My friend says that his friend maxed out his 2003 Grand Am GT at 147 MPH! He says he had the govenor removed but no other modifications to the engine. I find this hard to believe. Can anyone else testify that it's possible to go that fast in an all-stock 2003 GT? I dunno, but I don't believe a stock would max out that high. Don't think it'd do it. Tell me if it's possible.

i got an 04 se and my governer kicks in at 107, third gear at 4500 rpms. i think it might be possible

yeah im thinking it could be possible too since he removed the governor and it is a GT...who knows, maybe he was going downhill or possibly even in a freefall. heh heh

He needs to be careful as the governor is there to prevent speeding beyond the governor setting because stock tires are not rated for high speed.
If they want to go beyond that speed and disable the governor, they must use a high speed rated tire.

good point..i wasnt even thinking of that

Hahaha... yeh he probably was on a 45 degree slope or somethin. Jeez, I didn't even think about non-highspeed rated tires. That kid better watch it or he's gonna lose a tire goin that fast... he'd roll so much there wouldn't be anything left for the medics by the time he stopped. Speaking of speed rated tires.... - what would be some good, inexpensive high-speed tires?

I don't think he hit anywhere near 147, I'd imagine a big old boat like a 5th gen. GA would be drag limited at around 120-125ish.

Cars today have speed limiters built into the computer. When you reach your maximum speed, no more fuel will be injected into the engine no matter what you do. I doubt its set at 145mph.....Its a federal law.

while i think that it is theoritically possible, how could he tell? his speedo doesnt go that high (i dont think) but i know ive had my car over 120 (95 bonneville ssei) so i wouldnt necessarily doubt that it could, but id want some proof.

proof?..the only proof i would want is to stand by with a radar gun cuz there isnt any way id get into a car with a "nonprofessional" driver trying to go anywhere near 145...unless of course that nonprofessional driver is me

140+ in an N/A Grand AM? The biggest engine they pack is a 3.4, and its no way he could even do that if he had the 3.8 unless he's supercharged.

The engine doesn't really matter, its the gearing, governer and what speed the car is drag limited to that matters.

Im not sure the top speed of the ga's , but i guess its around 155 without a speed limiter. Got a 247kmph (154mph)ticket that caused me grief in the longrun with my 2000 se v6. It was near yellow in fourth. (automatic) give a good idea?

ive gotten my '93 SE at 120+ .. so i would think its possible

I also have no gov. on my 1999 gagt and i have hit 140 at about 5500RPM. I have the sport performance package on my car also so the spedometer shows up to 150mph.

ya, for some reason i think your b uddy is shitting you right now, i mean it is soppable for a ga to go that fast, but you cant just remove the speel liniter, as i found out here, in the forums, its a computher program, not a divice in the trans like older cars, so for him to "remove" his governor he would have to replace the computer... which i am going to be doing soon :D

its not that hard to do...just buy a new pcm its about 200 dollors

its possible, b/c i doubt he would reprogram his pcm and only remove the speed limiter, it would make more sense to reprogram the whole thig and get a little more hp out v his car, which might allow him to hit that speed if he also retuned his gears and etc... but it sounds like hes bsing you.

Here is a fun test to give him: ask him how he removed the speed limiter, and if he says " i unscrewed it" or something of that nature, then hes lying. :naughty:

lol...yea
theres no way in hell he went that fast stock and lived.

the stock tires are only rated for like 110 mph, my tires arent stock but they are rated the same an i have a hard time keeping under contol 100+

or that could have been my terrible driving :p

I removed the govenor and rev limiter in my stock 99 gd am se. I got a ticket at 150mph. My speedo stops at 120 and my RPM meter stops at 8000. At 120 my rpms are at like 4800. When i got my ticket i had the rpms up to 8000. I was thainking my cars going to blow up but it didn't.

i cant imagine you have ur license anymore. If you do you should cut it up and invest in a bicycle...moron

moron......that is if its true...(not likely)

