Hi all!
The other day I was driving back to college in my Diesel '98 Escort Van when i thought I would just try it top end. Managed 101mph downhill with the wind behind me. Pretty chuffed with that!
Just wondered what you guys have had and what you drive?
Phil!
I have read through this thread and got more frustrated the further I get.
Back to the start: You will learn that out and out top speed is boring. To complete a journey quickly and safely, without putting other people at risk is where the real interest and satisfaction is. Any fool can peddle their vehicle fast in a straight line. Many people go club racing to experience the satisfaction of man and machine working together. The speed is just a means to an end, not the end in its self. But note this is on a track.
Comments about tyres; all ‘normal’ cars are fitted with tyres that will withstand over 100 MPH for short bursts, but their life will be shortened by high speed running and the probability of tyre failure will increase.
Many years ago, I came across a book that was suggesting that near misses were a valuable learning tool. The author suggested a method to exploit this fact. He suggested that a driver should have counters available – he suggested visiting cards - and to drop one into the passenger foot well every time you got yourself into a situation where you depended on someone else doing the right thing to prevent an accident. Obviously the idea was to reduce the number of counters per journey. The other thing I also learned somewhere, was to use your mirrors to check if you are causing problems for other motorists. Now you are motoring.
Speed: Speed does not and will not cause accidents. Higher speed will increase the amount of energy to be dissipated but it will not cause accidents. Accidents are caused by errors of judgement; even mechanical failure is an error of judgement by someone. If we spent more time analysing accidents to identify these errors of judgment, and publish the results, rather rushing around looking for who was going too fast and who was to blame, we would be much better off.