Fastest you've been on a public road.

merlin · 20 Oct 2006 at 13:03

I don't see why having a 1.4 engine and the car being a hatchback should be relevant. Sure small cars don't feel too clever at high speed, but what's the engine size and the body shape got to do with it?

Didn't Ford do a 1.4 Focus hatchback? That'd feel ok and still be reasonably planted at 90 wouldn't it?

Freefaller · 20 Oct 2006 at 13:05

Heck my Fiat Uno 60s (all 1136ccs of it) sat at 70-75 on the motorway for many many many trips it never instilled any fear into me. Then again I don't think I have a fear gene

oweneades · 20 Oct 2006 at 13:09

[TW]Fox said:
I think your attitude towards speed largely depends on the car you drive.

For people in 1.4 litre hatchbacks, the very thought of more than 70mph fills them with terror. When they weld their foot to the floor, it takes an absolute age to actually get there anyway, and by the time they have, the whole car feels like its about to implode. It probably is.

I don't know I would imagine the 1.4TSI 170BHP golf can get to 90 pretty quickly if you pushed it.

(of course I understand that you mean little clios etc with what 75bhp

)

Freefaller · 20 Oct 2006 at 13:13

I have to say I don't understand what he meant. A little 75bhp clio can sit on the motorway doing 70 without screaming it's nuts off.... and feel perfectly safe. I think we need to expose some people here to proper bangers or some proper danger or dodgy cars

burns · 20 Oct 2006 at 13:40

Freefaller said:
I have to say I don't understand what he meant. A little 75bhp clio can sit on the motorway doing 70 without screaming it's nuts off.... and feel perfectly safe. I think we need to expose some people here to proper bangers or some proper danger or dodgy cars

Indeed.

If fox had said poorly maintained banger instead of just small engined hatch back I could understand it, that can be a bit scary. But as long as the car is in good nick I've never found small cars to be that different to do high speeds in than large ones, just a bit louder.

Oakesy2001uk · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:20

[TW]Fox said:
I think your attitude towards speed largely depends on the car you drive.

For people in 1.4 litre hatchbacks, the very thought of more than 70mph fills them with terror. When they weld their foot to the floor, it takes an absolute age to actually get there anyway, and by the time they have, the whole car feels like its about to implode. It probably is.

However, with bigger and more powerful cars, the car feels pretty much the same at, say, 90 as it does at 70. And a few seconds of throttle will easily get you to that sort of speed. It becomes completely different to doing it in a trolley, and your opinions change as a result.

Get what your trying to get across mate, My bike takes so little time to smash through 100 that in my opinion there are many occaisions where it is perfectly safe to do so, I dont need to justify my riding to anyone, and don't like pain, so do not aim to kill myself whenever I go out, I speed excessively when there is little traffic around and I feel comfortable doing so. I dont know how fast I have been on my bike, but I have hit the 155 restrictor on a M3 before now and presume similar from the bike. never had the bike flat out on the road, but not too far away, concentrating more on the road when I'm in that sort of mood.

The same with quick cars, eg fox you cars isn't slow, and I bet 100 mph on the motorway feels quite boring, whereas in a fiat cinquinwhatever it would be terrifying (and amusing

), assuming one could hit such speed in one of those, probably top out early 90's.

As I remember 79mph in my old 1 litre mini mayfair down the backlanes was quite scary! I bourght it as a project, then got offered far more than I paid and got rid. It was breathed on and a really amusing car to drive. 10 inch wheels and 135 wide tyres if I remember :cool:

Oakesy2001uk · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:28

burns said:
Indeed.

If fox had said poorly maintained banger instead of just small engined hatch back I could understand it, that can be a bit scary. But as long as the car is in good nick I've never found small cars to be that different to do high speeds in than large ones, just a bit louder.

I disagree, 5 series beemers and newish larger cars feel much slower at high speeds. My dads grand espace feels really slow at 100+

dirtydog · 20 Oct 2006 at 15:34

merlin said:
I don't see why having a 1.4 engine and the car being a hatchback should be relevant. Sure small cars don't feel too clever at high speed, but what's the engine size and the body shape got to do with it?

Didn't Ford do a 1.4 Focus hatchback? That'd feel ok and still be reasonably planted at 90 wouldn't it?

The 1.4 litre Renault 5 GT Turbo is not too bad at speed either...

helpimcrap · 20 Oct 2006 at 16:04

if you want legal fear, try a 1.0 fiat panda old shape. i've never been so scared as when i did 75 in one of them.

