PWRTRIP

I have a WS6 and was wondering what its limits were if one were to reprogram the speed limiter..not that I would ever do it since I get nervous at 135 the factory limiter is set to 163 isn't it..but if that weren't in effect and the only thing stopping it were aerodynamics what is it capable of ..thanks

96SCTA

you could make a school bus do 220 if you had enough horse power.

LEO

iTrader: (3)

I believe a Dodge Cummings Turbo Diesel has run 224 mph at the Salt Flats! A F-body ought to be able to out do that. The Dodge did make 1300 ft/lbs of torque - but it's about as aerodynamic as a brick.

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

I may not be qualified to speak, but I will. I imagine that the Camaro body would be the better of the two. Particularly at the rear, the Camaro has a sharper release point for the air at the rear fenders, at least my SS does. The better the air releases the better your drag and stability will be. I have heard that at high speed T/A wings produce lift. to get back on topic a Lingenfelter LT1 383 Formula ran 192 mph for a R&T test. It was rated at 440 hp. Tony's Formula should have been able to bust 200 with proper gearing.

kevinb

http://www.openroadracing.com/galler...ed_tape?full=1

That is a 200+ mph car.

horist

That's a lovely camero :p when he got to 200mph did he leave enough room to slow down? :p

DONAIMIAN

iTrader: (18)

Yea, its not a matter of areo dynamics, its a matter of power. I read somewhere a while back that an F-body could do it with 450RWHP and the right gear. Mostlikley the 3.42.

LEO

iTrader: (3)

When Lingenfelter ran 226 mph in his stock-bodied C5 he was using a 3.15 gear, he also went 192 mph in a LT1 Formula with a 3.23 gear.

CySevans

They are angled to produce a downforce, not an upforce.

DONAIMIAN

iTrader: (18)

SSCamaro99_3

iTrader: (1)

I know they are suppossed to produce downforce, but I heard some rumblings that that may not be the case. Could be just rumor, but it owuld be interesting to find out for sure.

PWRTRIP

aww ok..so the sleek sexy shapes have nothing to do with it ..its just that i read something about like the mustang just isn't capable of the same speeds to do its shape and friction in the wind or something..

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

One way to compare the aerodynamics of two cars is to look at drag coefficient. Assuming everything else is equal, the car with the lower drag coefficient will be capable of the higher top speed. The "everything else being equal" part is huge though, since horsepower, gearing, rolling resistance, internal friction, etc, play a very large role. It is interesting for the sake of comparing aerodynamics. Note also that this doesn't measure stability at high speed, only drag.

Here's a short list of drag coefficients (Cd):

1996 SVT Cobra - Cd 0.34
1998 Mustang GT - Cd 0.34
1998 Firehawk - Cd 0.34
1998 Camaro SS - Cd 0.34
1993 Supra - Cd 0.31
1997 C5 Coupe - Cd 0.29
1999 C5 Hardtop - Cd 0.31
1993 C4 LT1 - Cd 0.33
1995 ZR2 pickup - Cd 0.45

Patman

One of these days I'm going to own a C5 coupe so I'm glad to see it's drag coefficient is nice and low!

I also assume that if you take the same car and put lowering springs on it (or in the case of the C5 you do the free lowering mod), then it's drag Cd goes down also.

Fulton 1

iTrader: (9)

Cd and frontal area go hand in hand and are both necessary to calculate the drag force on an object at a certain speed. The Cd itself really depends on the shape of the object and is measured per unit of frontal area. So, lowering the car would likely not change the Cd much if any, but it would reduce the frontal area. This means less engine power is required to achieve the same speed.

Here's a link that'll explain it better than I can

http://www.insideracingtechnology.com/tech102drag.htm

Oh, BTW, Patman - 1997 Grand Prix GTP - 0.34 also

gwj

Speedometer buried, is all I know, ever how fast that was. :dunno:
Caution: don't attempt this on public highways.

ez2cdave

Guys,

I know this is an OLD thread . . .

To me, the real question, is not ""how fast can our cars go", but "how fast can our cars go until aerodynamic forces cause a loss of control, or lifting of the front end, possible resulting in a blow-over ?"

I would love to see a high-speed wind tunnel comparison ( up to 200 -220 mph +/- ) of 93-97 & 98-02 Formula's, T/A's ( including WS-6 ), Camaro's, and Z/28's ( including SS ) to determine the amount of lift generated at those speeds.

"Floating" the front end can be deadly . . . FAST !

Dave

JD_AMG

Search the road racing section and frrax.com (fbody road race and auto x forum, you have to be a member to view everything though).
One of the biggest issues isn't actually lift that causes the "floaty-ness" but rather the shitty factory shock valving. Get a good set of performance shocks and you won't believe you are even driving the same car.