What are the best safe speeding experiences you've had so far?

KL70 · 11-14-06, 12:56

Irrespective of the location (except for driving on any professional car racing track/s, which is excluded) what are the best or most interesting experience/s you’ve so far had safely speeding (in either your or anyone else’s car) on any normal metropolitan roads or streets (without injuring anyone, or managing to get caught or fined by the police) and please elaborate on what the hell happened in the (humorous or serious) situation/s.

Accumulator · 11-14-06, 10:25

Summer, 1982. Pacific Grove, CA to Canton, OH in about ~80 hours (left early afternoon Tues., arrived 1AM Sat.). Solo, one overnight layover. No map, no radar detector, no CB, no tickets. Ran serious triple-digits for hours on end in the southwest. Kicker: did it in a yellow 1970 Plymouth Superbird, 440x6 that I'd bought a few weeks previously in Albuquerque NM. The non-stop drive from Albuquerque to Pacific Grove was a pretty good run too but I forget how fast I did it. Heh heh, my friends in CA were a bit surprised to have me show up on their doorstep with that car

ZoranC · 11-14-06, 11:51

I don't post stories that would be self-incriminating if true, especially not in response to request from person who joined just month ago and that is his very first post.

Accumulator · 11-14-06, 01:53

Heh heh, that's a good point

But since mine wasn't anything truly felonious, and was a quarter-century ago, I think I'm safe

[Insert reminder that driving in excess of posted limits is dangerous and ill-advised here]

Just driving fast in a straight line for a little while isn't any huge thrill anyhow, at least not after you've done it a few times. Much as I remember being young and irresponsible, and hate being hypocritical, I do sometimes worry about some idiot losing it at a high speed and taking out a bunch of innocents. These days a lot of cars will do around 150 without much drama...that used to be a pretty big event back in the day and the kind of machinery that'd do it wasn't commonly available.

Setec Astronomy · 11-14-06, 02:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

These days a lot of cars will do around 150 without much drama...that used to be a pretty big event back in the day and the kind of machinery that'd do it wasn't commonly available.

Ain't that the truth. Somewhere late-70's early-80's Car & Driver, in one of their Civil Disobedience issues did a "Double the Double-Nickel" runoff to see if there were any cars that could exceed double the 55 mph NMSL (110 mph). There weren't too many. But with todays cars sporting about double the horsepower of those dark days, those big numbers come up pretty quick and easy.

tom p. · 11-14-06, 02:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZoranC

I don't post stories that would be self-incriminating if true, especially not in response to request from person who joined just month ago and that is his very first post.

X2.

Internet anonymity is a good thing

ZoranC · 11-14-06, 05:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Heh heh, that's a good point

But since mine wasn't anything truly felonious, and was a quarter-century ago, I think I'm safe

You are definitely safe, I meant it as a "think" warning in general.

ZoranC · 11-14-06, 06:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom p.

Internet anonymity is a good thing

There is no such thing as "Internet anonimity". If law enforcement want's your number there will get your number. There is only one way for things not to come to bite you back: Keep the mouth shut.

ZoranC · 11-14-06, 06:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

But with todays cars sporting about double the horsepower of those dark days, those big numbers come up pretty quick and easy.

Bingo. Cars whose limit is higher than average driver's limit are pretty much in abundance nowadays which means majority of drivers when they push the pedal are aiming gun and depending on luck will it go off or not. I keep seeing that all the time on Los Angeles freeways.

Scottwax · 11-14-06, 06:07

Statute of limitations has long since passed for me...

This was in the early 80s when I had my Chevelle. At the time, the engine was all about torque. 350, 041 fuelie heads, 268H Comp Cam, Edelbrock Torker intake, Holley 650 double pumper, etc. All made for really strong torque and power from around 2500 to 6200 rpm. I still had 3.08s and the car was running low 14s at around 100 mph in full street trim (more cam, more compression, 4.11s, etc eventually got me high 12s) but the car really excelled at freeway speeds. Speedometer only went to 120 but the tach would just keep going.

I was living in Phoenix at the time and was on the way home from crusing Metro Center at around 3 am, I was on the freeway (I-10), along side a couple of early 70s Novas, both with 2.73 gears. 3 honks of the horn and we all nailed it. Better gearing even at 70-75 got me out in front quickly and by the time my speedo topped out, I was 5-6 car lengths ahead, maybe added one or two more by the time I backed out of it with my tach on 5800 rpm, which if I remember right, with my gears and tire size (and figuring in about 2% transmission slip because I had an automatic), I was doing right around 142 mph. Not bad for an aerodynamic brick! What really struck me though, was the loss of peripheral vision and seeing how quickly the very few cars we passed disappeared out of the rear view mirror.

I also got into it with a Mercedes 560SL on I-20 in west Texas (my car was set up the same) and hit about the same rpm...and the Benz was a distant memory!

ZoranC · 11-14-06, 06:26

Well, speaking of memories from long ago that statue of limitations has passed long ago on, there was this car many years ago my dad had. It was called Fico and it was Eastern Block knockoff of Fiat Toppolino. Think small cars from black and white 50's Italian movies. I still can't believe I used to be able to fit in one, much less that whole family would fit in it for 200+ mile vacation trip over worse than gravel groads.

For years they had 750cc. Later my dad bought new model that had whole 1000cc. Whoa there! One time when I borrowed it I was returning late at night home and suddenly realized I am alone on the wide long stretch of the road so that is a great opportunity to find out how far it will go. So I floored it and it started picking up speed. 60. 70. 80. 90. 100. 105. Then speedo broke. I was shaking but I did it! I did 105, more than anyone in town did, exceeding speed everyone called maniacal! One hundred and five!

.
.
.

Kilometers per hour.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was the fastest man in town at whooping 65 mph!

After that I moved on to higher challenges but you never forget your first one.

Tasty · 11-14-06, 06:28

Scott and Accumulator - nice stories. Love the old school muscle.

What kind of mpg do you guys figure you were getting....