I did some lying my car was not stock i had hi perfomance tires and i had the Digital Horsepower PCM from www.pfyc.com.(http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PFYC&Product_Code=GA3010&Product_Count=18&Category_Code=GAUNDER) and i do not have my license right now i have to go to some classes.(5) and pay the ticket and pay to have my car back.

well....there ya go....racetracks are there for a reason

I also have no gov. on my 1999 gagt and i have hit 140 at about 5500RPM. I have the sport performance package on my car also so the spedometer shows up to 150mph.
Never seen a sports performance package , that would be great to see a 150 mph guage in a grand am. But why is it cars like neons have a 260kmph(160mph) when they go like crap? Im stickin to the good old cruise controll cus zero tolerance is in full effect here. In town you can get charged $100 for every kmph over the limit and not so bad as town but worse than before on the highway it got hefty too. But one other thing i noticed about the zero tolerance is less cops are out on the highway and they're more in town. I dont think my car would hit much more than 110mph on a racetrack with looong straights cus once it gets hot it gets useless for power. If my intake air is 40-50celcius a stock grand am will walk all over me cus my car goes lean with the intake air. When I got clocked with the ridiculous speed ticket the car was opened up for quite awhile took along time to get it up there like a minute oooooh thats some great top end acceleration there i tell ya. Plus the car feels like a damn canoe in the rapids goin fast like that not too mention it sounds like the car is broken past 220kmph suspension creaks and squeeks hit a small dip or bump its like a ramp the whole body lifts up high as the wheels almost or do leave the ground , the more I think about it the dumber I feel about doin it. I am gonna enroll in claimer car racing and put a crappy 300 dollar car on its roof several times on a oval track , BUMP TO PASS!!! Ill get a good beginers learning expirience that way before playin with something expensive. I dunno what you guys think claimers is but around here it front wheel drive 4cylinder automatics unmodified (that dont mean you cant run straight off the manifolds) its fun aparently.
Im not bagging my grand am no more.

my Grand Am GT has a 150 MPH guage stock

2001 GAGT1 Stock Speedometer goes to 150, RPMs to 7k, Tires rated to 150MPH (Goodyear Eagle RS-A) and I hit my Limiter @ 130-135 and it felt like the car had another 10-15 MPH in it. Only things that aint stock are the air filter (got the K&N) and motor oil (Redline 5W-30).

well i cant find a track that has long enough straitaways in san antonio to get to 150 mph so i cant test it

I wanna see these speedos , i might get one.

its possible, b/c i doubt he would reprogram his pcm and only remove the speed limiter, it would make more sense to reprogram the whole thig and get a little more hp out v his car, which might allow him to hit that speed if he also retuned his gears and etc... but it sounds like hes bsing you.

Here is a fun test to give him: ask him how he removed the speed limiter, and if he says " i unscrewed it" or something of that nature, then hes lying. :naughty:
What the chip actually does is increases the top speed limiter with the rpms limiter , well the rpms limiter is set at different points in each gear a chip or power programmer would increase these signals not remove them. My car hits 6200+rpms its sounds like its gonna shake the bolts out so imagine what more would do. You cannot remove it just change it.

Look into airport runways , some of them hold drag race or top out events every so often cant hurt to look.

Ok I know this is a totally different car. But my 97' jetta did 156 with the governor removed. So maybe yea if its a 6cyl.

In the NY area you can go to Floyd Bennet Feild; exit 11 south off the Belt Parkway; It's an decomissioned airfelid; it's tricky though, the speed limit is 25 there; and there is a police traning facility there; and helicopter police traning facility; and a police shooting range and driving courswe, but they're all on the other side of the feild. But everyone speeds on the main runway; I've seen corvettes top out there; its a good sized runway and very wide; pavement is rough but relatively crack free; just make sure the cops aint around before you make your rounds.

EDIT: god I wish they'd let civilians into the cop obstacle course.

i take it thats in NYC. Man i dont wanna drive 3-4 hrs just to do that. Any body know of a place north of Albany NY?

