Increasing top speed?
 

The topics of horse power and torque and how to increase those have all beaten down pretty hard, but I don't think I've seen a thread yet on how to increase top speed. Other than a simple gearing swap or engine swap, what can one do to increase the top speed in our vehicles?

Add power, longer gears and larger wheels.

Is it possible to add longer gears without making 5th and 6th worse than they are, and getting rid of how fun 1st and 2nd are?

Your top speed will be in 5th or 6th gear, those are the ones you need to make longer.

Yes, you can change individual ratios inside the gearbox.

Sweet! Tomei and I do believe cusco both make different final drives, never seen individual gearing though, any idea where to buy? Or can i tune the factory onee?

I wonder how often even stock speed of 145mph/233kmh can be used/reached .. and you'll definitely will have noticeable decrease in acceleration and fun in this relatively underpowered car to get to that top speed & to increase that single not needed bit. I can rather understand people doing shorter final drive ratio gears to increase acceleration & fun at > 99% of driving time at expense of that unneeded top speed. I bet that even people in countries with no speed limit on public roads like german autobahns rarely drive >200 on regular basis. Once to get a feel? Sure. Every day for hours at top speed?

I realize that I will probably never actually evem reach over 120mph but it's something that I would take great pleasure in knowing "hey, my car CAN do that", ya know?

sure your car can do it, but at what cost? IMO, it's not worth it. now if you invest that money into power options, you could hit a higher top speed than other stock 86's

Cusco do custom gear ratios however it is normal for those to be shorter for the above reasons. Lengthening the longer gear ratios and using larger tyres/wheels will require more power to reach the top speed. Not to mention the cost of opening up the gearbox etc.

A longer FD would be easier but then you take a performance hit in all gears.

As said above, it's quite a bit of cost just for something to brag about and never actually do.

6th gear maxes out at 180-ish. Once you have enough power to get to the top of 6th with good turbo kit... then you can think about contacting dodson or shep trans and they can make you a custom tranny and new rear end that will handle whatever you can throw at it.

You are probably gonna need better oil coolers, big brake kit, coilovers to lower the car, better tires, forged wheels. then pray the motor doesn't blow with repeated pulls.

@WallsAndFoundations: you'll be left with knowledge that your car now has higher top speed you will NOT be using .. for cost of much worse real driving performance all the time driving it you WILL see/feel. Should you?

To increase top speed you first need more power. When mine was stock I managed to get up to 147mph going slightly downhill, before heatsoak and probably had a slight tailwind as well

To increase top speed in this car, you might as well just spend money on a Mustang GT or a Camaro SS at the price point the FR-S/BRZ is. You can hit 145 mph 3-4 times before the FR-S does once without FI.

If you see some of the drag videos of the GT86 on the track running 10's, they barely can keep control of the car towards the end. It's so light.

/thread

Shep is amazing! Had their ultimate racing trans in my evo 8. They do some amazing work

Thought our cars topped out at 168mph? This was on a supercharged car so maybe a stock car doesnt have the power to get to the end of 6th gear?

Ya, stock doesn't have the power to max out sixth gear

Not my car but it was someone from this forum. Maybe one of the CSG guys I forget. Pretty sure the car was supercharged though. you get to about 168mph and then you run out of gear.

Well I was in Germany for a good year and more. I had my e46 m3 there and I got to tell you people fly over there on the autobanh. I prob drove about 140-150s on the normal long stretches. But cars would fun past me like its nothing. But yes not often do you see people go 200 that's insane.

200 more rpm before fuel cutoff :P

Hence the about 168. Could probs squeeze a few more mph out of it. Raise the rev limited in the tune and maybe get a few more if you have the ponies to push it.

I've done 135mph personally. OFT Tuned E85 EL

http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i2...6114980cbe.jpg
km/h. Highest I got on stock was 232 km/h, but it's not a pleasant experience.

OP, power and aero dynamics hold the stock car back from a higher top speed not the gearing. If you are turbo however, a taller final drive may help you achieve a higher top speed.

