

There are many drivers who, no matter how long they have been driving, never become comfortable behind the wheel and it's often a case of fighting to be in control, even when there is no need. And I've found the cause to vary. For example, someone who is used to driving in the country becomes this way in city traffic, and vice versa. In some you can see it increase as the traffic around them increases.

My grandfather, who, in his much younger days, drove cargo trucks through the Grapevine when it was 2 lanes was this way. Later in life, he'd take his old Buick Roadmaster and bust 100mph on country roads around the town where he lived. Yet, when it came time to sign up for social security, it was an extreme effort for him to drive the 9 miles to the next town where the Social Security Office was located.

"Ritz" wrote

He said it was in an '04 Mach1

Having driven a Tractor Trailer for the better part of my life I'll give you a few tips....

The surest way to get the guy in front of you to speed up is to pull out and try and pass him. To get him to slow down, just set your cruise control. Works every time.

The most aggravating thing to me is 3 cars abreast on a 3 lane highway all going EXACTLY the same speed. I call this a log jam.

Try not to piss off truckers, most of them don't stop everytime they gotta pee so the vast majority drive around with a "portable pee bottle" (no, not me....I STOP!) which means they have a readily available bottle of urine to dump all over your car should you anger them in any way. Oh, and see that big space in the lane in front of most trucks? We need that to SLOW DOWN should someone brake unexpectedly in front of us. So try not to take that away, especially at highway speeds.

You think hauling 80,000 pounds around is easy work? I've heard stories that would make yer hair curl, involving truckers and motorists. Truck drivers radioing ahead to the other guys to box in a particular car, and then throwing handfuls of pennies out the windows or worse at the offending vehicle. Scary stuff.... I know sometimes it's not possible to have that space in front of us, when my stopping distance is cut down I back off until I have the appropriate space but of course that just invites someone else to move in front. Unfortunately, most people don't realize how heavy a loaded truck can be. 80,000 lbs....think about that.... 40 TONS. Even empty, trucks weigh in at over 20,000 lbs....! Bottom line is this, if I rear end a vehicle may be my fault, but I will always walk away from the accident. The guy I hit will have my bumper in his front seat.... Has never happened yet (knock wood) and I hope it never does. Drive safe!