Top Speed

jginnane

No == I said rain #AND# wind. Specifically about 15 mph from the front right. And the rain isn't/wasn't torrential, but enough that it should have cleaned off the road surface. Visibility a quarter mile, or ten highway markers.

I was surprised the Z felt skittery at all at this speed. Though the summer treads may have been part of the issue, now that I think of it.

Some cars which we don't think of as "sports cars" handle these conditions with aplomb. Midsize or larger MBs and BMWs, for example, are heavy road cruisers that just eat up this stuff. A lot of 4WD, AWD cars are good. My Yukon is streamlined like a brick but with 4WD on, your sane limits are that you don't want to outrun the pisspoor headlights nor have to rely on the tiny disc/drum braking set.

And to be absolutely clear, this is driving when there isn't anyone else on the road. In NJ most cars are capable of safe operation well above the posted speed limit. But other drivers' unpredictability is a major factor.

And I'm not even talking about "street racing". The key to keeping points off your license is to be second or third fastest, have a good radar detector, and watch taillights ahead of you. The lead car in a set of fast-moving cars is called the Rabbit, and his primary mission is NOT to go fast, but to absorb all those deadly radar gun rays.