Speeding

[Brandon]

I topped out in my old BMW at 130mph (governor-limited) on a long flat straightaway on US 50 in Nevada.  Nobody on the road for miles ahead of or behind me, land completely empty on both sides, and Top Gun flight training controlled that airspace so "bears in the air" weren't an issue either.

how far does police radar work, anyway?  I figure in the desert haze I can spot a police car (similar color as the background, lights off) maybe a mile away.  if it had its lights on, easily 10-15 miles...

The claims are up to two miles.  I call bullshit.  No cop can identify an individual vehicle more than 1/4 mile at best.

[njroadhorse]

The fastest I've ever gone was 96 in a 65 on the Garden State Parkway near Asbury Park.

The highest (and only time) I've ever been ticketed was for doing 40 in a 25 on a stretch of road in Blacksburg, VA that should be 35 at the very least.  Wouldn't have gotten pulled over for that back in Jersey.

[formulanone]

It depends; I would imagine that a quarter mile, unless you're the only car on the road, is about the most an officer of the law is permitted to ticket via visual identification. Probably depends on the jurisdiction, since I'm sure in urban areas, there's been precedence to permit/deny tickets in the past for a variety of good/bad reasoning.
Instant-on radar is the killer, it man's well before you have a chance, unless you have a rabbit car in front of you (and sure is it satisfying when that rabbit was driving like prick when it came up to pass you the first time).

X-band radar, which is rarely used anymore, can be detected over a mile away. K-band has a shorter detection distance, usually about half a mile or less. Ka-band is even finer, but I recall the distances a radar detector picked it up were even less. Never received a laser/lidar ticket, and stopped using detectors about a decade ago. The stationary speed limit-based speed detectors tend to spit out radar in every conceivable direction, so you're much more likely to pick up from a greater distance than Smokey in his cruiser. Obviously a cop car traveling the opposite direction will pick you up quicker than a stationary one.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

The claims are up to two miles.  I call bullshit.  No cop can identify an individual vehicle more than 1/4 mile at best.

If you're the only car on the road and the cop is running laser and is steady enough, that's probably quite possible.  I don't see why it wouldn't be.

[kphoger]

The fastest I've gone is 120 in my parents' old 1992 Camry station wagon.  I used to drive between Atwood and Colby, Kansas, (just shy of 30 miles) without dipping below 100.  One time I I did it in 16 or 17 minutes after dark in the fog.  Two things I remember from those 'need for speed days':

(1) pulling out to pass someone, seeing an oncoming vehicle, switching to the brake pedal, and feeling the slightest weave  Talk about freak out!
(2) driving my dad's old 5-speed 1997 Camry one night and not knowing what a governor was; I hit 113 mph and it knocked it of gear *clunk*.  Talk about freak out!

One day my some friends and I decided to take an old Suzuki Samurai on a long downhill to see how fast it would top out at.  We made it to 70.

I bribed my way out of a ticket once, in México.  In March 2010, our group's two vehicles were pulled over for going 89 km/h in a 60 km/h zone near the junction of federal highway 2 and the western bypass of Nuevo Laredo.  To be fair, I thought the speed limit was 80 km/h (still speeding, but not much), as they had just installed the lower speed zone since my last visit.  Getting a ticket would have meant going to the police station downtown, and I didn't really want to waste an hour and a half.  The officer showed me the fine listed in the table in his ticket book, I kept saying that I didn't know the limit was 60, and eventually asked if there was any way I could pay the ticket directly to him.  He came back with (I translate from Spanish):  "˜OK, I'm going to help you.  For 400 pesos, you can pay it directly to me.'  I was thinking that's a pretty good deal for two tickets, so I gave him 400 pesos.  He then walked back to the other vehicle and said, "˜That guy up there paid for you, but give me 40 dollars anyway'.  ZING!!!  Oh well, at least we avoided the trip to the police station! 

[kphoger]

I'll never forget the time we were heading to a wedding in the very southwestern tip of Michigan.  I was standing in the wedding, and we were to make it just in time for the rehearsal, coming from a motel in Des Moines.  Anyway, our trip had us driving across the southern reaches of Chicagoland on a Friday afternoon.  No surprise that I-80 was backed up, averaging about 15 mph.  What I couldn't believe, however, was once we got free of traffic on I-94 through the corner of Indiana.  It was like someone pulled the rope on the chute and let the bull out.  It's the only time I've gone 88 mph and had traffic keeping up with me.

I had a roommate back when I lived near Chicago who took his car up to 100 mph on the Eisenhower in Chicago itself.  He just wanted to experience what his car could do.  This is a guy who routinely drives way under speed limit and spends a lot of time coasting in neutral (he saves an insane amount of gas driving this way, by the way).