Um.. I'm sure there are some paved roads that are pretty much empty around there; Adarondacks have great windy roads but too bad you cant take those @ night when there's no other cars out cuz of the deer and bears

If your guys get the chance; they recently paved the 6 in north PA (from albany take the 88 down to the 220 into PA just after Binghampton to the 6), I was on it a few years back and it was a freaking 1 lane dirt road; my freind went down there recently and said it was recently paved and expanded and its a very good road now.

other roads I know: the 80 once you get a good distance into PA (cops are always @ the begining of the state comming from jersey)

the 180 right from the begining off the 80; empty as hell and great visibility and stretches

the 78 toward it's end in PA, no room for cops (concrete divider, insufficient shoulder) but usually much other cars on the road

the 287 in Jersey from the 80/46 and north, fairly empty good pavement, wide

Garden State PKWY; especially in the south

New England Thrughway just past the bronx has 1 nice strech where the gas station and the giant fake tree is.

Sunset Highway (27) after the stop lights end and before you goet out into the haptons is good and once again toward the very end (Montauk)

We should make a thread of good roads to speed on and roads to avaoid

pvt murphy are you an idiot?...you just gave him a list of public highways and interstates that normal people such as myself drive on every day...I live in PA and use 80 very often, i dont want somebody trying to race down it, theres enough accidents there as it is. I think hes looking for actual drag strips or "abandoned airport" type places. Not busy highways.

On the speed part of this post I feel like calling BS because out of all the people saying that they've run up past 120mph, no one has expressed fear or said anything about tunnel vision. Not one person! I keep reading this crap about a governor when the GM motors are restricted due to the power control moduel. You can have a mod chip installed inside one, but you guys make it out like there is something that can be taken off the throttle body. Maybe if we're talking a pre 1992 car you would be right, but I just don't see it. Next you are talking about a car thats biggest V-6 is the 3.4.....maybe 135mph tops, but not 147-150 range. If its the 3.8 supercharged V-6 then ok, but even then you are talking about a modified car with a long stretch in front of it. As to the airbase/dragstrip thing... that is the best place to run your car flat out. Yes I have done the street race/highway thing before and it just isn't worth it. Too many things can go wrong. At the track you have some help if you get into trouble. At an air base you tear up your own car and don't risk other people.

i agree w/ you 100% about racing on the street, aand tht the top speed is bs, but i dont agree that the speed is impossibe, it is not hard or very far fetched that the measures taken to limit the cars speed could be surpassed, and 3.4 l v6 is pleanty to bring the car passed 140, its all about the gearing, not the size.

Got me on the gearing, don't know enougth about it myself.

Do most people brag about getting scared? Freaky thing i didnt expect from high speed were tunnel vision (the road narrows it seems) severe floating and seeming lack of contact to the road and my hands always damn near seaze on the steering wheel terrified to make any sudden movements cus any slight movement jerks the car about at high speeds. It reminds me of slushy icy roads with summer tires on. I noticed that the rear end lifts up alot at speeds of 100 mphish and the turn radius is diminished at those speeds (like driving a frieght train that can steer) unless im giving it more gas as i turn the damn car dips the front end too much and turns like a plow. Since I have my front stabilizers installed the front end dont dip so much and allows me to steer a bit nicer on the highway in general driving conditions or even a lil faster. I have been taking care not too be speeding due to zero tolerance by the cops here and got kinda a wake up call to drive safer, a guy I know got a 200 dollar ticket for going 35mph in a 30mph zone. Im not messing with that!
I will not make my car go over 80mph no more , theres no point.
Gearing from my own expirience ,
1st-2nd = 45mph
2nd-3rd = 87.5mph
3rd-4th = 125mph
4th top out was 154mph at 5600rpms then even with pedal to the metal it would decellerate like a lack of power from slight hills lose a quick 20-30 mph even tho the pedal is pressed all the way and the car likes to sway back that doesnt help maintain the speed either. Not enough power , not good enough suspension for high speeds and aparantly it looks like the side mirrors are gonna shake right off. sorry for the long text

