stroutman

How fast in mph can the TL actually go? Is it governed?

chipplaysdrums

Hey good question stroutman. I was actually going to post the same thing. I was kickin at 130mph down the highway last night around 2:00am. Some dick in a loud truck wanted to race....yeah right. Anyways, I posed the question on a VSA thread, would the car cut off if it hit a certain speed? Would the VSA have anything to do with it? My brother took our parents Bonneville for a spin the other night and hit 110ph before the damn thing cut off on him..just plain stopped.

wha2sie

I don't know how the govern on cars works, but in the TL it says 160 on the speedometer and I've hit 155 on my TL. Maybe I'm one of the lucky ones. Also the VSA was always on, I really never even take it off.

cliff

i think its governed at 155...dont quote me on this though

J RIDE 81

Even 150 sounds extreme, Anyone else take the TL that fast?

Zeuser

I've personally taken mine up to ~142 MPH and then chikened out. I didn't chicken out because of the speed, the TL actually felt very stable at that speed. i chicked out because I was getting into an area that I know police patrol alot. 142 MPH (230 Km/h) and I would've instantly lost my driver's license had the cops caught me. Probably with a helicopter at that speed

chipplaysdrums

Damn dude! 155? I got nervous at 130. My hands were sweaty and my heart was racing...but it sure was fun! BTY, I had my VSA on too..like usual.

ensley696

I believe some GM cars put 100MPH governers on their cars. The Chevy Silverado's had 100MPH cutoffs and so did the Impala, this might explain why your parents Bonneville cut off. Not sure if GM still does this or not.

PIERCE@ACURA-O.P.

I have only been 115 on mine(only 215 miles-waiting for break in), but a good friend of mine registered 151 on his speedo one night a couple weeks back.
At the Tl ride and drive the factory people stated a top speed(electronically limited) of 147 mph. Obviously, wheel size, modifications, speedo variance at that speed will all effect true top end. I think a change of the e.c.u. would be necessary to remove the governor.

NightRider

Although I have not taken it there (very close) the manual states an electronically limited top speed of 152 I believe. Variances could put it to 155 on the speedo, although you probably would still be going 152. Without a governor or limiter I'm sure it could hit 160.

xboylive

I was wondering that myself .. have not been pass 100. :'(

TBone2004

This is all news to me - why do they put these govenors on - to protect the engine or just the driver?


If the speedo says 160 - I expect to be able to go that fast. I would expect this from a rented jetski or snowmobile, but not my own car.

Is this really true - not just for the TL, but other cars. Someone said GM I think?

leo221

i drive no more than 77mph

shalinz

I think that it is 155. I know that several people got theirs to that in their CL-S. I never tried in my CL-S or in my new TL though.

PoochaKannInc

Most European vehicles (i.e. Merc and BMW's) are also electronically limited. One of the reasons that I have heard is that the autobahn has no speed limit, but the limit has been set by the manufacturer as 155 mph. Some vehicles are also drag limited.

TBone2004

How did you pick 77?


Just curious.

TLPAPii

i got it up to 140....neva again

PIERCE@ACURA-O.P.

True some cars are drag limited, i.e. 2004 nsx @ 174 mph, and some cars are electronically limited. Drag limited vehicles lack the power to push through the wind resistance forces at a certain top speed, while electonically limted vehicles either have a rpm cutoff in top gear or some other computer control that keeps the vehicle from exceeding a certain speed. Manufacturers limit some vehicles also due to tire speed ratings, therefore protecting the driver in that case from tire failure.

rs808

I was racing a new Maxima on the highway this week and I got the TL up to 137mph. I had the pedal to the floor and the car seemed to top out at this speed. The funny thing is the RPM was only at about 3000. At this speed the car was still riding like a Cadilac.
After the race I told myself that I would never again drive a car that fast on a public road. Looking back on the incident I can’t believe I let my male fortitude get the best of me.

I won the race though! :blaze:

1FasTL

According to Road & Track, it is electronically limited to 147 MPH. Most cars are governed at some point. This is due to the speed rating of the tires. We have W rated tires that are good for 168 MPH so that's not the case on our car. Many more plebian cars (Camry's for instance at 112) are governed to 112 or 114 because they only have S (112 mph) or T (118 mph) rated tires.

It is an "unwritten rule" in Europe that the manufacturers have agreed to limit most cars to a top speed of 155 mph. A few super cars go faster but the production volumes are very low.

Silver Bullet

I've taken mine up to 135mph and was grinning all the way. :spankme: I had a 96 Impala SS and those were goverened at 157 so it wouldn't suprise me that the TL would be 147-157.

Slava

The fastest I gone yet in the TL is 105mph.

The fastest I gone ever is 125mph in the 1998 Honda Prelude. That car had speedometer reading upto 150mph but an electronic governor at 140mph. At 125mph it felt stable but the RPMs were getting upthere (4 cyl, remember).

Last time I did 125mph I said "Never Again" but that was before I bought the TL. I am telling you the TL sure is tempting me.... If I find a long enough straight road somewhere with no cops around.... let me tell you....

chazy777

As I put on many other threads, I have got mine up right barely over 150mph (where I remember seeing the hand just barely over).. course when you are going this fast, you don't really try to determine the exact speed you are going since your eyes stay glued to the road and any sign of an area where there could be cops..

