Hi Everyone,
I have a '04 Coupe w/auto tran., 350 hp, 5.7 L. The speedometer goes up to 200 and I was wondering just how fast it can really go. Can anyone tell me? It seems incredibly fast too me, with amazing acceleration. I'll find myself doing 90 with very little effort, but since hubby told me if I get a ticket, I'll be in big trouble, I been trying to behave. Please share your experience so I can speed vicariously through you. Thanks in advance.

 

If it is in good tune, with the top up, it will run up to around 160 mph, maybe a bit more. The coupes are a bit faster about 170 -- but the convertible top is not as aerodynamic.

Its worth noting that that does not mean you should drive it that fast - 90 on public roads is probably fast enough (it certainly will be if a trooper sees you!).

 

160 i think is the factory Speed limitor, but those can be taken off real easy. Flat enought road i bet you would get 170 out of it, but now a days 110+ your going to jail

 

Thanks so much for this info. I only did 90 once and only because the flow of traffic on this particular California freeway was pushing me. I wasn't passing people, if you can believe that, and being uncomfortable at that high speed, quickly moved over to the right lane. I know what you mean about the troopers, but for some reason, no one ever gets ticketed on this freeway.

Thanks again. I was just curious. : )

 

Uh, there is NO speed limiter; top speed for a coupe is approx. 175 MPH. Add a cold air intake and headers and you can reach 180 MPH.

 

Sorry I was thinkin like the Fbody, Sorry

 

Hi Dave,
Hey, I have the Borla exhaust pipes, too! I don't have the quad - just 2, but they are each about 7.5 inches wide. They look so hot and sound way cool. I love 'em. They are one of the reasons I bought this '04 instead of a newer one. That and I didn't care for the change in body on the 05's and 06's.

Thanks for your input on this question.
All the best,
Rita

 

That's a great exhaust system, Rita - see you on the Bonneville Salt Flats for some top-speed runs!

Dave

 

Ha, Ha!
For me, it's all about the style and not about the speed.
But it sure is fun juicing it a little.

Be safe,
Rita

 

Anyone who does decide to find the top speed of his car, some thoughts on how:

Find a good l o n g straight, free of side entrances, traffic, driveways, and trees near the road (a deer stepping out in front of you are 150+ can ruin everything). You will need over two miles just to get to near the car's top speed, and another mile to decelerate. three miles is about the minimum. There are such places, particularly in the western US like Utah and California, just not too many. When checking the road, think not only about driveways and intersections where people could pull out in front of you, and of police, troopers, etc., but side winds -- winds that you don't even notice at 50 become a real nuisance at 170.

A better idea than doing it illegally is to check out places where you can run fast, such as the Maxton Mile (a three-mile WWII runway they open up to high speed runs sometimes, here in North Carolina, and a friend in Utah tells me the State Police sometimes run a high speed weekend on some closed portions of state highways. Not only is this legal, but they have safety inspections, and fire and emergencycrews there is anything goes wrong, etc.

Put a little extra air in the tires. Check everything mechanical.

Study and do a little research on what to expect from your car. I don't know the figures for a stock or near-stock vette of any generation, but you could find something close in any recent Car and Driver's annual top speed shot out test - they always print quarter mile, mile, and top speed times and speeds for a variety of cars in those issues.
You need to do that research and thinking to understand that it takes more distance and time than you might think to get to high speed and that you will be "at jeopardy" for a longer distance than you might think. Before my 'vette went into the shop to gain another 100+RWHP, it would do the quarter mile in the low 10s at 135+, 0-150 in 14 seconds at a bit less than 3/8ths mile, and the standing mile at 185 in about 25 seconds: all numbers done off road at a speed event.
Note that it gains only 35 mph, from 150 to 185, in that last 5/8 of it's first mile. Continueing faster, a detailed computer analysis says my car ought to cover the second mile from there in less than 20 seconds, accelerating to about 200 mph by the end - a gain of only 15 mph in a whole mile! Thus, in order to find out, I'd have to run at over 150 mph for more than a mile and a half, and at over 185 for over a mile: so far I have not thought it safe to do so.

Then when you do make the run, pay attention to the driving and not the speed. If you want proof/documentation of top speed, buy one of those over the shoulder video recorders that mount on the seat back or waterfall and set it up to watch the instruments and the road (of course, if the police stop you, the trooper sort of has incontrovertible evidence right there that you were speeding). If you go to a speed event they will use a radar gun to give you the top speed reached, etc.