You are right... no one brags about being scared. But I notice most peeps will give respect at some point to drive safety and a healthy fear of the unknown. This post was getting to the point that it was seeming like the drivers had nerves of steel. GPs and Grand Ams are not designed to travel on the highway for sustained times as has been outlined at trippile digit speeds. I can see maybe 147mph down hill, but not up it. And yes the tunnel vision is wild. At those speeds you don't get a ticket ...... you get jail and your car impounded. And hopefully you won't have a blow out and flip the car. Hope your tires are rated for those kind of speeds. Some of you may have actually run your cars at high rates of speed. Others of you are full of BS. I do my running at the track these days in a controled invironment. No more going nuts on the highways for me! And I also agree that zero tolerance plays a role in everything too.

ok, now, what is the higher speed limit in the country? 75mph? 80mph? AFAIK 75mph at the turnpike. Now, limit the speed (governor) at 145pmh, that's nice. It means, the government say no regular car should be allowed to run above 145mph, ok, show me a road where you can drive at 140mph. That's at least funny.

I am sorry if i came off like i had "nerves of steel" i am scared so scared but one may ask "Than why do it?" I say cuse the way I feal at high speeds the adrenalin the fealing. it makes me feal good and i can not find something to make me feal that way so i will do it and i will do it all the time BUT I will find a NONPUBLIC something to do it and to do it safe.

i believe him the i tried racing one on the intersate and i couldn'y catch him. I was going about 125 so i would say it was up there

ok, now, what is the higher speed limit in the country? 75mph? 80mph? AFAIK 75mph at the turnpike. Now, limit the speed (governor) at 145pmh, that's nice. It means, the government say no regular car should be allowed to run above 145mph, ok, show me a road where you can drive at 140mph. That's at least funny.
The government dose not say the governor in your car will be at 145mph or something like that, Pontiac is the one that said the Grand Am is not safe over 145mph. The governmet said over 65mph is not safe. (145 was what he said, I know my governor was at 105mph. :naughty: )

now i c y i dont live on the east coast any more. i got nailed in indiana doing 87 in a 45 construction zone and still paid only $190. and it stayed off my record. i drag on the hwy, but thats when i get off work at 4am. but everything is location. and it doesnt matter if ur speeding or following all the laws. every accident i've been in ive been when im doing the speed limit or less and obeying the law. u only controll a portion of what happens. everything else is in the hands of the moron that cant drive next to you.

now i c y i dont live on the east coast any more. i got nailed in indiana doing 87 in a 45 construction zone and still paid only $190. and it stayed off my record. i drag on the hwy, but thats when i get off work at 4am. but everything is location. and it doesnt matter if ur speeding or following all the laws. every accident i've been in ive been when im doing the speed limit or less and obeying the law. u only controll a portion of what happens. everything else is in the hands of the moron that cant drive next to you.
Er ........ how many accidents have you been in and how long have you been driving?

now i c y i dont live on the east coast any more. i got nailed in indiana doing 87 in a 45 construction zone and still paid only $190. and it stayed off my record. i drag on the hwy, but thats when i get off work at 4am. but everything is location. and it doesnt matter if ur speeding or following all the laws. every accident i've been in ive been when im doing the speed limit or less and obeying the law. u only controll a portion of what happens. everything else is in the hands of the moron that cant drive next to you.


"the moron that cant drive next to you" aka everybody on this forum who thinks theyre some kind of hot shot driver and drag race on public highways at speeds of 100+.

You raise an interesting point: "it doesnt matter if ur speeding or following the laws". Yeah that makes a whole lot of sense...
Ive been in a few accidents doing the speed limit or less myself but heres the difference: Some of my buds who wrecked doing high speeds died. I wonder what killed them: the high speeds maybe? It certainly wasnt jumping that fucking knoll doing 35.