It takes some time to get from 130-140 (depending on the road) and 140-150 takes a really long time and you can't really be going up hill at all to make it!.. You watch your AVG MPG drop quickly right before your eyes too! no speed governor ever cut it off for me though.. But I guess it was just about to if you guys are right with the governor being set to 152 or 157.. I know if I had more straight road or didn't come into area where cops could've possibly been, I would've got it faster or had it cut out. Also you get your best speed with a 6MT I would imagine.. right? it's what I have

But like some of you, my heart was racing and my palms were sweaty.. NOT because of the danger or excessive speed, but because of the risk of getting caught and the consequences if caught! I don't think I'll be doing this again in fear of putting wear and tear on the car too quickly. There were no other cars on the freeway.. was in a desert area.. I came across one mercedes when I started and that was it.. he tried to keep up.. probably got to 140 I would say.. couldn't get up to me...

Road Rage

Most speed caps in the US are based on the speed rating of the tires. It is obviously a mfr negligence to put 100 mph tires on a car and allow it to go 155. I'll bet the Bonneville does not have hi-speed rated tires.

Since both the 6MT and 5AT come with high-speed rated tires, Acura let 'em rip.

In Germany and other Euros, the mfrs agreed to a top speed limiter on the cars because they were afraid of either the govt or insurance intervention, esp after some highly publicized high speed wrecks. So they limit them to 155 or whatever that is in Euro-speed (I know, kph) as a nudge and a wink to the govvy. But lots of people use chips that disable the limiter, and when you are tooling along at a mere 230 kph, and a Ruz Porsche comes up at 270, you better be ready to get over, pronto.

I've driven at the top allowed speed in my brother's Euro-spec M5 (now he has merely an 2004 E55 AMG - poor boy) in Germany and it is fun, but you cannot sustain those speeds for long, esp during the summer travel months, when the Spaniards and portuguese and others take Holidays and drive to W. Europe. With the drivers I see everyday here, I would not do it unless I were in Wyoming - but I do know the S2000 can top 155, and is not speed governed.

NightRider

Did you people do these speeds during the day or night? I got up to 145 at night on a pitch dark strech of the interstate heading into the rockies, very scary! Very fun! I'm not sure about 6MT, but 145 in 5AT was in 4th! ANd this was not near redline either...

chazy777

Riskiest at night.. I did it in broad daylight.. But jus takes forever to climb when you go past 140..

I've read in some car magazine that the TL has top speed of 157.5mph .. Now I don't know if this is what the governed is set to though? but I'm very curious as I could've got it that fast if I didn't decide to release the gas as I got too nervous when I hit 150

pettydw

Car and Driver measured 152 mph top end and called it drag limited, but with an electronic throttle I'm not sure they can tell without info from Honda. C&D generally measures top speed in both directions to cancel out the wind.

The top speed may suffer from gearing, in that 152 mph is 5th gear redline, yet well below the power peak of 6th gear. Other Honda models have the same issue with top speed ('99-'00 Civic Si to name one). The few top end HP gained by headers, CAI, etc. actually extend the top speed of these cars considerably, since it seems to put them over the hump in top gear.

missmyprelude

Another thing to consider here is just how accurate the speedometer is. Most of the rags use other (more accurate) means to measure speed. I read in one of the mags that speedometers usually show a higher speed that what you're really going. In some cases, it was pretty significant (5% or more). European mfgs tend to do it more than Japanese or American according to the article.

So, in summary, the speedo could say 150 when you're really only doing 145 or less.

Other factors could play into it significantly as well (temp, elevation, uphill/downhill, etc).

I also think that some of the rags estimate the top speed (or get the info from the mfg) rather than actually testing for it.

pettydw

My TL speedometer is only about 1.5 mph off at 80 mph per my timing and radar signs (80 indicated, 78.5 actual). Lessor Hondas are closer to 3 mph off at these speeds.

missmyprelude

Here's the article that I was talking about for anyone that cares. Looks like Hondas are pretty accurate in general (1.9% over on average). If my math is right, that's less than a 3mph difference at 150.

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

http://www.caranddriver.com/article....&page_number=1

It actually looks like BMWs have the most inaccurate speedos, averaging about 4.5% over actual.

hwchien

i did hit 145mph with my '00 TL on the way to Boston...
but i just got my 04 TL 3 days ago...out the door with only 2mile on it..
i gotta wait til the break in period passed...
anyways for my 00 TL to pass 145 mph line for like mins there. and i was racing with WRX.. for that car it seems can go even faster...no bad for 4 cyc car
i bet '04 TL can go faster, due to the hp and torq.

laserbeamtypeS

12 yrs. ago i lost my best long time friend i knew him from when he was 11 to until days before his 40 ith yr. he drove fast and didnt care, but he hit a guard rail at only 100 mph his car and he were sawed in half. the last time i went fast was 1970 in my 450 hp gtx on the interstate along side orange county speedway at 1 a.m. i hit 150 mph, it would have gotten close to 175 but the speedo only went to 150 and i didnt want to need to replace the speedo cable. i havent been over 93 mph since. its very upseting to me to read that someone will do this again to there family and friends and never ever be able to post or promote their speed thrill. our tl,s were built for sport driving but they will kill you at anytime when you find yourself going to the limits with no chance to slow or stop. get a crash test dummy to test your car like the corporations do . dont be the dummy!

