[hunter81]

@misiektoja,

I was up early this Saturday morning and the tollroad near my home was almost empty. I got up to about 137 mph without any loss in electrical assist before the exit for my home came up. Unfortunately it is the first exit once getting onto the tollroad so it doesn't give much room to really get going fast (for those of us who think 137 is slow.) HAHAHAHA.

Anyways, maybe you losing electrical assistance had to do with you starting at 0 mph, you being AWD (I'm 2WD), or different ECU set up between U.S. and European models.

I'll do another run when I get a chance and push up to 145 or so to really verify.

One question I have, Germans obviously have a lot more experience regularly going at high speeds than any other nationality. What's the wisdom over there as far as doing it safely with a low risk of a blowout? More than anything, I feel like the biggest risk going that fast is a blowout, especially if my tires aren't new. What do Germans say about this? Do they feel like it is safe to go this fast on tires that have, say, 20,000 miles on them? Are blowouts a problem for high speeders on the autobahn or is this something we in the U.S. just think would happen because we don't normally go that fast?

 

[Klamalama]

@misiektoja ,

I was up early this Saturday morning and the tollroad near my home was almost empty. I got up to about 137 mph without any loss in electrical assist before the exit for my home came up. Unfortunately it is the first exit once getting onto the tollroad so it doesn't give much room to really get going fast (for those of us who think 137 is slow.) HAHAHAHA.

Anyways, maybe you losing electrical assistance had to do with you starting at 0 mph, you being AWD (I'm 2WD), or different ECU set up between U.S. and European models.

I'll do another run when I get a chance and push up to 145 or so to really verify.

One question I have, Germans obviously have a lot more experience regularly going at high speeds than any other nationality. What's the wisdom over there as far as doing it safely with a low risk of a blowout? More than anything, I feel like the biggest risk going that fast is a blowout, especially if my tires aren't new. What do Germans say about this? Do they feel like it is safe to go this fast on tires that have, say, 20,000 miles on them? Are blowouts a problem for high speeders on the autobahn or is this something we in the U.S. just think would happen because we don't normally go that fast?

I recall that my BMW had a sticker showing higher tire air pressures at above 100 speeds. An educated guess would be +5 psi. That would be a total of 40 psi.

 

[hunter81]

I recall that my BMW had a sticker showing higher tire air pressures at above 100 speeds. An educated guess would be +5 psi. That would be a total of 40 psi.

Thanks for the tip. I started doing a little research on my own after the thought came up. Turns out speed ratings, surprise, surprise, are an invention of the Germans to combat blowouts people used to have before the rating system. It appears the tires are safe for extended periods at varying tread levels as long as they are not damaged. I'll keep reading.

 

[misiektoja]

@misiektoja ,

I was up early this Saturday morning and the tollroad near my home was almost empty. I got up to about 137 mph without any loss in electrical assist before the exit for my home came up. Anyways, maybe you losing electrical assistance had to do with you starting at 0 mph, you being AWD (I'm 2WD), or different ECU set up between U.S. and European models.

Hi hunter81! For sure it depends on the speed you are starting from. Look at the other movie I uploaded (87-143mph run):

As you can see I went without any loss in electrical assist until 137 mph as well (220 km/h). I think it all depeands on the speed you are starting and the battery charge level. So I think if I will be fully charged at 120mph it can go on electrical assist even further. I have to check.

One question I have, Germans obviously have a lot more experience regularly going at high speeds than any other nationality. What's the wisdom over there as far as doing it safely with a low risk of a blowout? More than anything, I feel like the biggest risk going that fast is a blowout, especially if my tires aren't new. What do Germans say about this? Do they feel like it is safe to go this fast on tires that have, say, 20,000 miles on them? Are blowouts a problem for high speeders on the autobahn or is this something we in the U.S. just think would happen because we don't normally go that fast?

