Something interesting/Possibly obvious

[technobear]

I was clipping along tonight on the way home and thought id check the topend. From the stop i started my AT in 1 then moved it to 3 after it auto shifted. Then here is the interesting part. I forgot to shift to drive. Im watching the road/tach/spedo and saw i was doing 107 at a lil less than 4k!!! i looked at my shifter and it was still in 3!!

WOAH! No speed limiter when not in drive? Will the AT autoshift to 4th?
Or do i need to manually do it at 6k?

[quicksilverdon]

I've been told (haven't tried it) that if you leave it in 1, it'll shift up - dunno about 3-4, but there is a rev limiter so you can't go past danger point in any case.

[AlmondTurbo]

I tried the A/T 'leave it 1' trick. I got shifts at 2 and 3, but not enough road to see if it would shift into 4.

[AlmondTurbo]

technobear,
You must have been in 4 when you read the speedo, and tach. If those numbers were actually in 3, and you waited to shift into 4 at 6,000 rpm, you would be going 160.5 mph. However, with some gear ratios, 3 will get you a higher top speed than 4. This is 'what if?' stuff.

[technobear]

Ill try it again and count the shifts.
I just know that when i put it in D it shifts to a higher speed and drops down to 100mph.

HMMM interesting!

[Cal Cruzer]

The PT is more barn door than arrow. I don't know if the NA car is speed limited at 100 or not but as ALmondT alluded to, your top speed very well could be higher in 3rd. Most engines produce max HP in the higher RPM range and you need HP to move the barn door through the air. 3rd is the 1:1 gear. This is where you want to be. In OD you loose too much to the gearing unless you have lots of power to keep pushing.

[AlmondTurbo]

I don't expect to hit the speed limiter, (not the rev limiter) with my turbo-lite, but I understand speed is usually limited by tires. My Goodyear LS are rated at 118 mph, and I'd expect the speed limiter to be set below that. GT's must be set higher. Anybody hit the speed limiter with their GT?

[NewBluCruzr]

I have an 04 Turbo Lite which I have taken over 120 on two occasions: rushing to "rescue" my wife when her truck caught on fire and tonite on a deserted freeway with my friend in a 2000 Mustang GT behind me. My speedo only reads 120, but tonite was the first time it cut off. By the distance past 120 the needle was, I would say it's right around the 128 mark that the PT GT is limited to. BY THE WAY, DRIVING AT EXCESSIVE SPEEDS IS HIGHLY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD NOT BE DONE WHEN THERE IS ANY OTHER TRAFFIC AROUND. You may be an excellent driver, but there thousands with licenses that aren't!! Look out for the other guy!

[Grouch]

quote:Originally posted by AlmondTurbo

I don't expect to hit the speed limiter, (not the rev limiter) with my turbo-lite, but I understand speed is usually limited by tires. My Goodyear LS are rated at 118 mph, and I'd expect the speed limiter to be set below that. GT's must be set higher. Anybody hit the speed limiter with their GT?

You are taking a big chance going anywhere near 100 mph in a stock PT. The stock tires may be rated higher than than 100 mph but the OEM Goodyears are JUNK. I blew a rear tire many years ago at 85 mph and was luckly enough not to hit anything but it was very scary. The other thing no one mentioned is if a cop sees you going that fast you could be walking for a VERY long time

[MichaelDay]

128 is the speed limiter setting on the GT. The 205/50R17 tires are H-rated which is 130 mph (close, very close).

I switched over to V-rated tires (149 mph) to get a little higher level of comfort.

Above 130 the rear end lift causes an extreme oversteer condition so the speed limiter is a good thing in this case.

At 107 mph and less than 4K you were in 4th. 4th gear with the automatic is 3850 rpm at 107 mph. 3rd gear would have been 5560 rpm at 107 mph. With the autostick, you would have still been in third since it waits until redline to upshift.