Simple question, if you want to legally max out a car, where is the nearest unrestricted autobahn where you can do it?
|
Not all of Germany's Autobahn network is unrestricted these days but will be your nearest if you're in the UK:
www.autobahnatlas-online.de/Limitkarte.pdf
And the legends:
www.autobahnatlas-online.de/LegendeLimit_e.pdf
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 22:09
|
|
What's the car? Might not need an Autobahn:) But even if you do, there's always something faster and it's damned busy! Better to take it on track, but that's only my view.....
Last edited by: NIL on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 22:13
|
According to wiki, about 50% of the German autobahn network is derestricted. So anywhere in north-east Germany should do.
Realistically, a track day or and event like VMax at Bruntingthorpe would be cheaper. Scoping out the A1(M) near Peterborough or Hatfield, the M1 through junction 15 or the M4 near Pyle in the middle of the night cheaper still. What sort of car is it?
|
So anywhere in north-east Germany should do.
Wouldn't northwest Germany be closer still? Or, if it's a Vauxhall, Beachy Head?
|
>> So anywhere in north-east Germany should do.
>>
>> Wouldn't northwest Germany be closer still? Or, if it's a Vauxhall, Beachy Head?
>>
Yes-it's closer but an awful lot of restricted road and what isn't is very busy!
Last edited by: VxFan on Wed 28 Mar 12 at 10:19
|
>> According to wiki, about 50% of the German autobahn network is derestricted. So anywhere in
>> north-east Germany should do.
>>
>> Realistically, a track day or and event like VMax at Bruntingthorpe would be cheaper. Scoping
>> out the A1(M) near Peterborough or Hatfield, the M1 through junction 15 or the M4
>> near Pyle in the middle of the night cheaper still. What sort of car is
>> it?
>>
150 ish car and I really don't fancy a jail sentence.....
I am happy to plan a weekend break to Germany to encompass it so the cost isn't an issue.
|
|
2:00 am, S/E bound along the M25, over the top of Reigate hill at 85, and see how fast you are going by the the time you hit the m23 exit.
|
>> 2:00 am, S/E bound along the M25, over the top of Reigate hill at 85
In the week, its quietest just before 4am.
At the weekend, 11.00-11.30pm seems best. Everyone's got to where they're going, no-one's going home yet and plod are all busy in town breaking up fights.
The OP must know a suitable stretch of road well enough that's local to them. I have, er, heard of such speeds being achieved on, for example, the A6 Barton Cutting, the A1 between Langford and Stotfold and the aforementioned stretch of northbound M1. If your car's powerful enough then it only needs a handful of seconds to get up to speed and back down again. Just check the tyre pressures first, eh?
Last edited by: Dave_TDCi on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 23:15
|
>> I have, er, heard of such speeds being achieved on, for example, the A6 Barton
>> Cutting, the A1 between Langford and Stotfold and the aforementioned stretch of northbound M1.
The Barton Cutting takes me back....
When I was about 19 I got pulled over doing about 90. Fortunately I was with a girl who had fantastic legs (best I have ever seen) and a willingness to wear short skirts. Plod puts his head through the window to give me the dressing down and ticket for speeding only to see these long shapely legs.
He must have spent about 5 minutes looking at them. Sorry, I mean telling me off and don't do it again.....
I was lucky that time.
Last edited by: a900ss on Tue 27 Mar 12 at 23:46
|
|
..... and you got off the speeding? :-)
|
Barton cutting.
Not a true test of a cars top speed as I can roll down it in neutral at 70.
|
|
The Isle of Man has no speed limits on many rural roads :)
|
We went to Germany (Göttinghen/Berlin) last summer and I found it extremely irritating.
As soon as you get up to speed (~150mph), there is either a van pulls out from lane one, or a supercar approaching fast from behind at 200mph flashing it's lights or is a speed limit for a few hundred yards (because of a bend, dip or slip road) and these often had clusters of cameras on the central reservation.
Night is not feasible as these roads are virtually all unlit.
In my case, the joy from desire was greater than from the fulfilment.
