Top Speed in a Unique??

[RJacobsen]

Mine hasent moved for 5 Years,:mad: that doesnt make it very fast but I'm sure getting good mileage.:rolleyes:

[Aggressor]

As I recall Tony Naumoff ran the quarter mile over 120 with top up a while ago.

- Geary

[Aggressor]

Having just seen Dick Smith's 198 MPH Cobra it made me start thinking about our Unique cars. Who among us has seen the fastest speed in a Unique? Official or unofficial it doesn't matter. As long as it is an honest recollection not being fattened and spiced up with a bit of BS here and there.

Look at the second image below.
Daytona Beach: Official Speed 198.045 MPH

-Geary

[Silk]

140 a couple of times (per speedo, not data acquisition) - car was very stable. I always begin thinking about the benefits of a full cage, Hans, arm restraints etc. at those speeds.

[Aggressor]

Silk out of the first 55 viewers you're top dog at 140 MPH.

- Geary

[pgermond]

123 mph (according to the speedo) on a rolling country road filled with coyotes doing leap frog with other Cobras on BFG's that weren't speed rated. Scared the B-Jesus out of me thinking about the tires giving out and/or a critter jumping out in front of me. It was still climbing, but I thought better of it (all the while my wife was screaming and beating the piss out of my right arm!)

[weaver]

I was black flagged at Lowes Motor Speedway for running too fast at a Kit Car event back in 94, 160 on the track radar. The next day I flipped the car entering turn 3, I had looked at the speedo going down the back straight and it showed 163 mph. The car was fairly stable but the tires I was running went away and rolled off the rim going into a chicane causing the rim to dig into the asphalt and turning me over. Terry pendleton was running with me that day and stayed on my tail, we both have Nascar engines.

[Aggressor]

For me top speed is 125 for a brief sprint on interstate 79 during the SAAC34 Convention last year. I got into it with an original 3000 series CSX (Number unknown) on the 20 minute run to Beaver Run Motorsports Park. Calculated top speed on my car is limited to 140 MPH due to the 39,500 RPM limit on the Paxtons.

A few more vintage racing photos.

- Geary

[Justin Upchurch]

In the FIA the speedometer only goes to 160, and I have had it that fast a couple of times, with a little room to go....maybe. It wasn't really too light, but you could tell a difference between 140 and 160.

I do not think Dick Smith"s car ever got to 198 miles per hour. I just don't think that he was running an endurance motor at the time that was capable of pushing that brick almost 200 MPH at Daytona's roval.

In 1993 Ford took a stock bodied 93 Cobra Mustang, and tried to get it to the 200 MPH mark. They finally got there but with an R trim Vortec and 740 HP to the wheels. This car is much more aerodynamic than our roadsters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nrba-lCFs8

Justin

[Aggressor]

Justin: Someday you'll have to upgrade and install one of my custom made Stewart Warner 240 MPH speedometers.

I just watched the video. Here's something for discussion.

The cd for a 1993 Cobra Mustang is listed at 0.37

The stats as published by Road & Track Magazine in 1966.

The drag coefficient for 427 Cobra S/C is 0.42, frontal area is 2.26 m2 (from Road&Track 1966)
(Daytona Cpe had cd = .29)

Coefficient of Drag (Cd): 0.42
Frontal area (sq. ft.): 24.3176
Vehicle and Rider Weight (lbs): 2550
Speed (mph): 198

Horsepower needed to push Dick Smith to 198 = 551.6

-Geary

[spd4me]

Gettin to old for this but I touched 133 on west Lakeshore, Birmingham, AL. Front end was very light and hard to keep in straight line. As I was slowing down, came over a slight hill, and the fuzz was on my side of road pointing radar right at me doing 90. Cost me $150. and 3 hrs in class. Now I make a first run down to check for cops. State Trooper ticket for speeding can run up to $300. Ain't worth the 20 sec thrill.
Bob

[davebetts]

On Pocono, PA tri-oval (North Course road track). I didn't have the courage to look down, I was mentally preparing for the braking to go through a sharp right turn; heavy brakes and throttle releveling of the car; but the driving instructor says we were doing 115 mph. Not enough track to go flat out, without continuing down the ti-oval (not allowed in roadrace program). Sounds as good as it feels though.
I must be getting older, but I will not do the high speed stuff without the right tires and track to safely run on. Doing AutoCross now, try it, alot of fun.

[Aggressor]

I understand one of the nastiest Uniques was built for wrestler Goldberg. 9000 rpm Ernie Elliott racing engine is what I have heard.

More Vintage
-Geary

[weaver]

Goldbergs car has a Nascar 351W stroked to 454 CI and dynoed at 898 HP, I don't know how fast it is but I have talked to a few people that said they would never get back in his Cobra with him driving. He still drives the car as far as we know.

[chris knueven]

A pretty straight,rural road over near Arcadia has my name all over it.

I have run my Unique by a half dozen radar guns alongside the highway in 4th gear. Every single one shows 80 mph/give or take a couple,at 3500 rpm. The Digital 6 is set at 7K.

