Assuming you have damn near limitless road ie: 40plus miles of straight highway in Baja Cali, and fear of no cops, what would be a safe top speed in a all stock 12a? Assuming everything is running just fine, new belts, oil, etc.

 

Safe top speed? Not sure I understand what you mean by that...

 

Not having to worry about destroying my engine, overheating, things like that. If I just nail my throttle for over 45 minutes what kind of damage do I have to worry about, and what kind of top speed can I expect to see?

 

the engine isnt the only thing you need to worry about.. things like suspension and bearings and bushings play a huge role in stability at high speeds..

 

Stability isnt a problem. I just need to know what kind of speeds I can expect to achieve, and whether or not I run a significant chance of destroying my engine. i dont want to be sitting in the middle of Baja w/ a broken car.

 

depends on rpm and gear

 

5th gear, and you tell me what is a safe RPM. And what speed that equals?

 

I just wanna know if I can cruise at 145 mph, or if my car can even go that fast. I refuse to go over 85 mph here in the states, but since there is no cops in this portion of Mexico that are legit, I therefore have no problem. I just want to take advantag of the straight, flat roads while I have the chance.

 

In a 20 yr old car, I'd be worried about every part of the car, not just the motor. Any car can fail. Wheel bearings could fry, you could blow a water hose, water pump could fail, etc....... Running a 20+ yr old car at WOT in top gear for any extended period of time may spell trouble.

Top speed? My stock '79 ran 105mph easily. I made it from Tucson (Ina Rd) to Flagstaff in 2 1/2 hours (250 miles). But the car was only 9 years old at the time!

It sounds like you're already determined to try it. So good luck, take a cell phone and a pistol.



Andy

 

only way to find out is to do it.

 

Im just curious. I just parted my 91 Eagle Talon TSI AWD running 21 psi, and now am just picking up this car. I have all the sevice papers on it, and it was all taken care of by one shop since 86'. Im used to going 140 easily for extended periods of time. just wondering what to expect when I cross the border for the first time in this car.

 

A stock '83 will only do about 120. Out of curiosity, where was it serviced, RX for your 7? If you live in Tucson, Jay is the only one who should service it. He really knows his stuff.

Andy

 

RX for your 7 is the place.

 

i went up to 105 but.... that was just a pull and then i was closing on people to fast so i stoped.....

i have owned the car for 2 years also and have taken it on many trips along with it being a daily driver so i know what i should and shouldnt do to the car......

140 would probly be pretty risky since the stock body of the 1st gen has been known to loose front steering because of lift (this was from what i remeber reading in other threads)

 

I was chasing an Acura NSX running between Chicago and Detroit. We hit just over 120 for a stretch, and the car felt like it could do quite a bit more. With better tires and a front air dam, it would have been a lot more reassuring though. If I had to guess, I'd say I could cruise at 130 without issues (with tires/airdam, that is).

 

i almost burried the needle in my old RX like a decade ago. car started to lift and vibrate.. it got scary. i really dont see a point in going that fast now.

but yes, your number one concern is going to be the suspension and definetaly alignment.

 

When they were new (1979), top speed was listed at about 124/125 (I think it was Car & Driver that reported that). If you added an air dam and spoiler, it increased just a few (less than 130). So you'd be turning about 6k in 5th gear.

And, frankly, I don't believe anybody's speedometers, but that's another argument all together.

 

I would never go much over 100mph in a stock bodied seven. The arrow like front end made it kind of light in the front at high speeds.

 

I observed approximatly 123MPH at the top of 4th gear in my GSL-SE with basically no mods. 5th gear got me maybe 124 - 125MPH but wouldn't rev any further.

The car was rock stable, stock body minus the lower airdam (missing).

 

Will my roll cage help in this situation, i know it will if i go for a ... let's say "tumble in the grass" but i know it stiffens it up a lot, just curious, stock 12A, air dam, pana's in ecstas, strut brace, thats all, oh....auto...It sux, but im swapping soon.

 

that sounds like fun. here is what to look for at top of 4th!

 

^ Lol

 

yea that's about right in the picture. when i come out of 4th and slam 5th it's still climbing way past 120mph. i don't really pay attention to where i let off at but by the time i'm coasting back down after a race i'm still over 130mph sometimes

 

Even with my suspension fully upgraded, the front end started getting light about 105/110 mph. Any emergency maneuvers at that point would have been a wing and a prayer. The stock body lacks proper downforce for running much over 100 mph and still have decent control.

If you want to run 140, make me the beneficiary on your life insurance policy.

 

i will admit my car felt more grounded when i had the imsa style air damn... but i hit over 130 a few times a week... or maybe that's a few times every weekend, but it feels fine. in fact it gets there so fast that i dont even realize it. when it takes forever to climb over 100mph you have time to think about what could be going wrong or how it actually feels so i guess, unless you have power, don't do it?