JetJock

You guys are CRAZY!!!! I'm not afraid of speed...heck..I'm a pilot..and I steer a jet down the runway with my feet at 150mph...but to do this on a public highway is just plain STUPID!!! If you guys ever saw the results of a crash at that speed, you might think twice...and please don't flame me about how carefull you are...anything can happen on a public highway. You are not only risking your own life, but those other people on the highway....especially the one's you don't see. This is really risky behavior guys....not worth dying or killing someone else just to see how fast your car can go...it can go plenty fast.

seaman

I drove my TL one night just to test the top speed. I was on a highway, on a very quiet tuesday evening, just to make sure that there is no people in the area.

I hit 240.4 km/h (149.38 MPH) at the second attemps, in 5th gear. I never had the reflex to shift to the 6th gear ! And I never felt any electronic limit or rev limiter of any kinds.

At this speed, the car is very very stable, I was amazed. There is more wind noise, and you need much more distance to stop the car (even with Brembo brakes), but it surprising so see the stability of this car.

With a longer distance I could maybe reach 245-250 and/or the rev limiter if there is any. But I will not attempt this anymore, since it's too dangerous.

When I achieved this speed, I had my portable GPS on the dash to record the top speed. The speedometer is very accurate to compare with the GPS. To do the test I had the 18" ASPEC rims with Yoko ES 100 tires.

here is a picture of the GPS after the test:

avs007

Yeah, I think it's all about the tires. Using GM as an example... The Grand Prix GT comes stock with Goodyear Eagle LS tires, which are speed rated only up to 110. The speed limiter on the GT is at 108 mph. Consequently, if you got the GTP, it came with Eagle RS-A tires, which are H-Rated for 130mph. The speed limiter is set to 126. The Current GTP comes with V-Rated tires, which I believe is 140mph, and I was told the speed limiter on it is set to 138mph.

The funny thing is that the Buick Regal GS and Pontiac Grand Prix GTP have the exact same engine, and same performance numbers. However, Buick, trying to focus on ride quality, ships with the eagle LS tires, and a 108mph speed limiter, which kind of detracts from the engine's capabilities. On the grand prix boards, there is a PCM flash to remove the speed limiter. With it removed, they've hit 148mph at the track. This speed was apparently drag limited. The only guys that broke 150, were the guys that swapped supercharger pullies to increase boost.

I don't think you'll find any manufacturer sell a car in this sue-happy country a car that will go faster than the stock tires are rated for. I wonder if the speed limiter in the TL's PCM has a different speed-limiter setting based on which tire package you choose, like GM does.

lbbrando

Well hell, if we're throwing out different vehicles.
The fastest i've gone is on two wheels.....183mph on 03 suzuki gsxr-1000, a little tach left too.
0-60 about 2.5 sec., 0-100 about 5.0 sec. Ride it as much as I can, weather permiting.

wavshrdr

OK- got you beat on 2 wheels or 4. MB will do 187mph thanks to AMG and my ZX12-R 194mph w/o nitrous 208+ with. I just gotta stop riding that bike. It is just too addictive to NOT twist the throttle. It accelerates harder at 160 than many cars do at 10 mph. GSXR is a fun bike. I've had a bunch of them dating back to the original models of both 750 and 1100. Great bikes for ultra-high speed wheelies!

Anymore I confine high speeds to the tracks. I don't want my kids to grow up without their dad. Besides I spend enough time in Europe that I can release my pent up speed urges there without going to jail and not having to worry too much about coming up on super slow traffic other than the damn trucks that often pull out and they are doing 90 kph (about 55 mph). Nothing like standing on the brakes when you are running 230-260 and have to shave off 170 kph (more than 100 mph). That'll get your attention in a hurry!

Anymore in the US I rarely run much over 100 on public roads. Too much risk and I don't want any tickets as I have some expensive cars to insure. Then again Montana is not too far of a drive away...

Neorick

125mph...felt like a bullet being shot out of the gun.

Repecat

As long as we are talking about personal records, while in the service, I drove an M 41 light tank ( 25 tons) to the blistering speed of 65 mph. This tank was equipped with a "cross-drive" transmission which meant that the faster you went the more sensitive the steering became. Took about 4 miles to reach that speed and it scared the hell out of me. I backed off rather quickly.

H2sails

The April 2004 issue of Road and Track magazine has a full test report on the TL and it says the top speed is electronicaly goverened at 147mph. You can view and down load the test report at www.roadandtrack.com. Be sure to click on "Download Data Panel" - this gives you a one page PDF file of really good information. Also, in the April 04 R&T tested the BMW 530i - download the Data Panel for the BMW and compair it to the TL. The comparison will make you happy - the TL betters the BMW in every statistic and costs $20,000.00 less.