It is a pretty sudden slow down when you hit the rev limiter topped out in 4th.

The car is pretty flighty at speed though. I really wouldn't care to go much faster. Now,0-90,I don't think we can ever decrease that enough in a street car.


Chris


BTW,purely hypothetical. Read at your own risk. Not approved by most mothers. Improper use can and will result in you becoming gator food.

[weaver]

Chris, 80 MPH, you must have steel b@lls !!!

[RJacobsen]

A pretty straight,rural road over near Arcadia has my name all over it.

I have run my Unique by a half dozen radar guns alongside the highway in 4th gear. Every single one shows 80 mph/give or take a couple,at 3500 rpm. The Digital 6 is set at 7K.

It is a pretty sudden slow down when you hit the rev limiter topped out in 4th.

The car is pretty flighty at speed though. I really wouldn't care to go much faster. Now,0-90,I don't think we can ever decrease that enough in a street car.


Chris


BTW,purely hypothetical. Read at your own risk. Not approved by most mothers. Improper use can and will result in you becoming gator food.

Let me see... if 3500= 80 in 4th then topped out at 7000 = 160?

[Russ Dickey]

The local Cobra club had an event out at Kansas Speedway a few years back, and I was able to get mine up to 143. That was not radar gun confirmed, just what the speedo said (and I've never had it professionally calibrated, so who knows hows if it's accurate up in that range).

I could have gone faster, but the crappy little Holley I've got kept running out of fuel if I went faster than 90mph in the banked turns, so I couldn't really set myself up exiting the corners as fast as I wanted. Plus I had some "tire-anxiety", as I was rolling on my sub-par street Goodyear Eagle GT II's, which are definitely not speed rated for that.

I know one thing, and that is it felt danged fast. The wind buffeting at those speeds in these cars is pretty crazy, and when you combine that with the side pipe noise, it felt a lot faster than 143. The car itself was stable and not "flighty" at all - very confidence inspiring.

[V8er]

My goal is to reach 150 (just once!) in my future 289 FIA powered by a slightly massaged 351 Cleveland I'm finishing.

Since I have barefoot skied at 69 mph, speed skied at 85+ behind my former 402 Chevy powered flat-bottom V-drive, passed through 130 in my Hemi Magnum RT (after drinking, turned her on!), nailed my former 350 Chevy ZZ4 powered Boss Hoss scooter to 140, piloted my former Piper Comanche 260B at 200+ 5 feet above the ground, it seems reasonable. [thumb]

[Naumoff]

As I recall Tony Naumoff ran the quarter mile over 120 with top up a while ago.

- Geary
That's with babying her off the line.:D

I have had it faster. The straight at Gateway IR you can pick up a lot of speed even though it is short. Coming off the banked turns you can be at full throttle in high gear as you come into the straight away. You need some big brakes before you enter turn one. It is a fast turn but turn 2 has a late apex and that is where you get into trouble if you don't have either enough speed bled off before you enter one or a go-cart to take it. A few guys lost it there.:3g:

[Naumoff]

Geary, I love this picture


http://www.uniquecobra.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2434&d=1288202433

[rldunn7]

Looked at the speedo on the back straight at Loews in 4th gear....135+...front end was not touching the ground very hard....touchy steering....then had the ephiphany "I built this thing" going into NASCAR turn one!!!!!

[Aggressor]

Pride in accomplishment is a wonderful thing.

[cal.cheesehead]

I love life and all body parts functional. After 1 year 105. But who knows. maybe 106 some day. The beauty of it its as much fun to me at 45 as it is 105 or more for those with you know what!

[Jerry Cowing]

Quite a few years ago while attending a DSCC event on the Sebring FL race track, the instructor riding with me stated, "this car really pulls hard and you need a larger speedometer." I glanced over at the speedo and it was pegged at over 160 mph (my speedo only reads to 160). Sometimes I was hitting my rev limiter in 4th with a wide ratio top loader transmission with 133 rears.

Have no idea how fast I was going because I glanced at the speedo a second after I took my foot off the gas peddle and was moving my foot to the brake peddle to start braking for the next corner. The car was vibrating so bad at top speed that the road became blurry (I guess the muscles in my eyes couldn't keep up with the vibrations), so I never looked at the speedo on most laps and concentrated on trying to focus on the approaching corner. As soon as I got off the throttle my vision of the road immediately cleared up. The instructor also stated that the car was too fast. At first I had thought that was a compliment, but then realized he meant I was driving the car past it's limits. The 4-piston Willwood brakes with racing fluid couldn't keep up with the speed as I could only make about 3 circuits before my fluid boiled over and I lost partial brakes. That was real scary the first time I lost brakes. Luckily I lost the brakes on one of the much slower straights after coming off one of the long, faster straights. I anticipated it the next couple of times on the track after replacing the fluids. After the thrill wore off, I came to my senses and thought to myself, "Are you crazy? The terrible vibration was probably because the car was getting ready to fly and no brakes? What am I thinking?." The more I thought about it, the more scared I became about what might have happened. That's when I also realized why the instructor said to pull into the pits and let him out and what he meant by "the car was too fast.". I consider myself lucky that I didn't kill myself that day. Have never attempted this again. Pretty much lost my desire to drive anywhere near this fast after that.