Last edited by: sooty tailpipes on Wed 28 Mar 12 at 09:53
|
>> 150 ish car and I really don't fancy a jail sentence.....
>>
>> I am happy to plan a weekend break to Germany to encompass it so the
>> cost isn't an issue.
have fun.
I was in West Germany just a few weeks after the wall came down.
A bit disconcerting to be bowling along at 240 on the Autobahn, only to be confronted by some smoky Trabant in the fast lane at 70.
(For 'disconcerting' read 'brown trousers')
Off topic (sort of) - was listening to the 20 minute version of Kraftwerk's Autobahn the other day, rather loud, on my way to work. In German.
Last edited by: Ian (Cape Town) on Wed 28 Mar 12 at 18:25
|
>> Scoping
>> out the A1(M) near Peterborough or Hatfield, the M1 through junction 15 or the M4
>> near Pyle in the middle of the night cheaper still. What sort of car is
>> it?
>>
Before urban speed limits were introduced in the UK (ah, those halcyon days), Desmond "Dizzy" Addicott claimed to have done 200 mph on the M1. tinyurl.com/y4x829
Last edited by: L'escargot on Wed 28 Mar 12 at 09:54
|
>>>Scoping out the A1(M) near Peterborough
Taking care not to hurtle past the boring looking maroon Skoda Superb that cruises the area.
|
|
It looks far less boring when all the hidden blue lights are flashing away. Very bright. Its a good Q car job that one.
|
>>>Its a good Q car job that one.
Indeed, Seems to have a good strike rate as I've seen it loads and always with someone pulled onto the hard shoulder.
|
Of course there are places where it is possible to go fast in this country without a very serious risk of being clocked. But there always is a risk, and some judges/magistrates react in a hysterical and ignorant way to very high recorded speeds. You don't want to end up in the slammer.
At least on an unrestricted Autobahn you don't run that risk. But such roads are seldom empty and the driving in Germany is just as bad as it is here - eager beavers tailgating, mimsers waddling down the fast lane at 45mph, drivers who don't look in their mirrors before changing lanes and all the rest of it from Mr Toad to Mr Magoo.
Perhaps a race circuit is the safest option if you want to see what she'll do mister.
|
|
the m69 between leics and hinkley is pretty straight and in my younger days have hit 150mph on that stretch
|
I agree that A1(M) towards South after Peterborough is a good stretch. I occasionally travel via that route in early morning hours and hardly see any other cars.
M1 towards Luton was also a nice place but since last year they have now installed gantry cameras! I have seen few of them flash when someone was travelling at high speed (definitely more than 80 MPH)
But yes, anything over 100 MPH is always a risk.
Don't know any road up North - but I shall be surprised if there is nothing similar in Scotland.
|
|
SFAIK the "Gantry" cameras are SPECS and they don't flash - they use infra red to read number plates in the dark.. That is if you mean the inverted "L" shaped gantries. I think the full width cameras on gantries that span the M25 do flash and take a rear view.
|
|
Maximum speed in this country I have done was about 130mph.M62 from Manchester.I was in a Merc Audi behind me quet night driving.
|
>> the m69 between leics and hinkley is pretty straight and in my younger days have
>> hit 150mph on that stretch
>>
how about the M45?
only one junction, and little used.... www.cbrd.co.uk/motorway/m45
I know of one person (cough) who tried his car out on there....
|
|
I can recommend the A555 in Cheshire. Locally known as the road to no-where because its original destinations were never connected up at either end. Always quiet, particularly at night. I understand (coughs) that 130mph may be possible.....
|
>> I understand (coughs) that 130mph may be possible.....
>>
good lord.
I am led to believe that such speeds are obtainable on other roads as well, especially in my area, and though never having attempted it myself, a certain acquaintance, who has a bit of a history of winning stuff in racing, has allegedly pushed an XF-R to the stops on one such road.
According to the chap who was sitting next to him, according to pub banter etc etc etc.