My normal cruising speed is between 5 and 10 over the limit; I used to do about 12 or 13 over, but speeding tickets have tamed the beast.

[Takumi]

I normally go around the speed limit or with the traffic flow. My car's ability to effortlessly hit high speeds in normal driving conditions, along with the attitudes of local law enforcement, keeps me honest.

[Eth]

On the way back from visiting family this morning, I found that the conditions were right (flat, straight road, nobody in front of me).  So on a rural two-lane stretch of US 27 in northern Florida, I took the car up to an even 100 (speed limit 60) just to say that I did, then went back down to my regular cruising speed.  It really didn't seem very different from normal.

[realjd]

On the way back from visiting family this morning, I found that the conditions were right (flat, straight road, nobody in front of me).  So on a rural two-lane stretch of US 27 in northern Florida, I took the car up to an even 100 (speed limit 60) just to say that I did, then went back down to my regular cruising speed.  It really didn't seem very different from normal.

What car? I've had some cars at 100 that drive great and others that feel like they're going to fall apart.

Don't do it for too long. Your tires may not be rated for speeds that high.

[Duke87]

If you stay perfectly straight, 110 doesn't feel all that different from 80 besides that the car makes more noise and vibrates more.

You will notice the difference, however, the instant you make a slight turn to the steering wheel to try and correct. At ludicrous speed, it is much harder to control steering and you will probably notice yourself starting to wiggle and swerve a bit rather than just normally correct. This is your car saying "slow down, asshole".

[formulanone]

Basically, if your car is in working order, it has been tested to run for hours (or at least, until the fuel supply runs out) at least 100 mph; this basically a closed test track without real traffic, though. Most tires are speed rated to at least 112 mph on even the most basic of transportation (S rating), but that doesn't actually mean they have an iota of added performance in them, such as enhanced cornering capability and grip, wet weather performance, heat dissipation, or advanced sidewall construction to deal with taking a bend or curve with any bit of agility.

That said, the average car and driver shouldn't be hitting those speeds for any serious length of time on a public road, save one designed for it.

[agentsteel53]

You will notice the difference, however, the instant you make a slight turn to the steering wheel to try and correct. At ludicrous speed, it is much harder to control steering and you will probably notice yourself starting to wiggle and swerve a bit rather than just normally correct. This is your car saying "slow down, asshole".

indeed - I didn't dare change lanes at 147 on the autobahn.  As soon as there was traffic coming up, I slowed down to about 125, which is what felt like the highest speed in which I could maneuver without too much mental load.

[Takumi]

My previous car would start screaming when it would get above normal freeway speeds, and it's 20 years old, so I never really pushed it hard. The speedometer goes to 140 but I think the fastest I went in it was about 95. My current car (a different generation but the same make/model) is a completely different story...I went up to about 95 on the test drive and it felt like it could have gone much faster without much problem. Getting onto I-95 from a US 301 onramp, I once reached about 85 by the time I hit the interstate (something that, unless you're Jake, I wouldn't try) and could have kept going with ease except for a curve nearby.

[kphoger]

This morning on the way to work, I was pushing it to do the minimum speed.  Yesterday, one of my ignition coils started misfiring, so I've been keeping the revs low until we get it into the shop.  At 6:30 AM on a Saturday, 42 mph is doable even on Wichita freeways, but I'm not sure I want to take the highway going home this afternoon......

[kphoger]

Just had this one happen to me yesterday.

I passed a few vehicles in the left lane, going about 10 over the limit (75 in a 65).  On the other side of the highway, a trooper passed by me; in my mirror, I saw him turn around across the median.  I got back in the right lane, slowed down to 65, and so did everyone behind me (they had been going about 72 or 73).  The trooper pulled over a commercial vehicle, and the rest of us just kept going.

Should I feel good (that I got off), or should I feel bad (for the other guy, who probably wasn't even going as fast as the cop's radar said, because that was my car's speed)?  I kind of feel both.

[agentsteel53]

should I feel bad

for that thread resurrection?  probably 

[vdeane]

Might not have even been speeding.  In NY at least, they can electronically read registration/inspection from the stickers.  Also, sometimes troopers hold different vehicle classes to different standards.

[Takumi]

So...I never answered the original question 2 years ago. My top speed is 105 MPH, in a 55. I-95 in downtown Petersburg one night, in my deceased silver Prelude. Most of my high speeds have been to see what RPMs these cars will reach at these speeds in their highest gear. My 1997 Prelude has Z-rated tires (150+ MPH) and thus could probably reach its speedometer's maximum of 150 under the right circumstances. I'm working on getting a slightly larger displacement version of the same engine for my 1993, which weighs less and has a transmission geared for higher top speed, but I'll never know how fast it'll take the car because its speedometer only goes up to 140.