I did 131 with passenger in the car. Then get caught by copper right away...../facepalm

First, is to find a place to do it safely

Second, make sure their aren't any incoming planes.

Then, after you reach about 130 mph, I'll betcha you won't want to go any faster in this car ....:popcorn:


humfrz

I suggest putting a sail on top of the car.

Is that Bremerton? It's been so long since I've been home.

The first picture is of the airstrip at JBLM (Joint Base Lewis-McChord) near Tacoma.

The second landing strip is at Swanson Airport, near Eatonville, WA.


humfrz

In a straight line (without a strong crosswind) the car feels fine to me even when topped out. But the car doesn't feel very confident taking a curve at 130+ as there's way to much body roll and what feels like unstable aero

Just swap the analg spedometer with one with high numbers (at least 200mph) and brag about
how fast the car is.

Oil coolers? Sure, it'd be a good idea.
BBK? Not really. Unless he plans on stopping very quickly from top speed, which is not a good idea as it would unsettle the balance of the car. Not to mention it's unlikely he'd need to if he's smart about it.
Better tires? Do you know what tires he has? How can you say he needs anything better?
Forged wheels? Totally unnecessary.

Agreed ^ forged wheels? Lol

not sure what he's going for here. if want to bump the top speed to 150mph.. .then yeah you don't need to change much.

If you are talking about maxing out the stock gearing limit and shoot for 170-200mph or more. Then yeah you are gonna need way better brakes that can handle those sort of stops from 180 to 70mph over and over without over heating. I doubt the stock brakes could handle one hard 180-0mph test without cooking themselves.

Stock tires are rated to 165ish.. so if you plan on doing more than that you are definitely going to want to swap tires with a higher rating.

Wheels.Well theres a reason all pro racing teams and higher end cars use forged wheels made by Rays (volk, gram light), BBS, Enkei, HRE. I understand not everyone wants to shell out 4k+ for wheels but you get what you pay for. The cheapo wheels you get off tire rack for 250/wheel liekly have no certification or R&D behind them. no structural engineering.

Again if all your shooting for is like 10-20mph increase in top end. i wouldn't worry about any of this.

Haha I plan on doing forged internals and tranny and all that good stuff. I already have forged wheels and a good set of michilin pilot as3s.. I just need my turbo and then building my motor from there. Custom trans can be made though huh? They hold up well?

I wanted a bullet, I understand it would be cheaper to simply buy a car a car with more power, but simply put, money is not an issue. I work hard to throw parts in my car and I'm tired of people shitting on the frs. Hell I might even do an awd conversion just for shits and giggles so I can have better control of the power.

Thank you for your input, but I wasn't asking how much it would be, I asked for guidance on how to get there. Also the mustang and camaro are too damn heavy. I will take 2700 lbs soaking wet as opposed to a sub 3800 lb boat.

Thanks for a legitimate answer..

I have coilovers and I'm getting turbo soon.. maybe a front splitter/rear diffuser too? Is power and aerodynamics seriously the only thing holding the car back?

I do actually plan on getting all of the things he mentioned regardless.. I do already have coils, forged wheels, and some very grippy michilin pilot as3s. I'm gonna get a bbk simply for the sake of it will be very nice to have some nice bite in the event I need to do quick stopping.. drivers on i5 just love to slam on brakes.. and deer are prevalent here in WA

Since you are going turbo, make as much power as you can then gear it for the speed you want.

Aerodynamically, I am no engineer but I would be looking at a functional splitter, the JDM underbody panels and a Drivaway Labs V1 diffuser at a minimum. If money is not a concern a complete customer and properly designed flat undertray going from splitter to diffuser would be worth looking at as it will reduce lift and not create as much drag as a wing on the boot. If you do some searching on the forum there are threads about aero dynamics from far more knowledgable people than me. A vented hood is probably a good idea too.

Do an LS swap then. :D

If you are concerned about stopping quickly, replacing your all season tires with summer tires (weather dependent) will do much more to decrease stopping distances than a BBK will. That, and get some better pads.