Discussion
What is the best you did in a 350i? I did 120 sometime ago on my way to the continental meeting, but didn't feel like doing much faster as the steering becomes pretty light (have powersteering). My speedo is very accurate as i have gps navigation which gives the same reading (have 17 inch alloys which may help).
>>> Edited by bhardy on Wednesday 4th August 11:19
>>> Edited by bhardy on Wednesday 4th August 11:19
Way back, when I had my nearly new 350i in 1991 I also went to >140 indicated after a long run up on a cool damp day with the hood up and lights down. All in legal & controlled circumstances of course. For a laugh I popped the headlamps up at Vmax and the car instantly dropped to 120
TaS
TaS
A certain individual (no names, no pack-drill) casually mentioned at BBWF04, "We never dropped below 150 ... until the rolling road-block appeared seven miles short of our start point!". At least NeilH knows his car will (did) maintain a very high speed for nearly 120 miles non-stop! (Humm! "Is that a comfort?" I ask myself 
- Streaky
- Streaky
Years ago I went with a mate to pick up his new motorbike - on the way back, as he kept overtaking and I struggled to keep up due to traffic, when I saw a dual carriageway in the distance I decided to bury the pedal, shot round the various cars that were between us and wacked past him, by the time I'd left him in the previous county I realised the needle was @ 140 - once we slowed down he stayed with me all the way.. when we got home he was well pissed off that the TVR was faster than his new bike 
Declaration that this occured in a country far far away
Declaration that this occured in a country far far away
come on guys lets be realistic! I reckon a 350i is good for maybe 130 flat out. Its more of a car for accelerating hard to 100. thats the fun of it! Its a hard car to drive safely past 100 in my opinion. Have to say though that for a car made back in the 80's its amusing that my 350i can keep up with a brand new 04 subaru imprezza turbo.
tasmania said:
For a laugh I popped the headlamps up at Vmax and the car instantly dropped to 120
TaS
Air brakes !!
It's ok, I can see me coat from here
Just thought - there's an advantage to the SEAC there - you could switch the sidelights on, then tape the full beam on - the pods would stay down - and the rear light cluster would stay on - so long as it's a private straight road
then a Vmax in the cool air would be on..
>> Edited by Patrick on Thursday 5th August 20:38
Its a hard car to drive safely past 100 in my opinion. [/quote]
Thats my opion too but it's nice to floor it once in a while altough i don't go over 100 most of the time. But the thing that i love is that if you floor it at 100 it still goes!! Just wondering what happens if you have the guts to keep it going!!
Thats my opion too but it's nice to floor it once in a while altough i don't go over 100 most of the time. But the thing that i love is that if you floor it at 100 it still goes!! Just wondering what happens if you have the guts to keep it going!!
Not only does the steering go very lite, but its around 120-140mph mark that you also suddenly remember that the wheels and other critical parts of the steering are held together by rusty split pins and that you wished that you had the time earlier to check the tightness of the wheel nuts, top up the oil level, check the brake pads, check the tyre pressures are correct and also the realisation that you have no roll cage hits you and then you tend to slow down somewhat.
The noise is also deafening and the wind pressure crushing at that speed especially with the roof off! I to was gonnna try lifting the lights but feared that they would both rip off and that would be the last time I saw them flying over my head. So i didn't
I love Wedges
MikeB
The noise is also deafening and the wind pressure crushing at that speed especially with the roof off! I to was gonnna try lifting the lights but feared that they would both rip off and that would be the last time I saw them flying over my head. So i didn't
I love Wedges
MikeB
The speedo in my 390SE is calibrated in 'bollocks' not mph. It's scaled to 160 mph and I've seen it off the end a few times... yet the rev counter tells a different tale.
TVR claimed 146 mph top speed and safe rev limit of 6250 (NCK engine) which would equate to 148 if it could pull all the way there in top.
This was on the original flat-top Omega pistons giving 10.5:1 c.r., using (presumably) 100 RON fuel and without PAS.
My (PAS-equipped) car has had some changes (perhaps not for the better) but based on 3.54:1 diff ratio and tyre circumference of 74 inches, it equates to 142.5 mph at 6000 rpm in top. Now I have never got it there, but I have seen about 5400, probably a realistic 130, and that was on 95 RON.
It will, however, pull quite happily to 6000 through the gears (I have the rev limiter set to 6K) which equates to 35, 57, 85 and 119 mph. Given that the 350s generally had the same diff ratio and tyre diameter, try this in your car and see what it equates to... that should identify any speedo error.
Alternatively, take it that the car should do 25.5 mph per 1000 rpm in top and see what that produces (ie 4000 rpm is 102 mph, +/- a bit).
Agree that 100+ for anything other than short distances requires balls like an elephant...
Ian
TVR claimed 146 mph top speed and safe rev limit of 6250 (NCK engine) which would equate to 148 if it could pull all the way there in top.
This was on the original flat-top Omega pistons giving 10.5:1 c.r., using (presumably) 100 RON fuel and without PAS.
My (PAS-equipped) car has had some changes (perhaps not for the better) but based on 3.54:1 diff ratio and tyre circumference of 74 inches, it equates to 142.5 mph at 6000 rpm in top. Now I have never got it there, but I have seen about 5400, probably a realistic 130, and that was on 95 RON.
It will, however, pull quite happily to 6000 through the gears (I have the rev limiter set to 6K) which equates to 35, 57, 85 and 119 mph. Given that the 350s generally had the same diff ratio and tyre diameter, try this in your car and see what it equates to... that should identify any speedo error.
Alternatively, take it that the car should do 25.5 mph per 1000 rpm in top and see what that produces (ie 4000 rpm is 102 mph, +/- a bit).
Agree that 100+ for anything other than short distances requires balls like an elephant...
Ian
My speedo is calibrated to 150mph and I appear to have an unusually tall top of 28mph/1000rpm. I know that the 350 engines don't go pop until 7,750 (I haver two friends who have both done this twice 
- hello Duke and Paul) so this would equate to a top speed of 217mph 
I have had an indicated 144 but air resistance above 135 means that acceleration is very, very slow. The 400s should be most stable at speed with the semi-circular front under spoiler.
- hello Duke and Paul) so this would equate to a top speed of 217mph I have had an indicated 144 but air resistance above 135 means that acceleration is very, very slow. The 400s should be most stable at speed with the semi-circular front under spoiler.fergusgorman said:
come on guys lets be realistic! I reckon a 350i is good for maybe 130 flat out. Its more of a car for accelerating hard to 100. thats the fun of it! Its a hard car to drive safely past 100 in my opinion. Have to say though that for a car made back in the 80's its amusing that my 350i can keep up with a brand new 04 subaru imprezza turbo.
Spot on!
Once my car is back on the road I have thought about how I'd drive it. Getting up to speed is what I love best about driving my Wedge before cruising at a steady pace. Having said that, I hit 130 plus before the speedo gave up its ghost...probably had the equivalant of a speedo heart attack 
Gassing Station | Wedges | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff