Hey all. As I approach my birthday, I'm looking at my bucket list and weighing what I can check off this year. One of the line items is to drive over 200mph. Being in FL there are really only x2 venues within 500 miles that I may be able to do this: 1/4 mile drag racing and 1/2 mile top speed events (Wanna go fast, Cape Canaveral events) . The top speed events seem like the simpler route to get there. i.e. more distance = less HP and danger necessary. Texas mile is also viable. So I have venue options, now what car?
I have been brainstorming options and have a couple that seem like the easy button:
Mercedes SL55 AMG, SL600, and CL600 with a chip/tune. All of those can be picked up for $20K ish and with a tune/chip to delimit should go over 200mph. Found an article that a delimited SL55 AMG will do 203. This seems to be the easy button.
BMW M5/M6 V10 - These are rapidly appreciating in value but a v10 M5 sedan can be bough under $20K. From what I have read a Supercharger would be necessary to go over the 200mph mark. So, I would need to hold out to find one already SC.
Corvette/Camaro/CTS-V - These don't seem to have the HP out of the box. I don't think they have the gearing either. Is there an easy rear end fix that could put these in the 200mph club?
Retired Nascar - This is another one of my top choices. The platform seems ideal/safe. Rollers can be found for $10-15K Drop in your 800hp engine of choice and 200mph should click by without issue.
Is there another option I am missing? How would you attack going over 200mph?
The megasquirt team built a budget 200mph 240sx to challenge a bonneville land speed record:
https://performanceracing.com/news/diyautotunes-megasquirt-3-pro-240sx-breaks-record
https://www.diyautotune.com/news/results/land-speed-racing/jerry-hoffmann-sets-new-record-217-3913mph/
Bear in mind at those speeds, aero matters much more than HP. Apparently that body of 240sx is pretty aerodynamic right out of the box
Ian F
MegaDork
1/4/19 2:04 p.m.
Step 1: Find the lightest, most aero body that is easily available. A Prius or 1st gen Insight comes to mind.
Step 2: stuff a ton of HP under the hood. Convert to RWD if desired.
Step 3: Try not to die.
Lotus Esprit SE running S4s code with a good tuneup. A guy I know dropped the hammer once and did 186 by GPS flat out for ten minutes.
For the C5, a stock one can get close to 170mph top speed, you'll need oversized rear tires, aero mods and a bit more power to get the rest of the way. But the SL55 AMG seems like the easy button if it just needs the limiter turned off.
I've thought that a 2JZ-powered belly tank racer could make a lot of sense. Narrow engine that can make a lot of power with light mods in a narrow body...
3rd gen Firebird GTA. M-20 Muncie. Rear axle gears deep into the 2's to keep the driveshaft speeds down. Built a 4.8 with a turbo and aim for ~650 hp at 7k.
Cotton
PowerDork
1/4/19 2:20 p.m.
The easy button is a bike. Hayabusa with a sprocket change and small nitrous shot will get you in the 200mph club irrc either 1 or 1.5 miles.
You are on the right track with the big Benz coupes. I know a modified cl65 has done 200 in 1.5, so a cl600 could probably pull it off too.
I have a tuned cl600, and it’s a beast. Tough to work on, but man what a car.
Buy this Dodge viper Gen III with a salvage title for about 23K.
https://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/cto/d/san-diego-2004-dodge-viper/6767514794.html
Cam and Blower. and do 225+ in the standing mile and sell it for more then you paid.
grover
HalfDork
1/4/19 2:41 p.m.
Cotton said:
The easy button is a bike. Hayabusa with a sprocket change and small nitrous shot will get you in the 200mph club irrc either 1 or 1.5 miles.
sure, but how does he hook up the trailer to carry his balls in?
I think you'll need a significant amount of increased HP even with the SL55 AMG + drag reduction. Just because it will theoretically do 203, doesn't mean it will 203 in the amount of land you have available.