And that Corsa OPC, I'm led to believe, goes right up to the ~140mph claimed top speed, again, according to some unknown chap in the passenger seat.
Allegedly, the miscreant was seen to grin, and heard to utter 'Hey! This thing Fornicates Off, doesn't it!'
|
|
I wonder if my car is really capable of it's official top speed - 141mph. I'll never find out I guess.
|
|
All of mine have been, er, within manufacturers' tolerances :)
|
>> I wonder if my car is really capable of it's official top speed - 141mph.
>> I'll never find out I guess.
>>
The road and weather conditions would need to be right ~ enough distance, not uphill, no headwind etc. In addition, your particular car might not be capable of 141 mph, or it's speedometer might not be accurate etc. There are lots of variables.
|
|
I can attest that VAG speedos are accurate, at least at the top of their travel. The Octy is within tolerances, as described by Dave.
|
I can attest that VAG speedos are deliberately set high, by about 3 mph.
If you learn which button to push in what sequence, you can get the digital speed readout in the climate control temperature display. That matches with sat nav speed, but the speedo is reading faster
|
Didn't know that. Fords have a similar trick when the dash is in diagnostic mode, never tried it though.
It's always a good idea to plan ahead before stretching a car's legs... Tyre pressures checked and adjusted that day, tyre treads checked for screws etc, oil and water ok, brakes working evenly and not pulling, seat adjusted correctly, bonnet definitely closed. Don't forget that a car's kinetic energy increases as a square of its speed, so at 140mph it will take 4 times the stopping as from 70. It's surprising how much slowing down a car travelling at that speed needs.
N.B. I have genuinely done some high speed work at Millbrook, that's how I know all this ;)
|
I didn't know you could do that on VWs with digital climate display... not any use on mine as the climate controls have the temperature around the dial. And also displayed on the radio/sat nav screen when you change them.
There is a kph digital display in the MFD all the time - that's because the speedo only has mph. Both the speedo and digital kph display are in sync as you'd expect.
If I was doing a quick run I'd be sure to make sure tyres were at right pressure - assume you'd go for fully loaded pressures?
I'm surprised temperatures in tyres could go down so much (a few tenths of psi) in the cold weather. And how they will rise when tyres warm up in the colder weather.
|
rtj70 - may be worth checking it agains something known to be accurate.
Been driving a new Golf estate for the last 2 weeks and the speedo over-reads, the average speed reading in the MFD is accurate to the speed shown by TomTom and lower than the speedo.
|
I think that anybody who isn't used to doing such speeds should be very careful indeed.
And if on a track day, check your insurance is up to it - it won't be.
OP is this a last hurrah with your old company car....?
|
>> I think that anybody who isn't used to doing such speeds should be very careful
>> indeed.
>>
>> And if on a track day, check your insurance is up to it - it
>> won't be.
>>
>>
>> OP is this a last hurrah with your old company car....?
>>
No chance that my current car will do 150.....
I remember in my younger days doing about 165 on the M4 between Bristol and Swindon on a 1200cc bike. I wasn't planning on going that speed but I knew I was going quick.
I daren't do that kind of speed on uk roads now. Licence, job, prison, etc - just not worth it.
|
>> I can attest that VAG speedos are deliberately set high, by about 3 mph.
All speedos are deliberately set high, either when they are manufactured or when they are fitted into the car. The only difference is by how much they are set to over read. The allowed tolerance for a speedo is -0% to +10%.
|
Are they still doing that?
Many moons gone there used to be a red Sierra Sapphire "1.8L" that hung around the vicinity of Northampton on the M1. Two blokes in business suits inside, to complete the disguise.
Rear parcel shelf flipped up to reveal four flashing lights and the word "POLICE" to the poor prune they'd just passed.
I have 1.8L in quotes 'cos, when I saw it, it was running down and overtaking a Vauxhall Carlton that I reckon was doing well over a ton at the time (well, I was doing mph and had had to move over a bit sharpish when that came pelting up behind me). I still reckon that one was actually a Cosworth wearing sensible shoes.....
|
Unrestricted autobahn - rtj70
