AMGOODNESS

improviz, i will admit that your point is purely based in reality and is being made exclusively with responsibility in mind however you are coming off as extremely conservative. although your message is essentially a good one you may want to practice a little humility. if you think jr is impulsive and derogatory you certainly come off as arrogant and saintly.

Zal

Howdy all, since I am the guy that started the ruckus, lets hope I can end it with a little civility. My ego is not that large to take offense at any of the blasting you have chosen to post on this thread .

What I find fascinating is how my comments have been put into contexts that are specific to the individual..... and not representative of the situation, yet some of you have chosen to put forth some valid but less than polite perspectives.

Now in the interest of closing the acrimonious dialog civilly hear are some facts - NOT EXCUSES:

1. I am a responsible driver that does like to enjoy his car
2. The car is immaculately maintained - so mechanical condition of the car is almost perfect
3. The high speed runs occur in Texas on SPECIFIC on-ramps that are long and I have plenty of visibility to traffic so I am not merging and scaring the dickens out of somebody, and I am familiar with.
4. The high velocity ceases once I am on the freeway
5. These occassional bursts of speeds normally occur on sat AMs or weekends where there is no concern with traffic and I do NOT drive at 110mph in traffic!!
6. I have had track time in this car and am proficient at handling it
7. The children are in 5 point harnesses

ALL that said - I DO AGREE it is not the smartest thing to do and does raise the risk (differently in our various opinions) to myself and the kids. So those of you that have rather strenuously questioned my judgement you have a right to. That being said I find there are more day to day driving situations that have nothing to do with speed that scare me and endanger my kids more than my occasional burst of controlled speed.

So now to all you well meaning posters to this rather lively thread, lets tone down the attitude and continue the scientific dialog if you wish, and a request that before you choose to speak your mind freely you perhaps ask for some more clarifying facts and then let loose with both barrels if justified.

What disappointed me the most and prompted this response (though my reaction to date since my post was just to ignore the vituperate dialog) was the civility of some of the posters. I enjoy the forum and the dialog on it and would like to encourage all to treat each other with basic courtesy and respect... though you may have a divergent opinion.

Improviz

OK, fine, point taken. And I agree with you...if the cops would spend 1/10 the effort finding these weaving reckless jerks and citing them for it that they do nailing people for going 5 over or "running a stop sign" for failing to come to a complete, total, no-molecules-on-the-vehicle-must-be-moving stop when there's not another car within 500 yds of you, the roads would be safer.

In every performance respect, from handling to braking to high speed stability to avoidance maneuvers, the CLK is a vastly superior car to a minivan. My only point wrt braking is that most people don't realize just how much those distances increase with speed; intuitively, you'd think that at 100 it would be roughly double that of 60, not the triple that it actually is, and that you'd think that going from 100-140 would give you 40% longer stopping distance while in fact it doubles, to over two football fields.

Those poor kids that got killed on that runway down in Florida last year doubtlessly thought that they could get the vehicle up to speed and stop within the distance on the runway, and they paid the ultimate price for their mistake. So since then, I've tried to point this out every now and then, just os that people are aware of it, and the accompanying risks.

Anyway, I certainly wasn't out to compare a minivan to a CLK55, although the R63 would probably give it a good run for its money.

Lol...this reminds me of the Top Gear thing where the host ran a certain time at Nurburgring in a Jag, and Sabine Schmidt (the very hot BMW Ring Taxi pilot, who held the track record for a time) told him she could beat it in a delivery van....they took her up on it, and she actually didn't quite beat him, but did get within a second or so as I recall...great video, google it if you haven't seen it.

Anyway, all I wanted to do was point this stuff out so that people would be aware....I know when I looked into it after those kids died (trying to piece together what happened) it was a real eye-opener to see just how huge the stopping distances were at very high speeds, and it has definitely put the brakes on what I'm willing to do behind the wheel, so to speak.

Improviz

In terms of conserving life, yes, particularly those of very young children and/or innocent folks on the highway....I've got two now, and couldn't bear to think of anything happening to them, or seeing anyone else have to suffer such a loss.

I'm far from being a saint, but I do see a certain amount of caution and prudence as being virtuous. Arrogant? I don't think so, just defending my numbers when they're called into question, with the confidence that comes from double-checking one's figures before posting....I, after all, didn't develop the equation for kinetic energy...that would be Sir Issac Newton, who was arrogant, but given his accomplishments could probably be declared "entitled" without too much of a stretch...but I digress.