Is Las Vegas really the only track to top out at? I know that NASA is going to open California Speedway in March, which I believe is the fastest track on the CART circuit right now (could be wrong, though). 2+ mile oval should give plenty of room to run.

 

Oh, I didn't know that NASA was going to start track events for the Superspeed way at Fontana. Well, there's another track . I thought that the Superspeedway might be a bit too dangerous for most people.

 

No doudt speeds in excess of 100mph are not to be taken lightly.Many factors should limit ones driving at the speeds we are discussing,driving experience,tires ,road conditions and most important the safety of others.With that said I still wonder why a preformance car should have any speed limiter unless there is an enginering issue.If my z car is capable of 175 then it should be able to go 175.I probably will never get close to top speed,but it is lame to say the car car go only 155 because it is speed limited.I am unaware of any speed limited Z06's.

 

What are all you talking about? The Z is limited to 155 mph by the company to avoid lawsuits. Remember that in the US asinine lawyers rule. Many companies don’t even want to conduct business in the US because of the risk of lawsuits. Top speed is not dictated by aerodynamics. Top speed is dictated by bhp. You can increase the top speed of any car by increasing the bhp. That does not mean that it is a safe at high speeds. And a poor aerodynamicly designed car will be very unstable at high speeds. The Z per the manufacture has a coefficient of lift of zero. So that means at any speed the car should not lift off the ground and be very stable. And if you have an awesome car like a Ferrari the car has ground effects that holds the car to the ground the faster you go. Many people have been in cars in the US, on US, roads faster than 180 mph. I have been in a car in the US at 150+ mph without a problem. I KNOW that the Z is smooth as silk at 130 mph on a highway in the US. And there are numerous tracks that you can drive a car in the US easily over 200 mph on the weekend without the need for significant turning. The fact is that lawyers rule the US and that sucks!

 

David,

Top speed is most certainly limited by aerodynamics. If fact, that is the largest limiting factor to top speed by far. It is true that HP will allow you to go faster, but that is only because you have more power to push through the air. I would be equally as wrong to say that HP does not affect top speed because I can lower the drag coefficient to go faster.

Both factors (among others) affect top speed, but the slipperyness of the Z is one thing that allows it to go quite fast even though it is "relatively" low power.

I think you are thinking of the coefficient of lift, which is how likely the car is to rise off the ground like a wing. The Z does also have a very low coefficient of lift (as you say, in the track model it is zero), so that is what makes the car more stable. It does not however, have a significant affect on the top speed, other than the fact that it allows the driver to feel more secure at the higher speeds (and in the case of the Bonneville speed record cars, the fact that it allows them to stay on the ground)

Keep in mind also, that there are plenty of cars sold in Gemany that are limited to speeds equal to or lower than the Z. Also keep in mind that there are right-hand drive versions of the Z for other countries that also have the limiter. I highly doubt that the limiter is in place due to lawsuits, because if that was the case it would seem that they would limit the car to something like 120, which is still far faster than any speed limit in the US.

As far as lawyers go, always remember, that it takes another person to sue someone, not just a lawyer. For every idiot lawyer, there's at least one more idiot in tow (actually, that makes it even more depressing).

-Note- In my above statement re: lawyers, I did not mean to imply that most or all lawyers are idiots. Therefore if you are a lawyer, and are not an idiot, please don't sue me for libel or any of that cheesy, petty, crap. You giant A-Hole.

-Can that last sentence please be stricken from the record?

-D'oh!

 

I've seen the new BMW's limited to 155 also. I don't know why it is, but it really won't affect me. How many times are you going to go 155? And I don't see how the Z having a limiter should make any difference in it being a performance car. You yourself said you wouldn't take it up to that speed but would just like knowing your car can go faster. So its a my ***** is longer than your ***** thing, huh?