Sp00n · 20 Oct 2006 at 16:22

My 1.4 doesn't feel scary until about 110 when everything starts to vibrate quite a lot

The weird thing is though at 100mph everything in the car seems to be in sync, the exhaust is quiet (well as quiet as its gonna be), the car doesnt rattle or anything its really bizarre.

kidloco · 20 Oct 2006 at 16:29

managed to get 184 on the speedo of my R1 at 4 am on a sunday morning down a motorway. was a few years ago, stupid I know, but I was 25, brand new bike just run in and wanted to see what it would do.

Speeding is a always going to open up a can of worms, it really does depend on what your riding/driving , I dont speed in my car, becuase its a poxy vectra and you need to write an invation to stop. but modern sports cars/bikes are total differant ball game. dont get me wrong at 184 your going to die either way. but if your on a GXR1000 or ferrai then 100mph is perfectly safe on a motorway I feel

just my 2 cents

Liquid_Entity · 20 Oct 2006 at 16:32

115mph downhill on the M23 between the M25 and Gatwick turn off. In my Seat Ibiza 1.4

Fusion · 20 Oct 2006 at 16:53

Never been above a ton twenty. For 'I feel like I'm travelling a hell of a lot faster than I really am' value, you couldn't beat an ancient Datsun Sunny that my mum owned many many years ago. With worm steering and a 1.1 litre pushrod engine, the whole car would shake at 60 mph. I don't ever recall going above that magic marker point, but at that time I thought 60 was well pacey :cool:

Glaucus · 20 Oct 2006 at 16:56

hey I use to sit at around 95mph(indicated) in the chiqo, with out feeling unsafe or scared.

Been upto 135 in a twin turbo supra. That's about the fastest.

The_Dark_Side · 20 Oct 2006 at 17:54

Freefaller said:
Then again I don't think I have a fear gene

bearing in mind you have a penchant for jumping out of perfectly working aircraft i won't disagree with you.

you big, big freak.

[TW]Fox · 20 Oct 2006 at 18:06

merlin said:
I don't see why having a 1.4 engine and the car being a hatchback should be relevant. Sure small cars don't feel too clever at high speed, but what's the engine size and the body shape got to do with it?

Didn't Ford do a 1.4 Focus hatchback? That'd feel ok and still be reasonably planted at 90 wouldn't it?

I guess I wasn't very clear at what I meant. I am talking about speeds over 70mph - sorry if that wasn't clear. With a small engine it takes so long to get to speeds of, say, 100mph, that it feels like some sort of huge acheivement, a big number, something dodgy. The reason why I said hatchback was becuase I don't see too many 1.2-1.4 Saloons, Coupes, Roadsters and Estates on the roads.

A little Clio with 75mph might well be fine at 70 but take it towards 100 and you KNOW you are approaching 100. Do the same in an S320 - 100 will feel like 40 in the Clio, and if you don't look at the speedo you will simply have no idea you have just broken a ton. Add this to the fact it doesn't take very long to accelerate from sliproad speeds to excess of 100mph in said car, and you have the reason why many people feel comfortable at higher speeds.

The ONLY reasons I do not cruise around everywhere at between 90 and 130mph is fear of losing my license, and fuel economy. My car doesn't feel discernably different and it gathers speed at a rate which means 100 doesn't really seem like anything special, to me.

But it does 36-38mpg average @ 75, so its all good

TomO · 20 Oct 2006 at 18:19

helpimcrap said:
if you want legal fear, try a 1.0 fiat panda old shape. i've never been so scared as when i did 75 in one of them.

my mate managed to get an indicated 95 down a hill in his. that thing was scary - didnt really stop and didnt really go either. it eventually went to the scrapheap when he had a brake failure when travelling around 90 indicated in it and the final straw was shortly after the alternator fell out the bottom of the engine bay as whatever was holding it on had completely rusted through! :eek:

btw - 165 indicated (160 GPS) on autobahn. that was hitting the supposed 155 limiter - many people says its a 'soft' limiter.

Pants · 20 Oct 2006 at 18:30

150+ in my brothers 2.1 RS Turbo. Went way off the gauge at 140 mph lol!

Mine does 145 then I get scared.

(this is on a private motorway for any cops on the forums!)

Freefaller · 21 Oct 2006 at 12:47

The_Dark_Side said:
bearing in mind you have a penchant for jumping out of perfectly working aircraft i won't disagree with you.

you big, big freak.

You love me really

The_Dark_Side · 21 Oct 2006 at 12:50

Freefaller said:
You love me really

going off at a tangent, like that's unusual behaviour for me, i've never really fancied a 'chute jump but for some reason handgliding has always appealed to me.

/discuss.