Concerned about high speed safety
 

i have a 94 se 5spd with tires that are basically stock (15"). not build for speed at all.

how safe is it to drive at high speeds? I was going 130 the other day, and though the car felt very smooth, i kept thinking that i was probably overdriving my tires.

has anyone heard of high speed blowouts at this speed? and is there a certain speed (like under 105) where it is perfectly safe to travel for a couple miles at a time?

thanks

Re: Concerned about high speed safety
 

depends what kind of tires you have, the letter at teh end of the size will tell you the speed rating (ie V, Z, etc) I think tirerack.com has the listings for each type

:santa2:

your biggest limitations are:
1. Driver skill
2. tires
3. Suspension
4. brakes
5. road conditions


I have no problem driving 120+ for 40-50 miles aorund here. the highways are smooth as glass and little traffic. I also have more suspension mods than any 3rd gen else out there, period. (try to dispute me, and I'll name off a list of mods 3 miles long- some of which aren't on any other 3rd gens).
I have Z (or better) rated tires, can't remember what rating my Kumhos are.

The rest of this goes with assuming you have a brain and are capable of driving at high speeds.

For a stock car with stock brakes, tires, and suspension- I would be very wary of driving over 100 for any period of time.
The tires should be rated to at least 110 for whatever is on it, but the road conditions and your suspension condition should be the next step. If your suspension is still factory original stuff, DO NOT condsider any high speed driving until you at least get new struts, and possibly springs.
you also have to be able to stop in the even someone cuts you off or a deer wanders out into the road, or any of the million other things that can happen. Just realize that when you're traveling twice as fast, your reflexes to respond must be 4x quicker, as it takes the car half the time to get there and twice as long to change direction, and it will take 4x longer to stop from 120 than it does from 60.
Thus, don't think about it unless you've got OEM or better pads. If you have $15.99 AutoZone specials, throw them away and buy something that works better than a block of wood under your caliper.



That's about it. If you want to drive at high speeds, use your brain, and we're not responsible for anything that happens to you or anyone else near you.

As for blowouts, I have never seen or had one on a Max, and I routinely drive 140+ on my weekly drives home.

thanks
 

hey, thanks for the help. i think i might have gotten the need to drive really fast out of my system, and can go back to speeding a little more conservatively.

in my position, getting pulled over at 100+ would make people think i'm irresponsible. i was voted most responsible in my HS class (nothing to be too proud of) so i guess i should take it easy.

it is fun though. :D

LOL

I've learned that if you stay above 120, the cops don't even turn around. if you drive anything between the speed limit and 120, they'll pull you over.
:)

list your suspension mods :angel:
explain them if the name isnt obvious as to what it is :cool:

if you say so! i passed one at about 130 on a high speed run. I just hit it to the floor and kept on flying for about another 90 seconds, grabbed the next right (after slowing of course lol, cornering at 100+ would be nuts!), and then the right after that and started winding through some ohio back farmroads. my buddy that was following me said he pulled out tires smoking!

eibachs
tokicos
FSTB
Sway bars w/ modified brackets so they don't rip off on every speed bump
16" wheels (yes they count as part of the suspension)
subframe connectors
Camber/caster adjustment on the front
adjustable camber on the rear
will soon have radius rods for the front

As of right now, there are only about 4 people with the SFCs, and none of them I know of with adjustable camber on front and rear other than mine.. and I'm not talking about the $35 bolts up front.

so unless you bust out some custom coilovers, I don't see much challenge. :)

The more I learn about Matt's car, the more certain I am that it is one of the biggest sleepers on the ORG. If the forced induction project works out, I bet he will be putting 5thGens on notice... Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if it is already installed and he is being quiet about it.

SSHHH.. ;)
(oh wait.. that's what the engine says.... )

btw.. I already hold my own against the 2k and 2k1 5 spds...
some old man thought he'd show off to his wife the other day at a stoplight.. hilarious watching a 60yr old man revving on me.. I took him by about 1/2 car to 60 though. good driver. stopped at the next light and he made a comment on how fast my "old beater" was. then he asked what kinda car is was. when I told him it was a9 yr old Maxima with 170k miles, he got rather mad. :)

Ok, where the heck are you driving at, i mean 130, 140..... atleast down here in fl by me theres cops all over the place all the time.

i got busted going 91 in a 45, racing a civic (Burned the kid), and that was a 400 dollar ticket right there, i dont want to imagine how much it would be at 130+.

there's a highway between where I go to school and home that's about 50 miles long and very sparsely populated at night. haven't seen a deer out there in years either.. concrete divider between north and southbound lanes, to even if there was a cop coming from the other way, it would take them 2-3 miles to find a place to turn around.

so I have no problem on there. I usually cruise about 100 during the day and 110-115 at night, but often break into 130+ if I'm in the mood to get home quicker.

