I Don't Think Red Will Do It

[pdub]

Had a big interstate run with Red this weekend. Dadgum, that car is fun to drive.

Few and far opportunities between, but wait, wait, wait, .... okay GO. Downshift to 3rd or 4th and mash the gas when the road gets wide open and no cars around. Should I post this on the internet? Red and I went fast today.

Gee-golly, that is ultimate fun. Speed. But the highway is the worst place to do it. That's stupid, I know it. But I wait until if anything goes wrong I'll be the only one who gets hurt. AND no cops around.

Keith Turk thinks Red will do 135 from a standing start in a mile. Lots of other folks think so, too. I just don't think so. Red pulls so slow in 4th gear...Yeah - the guy I bought Red from said he had the speed meter buried at 140. I don't at all doubt that.

But from a standing start in a mile....I just doubt it. It'll be fun to find out, though.

[Dan Barlow]

I think it's going to be close enough to have Keith tell you I'd be a good idea to have one the next time you come back . But no, I don't think you'll hit 135. I did, but you talked me out of it a while back when you mentioned that weight added to the car really seemed to slow it down. And will you have the hp at around three hundred, I don't think you have the torque to pull it off in the mile. I do hope I'm wrong . I'll be there to see it . One way or another. (voluteering or not )

[pdub]

I think it's going to be close enough to have Keith tell you I'd be a good idea to have one the next time you come back . But no, I don't think you'll hit 135. I did, but you talked me out of it a while back when you mentioned that weight added to the car really seemed to slow it down. And will you have the hp at around three hundred, I don't think you have the torque to pull it off in the mile. I do hope I'm wrong . I'll be there to see it . One way or another. (voluteering or not )

It'll be great to meet ya there man.

It's been such a huge build-up to the event for me, internally. Car, helmet, letters for the windows....the anticipation. And I'll have to buy a million dollar's wroth of tires that I don't really need except for that event, and even for that, just to feel safer.

But from playing with the car on the highway (which is WRONG - I AM STUPID DOING THAT), I just can't see it doing 135 from a standing start. Sure it's hell outta the hole for a production car, nothing to 60 REAL quick compared to a Prius. But I see the dragging anchor on the other end.

No, I really don't think it's any threat to even approach 135 in a mile. My guess is ....120-something. The quandry is that when you go faster, you eat up distance faster, so while you're still trying to accelerate, you're eating up distance so time (not distance) runs out.

Who wants to bet? Wanna bet a case of beer? And I will NOT sandbag on a bet. I'll mash the gas through the floorboard and run through the gears as hard as I can and I WANT to see how fast I can go. That's why I'll be there. But I'll bet Red won't do 135 in the time trap.

If he does, I'll be so surprised, and I'll buy two or three cases of beer for myself.

Only one person may bet. First bettor is the only one. I'm betting Red can't go 135 in a mile. Somebody bet against me.

[JOES66FURY]

I know the speedo will peg out at 145...no problem...but 135 in the standing mile...I dunno...I'd sure like to give it a try.

[Barry Donovan]

how is this even a mystery.

750 million red mustangs out there.

all kinds of engine gets a bigger factory retarder. if no 150 in a mile, start there...

and I am beyond guessing it has that fine comb cat onboard.
I even found a show with a host quibbling about 180mph in his corvette. (going for 200)

this 135mph is for n/a four cyls to anticipate a real outcome. ..
a v8 can climb to nascar.

[Shawn Anderson]

Should be close, these cars are fun.

[pdub]

Should be close, these cars are fun.

You sure are right Shawn, if that's not even an understatement. For a plug-and-play toy, put gas in it and wash it and that's all, I can't imagine anything more fun. Well, more exactly I never imagined I'd have one. OR how much fun it would be.

I'll say why I'm so confused on the issue, and I think and try to calculate too much anyhow. One car left in front of me, and that's sure not a cop, a half mile from here to the next batch of cars ahead, and nothing but woods or guardrails on either side of the road so no place for a cop to be sitting in wait.....hammer down.

I could have surely buried the meter two or three times already doing that but when it gets to about 120, my foot just lets go. That's enough, too much already. I just don't want to lose my license and/or go to jail. Missed at least two chances that I can think of where the stars aligned and there was no other reason to let out of it other than my fear of the consequences.

But here comes the math. So, run it up to 120 and then coast out of it. A) I was going 80 already when I started that rampage. B) The car I passed now looks to be about two tenths of a mile behind. C) That car I passed was doing 75 and still is, so... D) How far did did we both go during that time period? I mean, we're both eating up distance but a different rates of speed.

Trying to expand that into 135 from a standing start....well, I think too much and I'm SO looking forward to the event, I just don't know what the outcome will be.

[Cyclone03]

PeeDub is it a stick or auto,V8 or 6?

