macreel

I'm writing a mystery novel - I need help with a scene.

The hero is a time traveler and has brought back to 'now' a lady from 1917 who has never
gone faster than about 80 mph, in a diving civilian biplane.

He wants to give her a thrill,... uh uh, careful, now.

Out for a drive in the Bay area in his friend's Porsche,
can he be cruising along at 60-70 mph, drop down a gear and accelerate to 100, or more?
In what model? Our shark? A 930? A 911?
What gears?
What road in or near San Francisco?

Be honest, now. I intend to test this on the track, for us in Puget Sound, at PRI.

I think I'll ask this in "Off Topic", too.

Thnx

Speedtoys

I dont get the question?

Its a few precious seconds from say..70mph to 100mph in an S4 auto..drops -2- gears to do it.


Widens eyes, a lot...you go from calm to unplugged in an instant.

macreel

speedtoys... you're south of the Bay area. You probably can suggest
road[s] for this little speed trial, some personal experience.

What say?

neilh

Pacific coast highway north bound, ( Hwy 1).
South of San Francisco from Montara to Pacifica, around McNee Ranch state park. Road climbs up into the state park area, then over a hill and drops right down to water level.
Many years ago I drove this north in the 81 928 through the Redwood trees lined road at between 110 and 130 - scariest ride ever!

atb

If he's driving a 928, why drop down a gear?
In an '88 S4 A/T (2.20), third gear redlines at 145mph.
I would guess that a 5 speed could be crusing at highway speeds in 5th, drop down to 4th, and get the same results.

atb

Seriously though, why not leave it top gear and have him take her to 170?

jorj7

There's a nice stretch of I 280 south of the city between San Bruno and Belmont that's 4 lanes wide in
each direction and not crowded (during none commute hours) where doing a short spurt up to 100+
would be relatively easy. Not as picturesque as PCH, but also not as scary at speed.

macreel

Thnx all...

sounds as if I should nix the local test drive and go south
to your neck of the woods.

neilh ... I've been over some of the roads suggested, but not at speed.
Last time I had the shark down there I got caught in the Pumpkin Crawl
in Half Moon Bay just before Halloween. I'll avoid that in future.

danglerb

Anybody from 1917 would have the cr@p scared out of them from normal driving in SF.

Speedtoys

PM when in the area.

LarryM

Neilh, is there a place on that road where the sides of the road are relatively open then you drive into the Red wood Forrest? or is that Muir woods.
That was so strange, it made me feel real small. Like I was driving a miniature car through a crack in a fence.
LM

Mako 928

In my " fictitious " experience of driving in the Bay Area, Hwy. 1 in Marin is a fantastic drive. In some areas the speed limit is 55 mph.
Driving a 5 speed and going through the gears is a symphony of fuel and speed. Getting it up to 100 MPH in short bursts with the trees flying by is exhilarating.
Doing the same on a 3 to 4 lane highway does not give me the same feeling.

Just my "fictitious" experience.

IcemanG17

Macreel
One of my FAVORITE things to do when I had "sharky" my 88 S4 auto was to cruise along at 60mph....engine loafing at 2200rpm or so......drop the hammer, double downshift and BWAAAHHHHHH to 5500rpm and your GONE....80mph+ when she shifts to 3rd in under 3 seconds....100 about 3 after that......many many SMILES doing this....