[agentsteel53]

I'll never know how fast it'll take the car

it's an exact multiple of your RPMs.  note a reference pair of "speed, RPM"; later note the tach at the highest speed; do the math when you get home.

[Takumi]

That's how I arrived at the rough conclusion of 150 for the other car. The fuel pump automatically cuts out at 7400 RPM, and at 3700 RPM I'm going 76 or 77 MPH. (I have yet to test this empirically; the roads that aren't full of cops and/or traffic have poor pavement, lots of curves, or poor sight lines. I can think of only one spot that would MAYBE work, but even that is within spitting distance of a county courthouse.)

[agentsteel53]

That's how I arrived at the rough conclusion of 150 for the other car. The fuel pump automatically cuts out at 7400 RPM, and at 3700 RPM I'm going 76 or 77 MPH. (I have yet to test this empirically; the roads that aren't full of cops and/or traffic have poor pavement, lots of curves, or poor sight lines. I can think of only one spot that would MAYBE work, but even that is within spitting distance of a county courthouse.)

do you have the option to take it to a track?  I'd go with that to acclimate yourself to driving fast.  my 147 was set on the autobahn - astonishingly legal, and surprisingly, surprisingly fast.  past 135 or so, I had every bit of my attention on the road, and I knew that even if the car could go much past 147, I couldn't.  (there was a speed-limited section of road coming up, so I had to ease up at 147mph.)  my co-pilot was monitoring the speedometer; at the end of the run, I had to ask "so, how did I do?"

(139mph on a very nicely paved two-laner in Mumble?  eh, astonishingly illegal.  don't tell anyone.)

[Takumi]

The closest track to me is Virginia International Raceway near Danville, about 2 hours away. In order to take the car onto the track at speed, I'd have to spend hundreds of dollars to go through a training class (which is something I wouldn't mind doing, honestly), then either joining their driver's club ($2500 initial fee + $175 a month) or latching onto another driving club and going onto the track on their specified track day. There's also an option to take the car onto the track behind a pace car at highway speeds with no passing, but that seems a bit asinine to me. There are plenty of roads within a 20 mile radius that I can drive like that.

[wxfree]

This is an interesting discussion.  My top speed is 95.  I was once an unfortunate passenger in a car going 95 in a 35 through town.  I've driven 95 twice.  The first time was on US 67 (a freeway) north of Midlothian, Texas.  It was a crappy car, and only got that fast going down the hill.  I just wanted to see what it could do.  I don't remember exactly when it was, during or after NMSL, but the speed limit was either 55 or 70.  The second time was on US 259 (2-lane) in Oklahoma, speed limit 65, while passing a logging truck.  That truck went ridiculously slow up the hill, and then very fast going down when I passed.  The truck passed me going down the next hill; I wanted to keep going 65, and he wanted to go about 90 again.  I passed him again (going much slower) up the next hill without going over the yellow stripe.  I learned to hate following a logging truck.

[ChoralScholar]

Just under 110 mph in a 70 is the fastest I've gone.  I was trying to see how fast a car who'd passed me was going.  That was in my 05 Town and Country believe it or not.  I hit the rev limiter and couldn't go any faster.

[doorknob60]

I think the fastest I've ever hit is only around 86-87 MPH, on a couple occasions. One, when driving along I-84 in Idaho (Speed Limit 75), and also some remote highways in Oregon, but only hit those speeds when passing (Speed Limit 55, but should be 70).

Also, I did 70 in a 45 when in a major hurry (I needed to get from the SW end of town to the NE end, grab something, and then all the way to the far west side in about 30 minutes), although that is a bad idea (that Bend Parkway...)

EDIT: Oh, almost forgot, I think I hit 70 MPH on Skyliners Rd. east of Mt. Washington Dr. in Bend. The Speed Limit is 40 MPH, but there's a 0.5-1 mile long, straight stretch with nothing on it, and during lunch hours with the high school close by, the average speed is like 60. One time I was going 55-60 there, and someone else passed me, despite the double yellow line Gotta love high school. Just make sure you slow down before it turns to 25 (and where cops wait)

EDIT 2: And if you count school zones, I blew past a 20 MPH school zone on Hamby Rd. (outskirts of Bend, normally 45 MPH Speed Limit) at like 55 MPH, but that was force of habit, because I think that's the only time I had gone on that road during school zone times (it's usually on weekends or in the evening I drive through there).