"U only control a portion of what happens"
wake up pal, control is an illusion. Can you actually predict what will happen next? No, nobody knows whats gonna happen next....not even "professional drivers"

Back to the topic of this forum, I wouldn't be suprised if a GT could do 147, not saying he necessarily did it but considering I hit 125 in my plymouth acclaim until i hit the governor. with a tiny bit left to go. Granted i do know of similar Cars which have kept up with my friends SRT4. Turbo of course but i think it is still amusing to think of a Grandma car keeping up with what many Neon owners consider one of the fastest cars on the road.

iv been in 2 acc. neither my fault. like nyc, people in chi cant drive. whats different about me and my friends is i know when 2 back off the thorttle. my buddies dont. 2 r lucky not 2 b dead\a coma\in jail. ur right there is no control, only choices. thats what makes driving so dangerious. there r so many other people chosing 2 do what they want 2 do that the risks are limitless. notice how the drunk driver is always the one to live? y is that? lifes a rush. everyone my age thinks that were flawless and cant b hurt. bs. everyone dies. its not the fall that kills you, actually its kinda fun. its the sudden stop onto an ungiving surface that kills. most of the time for the people like me, around 21, that surface is reality.

147 is impossible. Everybody knows that the N body is not a true performance machine. The grand am is the same thing as a malibu and an alero under its skin (used to be the same as a skylark and an achieva). So it is clear that these other cars are not high performance viehicles. Unless you believe that it is possible for a chevy malibu to fly by you at 147 then a grand am will never do it either. There is no way that a grand am would go this fast stock...you would probably have trouble getting a true sports car (like an F body) that fast stock, governor or not.

a comptuer governor can be removed with a cpu program...usually places will not do this though :) you have to do it your self and have the equipment to do it lol and z rated tires rock! they a rated at an unlimited speed :-P

147 is impossible. Everybody knows that the N body is not a true performance machine. The grand am is the same thing as a malibu and an alero under its skin (used to be the same as a skylark and an achieva). So it is clear that these other cars are not high performance viehicles. Unless you believe that it is possible for a chevy malibu to fly by you at 147 then a grand am will never do it either. There is no way that a grand am would go this fast stock...you would probably have trouble getting a true sports car (like an F body) that fast stock, governor or not.


governer removed and gears retuned a grand am can hit 147, not safely by any means, but it is possible, performance or not, its really the gearing that makes the difference, now, this thread was dead for a while, and i dont see any point in reopening it in order to state a point which has already been discussed

ah that engine looks shweet...would it fit into a 92 ga? it has a 3.3 in it stock? thats the 3800 sc hehe that would rock... and yea to safely hit 150 youd hafta do some suspension and drivetrain upgrades...strut tower braces anti sway bars performance shocks/struts everything. how much can you find the 3800 sc for? used? totaled car at a junk yard or what not? just curious :)

you could prolly drop a 3800 in it i you really wanted one, you would have to do some frame modifications tho, this is not your car obviously, but it will give you an idea of what has to be done to drop a diff engine
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/526752
probly not very practical for you tho, plus a supercharged engine would be hell on your tranny

as far as the price goes you can fine used ones for around 3g i believe i was just looking but i couldnt find the site i was thinking of that sells them

i found a few used ones wiht under 50k miles for around 1200 actually and i was also reading that the 3800 and the 3300 (what i have) are the same excpet the 38 has a different bore.. and the one i found for around 1200 has the tranny with it...this engine is having some major problems...so i might need to replace it soon anyways...=/ hope not but i dont know

that cavalier is bad ass lol....we have sunfire as well...that would be a fun swap for the sunfire :-P lol

sweet

its possible to hit 147 stock with comp upgrade. i always hit 127-8 stock in 3rd gear and feels like it still wants to pull. oh, the grand am is nothing compared to a malibu or achieva, same motor and trans but different tunning and trans gears. the LA1 can handle lots of power.
im planning to install this turbo kit around labor day next week.

