Since I’ve been a member on this site I’ve seen hundreds of threads on how quick a moded Lighting can do the quarter mile or eighth mile but never one on what the top speed of a moded Lightning is. Has anyone with a moded L tried to see if their top speed increased? Would a quick quarter mile Lightning, for example a truck that can run 10’s or 11’s just pop if it approached 145 due to the increased blower pressure?

Is it even possible to get one much further than 145 considering the aerodynamics of the truck?

Just curious

Thanks,

Pete

 

I belive RUSLOW gets his truck close to 180 when he road races! Im almost positive, but then again... I could be smoking crack or something.

-Mike

 

its very hard on the rods. plenty of people chunk rods doing that

 

If I remember correctly Mike, haven't you had a bad experience with top speed?







Just playin around. At least you've got your built block now

 

Wow! I never thought a Lightning would be able to do 180!

Thanks for the replies

Pete

 

WTF, I don't think a L can go 180 with the low reving engine and gearing.

Or is there something different with his L.

 

using the stock 2003 specs, i got max speed at 165 with 5250 rpm, using the 3.73 gears. Stock tires too.
Oh wait i effed up, lemme try again.

 

Ok with stock tires and the 3.73 gears you get

160 mph at 5000 rpm
175 mph at 5500 rpm

With 3.55 gears you get

168 mph at 5000 rpm
185 mph at 5500 rpm

I imagine both of those throw rods out of your block but i dont know.

 

A local dyno operator ran my truck to the top of O/D on his dyno (Free-wheeling, no load) and it read 175mph at 5,500rpm..

Good thing noone was standing behind it!

This was with 3.73 gears and nitto drag radials.. (Little taller than stock..)

-Dale

 

A lot is done.

Do a search and you will see the races/speeds he does. It's insane.

 

Speed costs............

How fast do ya want to go?

 

If you know what your hp and torque is can you figure out the top speed through formula?

D-Day

 

Well if you figure out the highest (or is it lowest) gear ratio your can put your truck in, and pretty much the highest feasible rpm the engine can put out, you can figure out what your top speed can be. The question is are you making enough power to put your engine up to 5500 rpm in 4th gear, and can you do it without trashing your engine. Hp and torque kinda play into it because it determines if you can get it up to that rpm, but you can't use power alone to calculate top speed.

 

grinomyte

Thanks for the answer, I figured it was a little more complicated than just hp and torque numbers.

D-Day

sorry for the hi jack

 

There are a lot of factors that go into determining the top speed of a vehicle. Horsepower, gearing, weight, aerodynamics of vehicle, just to name a few. Any formulas will just get you an estimate.