If a stick and you shift to 5th or 6thOD the car may actually slow because it dosn't have the HP to pull the tall gear.

Way back when... I changed a rear gear in my 85 Mustang,from 3.08 to 3.73 and I could then PULL 5th gear,picked up about 8-10mph,215 killer HP back in 1985.

[oldsman496]

i bet it will do it. but i don't drink. i will be watchin' though.....

[pdub]

PeeDub is it a stick or auto,V8 or 6?

If a stick and you shift to 5th or 6thOD the car may actually slow because it dosn't have the HP to pull the tall gear.

Way back when... I changed a rear gear in my 85 Mustang,from 3.08 to 3.73 and I could then PULL 5th gear,picked up about 8-10mph,215 killer HP back in 1985.

It's a stick, a 4-speed with overdrive. That OD gear is entirely too tall to drive with unless you're sleeping. You have to downshift from that to "do" anything, like uhhh pass a Prius. No, that gear won't pull. It's TOO overdriven as far as ratio. Supposedly better for mileage, though.

So 4th is the gear of choice for a top end run (if distance is a concern), and it flattens out a little before 120 mph at 5000 and it just hangs there, at least it feels like it does. That's within the power curve on whatever cam the engine has in it, but it just won't pull hard in 4th. Not enough HP to do all of that, I don't think. Not in a hurry at least. It will, but at its own slow pace...while distance is running out.

I don't want to modify the car at all right now, gears and stuff. The only reason for this pursuit in my mind is to find out what it will do as it is. I'm curious. Well, yeah, plus the speed factor. I haven't maxed it out, and will never do so on the highway. I just can't make myself do it on a public road.

As it is, I don't think I'll max it out on the Mile in Ohio, either, but it's a legal place to try. To get some better idea. Having done that, I don't think I'll have the desire to do the stupid speed runs on the highway, trying to find out what it will do. Because I'll know. Right now I don't know. That probably doesn't make sense to a lot of folks, but it does to me.

One thing I found from going to Maxton two years ago, the land speed racing thing is not at all a spectator sport. Nobody there is actually looking at the track. Except for me and Unit and a few others on those two days. Why is nobody watching the "race?" We didn't know.

Now I know. If you ain't driving, you ain't there.

[Russell]

Do you know what gear ratio it has? What size are the rear tires? What rpm is is peak HP? I would like to calculate the speed at peak power in 4th don't think you will go faster that number. Get a couple cardboard boxes some tape. Take the mufflers off, do the mirrors fold in? There should be a few free cheap mph.

Let me "work on it" and drive it and I will buy you case of beer win or lose!

[realsteelfreak]

Dont overthink it PW, we know your excited and hope you do well. The shot of the Cuda that was on here this weekend is enough reason not to play on the street.

If you want a cheap gear change without changing gears, get an extra set of rims and put a smaller O/D tire on them(or bigger O/D) Depends the way you want to go.
10 minutes in the pits and viola , a gear change.

Free Horsepower, change all your lubes, or have them done to synthetics. As far as the exhaust mentioned before, take it to the muffler shop and have some cutouts installed, saves a lot of work in the pits, nothing hi tech , just unbolt some caps with wingnuts.
Best of luck from another East Tn guy. Race Safe.

[pdub]

Russell, I think I'd better do the driving after all of this lead-up to it. Joe could probably spout those technical details, I'd have to look them up. But from driving it, the power curve is definitely from 4800 to 6K. Where the peak is, I don't know. The mirrors don't fold in.

And Jerry, thanks man. I will and I will. And the muffler cutout idea sounded intersting enough for me to go look.

Since I'm not a car guy at all, it looks to me like the most logical (accessable) place for cutouts would be at that sharp upward bend. But that black mass hanging down on the left is the fuel tank, and I wouldn't like the thought of blow-torching all of the lube out of the rear end on just a few fun runs. Feedback?

[Russell]

I put a cut out on my old lincoln just after the last cat inplace of the resonator. Can you take the mufflers off? I think the clamp is in the top of the picture

Peewee I understand I would not let me drive my car either

[pdub]

I put a cut out on my old lincoln just after the last cat inplace of the resonator. Can you take the mufflers off? I think the clamp is in the top of the picture

Peewee I understand I would not let me drive my car either

Russell, you could surely take the mufflers off but I sure can't. Remember it's me we're talking about.

And even then, the discharge would be in a place so not-meant-to-be underneath the car....I'm sure I'll give Red a try as he is on The Mile. I'll find out what he can do in a mile, and then there's a mystery solved, at least to me.

And you can drive my car anytime, as long as I'm driving it. But it's not just you. If I'm going somewhere I have to drive. Unless I've been drinking, then I'll ride. That's the only me. Must be a control issue. But your thing is different, wanting to drive Red while I watch? Naw...no. I'd let Turk drive it, though, if he'd just bought it from me. And it's not for sale at all.