I am about to try my second max speed test this Friday around the DOCKS industrial area downtown, and I have one serious question that I would like to get answered;
I have an 89 S13 with original engine (276,000 KMS) and am wondering of the dangers of reaching such speeds with this car. Sounds like a stupid question but lately I am getting paranoid over the thought of having the engine blow up at 180+KM’s. Hypothetically, if this were to happen, wouldnt the rear tires immediately lock up, resulting in…
Anyway, just what are the chances? I think the answer is an obvious one, but just interested in what you guys think.
In all honesty if the motor is well maintained ie. proper oil and cooland it will hold out during this test. Other things I worrie about are tires, brakes, suspention etc…
– Tires - inflated correctly, relatively even wear
– Alignment/balancing (does your car/steering wheel shake at 120kmh kind of thing…)
– Struts/shocks - are they at least in decent shape?
– Brakes - ^^^
– Engine - just make sure you’ve got oil in it
– Coolant level/quality good
Even at 180+ km/h in fifth, you’re only revving 4500-4700 RPM or so, not really THAT straining on the motor…have fun and be careful.
the engine doesn’t create enough torque in 5th gear to lock the wheels, the pistons would basically have to weld themselves tot he block to cause the tires to lock up. I think your tranny would blow up first however, thats a LOT of momentum from the wheels + the amount of grip your tires have. Either way if the car stops making power clutch in!
Thanks guys! I’ll be atentive to the engine sounds and be ready to hit the clutch should anything go wrong. This is a really significant point, thanks for that. But maybe I should stick to drifting, it’s alot safer, and you really gain nothing from max speed tests, but yet you have everything to loose.
Ya I forgot about the next to no resistance 5th gear, but if the engine did stop spining and could not turn and you never clutched it, im sure it would still (although in 5th) send some jolt through the drive line.
Do you guys remember the race in Initial D when Takumi was racing Kyouichi’s EVOIII and he blew his engine which resulted in him losing control of the car? It’s different circumstances but anyway.
the car iquabob has, while i had it and had a dealer plate on it, i pulled massive beat downs on that motor, 350000km on an original sohc ka…and it pulled much stronger and lasted, without any signs of well anything on it…compartively i had at the same time a 90 240 with 180000km on it and the cam snapped due to improper maintenance by the previous owner…
it all comes down to how the car was taken care of…you can tell a well maintained 240 easily by the body…chances are if it’s a rust bucket…it wasn’t taken care of…and you should be careful, bad things can happen.
on a side note…that car of iquabob’s…350000km on the original stock clutch…lady driven is pimptastic.
i hit 180 in 4th gear, 5th should be no problem for ur car. i used to ride speed cut on long trips for stretches of 5-10 minutes straight with my old KA-E
i think you shouldnt be pushing a old 240 that fast on the street. go to the track[/quote]
Aye. Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do, surprised no one else has mentioned that… You’re risking your car, your license, your freedom, your wallet, and the life of anyone who happens to get in your way, and for what? So you can figure out the top speed of your car, for fun? Go to a track if you’re bored and want to take your car to the limit. Just my two cents.
i think you shouldnt be pushing a old 240 that fast on the street. go to the track[/quote]
Aye. Sounds like a pretty stupid thing to do, surprised no one else has mentioned that… You’re risking your car, your license, your freedom, your wallet, and the life of anyone who happens to get in your way, and for what? So you can figure out the top speed of your car, for fun? Go to a track if you’re bored and want to take your car to the limit. Just my two cents.[/quote]
You’ll never even know what your top speed is unless you have a radar gun set up. The needle will go past 180 and even as it gets close to 180 it’s not going to be very accurate.
PS: You get bonus points for giving the public a good idea of where you will be and when …