- Sep 1, 2005
- 704
Gentelmen,
In the recent past, and under strictly controlled conditions, I decided to become a member of club 200. A couple of quick observations:
1. The Whipple, pulling in 5th gear, does not take much time to get to that illustrious speed. There's certainly no waiting for the speedo to inch up after 180. It's all bidness, all the way around the dial. It was still pulling like a freight train when I hit an indicated 205.
2. The wind noise at 200 is deafening.
3. I was so entirely focused on the task at hand that I could not absorb the landscape rushing by or even get a true feel for what it means to go that fast. It all felt the same after about 150.
4. The car gets lower and meaner and the suspension loads increase as the speeds go up. After about 180 I felt like I was glued to the tarmac.
5. It takes a long time to slow down. Remember, at that speed you do 199 twice, once on the way up, once on the way back. I brushed the brakes to try to scrub off some speed and the nose, with all that down force, really seemed to bob down. The rolling resistance at that speed is so intense that simply lifting off is like hitting a brick wall. No braking recommended until the speed comes down.
6. Don't try this on a public road. 200 is just so fast that you can't process how much ground you are covering. The smallest mishap and your as dead as a nit.
THE SALT FLATS
Has anyone here ever run on the Salt Flats? I've been out there to watch, but never to drive. My questions are as follows:
a. Will the sanctioning body allow a stock GT to run at the event?
b. Is the surface somewhat rough at high speed?
THE STATISTIC
How many people in the world have DRIVEN at 200 mph? The number has to be in the low thousands. That means us GT drivers are an extremely elite group. :thumbsup
In the recent past, and under strictly controlled conditions, I decided to become a member of club 200. A couple of quick observations:
1. The Whipple, pulling in 5th gear, does not take much time to get to that illustrious speed. There's certainly no waiting for the speedo to inch up after 180. It's all bidness, all the way around the dial. It was still pulling like a freight train when I hit an indicated 205.
2. The wind noise at 200 is deafening.
3. I was so entirely focused on the task at hand that I could not absorb the landscape rushing by or even get a true feel for what it means to go that fast. It all felt the same after about 150.
4. The car gets lower and meaner and the suspension loads increase as the speeds go up. After about 180 I felt like I was glued to the tarmac.
5. It takes a long time to slow down. Remember, at that speed you do 199 twice, once on the way up, once on the way back. I brushed the brakes to try to scrub off some speed and the nose, with all that down force, really seemed to bob down. The rolling resistance at that speed is so intense that simply lifting off is like hitting a brick wall. No braking recommended until the speed comes down.
6. Don't try this on a public road. 200 is just so fast that you can't process how much ground you are covering. The smallest mishap and your as dead as a nit.
THE SALT FLATS
Has anyone here ever run on the Salt Flats? I've been out there to watch, but never to drive. My questions are as follows:
a. Will the sanctioning body allow a stock GT to run at the event?
b. Is the surface somewhat rough at high speed?
THE STATISTIC
How many people in the world have DRIVEN at 200 mph? The number has to be in the low thousands. That means us GT drivers are an extremely elite group. :thumbsup