Halifax

Ummm… I really don’t know how far I can push this car, and I’m afraid to find out when its too late!
Btw I’ve seen a Lexus ES couple weeks ago spins so bad on a dry street after the driving lost control over it and hit the pavement while trying to act “cool”! stupid girls.
A friend of mine took a U turn while he was driving fast on his 318i BMW, and it flipped over! I’m not sure how fast he was going though.

Anyways… I’ve always done those crazy things that lexus did, and usually at higher speeds, but thanks God nothing happened to me, at least not yet.

Heh, I don’t know how to ask the question… but what is the, ummm… limit? when I might lose control over the car at a curve or while going between cars?

lol, just remembered something… I saw on RealTV the other day some Japanese runaway car. It went in to a curve and the car skidded and went off the street. The street wasn’t wet.
I did something similar once before. I was going 140Km/h and went into a curve that had a sign saying max speed is 45km/h :p
But nothing happened.

So teach me a little about cars and physics. What advantages this car has over other cars, being a small hatch back, is that any advantage? U know… things like that.

Merci.

henry47

of course it's possible for the c coupe to skid or spin out. Just don't drive like an idiot and you'll be fine. If you DO drive like an idiot, make sure there are no innocent by standers like members of my family driving around you, do it in an empty lot.

taylor192

Ummmm could you try out the limits of our cars for us. Find a nice winding road along a cliff and drive absolutely as fast as you can go, 60 km/h corners at 180+ km/h, lets see how ESP stands up! Actually, better yet, turn ESP off, or put the car in DYNO mode and turn ABS, BAS and ESP off! Perhaps the result will be one less bad driver in this world

Its a 3400 lb hatchback with sway bars not suitable for high-speed cornering. A few suspension upgrades (springs, sway bars) and the car should become much better in the corners.

Since I know you're going to drive stupidly anyways, I wanted to test the limits of my car at first on some empty roads and parking lots, here's what I have noticed:
ESP will help keep the car from spinning, I have taken a 60 km/h road with some short curves and had the back-end break loose at about 130 km/h, ESP kicked in and straightened the car out.
I have also taken the car up to 190+ km/h on a 80 km/h road with a long bend and actually felt very comfortable, the back-end didn't even give a hint of breaking loose.
With enough power, ESP does not kick in fast enough to handle it. Thus if you mash the gas around a corner, you can get the back end to break loose and spin the car substantially before ESP kicks in.

loungeliz

No one can give you a safe number for taking curves quickly, it all depends on road conditions.

Given wide flat dry pavement it should be impossible to flip your car (unless you're driving a tall SUV). I took an advanced driving course once, and this is what they said. It did not sound intuitive at first, but think about it... your tires do not have enough grip for your car to flip over.

If you were doing lateral G testing and kept going around a skidpad faster and faster, the reason G is not higher, is not because the car is going to flip over, it is simply your tires not holding the road. The tires slip, your car does not flip.

However, the problems start when your tires are slipping sideways and they catch something (eg. curb, pothole, uneven pavement, going off the road, etc) and don't slip, that is when the flipping begins...

dswildfire

road surface has quite a bit to do with it. for example, going 50mph through a slight curve with steel plates in part of the road, if only one tire hits the plate, you will begin to slide (did this when the road was dry, had esp off, manually corrected). any appreciable amount of dirt on the road will cause you to do the same. but in general, twice the suggested speed on caution signs is usually within limits. but it also depends on you and how you enter a turn. it is possible to enter the same turn two different ways at the same speed and have the tires squeal one way and not the other.

but the better solution to all of this....and trust me, it's far simpler: follow the posted signs, and don't speed.

amdeutsch

OMFG. You're doing to a non-American? (j/k)

Halifax

okay... I'm not planning to kill my self or anything, at least not any time soon. LOL.

anyways, I heard 'bout some people fitting their coupes with the C32 swaybar. does it worth it?
and since seeing that lexus crash in front of me I got frightened and now I'm thinking about getting some wider tires. do u think the 225/45 will fit my standard wheels? they will provide more grip, right?

and, ummm.. one thing, I tried the ESP once, there was some heavy raining and I was waiting at a U turn. I looked around and there were no cars, so I floored the gas and got out of the turn. The ESP kicked it and it was obvious how it worked. if it weren't there I would've probably hit the curb.
but couple of months ago and while I was driving "aggressively" I got a message saying ESP malfunction or something like that. That message went afer the next start of the car and I haven't seen it since. BUT... the car seems to skid whenever there is water on curvs. ESP does work, I took my car over a sandy street and tested it. the ESP light did blink, but I don't notice it working on the street as it used to... hmmmm.


and Oh... one last thing... did I hear someone drive this car at 190Km/h? is that the maximum speed the car can goes? cuz thats the maximum I managed to reach with this car. Once it reached 190Km/h it felt like its going to take forever till it reaches 200Km/h. so I chickened out and slowed down.

dswildfire

actually, you should be able to take it to 220km/h, that's where the speed governor is. unrestricted, the car can go to 250km/h, at which point it is drag limited.

Halifax

heh... that really makes me wonder, If I'm able to drive at around 180, 190Km/h in this small car. Then how fast can a person driving BMW 745i go?!

