My Jeep is about to fall apart at 75, and won't break 105 downhill. It's a 4.0 too. The wind noise is huge.
I've done [none of these following were me driving]:
-105 in a Geo Metro 4 door with 4 other people, super super sketchy
-125 in an older Nissan Altima, 3 other people, pretty sketchy
-110 (its limited) in Mercury Sable 24V Wagon [decently stable]
-120-something in a Volvo V70 GLT (turbo), quite stable.
ALL of these have been on open, deserted stretches of highway, with miles ahead of straight away. However, even with the targa off, I felt completely sure of my 911. The engine isn't very loud (in comparison to normal speeds) and the steering stays positive feeling at the 90 max I hit.

Really, top speed doesn't entice me anymore, I prefer taking corners with moderate, not outrageous or on the edge, amounts of speed. This is why I want to drive track at some point, because then I can push it with out the huge consequences [read: trees]. And the pavement will be good and smooth as well.

I did over 100 on a motorcycle once and I am never ever compelled to do it again, and I get my yearly dose of speed on snowmobiles and open lakes, which I consider quite safe in comparison to other methods of speed.

Having recently returned to NA after 10 years of living and working (MBB, BMW, Dornier) in Munich.

I can quite comfortably state that we North Americans do not know how to drive at speeds above 75mph on public roads . My 96 Lancia Integrale HF would run quite comfortably (albiet @ 12L/100) all day at 135mph I was not. Responsiblity for others in traffic would make it white knukle within 15minutes.

I have considerable respect for drivers that UNDERSTAND their vehicle's dynamics given changing road conditions AND speeds. It seems we (NA's) prefer the drag strip approach rather than a rallye/road course approach to driving.

rowen33908,

What worries me is that the Germans have one of the highest auto mortality in the western world. It is not your driving that I worry about, it’s the incompetent nut out on the Autobaun at 150Km/hr who isn’t watching his mirrors and has had too much Schnapps. You can’t protect yourself from such fools, particularly at very high speed.

We have fools here in the US also.

Additionally, most here aren’t expecting to be overtaken at 300Km/hr.

Best,
Grady

Grady

You are quite right ... fools are every where only ... at least in Germany they usually don't get a second time.

I have noticed that I do drive drive differently now that I have returned.

robert

Robert,

Aah, and I thought Darwin was a Brit.

The point I was trying to make was with high speeds, no matter your skill, the worse the “accident” is. Energy = Mass X Velocity SQUARED.

Best,
Grady

I actually read him to be rather Canadian at times, although Canada was a colony ...

In general I agree with your point , the reality however, after two years of Design for Failure (Multi-Body Impact Energy Management) at BMW Technik, is a little more complicated. The newer Bi-Modal failures of structures such as sandwich vs columnar collapse can direct energy to non-critical zones. (A-Class, Smartcar).

This technique allows for significant variabilty in the impact zone as well magnitude.

They kind of freaked out a little when I demonstrated this easily achievable Design for Benign Failure with anisotropic/orthotropic materials Carbon Fibre Composites but not so with metals.

robert

Choosing other activities over a DE day, Sacrilege! ;)

Once you start doing this stuff you'll find the rest of your life gets organized around DE days. I've got one coming up, my choices are: pick up my Parents from the airport or spend the day at Eastern Creek honing my track skills… who am I kidding, there's no choice here, they can get a cab :D

Well guys, when you are driving around NJ and see a Porsche going just a tad (9 mph or less) over the limit, it's me. I would love to take her out and let her "breathe" but, the thought of points, fines, judges, etc. scares the crap out of me. Now, paying the toll and seeing what she'll do 0-60 is another thing...

PS, never had a speeding ticket, never been in an accident...soon approaching 42.

I'm betting you're right. Even in the short time I've owned the little bugger, my whole ownership philosophy has evolved considerably. No matter how much I have read about and studied these cars, I've found I can't really understand them until I get behind the wheel. Just the street driving I've done so far has taught me a great deal and changed the way I think about driving in general.

I used to have an IROC-Z that was a monster. But this p-car would shred that IROC on a track. What an awesome machine!