You could buy a new liter bike, remove the speed limiter and do it no problem.
A liter bike will do 150mph in the 1/4 if you can get it off the line. Hell 15 years ago even my R6 would do ~125 in the 1/4 and I wasn't excellent at getting it off the line.
There's a HUGE difference between a car that will go 200mph and one that will do so in a half mile.
I think the recipe would be a long wheelbase (for stability), decent aero, and 1000+ horsepower. Boosted LS truck motor would be the easiest on a budget.
Oh, I missed the 1/2 mile thing. In that case, yeah, my answer just went from 4.8 to 6.0 and with more boost. 1,000 hp sounds like a better target. And now I don't know what trans is best. Maybe there's somebody building up Muncie's to deal with that much power but I have my doubts.
Also don't forget, at least for me, I would want SIGNIFICANT safety equipment in a car I was planning on breaking the 200mph barrier with. Cage, halo seat, helmet, etc, etc, would easily eat $5k of that budget.
In reply to Dr. Hess :
That dude covered as much as 31 miles in just that 10 minutes!
z31maniac said:
Also don't forget, at least for me, I would want SIGNIFICANT safety equipment in a car I was planning on breaking the 200mph barrier with. Cage, halo seat, helmet, etc, etc, would easily eat $5k of that budget.
This. I was thinking $10k in safety equip for something capable of doing 200mph in 1/2 mile.
Send $29,999 to Andrew Nelson.
Ian F said:
Step 1: Find the lightest, most aero body that is easily available. A Prius or 1st gen Insight comes to mind.
For 1/2 mile testing it may be beneficial to be light, but for bonneville, you heavier is usually better (more stable).
The Prius or insight probably have a ton of lift, which can get super bad at high speeds. I'd be careful there.
I'd want to minimize CdA, with minimal lift right behind that.
it looks like the c5 corvette with the 6 speed comes with a 3.42 rear gear and the automatics came with either a 3.15 or 2.73. Without doing the math I'd imagine mating even the 3.15 should get you to your target since the T-56 is a double overdrive. Then just add power and party
In reply to NordicSaab :
A daily driver type of car or a built for racing car?
Pick up an older Indy car and dump a Chevy V8 in it with a pair of Turbo’s.
Roger Rager did it with a 3-4 year old March and a V8 out of a school bus. Actually wound up leading the Indy 500 for a while. Said he was on the Grid for $20,000
same with a old NASCAR put a cheap LS Engine in with a pair of turbo’s. Might make it under $10,000
Ian F said:
Step 1: Find the lightest, most aero body that is easily available. A Prius or 1st gen Insight comes to mind.
Step 2: stuff a ton of HP under the hood. Convert to RWD if desired.
Step 3: Try not to die.
Frontal area beats drag. In other words in a small car with little frontal area it will push less air than a bigger slippery car.
Easiest way to reduce frontal area? Remove windshield. In 1949 Jaguar went 148 mph with their XK 120 and a bubble canopy over the driver. Power ( gross, was 160 hp)
Mndsm
MegaDork
1/4/19 3:54 p.m.
C5 Corvette, Ebay turbos and a 200 shot. Migjt only do it once, but itll do it.
ProDarwin said:
z31maniac said:
Also don't forget, at least for me, I would want SIGNIFICANT safety equipment in a car I was planning on breaking the 200mph barrier with. Cage, halo seat, helmet, etc, etc, would easily eat $5k of that budget.
This. I was thinking $10k in safety equip for something capable of doing 200mph in 1/2 mile.
I suspect you're right that it would be closer to $10k than $5k. I was just thinking at least an 8pt cage, FIA seat, HANS, a fire bottle as a minimum.
10+ point cage, higher end FIA seat, nets, fire suit, helmet, fire system with nozzles in the cockpit and engine compartment (takes a long time to slow down from that speed if something lets loose and starts a fire).
Vette seems like a good option, but maybe a 996 could get it done.
