TurboIIGuy

you need to do some research with some pros that have done this before. I don't live to far from LACR myself. You "should" have more cage to protect you. You should not try this on stock wheels, they should be much wider at the very least. You could have a huge wing on the back to add a tremendous amount of downforce.
What kind of clutch are you using?
Oh and the number one main important thing you will need in order to do this.................................A "HUGE" life insurance policy...................seriously though......it's dangerous.

Valkyrie

I would think that side skirts and a very effecient front body kit (one good at making a lot of downforce), plus other things like front canards and a light, adjustable rear wing would help to keep you on the ground. Air going under the car = bad.

Good for planes, bad for you.

But just in case, you should install some control surfaces to help you land it once you're airborne :P

FastCat17

Hey guys i dont know about all this talk but i just dont get why you would need over 400 hp to hit 200. Im not lying at all but i have hit 175 in my rx7 and at the time all i had was catback, intake, downpipe....and she wnated to go more....i think that with the wieght of our cars and the areodynamics of them and with close to 400 hp and the right gearing and everything... you could hit 200 mph on a nice day , meaning no wind, nice flat road, having the right temperature and being at the right allitude..i dont know just my personal opinion....once i get better suspension and lower it a little and do a few more realiabliy mods ill try for 180 + but yea....

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Keep in mind speedo error, and that stock FDs top out at 159 - 162 mph (depending on what magazine you read). Also keep in mind that 20 mph more in general may not be a lot, but 20 mph more PAST 180 is a HUGE difference. That's because once you go upside of 140mph or so, wind resistance is increasing exponentially, while you're accelerating at a linear rate (more or less).

Jim, you wouldn't have pics (or links to pics) showing the canards on the roof, would you?? I'm very interested to see what they look like...cuz I've never heard of such a thing I guess it would act somewhat like the bubble in the roof?

patman

iTrader: (3)

Tunnel= Bad Idea. imagine what happens if you lose control, even for a split second, in a tunnel.. You wnat a wide, straight, flat area like the salt flats, where there is lots of room for recovery at best, or at least to flip around without hitting anything at worst.

I agree with XSTransam, you should just take it in steps. My FC will go that fast someday, but it will also max out every 10mph along the way as i mod it. I like to start with a basically stock car and mod, then test, ten mod again. this way, you know exactly what kind of differences your mods make, and you get a chance to get used to the speeds.

pat

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Yea I thought about the loss of control thing in a tunnel...it's really a toss-up between what if you lose control in the tunnel, vs. do you wanna deal w/ cross-winds and other misc possible problems from an unsheltered environment? I guess to put it simply, any seriously logical minded guy would leave such a feat for an oval track... Now if only we could get access to one...

Oh and Jim...I found a pic. I see what you mean about the one peice front end. Looks like the messed w/ some of the lines of the stock body too...the hood & fenders area lost some of it's curves (or they're just a lot less defined) and I see (very interestingly) that they're running a Nascar-style drag wing...not a large GT spoiler (prob cuz of the drag involved?) Also, no skirts (ie a TOTALLY stock body), and no exhaust at all (notice the exhaust pipe coming out from behind the front wheel). I'm also gonna guess that covering the rims has some aerodynamic advantage??

SiKoPaThX

iTrader: (2)

I hear everyone going crazy about the wing, but if you're really trying to make it to 200, a big wing is going to add too much drag with all that downforce. I agree, safety first, but you'll never hit 200 with something like a GT wing.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

OR, you'll just need a TON of hp hehe

patman

iTrader: (3)

yeah, uncovered wheels make some drag.

pat

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Thanks for the info Pat...that was news to me.

patman

iTrader: (3)

Actually, depending on the airfoil, a decent wing does not have that much drag. a typical airplane wing has a Lift/ Drag ratio of anywhere from 20/1 to 200/1. Of course, on a car, it is Downforce/Drag, but that doesnt change the ratio. i would assume that with a bit of testing, a wing with a 50/1 or so ratio could be found, and for an all out speed car, especially considering what happened to Racing Beats last one, I think that say... 400 lbs of downforce would definatley be worth 8 lbs of drag, dont you?

Another thing, would anyone mind enlightening me as to the functionality of those nascar style spoilers?
The vacuum behind a car is much more important than the high pressure area in front when it comes to drag, so how can those wings be at all superior to an airfoil design? And, while I'm thinking about it, anybody know if that car has a rear diffuser on it?