To be honest I'm not that worried about the risk of a tyre blowout. I think the structure of new types of tyres, especially RF-type prevents from doing any damage. Look at the movie below, tyre blowout at 203 mph (327 km/h) in Nissan GT-R. Nothing happened at such high speed:

In Germany it is normal to see supercars going more than 190 mph and statistics show that highway speed limits do not have any influence on road accident statistics. In fact German unlimited highways are safer than US:

Autobahn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Killed per 1 billion veh·km on Motorways:

Germany: 1.98
US: 3.62

Citing Wiki: "Moreover, international accident statistics demonstrate that limited access grade separated roads such as autobahns and motorways have much greater road traffic safety regardless of speed limit, suggesting that high speed alone isn't a deciding factor."

 

[rpiotro]

…In fact German unlimited highways are safer than US:...

That's because the roads are being used by Germans, not Americans. Different culture (recht fahren), higher testing standard for drivers, high level of enforcement for following too closely, strict equipment inspections etc. And of course, better roads.

 

[hunter81]

Hi hunter81! For sure it depends on the speed you are starting from. Look at the other movie I uploaded (87-143mph run):

Infiniti Q50S Hybrid AWD 140-230km/h (87-143mph) Acceleration - YouTube

As you can see I went without any loss in electrical assist until 137 mph as well (220 km/h). I think it all depeands on the speed you are starting and the battery charge level. So I think if I will be fully charged at 120mph it can go on electrical assist even further. I have to check.


To be honest I'm not that worried about the risk of a tyre blowout. I think the structure of new types of tyres, especially RF-type prevents from doing any damage. Look at the movie below, tyre blowout at 203 mph (327 km/h) in Nissan GT-R. Nothing happened at such high speed:

Nissan GT-R 4.3L HKS GT800+ 327km/h (203mph) Tire Blowout / CRASH - YouTube

In Germany it is normal to see supercars going more than 190 mph and statistics show that highway speed limits do not have any influence on road accident statistics. In fact German unlimited highways are safer than US:

Autobahn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Killed per 1 billion veh·km on Motorways:

Germany: 1.98
US: 3.62

Citing Wiki: "Moreover, international accident statistics demonstrate that limited access grade separated roads such as autobahns and motorways have much greater road traffic safety regardless of speed limit, suggesting that high speed alone isn't a deciding factor."

Thanks for the info. One of these days I'd like a chance to go drive on the autobahn, or have something similar built here. In Texas we have one tollroad with an 85 mph speed limit, but people often go faster. My uncle was on it in his BMW X5 that has the 4.4L twin-turbo V8. He is fond of going very fast at times, i.e. "well into the triple digits" as he calls it. He was on there and he said another BMW passed him so quickly it made him feel like he was going backwards.

 

[misiektoja]

He was on there and he said another BMW passed him so quickly it made him feel like he was going backwards.

LoL, it is something I experienced as well You are pushing your car to its limits and you are passed quickly by other car

 

[David_in_CT]

In fact German unlimited highways are safer than US[/B]" [/I]

Home Alone 2:

"Kate McCallister: What kind of idiots do you have working here?
Mrs. Stone, Desk Clerk: The finest in New York."

Our drivers are the finest idiots in the world!

 

[Najeem]

LoL, it is something I experienced as well You are pushing your car to its limits and you are passed quickly by other car

Which car passed you?

 

[BNB-Ryan]

That's because the roads are being used by Germans, not Americans. Different culture (recht fahren), higher testing standard for drivers, high level of enforcement for following too closely, strict equipment inspections etc. And of course, better roads.

I think this is a much more complicated subject than simply "Germans are better drivers."

Many European cities are older, with the layout of the roads being much slower in the cities, with the highways being an exception. Though many highways are also less congested. They tend to have less stop lights, intersections, etc. etc. etc.

I have the most dangerous intersection in America just a few blocks from my house. Cars traveling at relatively high speeds through congested intersection after intersection creates a much higher chance of accidents.

 

[misiektoja]

Which car passed you?