I've made that 45 mile drive in 18 minutes before. :)

how is the camber/caster adjustable??!!! i have bad rear camber and would hate to ruin my brand new tires..
what do radius rods do?

my current suspension looks like this: KYB GR-2 & S/T springs. i plan on getting SFCs, addco RSB w/beefed up mounts, S/T front sway, FSTB from 2k/2k2 max.
are there any free suspension mods since i'm real low on cash at the moment..?

Nothing in life is free, son. (Just an FYI. I've got more money in suspension and brakes than I paid for the car itself.)

do a search on both of the topics and you'll find lots of info about it.

nothign on there is superduper special, but why do you have camber plates is question 1 (i was understood that 15-17 would be fine with eibach's)

what in the hell are radius rod's is question 2

and why not koni is question 3

and have you ever tested your g rating, just curious

that was 3 miles long? :laugh:

:wall: jk

:eek: besides suspension, how does the car react at those constant high speeds as far as engine/mechanical, feel, paint/windshield (wouldnt want to run into some low flying birds, stones or a batch of mosquitos in those speeds!)

Not trying to be a jerk, but you have to pay to play. I have around $3300 tied up in suspension, brakes, headlights, and tire upgrades (I am still on stock rims) That figure also includes required and scheduled maintenance. I drive my car very hard but I am willing to put the money where it is needed to keep her running.

only times I've ever done G-force testing on my car was in banked corners on an on-ramp, where I pulled over 1G through the corner. :)

Koni = more $$ than I had at the time. when I replace the tokicos, I'll get konis.

I have camber correction because I want adjustability- not just simply to make everything drive straight when I let go of the steering wheel. when you autocross or road race, you'll learn that camber adjustments are imperative for better handling.

you think I'm going to list ALL of my toys? ;)

as for driving.. I can grab the wheel and yank it in either direction at 115+ without fear of losing control. it got a little more twitchy when I installed the SFCs, but once I figured out how to drive with it, I'm just as confident now as I was then.

And yes, I've also got brakes- another imperative. I can stop from 140 to 0 in about 7 seconds. I've timed it from anywhere from 6 to 9 seconds, depending on traction and weather conditions.

umm... damn... i want those brakes. what kind are they?

tires issue
you'll be fine
something i noticed in my old 3rd gen was this
the car never showed any signs of unstability from 100-170 mph
even on bald tires with cords showing
and h rated 15's
depends on how much you gamble with your life
you may get away with it sometimes
other times you won't
i got away with it.


matt

you are forgetting an important milestone car for the org. mainly 3rd genners, in shedding hope on the pesky VQ boys

when motor mods outlist anyone else's total mods on the board, you know when someones serious

BTW that car IS forsale here in kc again.
and no im not buying it back

:eek: How do you get a 3rd gen doing 170? I mean how do you no ur going that fast, and dont the gears top out at a certain speed no matter how much power you got? Guess i never thought of having my car do 170! :)

i'll give you the same answer i have been giving everyone else for the past 3 - 4 years. i got a ticket for 163 in a 55. i was slowing down for a good half-full mile before that.
5spd ve at full throttle in 5th gear at rev limiter is around 173 i believe. if not more. there was a dispute about this a couple years back. and it was proven it can be done.

then again. if you do a search {if its still around} you can find my lots of info about my 92 se, mods and such.
it did everything i said it did, and more. used to walk stage 3 300zx tt's above 110 mph {thats how i got the ticket}

the only thing i didn't tinker with was going inside the motor. {from the valve springs down to the pan}

Yea i saw ur post awhile back when you listed ur mods and such, said ur secret sauce was powershifting or somthing. Yea im picking up a extra throttle body and intake manifold to have ported, then maybe ill be doing 170! :D Post

there is more there then meets the eye. and some stuff that was a wee bit experimental.

every racer speed freak will help you to a certain degree, giving you a stepping stone, but won't show you how to do everything

all i did with that post was shed light onto dieing Ve eyes.
there is 75% of my mods there, not all. i won't disclose all of them. because well, it wouldn't be right for someone to sit on my shoulders and mimic everything.

be original, and LOOK at your motor, think about new things. more then likely it will work.
trial and error.
dyno time
blood

Hmmm.. the monster VE is for sale again.. about the only thing good on that car was the engine from what justin told me. :)
I've been trying to get in touch with the shop all week to get the finals done on my project(s), but can never get through to them. always out of the office. :mad:

Anyway, I've got the VTC rebuild kit right now, and I'm going to be doing that in a few weeks.. while I've got the heads off, I'll do at minimum a "quicky port" job on them and clean out the casting flash- whatever little there is. now if only I had some good grinder tools. may have to invest in a set of good stones before I open up the engine..

"but daaaaad.. I've already got it apart and have the tools.. why not? " :)