I bumped in to the LS speed limiter today. It felt like an invisible hand pulling the car back.
The engine had a lot more to go before reaching red line. Anyone know how to do away with the limiter?
Some of you have asked for more power, I think the LS has more than enough for even the insane amongst us.

 

Limiter is set at 131 because of the speed rating of the tires from the factory. The car will go faster but it will outrun the tire limitations. Don't know how to overide the limiter..

 

A simple solution:
Buy a European LS430 speed limit is 155 (250 km/h).

Jac

 

I think the one I have spliced into my ECU is a SARD model. Its a box that goes in line with a couple of wires that tell the ECU how fast you are going. I put it in when I did my SAFCII like three years ago. Hope that helps...

 

I figured it was the tires holding it back as they're only rated for 130 but now I know thanks to jac430! I have no doubt in my mind that the mighty LS will do 155-160+ without much effort. I was driving to the auto show the other day with my friend, so I gave him a demo of the acceleration getting onto the highway. I thought I was doing 85 or so when I let off...but looked down and saw I was creeping towards 105...the LS is quick, but so smooth and quiet you never know it.

 

Please remember there are innocent people on the roads as well. I dont want to be the poor soul you lose control and kill OR the one paying to have your remains cleaned up off the highway...

 

To add a disclaimer, I merged onto an empty 2 lane highway on a clear sunny day...

 

You are in Oklahoma. You should have no worries. LOL

 

The cars have the brakes and suspension to match. They do these speed in Germany and countries that have no speed limits. If your skills can match the speed I see no problems. I am sure law enforcement people will beg to differ (my disclaimer) .

 

It's not our skills, it's other people's stupidity. You could be the best driver in the world, but you can't anticipate someone elses actions at 150+. It's just not possible... unless the other car is going equally as fast.

 

Very well put! How many times have you gone down the highway at 80 mph and some slow driver going 55 merges over without looking or signaling?

 

The problem with 100+mph is that stuff happens really fast, much faster than the typical driver is used to. It can be handled safely if you do a lot of high speed driving and are used to it but 99% of normal everyday drivers have no skills or any hours of seat time experience at 100+. If you are not used to 100+ mph driving, and anything goes wrong - anything at all... like a slow driver changing lanes with no signal, a tire failure, unanticipated debris on the road, animal crossing road, etc., you can quickly fall way behind in thinking through and reacting correctly per the situation.

Additionally the physics of high speed driving are pretty unforgiving and relatively non intuitive - its hard to appreciate the distances covered within normal driver reaction time that are stunningly long, along with the braking distance (once you do react) it takes to come to a stop at 100+mph goes up exponentially.

I love going fast, just have to be very very careful. Many years ago I did 130mph on a motorcycle. 130 in a car is one thing but 130 in the wind blast on a bike can really make your butt pucker up and whistle a merry tune.

 

That certainly all is true.
I feel that there are 2 dangerous points to the very high speeds:

1. you are driving at bullet speed and have a lot of kinetic energy in the heavy car. It takes a lot to let it come to a halt and that takes a very long time and distance. compare when you throw a car from a high building and are standing next to it. no one in it's right mind would allow himself/herself or anyone else to come close to that happening. being close to a car at high speed is equally dangerous. everything happens very fast and before you know it, you are already there.

2. we are not used to these high speeds. that puts in an additional risk.
in this country the speed limit on highways is 120 km/h (75 mi/h).
But there are a lot of restricted areas with a limit of 100 km/h (62 mi/h). Country roads are 80 (50 mi) or 60 (37 mi). Build up area is 50 (31 mi) or 70 on large ring-roads (44 mi).
I have once driven about 210 km/h (2 cars ago) (130 mi/h) on an early morning on a completely deserted highway and to me it was rather scary. I definitely got a kind of tunnel vision. and everything happened really fast.
I normally stick to the speed limits, but the experience certainly was worthwhile to understand what people are talking about.

In Germany indeed there are highways without speed limits. Several Germans like to own cars that can drive 250 km/h or even faster (155 mi/h). And they drive regularly at speeds of 200 km/h (125 mi/h).
Once I went to a holiday to the Czech republic (about 700 mi). That means crossing Germany. I felt quite comfortable at cruising speeds of about 150 km/h (90-95 mi/h). The car was running smoothly at that speed and it was in accordance with most drivers.
The other cars were at about the same speed, and the highway was not overcrowded and relatively wide, so that gave me a safe feeling.

Nevertheless, (kinetic) energy in a moving object is proportional to the square of the speed, so driving just that little bit faster might make it unacceptably dangerous.
As long as you know no one who has been hurt or killed by a motor accident, you probable do not pause to reflect on the dangerousness.

The (extreme) quietness of the LS430 does not help in realizing that we are driving at killing speeds.

Just my 2 ¢.

Jac

 

Yeah, things DO happen REALLY fast going @ those speeds. Fastest I've ever been in a car is 127mph (90 Accord) and I did 157mph on a 94 GSX-R 750. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!? As I think back, I shutter to think what would have happened it I had lost control...

 

Even at 120MPH, if you lose control and hit anything that's immovable (i.e. bridge pillar, tree, etc.) then it's sayonara baby to you and passenger. I think even just at 90 mph and chances of death go up, compared to 70 mph.

I'm usually a 70 mph cruiser, and I've gone about 110 mph in the LS once, and it's crazy to me to drive at that speed. I got to that speed almost inadvertantly as I was following another driver.

I find it strange that the ones going 100 mph always think it's the ones doing the speed limit that are driving bad...