*fantasizes*

OMG…

*orgasm*

I must save money for a car like that

*does some calculations*

not bad, I can afford one in 20 years

Matt230K

Uh oh, sounds like another darkfact.

taylor192

I make fun of everyone equally, just Americans are easier targets! :p lol just ribbin! I think this kid is Canadian too by his name and use of km/h.

taylor192

This is why people will poke fun at you - you tried something in your car where if all did not go well you would've dmaaged your car. I tried my antics on backroads and empty roads, with flat ditches and no curbs, and big parking lots with no light posts - thus if things got hairy, the worst that happens is a spin, with your testing and driving, the worst sounds like it'll result in damaging other cars, or at the very least hitting roadside objects (which may include pedestrians).

We all like to drive our cars as they are meant to be driven, cruising the Autobahn at 100+ mph, if you have the "need for speed" at least take it outside the city to some empty backroads, yet preferrably to a track.

My experience at 210 km/h I had it at around 5K rpms in 6th with power still left. Close your panoramic roof and both windows - with them open the car feels like its dragging a parachute.

vadim

I'd say: let the nature take care of this. [ thinning the herd? ]

Jens C320

Race at an autocross event and safely find the limits of your car...works for me

dswildfire

well, power isn't everything, a 240hp honda accord tops out somewhere just over 120mph. similarly, using a theoretical top speed calculator which factors in tire size, frontal area, and drag coefficient, a current 745i would probably top out around 170mph. closer to 165mph is more likely.

Halifax

ahem...
the real question is not how fast the car can go... its how fast you can go! LOL.

seriously, I panicked at 190Km/h. I dared and reached that speed only twice in my whole life. even if the car can go faster, I wont. well... unless I was driving a big car like maybe BMW or Austin Martin (I'm talking about size, just to feel safe!)


and about that ESP “test” I did… it was a wide five lanes street, no cars around and no people walking since no sidewalks at that area.
But yeah, I was dumb for doing it.

taylor192

If you're going to panick while you drive, you really shouldn't be driving fast, or trying the things you have mentioned - all require a good set of nerves incase something does go wrong and you have to react.

I've driven a Jaguar V12 at 240+ km/h, a Corvette near 270 km/h, and a '70 GTO at 160+ mph on empty backroads in the country where I grew up, so 210 km/h in the C230K seemed slow. I was 17, I had the "need for speed", yet I decided to do my fast driving in a straight line where all I could hit was maybe a stray cow.

Since you don't seem comfortable driving near your limit (not even the car's limit) I suggest you slow down.

Halifax

Do u mean at high speeds like that and a small car like mine it will be possible for someone to react? I thought one thing goes wrong it will be the end of everything :p

taylor192

Glad you put the :p in, or else I'd mention that F1 cars aren't very big and travel much faster. Our C230 is 4343 mm in total length, the Ferrari 2001 F1 is 4445 mm, about 100 mm or 10 cm, or 4" difference - not much.
Wheelbase there's about 30 cm, or 12" difference, which is a lot - wow.

If that's how you think, eventually natural selection should occur

TNblkc230wz

It is a 3400 lbs car very well suited to high-speed turns. I've gotten the backend and frontend to come loose on the autocross course, but never lost complete control. I have learned the limits of my car and driving skills and stay below that threashhold on the streets.

There is a limit to every car, even with ESP activated. Nothing is going to stop you from turning the wheels hard at speed. The ESP (or driver skill) will attempt to keep the car going in the correct direction, but when you reach the limits of tire adhesion, physics will take over and send the car in what ever direction inertia sends it.

revstriker

This may come as a surprise to you, but in most accidents where the driver of a car gets killed, the driver was not "Planning" on killing themselves.

It sounds like you're planning to go out and do some dangerous driving in the name of "having fun". This is a deadly combination. All we can hope is that when you wreck (and you will), that there are no "innocent" bystanders hurt by your stupidity.

02Impressor

Ah **** Halifax don't sweat it. I read this whole thread and once again a bunch of nerds/senior citizens/pussies ***** and moan about safe driving. I took a lot of flack on this board when I asked similiar questions while performing stupid things on the car. I realize they're dumb things to do as you probably do too but it's helluva fun to max out or just 'experiment' with the 'sport coupe.' Some of these people don't realize that it is a [semi] sports car and not a luxury vehicle that should be well taken care of and driven very, very, very cautiously. Sure, the car is expensive and should be properly maintained but it should also be used for fun and speed too. So g'head try what you like, just let us/me know the results. Search the forum to see some of the stupid **** I tried before (and some I have yet to post about).

preyx

Yeah, very true. Even Tsuchiya, the "Drift King", suggests in his DVD that safety must be your top concern. The fun comes after you've ensured that.

revstriker

Ah yes, we're a bunch of nerds/senior citizens etc. because we don't like having our lives, or the lives of our loved ones terminated early because some moron thinks that it's "cool" to drive his car 100mph through a residential neighborhood.

You just don't get it. It has nothing to do with what kind of a car it is. If you want to be stupid and try and push your car to it's limits, then I have no problem with that, as long as you do it on a closed road/race track etc. The news is littered with stories about people getting injured and killed because some moron was doing something stupid with his/her car.

Halifax

okay... I keep reading crap like that too much in this topic.

sorry revstriker, ain't directed to u personally...
but I never said I did anything when there were cars around me.

I don't have to say anything... but just so I wont read another disturbing, to me at lesat, reply like that I'll say something...

I don't go to any tracks to test my car, cuz there aren't any here. I go to a five lanes high way (five each side) that is very far away from the city in the middle of no where next to some sea port used for petrochemical things. meaning its almost rarely to see a truck driving there too.

No that highway isn't 100% empty. I do come by cars every once in a while. But here people do drive like maniacs. so its pretty normal to find a car going 200Km/h passing by a car going 140Km/h in a 120Km/h zone!