It was some kind of Ferrari, but it passed me so fast that I was not able to recognize the specific model

 

[toinfiniti]

You know it is really difficult just to get driver license in German? They even need to know in case of emergency on the road or saving life.
If I am not mistaken, if you fail the test 3 times, they send you to pysch! Everyone thinks you are really disturbed to fail the test! >

 

[toinfiniti]

I think this is a much more complicated subject than simply "Germans are better drivers."

Many European cities are older, with the layout of the roads being much slower in the cities, with the highways being an exception. Though many highways are also less congested. They tend to have less stop lights, intersections, etc. etc. etc.

I have the most dangerous intersection in America just a few blocks from my house. Cars traveling at relatively high speeds through congested intersection after intersection creates a much higher chance of accidents.

Yeah... the race drivers in US drive in Nascar, round and round.... but in Europe, formula 1 requires a lot more skill!!! >

 

[Najeem]

It was some kind of Ferrari, but it passed me so fast that I was not able to recognize the specific model

Now I feel better knowing it was a ferrari lol

 

[hunter81]

I think this is a much more complicated subject than simply "Germans are better drivers."

Many European cities are older, with the layout of the roads being much slower in the cities, with the highways being an exception. Though many highways are also less congested. They tend to have less stop lights, intersections, etc. etc. etc.

I have the most dangerous intersection in America just a few blocks from my house. Cars traveling at relatively high speeds through congested intersection after intersection creates a much higher chance of accidents.

I agree. First of all, we have a lot of highway sprawl which means the tax base for a given length of highway is a lot smaller. This results in less sophisticated and developed highways. Imagine building an autobahn quality highway network across a country over 27 times the size of Germany, but with only slightly less than 4 times the population.

It would make sense that highways that have more money in them per linear mile/km would be safer. The most nerve-racking experience for me is driving on undivided highways where I'm going 75 and the oncoming traffic is going 75. I get white knuckled driving on roads like that. All it takes is for someone to come in my lane a little, or be unsafely passing another vehicle to create a head-on collision where we're both hamburger meat.

Additionally, less dense areas usually have higher fatality rates. A perfect example is that I remember from living in Japan, the northern island of Hokkaido which was relatively sparsely populated had more traffic accidents and fatalities than the rest of Japan put together despite its population of 5 million compared to the other 122 million living in the rest of Japan. It's a lot harder to get killed in Tokyo when you're lucky to have traffic going more than 40 mph.

One thing that is nice about countries like Germany is that their good public transport networks allow them to make driving license requirements stricter with harder tests. We don't have that luxury in the U.S. where in many areas a car is really the only way to get around. Jeez, in Houston sometimes you'll see a car that is barely driveable, every body panel is a different color, only one headlight works, and, of course, they're going to be flatulating along in the left lane. Freaking oafs.

My cousin visited Germany and said maybe 10% of the drivers there are idiots versus our 25-30%.

 

[jjeez]

I hit 135 in my 2014 Q50. A stone gave me a small crack in the windshield for my efforts

 

[hunter81]

I hit 135 in my 2014 Q50. A stone gave me a small crack in the windshield for my efforts

That really sucks! My uncle was driving in Montana back when they had the reasonable and prudent speed limits. He was going 150 mph in his Lexus (I think it was a GS 430, but it could have been an LS... I can't remember as it was years ago.) Anyways, he's cruising along at his car's governed speed and a bird hits right where the A-pillar connects to the roof. The bird exploded on impact and it cracked his windshield there. Kind of funny, but kind of gross.

 

[hunter81]

Well, I found out that electrical assistance does indeed continue past 130 mph if you start from a higher speed. That wasn't my intention with this video. I just happened to be up early on a Sunday morning and took advantage of the non-existent traffic.

http://vid1312.photobucket.com/albums/t539/huntercauble/IMG_2292_zps0cbbwu4j.mp4

 

[hunter81]

Does anyone know how to make photobucket videos just appear as a video and not a link?

 

[Klamalama]

Someone has to do this research. Impressive!