http://www.turbochargedpower.com/99-04%20Grand%20Am.htm

some of us already have it....who doesnt know about it? everyone knows i hope.

turbo's have spool time...thats the only problem i have with them..id much rather put the supercharged 3800 in :) and do some small upgrades like a little bigger pulley and exhast n such im sure you could get some serious hp....that cavalier did the sc 3800 and they were saying going like 30mph or somthing they could punch the gas and light up the tires..lol i almost want to sell the ga and do that :) thats sweet

*smaller pulley

with the aftermarket turbos, you can adjust the boost. the only problem with the turbo is if you want to do it right you have to put in low compression pistions. about 2g for them alone. plus 2g for the turbo. and there is a bunch of crap that has to b changed. both have there good uses, its all up 2 individual oppinion. both would fast as hell.

with a turbo you need forged pistons you need upgraded fuel pump and bigger injectors...thats minimum upgrades..you should probably do titanium valve springs and other stuff and you can adjust the boost on a stock turbo...all you need to adjust the boost on any turbo is a Boost Controler ;)

u mentioned that he doesnt have any mods besides the govner removed and u dont believe he got up to 147. u dont really need mods to get a high speed like that. wut counts is how fast he got to that speed. more mods would get him to that speed faster but i still think it could reached stock

I'm not reading all these posts, someone has probably already said it but here's my .02 cents: You will not get a stock Grand Am up to 150 MPH. It just won't happen. It's the laws of physics. That motor just won't do it stock, the suspension won't do it stock nothing stock we'll get it there. And besides a grand am gt is an SE with disc brakes. Anyone who has been to the 150 Mph mark and faster can back me up here (and believe me it would not have been in a Stock GA) : Even if you could get it there you'd be smart enough not to. Hmm let's see, Corvette, falls into, albeit questionable, supercar category has hard time reaching it's top speed of around 165, but a stock grand am can get to 150, righhhhhht... Being road kill isn't far off the mark, this is not dream land, the laws of physics apply here in the real world.


Marc

i have a '99 grand am gt and when i bought it used the governor was already taken off, i recently got it up to 140mph and my car is all stock, and no i wasnt going down a hill it was on a straight away on the highway.

i have a '99 grand am gt and when i bought it used the governor was already taken off, i recently got it up to 140mph and my car is all stock, and no i wasnt going down a hill it was on a straight away on the highway.
These cars don't have governors. Unless its got a custom Power control Moduel, you won't be running that fast. You shure it wasn't watching KLM's per hour? :uhoh: :confused:

i am 100% sure it was 140mph, i dont know the car could have something else controlling the computer that i dont know about i did buy the car used...

A burried needle would suggest speeds in excess of 130 mph or in excess of 220 kmph after that the only way to know how fast you got it is to get clocked by a cop and get your liscence taken away :( how fun is that? Also how fun is crappin your pants to keep the car on the road never mind in the lane cus these cars get snakey on the road after 120 mph and a simple little side wind makes it shake and shimmy every little bump feels like your gonna break apart the front end and when it tries to maintain controll it feels spongy. To all those who do not believe they can get up to speed you are very wrong cus theres dumbasses out there doing it and Im sure with these controll issues most wont ever try again.

my speedometer goes up to 150... ha

Has anyone calculated the speedometer error on these cars? Even though the speedo on my dad's Saab 9000 turbo read 145mph the gps I had with me only clocked 139mph.

My friend says that his friend maxed out his 2003 Grand Am GT at 147 MPH! He says he had the govenor removed but no other modifications to the engine. I find this hard to believe. Can anyone else testify that it's possible to go that fast in an all-stock 2003 GT? I dunno, but I don't believe a stock would max out that high. Don't think it'd do it. Tell me if it's possible.


