.........okay made several trips along the highway this past weekend.......at 7:30 in the morning...lo and behold a 2mile stretch of the smoothest and clearest (no place for cops to hide) part of highway is wide open.....so I open her up already doing 100mph.......she is smooth and fast all the way up to 140mph in 4th gear (5at) it happened a lot faster than I thought it would as previously I was trying between 100 and 120mph and that was damn fast but then seemed to roll to the higher speeds after going from 3rd to 4th......but what a suprise 4th took me up very quickly and there seemed to be lots left , not till I let up on the accelerator did it shift to 5....easy to go155........not sure why I slowed down! But the car was extremely stable...I was in the middle lane of 3.....and was barely holding the wheel.....and the vtech sounds sweet up there.....the car had no vibrations wobbles..nothing (reminded me of my old gsxr1100)

One thing I have really noticed about this car though is that it does not like the fast outer lane.....I thought the alignment was off as it is a struggle to hold the wheel as that side of the highway is tilted.......but in the middle lane the steering is light and tracks dead straight ......although I find it odd to be such a big difference between lanes.......anyone else find this.

 

140 is nice, so is 145

I had a similar opportunity out here in CO heading West towards the mountains. 145 was also in 4th (5AT). It does feel very smooth and controlled at that speed. For me it seemed to lose some of that push after 125 or so, but still got up there pretty easily. When I was at 145 I had the same sort of feeling this car could could 160, maybe even 170.....

I know the feeling you described about the outer lane. I think it may have to do with the understeer and the fact that our car is FWD. Instead of pushing you through the turns it pulls you through them, which at that speed is very noticable. Take into account centrifugal force and you have the other piece of the equation. I talked to a service rep awhile ago after my shoddy EL-42's almost spun me after I started hydroplaning slightly (the VSA saved my butt), one rainy night on the highway. He said that our car drives best in the "crests and apexes" of the road as it tends to ride towards the grade or downgrade of the roads. For example, if you are making a sweeping turn to the left ---> ) and the road is slanted right ---> / you would want to be in the middle lane for the most control. Anyway though good job, Im glad to see I'm not the only crazy person on this forum! :cop:

 

Lucky.. where I live, I don't know of any strip long and safe enough for me to try anything over 100...

So, are both of you using the original EL-42's with no vibrations at all going that fast?

 

Guys - I don't think this car will go over 145. In the US, the car is normally restricted by the rating of the tires placed on the car. Does this car come with the Z or Y rated 155MPH tires?

 

it has been stated in several magazines that the 04TL's top speed is 152mph

 

 

yes ...I have the original tires....my build is 3854 or something like that.......I have been keeping an eye on those tires but as of yet really cant complain about them.


That car will easily go over 145 as she was still pulling really strong and hadn't gone into 5th yet....I would expect it to roll a little higher still once it goes to 5th.

But here is another question....can the tires briefly handle (is it safe) 145-150 inflated at 32 psi......as I didn't pump them up to 39 as your supposed to.

 

wouldn't a z rated tire mean it could handle those speeds as a constant speed (155) while I believe our tires are w....the could certainly briefly stay at those speeds ...correct?

 

Easily go over 145mph another whole 7mph maybe. This car will no go 160mph as someone stated. At least not stock it won't.

 

god dang someone is gonna have to try it then!

 

People already have tried.

 

It comes with W rated tires which are rated for 168MPH. Several members of the forum have had it over 150. One was clocked by the police at 152 MPH. He says that at another time he did 154.

We have the same Cd (co-efficient of drag) as a Corvette: .29

XP

 

i have been to 150 and still had plenty togo!!!!! but i think the car is cutat 157mph :shit:

 

It is said that the tl has no governer, if thats the case then the car should pull to at least 160 before the engine is maxed out, right?

 

Oh trust me, when your going that fast you can still feel a little left....This is true that it is electronically limited (per the manual) to 152. But if it was not electronically limited, trust me it could go faster, I could feel it at 145. At yes it is safe in our tires for 150 probably, but they definitely aren't Z's and I wouldn't hold anything over 120 for an extended time

 

You're right. Our tires aren't Zs. They're Ws which are rated for 168 MPH.

I must have missed that part in the manual about an electronic speed limiter. What page is it on?

I thought the top speed on the TL was limited by wind resistance and power. It takes a lot of ponies to get a few more MPH at top end. For example, we have the same Cd (co-efficient of drag) as a Corvette Coupe: .29. The Corvette, with 350 HP tops out at about 170 MPH.

Maybe, with a stiff tail wind and a little down hill grade, the TL might see 160 but the conditions would have to be perfect. (assuming a speed limiter doesn't cut the fuel).

I think it's pretty amazing that a mid-level luxury four door sedan can come that close to a purpose-built American sports car icon. Picture this: you're topped out under perfect conditions, doing 158-160 and a beautiful red Corvette decides to pass you. He can, of course. But he will be doing so at about a 10-15 speed differential and he is wide open. We jog about that speed. What a rush!

XP

 

I had the car up to 140 back in Jan. What a rush it was. Little scared because I've never gone that fast in a car, but the ride was smooth. Also had some pedal room and felt that it could pull more. I read in the car and driver magazine that this car was governed. Why didn't I push it to the top? No reason - just a little scared. Things happen awfully fast at that speed - rodent crossing for example. I too have the original EL42s and have not had any problem except for one flat due to a screw on the road.

I have read about others on this forum going over 150 in manual at the 5th gear (more torque to overcome wind resistance).

Although it is an e-ticket, I am not condoning this activity as the response time at this kind of speed is very minimal and a single rabbit darting out in front of you could just ruin your day.

 

You guys who live in places where you can go > 100MPH make me envious. The fastest I had my TL up to is ~90. I live in South Jersey. It is too populated and the roads are poor due to the weather and traffic volume exceeding the 1950's designed roads. The car felt very smooth, controlled and safe at high speed. However, I do not want to push it too much. I once read that above 85MPH the survivability of an auto accident drops to nill. Mind you it was only a few years ago that I routinely got my GSX-R 750 up to 120MPH during my morning commute to work traveling on 676 between the WW and BF bridges. That bike could stop on a dime. The excellent brakes and my youthful ignorance inspired a lot of confidence.

God speed!

Joe Kotran

 

........when I had my gsxr1100 I took her up to 161 mph.......now that was fast and stable!