My choice of aerodynamics for a 200+ MPH car would be:
99 spec front airdam
chin spoiler
airfoil style rear wing
full skirts
wheel covers
no mirrors/handles/etc
rear diffuser

Im no expert (yet) but I am an Aero (and mechanical) Engineering student, so i know a bit about it..

by the way,FD newbie, the little radar thingies around here only have 2 digits.... if you go over a hundred, they just give you a bunch of dots like :: ::

not that i know or anything ;-D

pat

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Pat...yea that makes sense. That's prob why I started to run out of power right around 160 - 165 mph. She was still accelerating, but real slow, to the point that I woulda needed a lot more distance to top her out. All that drag...

I personally like the large wings, and while my FD felt sloppy around 140-150 back when it was stock bodied, she's rock solid now...so I'm not changing unless I find something better.

Oh and about the radar readout LOL...I'm REAL curious as to how you found that out...haha

~Ramy

Valkyrie

Would you actually be able to hit 200 MPH on a standard gear set?

I figured that you'd reach the rev limiter (unless it's set way back) long before you reached 200, reguardless of power.

Although larger tires would help with this a bit...

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Rev limiter? I don't know for sure, but I don't think so....

There are a couple ppl on this forum that posted on the "how fast have you gone in your FD" thread that they saw 170 and 180 at anywhere between 5K and 7K rpm, if my memory serves me correct...which leaves a nice bit of room...

But if you want a definitive answer, I'm sure Jim could answer that, along w/ your question about gearing.

patman

iTrader: (3)

you could figure it out pretty easy...

just put ur car in 5th at 4500 rpms. however fast ur going, double it, thats ur theoretical max speed (assuming you dont rev over 9k)

pat

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Easier said than done, Pat. I gotta be REAL careful to be able to go fast enough to be going 4500rpm in 5th gear. 4th tops out at 140mph, so I'd imagine 5th at 4500 would be very close to that speed. There's NO getting out of THAT ticket lol

jimlab

Assuming you could rev to 9k in 5th...

patman

iTrader: (3)

yes, thats why its the theoretical top, not the actual top.

fdnewbie, 4500 in 5th is probably 110 or so. 5th is usually not much higher than 4th.

there is an easy way of getting out of that ticket. dont stop to get the ticket in the first place. lol

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

What would stop you? Is it because you have gearing that allows for speeds greater than you have the power to achieve? Ie, the stock gearing can take you up to say, 200, but your power will run out at say 180? I guess I'm trying to figure out why a manufacturer would equip a car w/ gearing that's essentially useless in a stock car, since the car doesn't come w/ enough power to utilize it all.

Really? So if you redline 4th, and shift say, at 8000rpms, assuming an averagely fast shift, what what rpms would you be once you get into 5th? I woulda thought it would be somewhere right around 5K - 5500 rpm (total guess...I don't think I've ever consciously noted this)

Yea...you're right. I'm 2 for 2 in that dept, but I don't plan on a 3rd attempt... that would be a VERY bad time for my luck to run out

Wargasm

In a 5 speed car, gears 1-4 are usually picked for good acceleration, and 5th is picked for economy on the highway. They know it will never make it to redline in 5th, but they don't care because you can loaf along at 2400 rpm at 60 mph.

I swapped my 5th to a shorter ratio. So my top speed is now 180 mph by my gearing, and with just over 400 rwhp, I should be able to use it all... but my "cruise" at 60 is now 2700 rpm. Doesn't sound like a lot... but then you realize that I usually cruise at more like 85 mph which is 3800. Buzzing right along!

In a 6 speed, it's the same execpt 1-5 are the good gears and 6th is usually biased for economy.

jimlab

Yep.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

Brian, thanks for the connection. I knew the last gear is always an overdrive, but I didn't make the connection between that purpose and it being a taller gear. So the shorter the gear, the better it is for acceleration, right? But the flipside is because it's shorter, it's limits are lower (ie top speed in that gear are less, compared to taller gears)?

I think I've read a few times on the forum about how ppl change their 5th gear to a shorter gear for better acceleration in 5th, but it sacrifices their top speed...

So Jim/Bryan/anyone, I know this was covered very recently in another thread lol, but what does the stock 5th gear top out at (in mph), considering it's a fairly tall gear?

jimlab

Yep.

Depends on how much horsepower you have and your tire diameter.

FDNewbie

iTrader: (10)

I know tire diameter will affect it, but what does hp have to do w/ it? I meant theoretical max...ie, the gear will not allow more than XX mph, regardless of hp... or is that idea totally false, and it totally depends on your hp?

'98 Type RS

iTrader: (1)

5th gear with stock power will not get to redline mostly because of wind resistance. Once you are at redline in a gear, having more hp will not get you any more speed.