 

One of the reasons most German cars are limited to 155 was an environmental issue. The Green Party in Germany pointed to the excessive speeds cars could attain on the Autobahn and alleged, or demonstrated they were a source of greater pollutants, auto exhaust at warp speeds being an example. Anyway, the major companies ageed to put limiters set at 155mph to avoid being picketed, harassed, etc. by the Party. Most do adhere to the limit, except Porsche, Ruf and some others who are tuners, not manufacturers. This was policy made several yrs ago, and sorry, I can't tell you when. I subscribe to nearly all the car mags around, except Hot Rod or Trucks.

Before someone yells BS, I remember this was done a long time ago. As an illustration, Ruf built the "Yellow Bird" modified Porsche and ran it at 211mph on the Autobahn in 1989! Fourteen(14) yrs ago, any of you automotive historians can look it up. In regards to the Z, I have read 3 different speeds attributed to it. I have no way of documenting this w/o digging thru a bunch of mags and I'm too lazy to do that. The speeds are: 155mph limited; 156mph limited; and 170mph drag limited. I don't know if any of them are true, but if interested, somebody could go to the mag articles and find them, maybe, I don't know.

Boomer babble

 

Yea top speed is affected by aerodynamics as d'oh said, and HP as well. But dont forget about gearing.

Chevy doesnt limit top speed...IIRC ford doesnt either (nor thier aussie counterpart) they just dont have any cars in the US that can go that fast besides the SVT and maybe a couple of other mustangs.

I heard 156 electronically limited as well, just so they can say the Z bill go faster than the boxster S, M3 and the like...
170mph seems reasonable, but is it drag limited or would that be bouncing off the rev limiter?

 

Has anyone seen the Z hitting close to 160? It seemed as though air drag was limiting him to 159. Of course, I'm sure someone else could hit 160+ under better weather condition.

 

I saw a video review of the 350 and they said that sixth gear was good for up to 180 mph.

 

I'll settle this.


Who wants to come with me to Salt Lake.

We'll take a couple hours away from drinking watered down beer to head out to the Salt Flats.

We'll just have to make damn sure we wash the cars real good afterwards.



zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZRRRRROOOOOOOOoooommmmmmm mmmm...

 

OMG soo Funny.. it took me 5 minutes before i could take a deap breath and post this.

 

Taken from a post from gcinfl:

Gear; Gear Ratio; Speed 18"(MPH); Speed 17"(MPH)
1; 3.794; 39.0; 38.4
2; 2.324; 63.7; 62.7
3; 1.624; 91.2; 89.7
4; 1.271; 116.5; 114.6
5; 1.000; 148.1; 145.7
6; 0.794; 186.5; 183.5


Redline in RPM: 6600
Final Drive Ratio: 3.538
Tire Circumference P245/45WR18: 83.82 inches
Tire Circumference P235/50WR17: 82.47 inches

This would be the theoretical top speeds in a given gear. But, because of drag, you wont see the higher end speeds. 6th gear might be good for up to 180 mph (in theory) but the engine (I am sure) isn't.

 

I agree.
I have just ordered one of the first 350Z's into Australia, only to find they are limited here too. Can't do much until cessation of warranty period and would need a new speedo (perhaps from the new R type when it is released).
Can't understand Nissan's thinking. My old Honda Type R is beautiful to run at 200 kmh plus (on the track only of course).
I would be embarrassed to take the Z out on the track against my Type R friends.
Summary is that it looks great and goes like hell, up to a point way below its capability and my preference.

 

Geoff,

I may be off on my math here, but I'm calculating 200 kph to be about 120 mph (200*0.6=120). As far as I know, the Z should be good to 260 kph (156/0.6=260). Surely the Type R folks can't be running much faster than that? Are you guys limited to different speeds down there?

-D'oh!

 

If aerodynamics play a larger role than bhp how did the boxy clunky Stock cars of the early seventies run at such high speeds especially at Daytona? Surely the new Z is much more aerodynamic that these cars?

 

aerodynamics determine how much HP is needed to travel at those speeds. So the large, boxy vehicles need more HP to overcome drag.

 

I had a 1997 Mustang SVT Cobra and it had no speed limiter.It did however have a rev limiter.This rev limiter was a pain in the butt because it was a fuel shut off,Therefore leaning the engine at the worst possible time.

 

Every new-er (manual) car has a rev limiter.