TonyTwoBags

I think the dangerous part is when you get going fast enough that the rate of acceleration materially slows down &, as a result, you have to carry tremendous speed for a relatively long stretch. Getting up to 120 is nothing in a regular Carrera, much less a turbRo. It's the period north of a buck fifty where you're screaming down the road looking at the speedo inch up. Risk from debris, expansion joints, animals, etc. is amplified during this time. Maybe hit 160 - 170 and back off unless all conditions are *perfect*?

turbogrill

I would do it somewhere where I can't hit anything if something goes wrong (trees, other cars, houses, etc).

Maybe do it at something like the https://www.texasmile.net/

J_M

If it's not an airfield be very careful. With rally racing background I can tell how bad it gets with obstacles near you if **** hits the fan ...

AWDGuy

I've hit 205km/hr and that was at the track. Front end is very light bit it still feels planted.

RngTrtl

is this SUn Valley event a closed course type of thing? Ive had my turbo up to 170 in Texas out in the middle of no where and let me tell you, $h1t happens quite quickly at that speed. Honestly I will likely never push it that hard again unless I can get on something like an airport runway event. With that being said, the car got there easily and was effortless to control. The cars are meant to cruise at that speed. As long as your car is in great mechanical shape, then I see little need to do anything special to it when driven at such speeds. Do you think that people across the world with higher speed limits than the US get special alignments? Hell no, thats crazy talk.

Andrew Stowell

I don't think you need to do anything special. The car is designed to go that fast. I would check your normal maintenance items, the same as going to a track day (oil, brakes, etc) and just a few extra things.

1. I expect your tires are good, but double check the speed rating. You want Z or Y rated tires.
See here: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret...171128133204:s

2. Check your alignment. Definitely want the car to track straight. Probably want to have a little more toe in and caster then you would otherwise want. A good shop will know what to do.

3. Make sure all your aero and under-tray parts are good. Not something I would normally worry about, but at those speeds you don't want a broken splitter or missing under-tray to cause lift.

That should be it. I don't think you need any special safety gear beyond a helmet. As long as this is a sanctioned event on an airstrip or similar, you should have plenty of room if the car spins out or anything else happens to come to a stop before hitting anything.

Just remember, your braking point is crucial at those speeds. Don't miss the signs to start braking or you will run out of space really quick.

DTMiller

"Safely" is a relative term. Speeds have a weird relationship north of 125 or so. 135 is twice as fast as 125 and 140 is three times as fast as 135, etc. Can't explain it until you do it. It's super fun and I hope you have a great time but be careful and don't push yourself too far away from your comfort zone.

ejdoherty911

Go out to the desert and floor it. Be sure to take a selfie at top speed.

rymerc

I have the exact opposite experience, where everything over just above legal speed feels about the same.

808Bill

Make sure you have life insurance...

Ryan_G

I think people really underestimate the risk of driving a car that fast. When everything operates as intended and nothing unexpected happens it's all sunshine and roses. The car will be stable and should go those speeds assuming everything goes well. The issue is when anything does not go as planned. Your tire blows out. Your alignment is off and the steering becomes very very touchy at incredibly high speeds and you lose control. Your brakes give out. There is a bump that upsets the car. The surface has debris on it. You tunnel vision and miss your braking point. These things can and do happen. That is when **** hits the fan and you can end up in the hospital or dead.

Maybe all goes well 99/100 times but it's all risk reward. You get no prize for hitting top speed but it could potentially cost you your life. You don't need full safety gear to hit top speed but you will need it to avoid serious injury or death if something goes wrong. Since this thread is about doing it safely I would err on the side of caution and do more than just mat the pedal and cross my fingers. I've seen people wreck at Daytona doing 140mph up the front straight during a DE. I have also seen them leave at on a stretcher. Add 50 more mph to the equation and it just gets much worse.

5CHN3LL

Nowhere near as much as "your" in the wrong forum.

Dr_Strangelove

And even if it's an airfield be very careful: https://www.autoblog.com/2017/09/12/...orado-airport/

David993S

Sounds like a good plan........if you're trying to win the Darwin Award.

5CHN3LL

You will want to make sure the brakes are dialed in and working VERY smoothly...the slightest brake vibration that you wouldn't even notice at 70 will be terrifying if you try to haul the car back down from > 150 in a hurry. I would verify that your tires are actually rated for that speed. You may also want to check and see for how long the tires are rated for those speeds.

If you have an aerokitted car with adjustable aero, be sure to research the wing position to use for top speed runs. The feeling of the car going light and the tach blipping up to redline because the wing isn't set up properly for conditions - which happened to me at about 130 - is probably one of the most unsettling feelings I've had in a car that wasn't already in the process of crashing.

The comments about getting some seat time at higher speeds before you go *****-out are good advice. Not only do things happen INSANELY fast, your inputs have to change drastically. Practice will help prevent jumping on the brakes too hard, too much steering input, or not realizing that the car has gone light over part of the track and braking when you shouldn't.

Flat out in top gear is also the time when your engine will be working harder than it probably ever has before. You'll be putting more wind load on the body work than ever, the engine and the cooling system are going to be working at capacity. I smoked a water pump bearing during a single high-speed run; if I hadn't noticed the wisp of steam in the rear-view and had continued to beat on the car...well, bad stuff probably would have ensued.

It's a rush to drive at ludicrous speed, but you really, really want to make sure the car is dialed in.