[RJacobsen]

Great story Jerry, let me know your tire diameter, your rear end ratio, and what your rev limit was set at and I can calculate your speed.

[Aggressor]

Rod as I recall Jerry runs 133 rears. (Sorry Jerry - Ya missed a typo.)

-Geary

Another image or two for ya'll

-Loading problem & fighting to save it

[RJacobsen]

Rod as I recall Jerry runs 133 rears. (Sorry Jerry - Ya missed a typo.)

-Geary



Alrighty then, lets just use the information we have and some assumptions.
tire size? lets say 26 1/2" diameter
rev limit? lets use 6000
rear end ratio? 1.33 :confused:
OK then that puts the speed at 356 MPH, [thumb]

[Naumoff]

Alrighty then, lets just use the information we have and some assumptions.
tire size? lets say 26 1/2" diameter
rev limit? lets use 6000
rear end ratio? 1.33 :confused:
OK then that puts the speed at 356 MPH, [thumb]
Definitely feels like 356 MPH

Kinda like the wind chill factor.:D

[RJacobsen]

That would explain the vibration and blurry vision ;)
we could call it the Cobra factor

[Naumoff]

That's it Rod.
The "Cobra factor"[thumb]

[Jerry Cowing]

Alrighty then, lets just use the information we have and some assumptions.
tire size? lets say 26 1/2" diameter
rev limit? lets use 6000
rear end ratio? 1.33 :confused:
OK then that puts the speed at 356 MPH, [thumb]

Rod,
You were close. According to my calculations at 6000 RPM the speed would have been 154 mph. I have a 6500 rev limiter and this calculation would have been 167 mph.

Anyway you look at it, both of these speeds are too fast for a Unique running Goodyears. I had them squeeling on all the corners and could feel the tires fold over on the wheels and settle in each time I entered a curve. After reading Alan's thread about his tire coming off the wheel and flipping his car, I count my blessings even more that I didn't crash that day.

[Master]

Hey guys my OH $hit story was at Mid Ohio on the back straight I'm not sure of the speed around 140? The car lifted off the ground and made an immediate stage left. Let off the throttle and was able to gain control to manuver the next right turn. I would reccommend a front spoiler to keep the air from the underneath. :BEER:

[Slither]

That would explain the vibration and blurry vision ;)


And why the instructor wanted out... :3g: Yeehaw!!!

[rldunn7]

I think Jerry means he has a 3.31 rear end ....

[Jerry Cowing]

I think Jerry means he has a 3.31 rear end ....

Yup, transposed a couple of numbers. Minor mistake. The 1.33 rears meant I would have gone 384 mph at 6000 RPM, so I guess 3.31 rears is a little closer. What's a few numbers amongst friends? Flying for the Air Force, I used to travel at twice that speed when I went supersonic (650 Knots+). A little different sensation however breaking the sound barrier and not touching the ground or worrying about whether the tires can take the speed.

[Aggressor]

Let's see now ...... so with a 12,000 rpm FE and proper tires ....hmmmmm!!!!!!

[eliminator]

Since we are correcting:

Never have seen a 3:31 rear end:)

Maybe it's a 3:31 Differential!!!!!![thumb]

[Naumoff]

http://www.motorcycle-recycle-center.com/Red_pants_3.jpg

Here is a rear end :)

[Aggressor]

Good call Tony. You know one when you see one.

I think I know her ...she owes me money as I recollect.

[Jerry Cowing]

LITTLE JOHNNY STRIKES AGAIN

The teacher asked the class to use the word 'fascinate' in a sentence.

Molly put up her hand and said, 'My family went to my granddad's farm, and we all saw his pet sheep. It was fascinating.'

The teacher said, 'That was good, but I wanted you to use the word 'fascinate, not fascinating'.

Sally raised her hand. She said, 'My family went to see Rock City and I was 'fascinated.' The teacher said, 'Well, that was good Sally, but I wanted you to use the word 'fascinate'.

Little Johnny raised his hand. The teacher hesitated because she had been burned by Little Johnny before.

She finally decided there was no way he could damage the word 'fascinate', so she called on him.

Johnny said, 'My aunt Gina has a sweater with ten buttons, but her boobs are so big she can only fasten eight.'

The teacher sat down and cried.

[weaver]

Thats the cleanest Johnny joke I've heard.

[arrowdriver]

Les is not buiding a Unique but regardless I figured some here might be interested in checking his website as he is well known regarding speed. He's a friend of a friend so i encounter him occasionally. I think that he doesn't know the meaning of "fast enough". He was telling me that getting to 550 mph isn't the big challenge at Salt Lake, it's getting stopped again within the distance available.

http://www.target550.com/project.htm

[Mike Del]

I was at Lowes, pulling about 15 MPH, when I was Black Flagged by a guy from the insect repellant department while entering a parking space.