I have a 97 Volvo 850 T5-R Wagon and I have raced a 2004 grand am GT with Ram Air and I smashed him. I turned the car to sport but I didn't even raise the boost. When I hit 105-110, the grand am looked as if he were going in reverse. In my opinion, I don't think a grand am could ever get to 147, even if the governor was limited, unless the wind was very strong and it was pushing him along. I have a Wagon that will do that, but it is made to, "It's European"

its might be possibe but very doubtful the motor size doesnt matter believe me i had a 91 4 door corolla 1.6l twin cam 3 speed auto tranny and about 150,000 miles on it with about 500 lbs of stereo shit bone stock with a nasty exhaust leak and it ran up to 110 before it maxed out after 80 it took a little while to get up but it did it. thats a family sedan made for doing 60-70 on the freeway. it might be possible another example my friends 87 prelude did 125 it wasnt maxed out he let off cause he got scared all he had was a home made intake his car had about 180,000 miles. if a ragged out beater can do 110 than a 2003 grand am gt might be able to do it.

my speedometer goes up to 150... ha
I want that speedometer then cus mine only goes to 130 or 220kmph and I think it would look sweet with a 150mph speedo. Where did you buy it and what did you have to do to calibrate it?

its the stock speedometer for a '99 grand am gt, my friends '00 grand am gt has it also...

Yes we all know the volvo platform is among the safest sturdiest platforms on cars today hence why ford is using them in the 500's. A stock grand am can do 110mphish stock , thats when the rev limiter cuts out the gas. The rev limiter is also set to shift at lower rpms when shifting to higher gears. When you increase those shifting points its like driving a totally different car. More atainable power (better use of exsisting power) is gained in this process and gives the driver the chance to push it harder. For example one of my previous cars was a 99 escort sedan with a 2.0 split port 8 valve engine 0-60 in 12 seconds!!! wow!!! it was a putz of a car but since there was no govenor no rev limiters I could use and abuse the piddly power it had going to the automatic transmission and make it go 120+ mph..........eventually.
My grand am was pretty zippy for a sedan so I started asking questions about the rev limiters. A couple tecs sympathized and swapped work with me , I cleaned there trucks while they retrieved codes and changed rev limiter settings for me. This is very illegal and caused problems for the dealership when I got caught speeding. I was piss drunk in the passengers seat and my sober driver decided to nail the needle to the max (he was wrilled up from watching the peelers) he was clocked 145 mph , sober and still lost his liscence over the incedent. One of the police officers that pulled us over also owns a grand am and knew that they were restricted. He said since the computer was changed it made the car potentially unsafe so I was ordered to have it changed. I thought I could get away with pretending I had it fixed but the officer got in touch with my dealer and told them the story. The service advisor ran tec codes on my engine and it revealed the modifications and the personal tec numbers were then revealed (each tec has a pass number for retrieving engine codes over the phone with GM) the 2 tecs got in crap and had to change it back. Since I worked there and the codes were changed back to factory the service advisor reluctanly allowed me to keep my factory warranty. Suckers!! I was online fast looking for my next alternative to high speed gambling. I found a delco chips place in the state of texas and wound up sending my computer to them for a few weeks for a delco performance chip install. Its not as good as what the tecs did but at least I dont govern out at 110.
I hit 130 a couple times and figured after a couple months that I wasted 700 bucks by installing something totally not street legal and tough to get a chance to use. At 130 my car handles so poorly my knuckles turn white. I almost considered building up the suspension and brakes to handle the speeds better and came up with almost $10,000 worth of upgrades. I then thought "uh no." Now I lost the urge and wish I didnt waste my money that way so my concern moved to acceleration. Now I am content with my car , it accelerates the way I want and behaves at the safer speeds with mostly stock suspension. When the car went 140 it bottomed out on some small bumps and dented my exhaust pipe muffler , cat and resonator, that right there tells me I wasnt in good safe hands at that speed. Sorry for the long post.
P.S. - If you got the money go ahead you can spend $10,000 and it still wont handle like say a "VOLVO" and a volvo isnt a race car but a familly car yet its more rigid , tight and stable then our domestics with the exception of the racing ready suspension in the ford focus svt but thats not a familly car.

its the stock speedometer for a '99 grand am gt, my friends '00 grand am gt has it also...
Well unfortunately our grand ams here dont come with a cool speedo like that. I have a 2000 SE and my speedo is the same as the gt's here. Your a lucky bunch and I am jealous cus higher numbers do look cooler.

yeah i agree they do, and i dont care what you people think but i have gotten my stock grand am (as far as i no its stock, but i bought it used so i dont know) to 140mph, it doesnt have a rev limiter or anything...

