Out of intrest how quick are these?

Trinity · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:23

The_Dark_Side said:
talk about peaky power delivery.
0-60 in 3/4 seconds then another 10 seconds to add 40mph to that.

Yes of course. a 5 speed box needs to go a long way to achieve 160mph+ which I have witnessed these cars doing first hand

The_Dark_Side · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:23

Trinity said:
250bhp.

a Volvo plus a 1/3 of a ton of gear takes a lot of power to hit 170/4 seconds to 60.

moss · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:23

Trinity said:
I remember a few years back an article on Courtenay and they had easily achieved the Vectra traffic cars a sub 12 second 1/4 mile.

Easily? I cant see it being easy getting a vectra to do a sub 12 1/4.

Trinity · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:24

The_Dark_Side said:
acheived and what the force run daily are 2 different things.

These were Force cars. Not one offs. They had the contract for all Vectra Traffic cars. Regal were Peeved!

silversurfer · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:24

I expect their money is better invested on the heli, 140 as the crow (or should that be falcon) flies should cover most needs I think.

They tune US police cars I think, there is a classic video online of a 14 year old driving a M3 vs a tuned yankie police car. Funny that the 14 year old still wins

I think this is it -

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sT__2USvK0c

The_Dark_Side · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:25

Trinity said:
Yes of course. a 5 speed box needs to go a long way to achieve 160mph+ which I have witnessed these cars doing first hand

160+ is more acheiveable than 170+.
when you get to those speeds the power increases needed to add 10mph to your terminal start to become widely spaced apart.

moss · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:26

silversurfer said:
there is a classic video online of a 14 year old driving a M3 vs a tuned yankie police car. Funny that the 14 year old still wins

Even more funny the way they edited it to show them actually catching him, if it is the same one

TomO · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:31

Trinity said:
So the police reinforced chassis is imaginary then. Oh well
They also have rather imaginative gearboxes which makes for some impressive sprints. 0-100 in the above example comes round in 14seconds fully laden

0-100mph sounds plausible for 250bhp in a car that size, maybe as standard with out the extra police gear. 0-60 in 3 or 4 seconds - no chance.

Lopéz · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:31

Trinity said:
So the police reinforced chassis is imaginary then. Oh well
They also have rather imaginative gearboxes which makes for some impressive sprints. 0-100 in the above example comes round in 14seconds fully laden

How does a reinforced chassis make it do 170mph and hit 60 in 3 seconds :confused:

Trinity · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:33

Lopéz said:
How does a reinforced chassis make it do 170mph and hit 60 in 3 seconds

It doesnt and I didnt say it did.

It was in response to the comments about being just a 'standard' car.

A re-inforced chassis though? That could quite easily be a seam weld. Hardly weight enhancing.

The_Dark_Side · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:34

TomO said:
0-100mph sounds plausible for 250bhp in a car that size, maybe as standard with out the extra police gear. 0-60 in 3 or 4 seconds - no chance.

ton up in 14 sounds right, but that same car would need a gearbox from one of the competitors of the Wacky Races to hit 60 in sub 4 seconds.

Lopéz · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:35

Trinity said:
It doesnt and I didnt say it did.

It was in response to the comments about being just a 'standard' car.

A re-inforced chassis though? That could quite easily be a seam weld. Hardly weight enhancing.

I asked for your source of Volvo police cars doing 60 in 3 seconds and 170mph, you produced the Volvo Police Brochure as evidence. which mentions nothing apart from reinforcement and useful items like extra wiring components and so on.

The_Dark_Side · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:36

Trinity said:
It was in response to the comments about being just a 'standard' car..

i didn't say they were standard.
i said mechanically ie power output they are standard.

Firestar_3x · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:38

Tbh the reinforced chassis could be anything from a new design or just some bolt on braces, so thats still no change from the stock design just an addon, much like the radio gear or lights, i expect they need the reinforced chassi simply to deal with the extra load the car need to carry.

Guigsy · 31 Oct 2006 at 19:45

They definately have modded suspension, but it's not for performance, just weight so they can cope with the huge amounts of gear in the back and the cage to hold it all in place in case of a crash. The gear they carry would take the car over it's manufacturers recommended limits, so they have to up it.

They have the electrics changed to fit all their gizmos and lights and an ancillary battery so they can leave the lightbar running for hours without flattening the starter battery.

The 'Police spec' versions tend to be stripped of bits like the stereo... basically all the bits they'd rip out when they refit them anyway.

Traffic cops tend to have quick cars, but they aren't tuned. Got marked Volvos around us, and lots of unmarked ST220s and vRS.

Fr0dders · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:10

The_Dark_Side said:
no, they can't afford to.
tuning any engine shortens it's lifespan and a traffic car is expected to serve for 200k miles or so.

they don't need HUGE performance, as a traffic cop once told me they just need to be able to get on the radio and call in someone further ahead.

wrong

most police impreza's came prodrive tuned. They had the PPP upgrade on them which adds about another 20bhp and usually some uprated suspension stuff to help them take with the rought stuff they put them through.

But your right, in that most panda / traffic cars arent tuned. afaik its only the pursuit cars like the impreza's that get tuned.

Fr0dders · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:12

shrek2 said:
I never knew some police forces had evos. Christ.

chopper coppers showed South Yorkshire's one a couple of weeks back.

Was unmarked with only a couple of blue lights stuck in the parcel shelf and dash with a strobe on the headlights.

a few weeks before they showed the same bloke trying to catch a stolen evo in the T5. He got left for dust.

Dup · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:29

Select vehicles are tuned, like the unmarked Scoobs etc which have been selected to crack down on vehicle theft etc so are equipped to take on a chase. But your avage car will just be average, with maybe the ECU based limiters not present. The town based cars are limited to 90mph too I think.

Nozzer · 31 Oct 2006 at 20:48

ca9phoenix said:
Oh how i wish i was a police officer there!!!!!

Plod don't actually get to drive those. That car was a Lambo London demonstrator. I had a chat with the traffic officer on PR duty at the start of the Gumball this year. He said they may get a quick go if they're lucky but otherwise it's just for display.

Which was reassuring considering what we'd got planned that afternoon

I believe traffic patrols around the country have some fast Audis/BMWs as unmarked cars though. There was an unmarked M5 on the M4 a year or two back, complete with M5*** private plate, which caught a few people out.

Confused · 31 Oct 2006 at 21:05

shrek2 said:
I never knew some police forces had evos. Christ.

Essex Police's traffic section have a couple of Evos, I know one of the guys who works there, one of the main reasons for getting them over some other cars they trialled is the hope that people will see an Evo in their rear view mirrors, think "**** that" and just give up being pursued

These have full Police livery - plus the light bars, sirens, etc, absolutely everything