Markgase2000, are you serious that my car doesn't have a "race-ready" supension? I sure it has everything that you could ever want in a car that can drive up and down a city street. Tell me that I IPD springs, Koni Shocks, and front and rear sway bars. Not to mention the 8" wide tires, I am pretty sure my care, even if it is a wagon, is more race ready that almost any grand am or grand prix, even the gtp, because those super chargers aren't really that good, but I do like the look of the newer grand am's a ton more than the gtp's We each have differing needs and our cars make us happy, just have to represent for those volvo wagons

Please re read my post , I think Volvo's have the BEST suspension platforms in the world.

Markgase2000, are you serious that my car doesn't have a "race-ready" supension? I sure it has everything that you could ever want in a car that can drive up and down a city street. Tell me that I IPD springs, Koni Shocks, and front and rear sway bars. Not to mention the 8" wide tires, I am pretty sure my care, even if it is a wagon, is more race ready that almost any grand am or grand prix, even the gtp, because those super chargers aren't really that good, but I do like the look of the newer grand am's a ton more than the gtp's We each have differing needs and our cars make us happy, just have to represent for those volvo wagonsI clearly stated in my post that volvos are far superior to what we in north america think suspension setups should be. The closest thing we have is the ford focus svt. I love volvos they rock and I wouldnt wanna attempt racing one in turns or bumpy roads in speeds excessing 120 mph. Ummm you seem like a nice guy so I need to clear the confusion. Re read the post and you will clearly see that I am infact knocking my pontiacs platform and reveering the volvo platform. :) sorry you got mixed up.

yeah i agree they do, and i dont care what you people think but i have gotten my stock grand am (as far as i no its stock, but i bought it used so i dont know) to 140mph, it doesnt have a rev limiter or anything...
Ok brots Im letting you know right now your grand am is not stock and I believe you.

Markgase2000, are you serious that my car doesn't have a "race-ready" supension? I sure it has everything that you could ever want in a car that can drive up and down a city street. Tell me that I IPD springs, Koni Shocks, and front and rear sway bars. Not to mention the 8" wide tires, I am pretty sure my care, even if it is a wagon, is more race ready that almost any grand am or grand prix, even the gtp, because those super chargers aren't really that good, but I do like the look of the newer grand am's a ton more than the gtp's We each have differing needs and our cars make us happy, just have to represent for those volvo wagons
No! I was saying its not a race car but the suspension is as good as race cars its almost as good as the focus svt. We dont produce anything like it untill recently when ford put there heads together with the ford 500 and other cars of there linup. Since volvo has a great reputation for safe handling , rigid and tight controll throughout all the speeds it would have costed me over 10,000 dollars upgrading the pontiac grand am to have simular handling which I doupt to be as good as the volvo not to mention that my grand ams interior would also have to be sacrified for the numerous roll cage and stability bars that would riddle the interior. The volvo platform provides more stability and doesnt have all that mess in there cars therefore Volvo is far superior in the industry far more advanced. Then take into consideration the volvo's electronic stability controllers and traction controllers makes them that much more superior on the road.

ur kidding me right? you think it would cost 10K to make a grand am to handle as well as a stock ass volvo LMAO! i can make my '70 chevelle handle near as well as a C5 for less than 8K and a C5 is guaranteed to handle exponentialy better than a foreign car that costs like 20K. Volvos are reliable because my lug nuts require more torque than they put out! they dont accelerate fast and the ppl who drive them dont go fast so thats why they got good rep...think about it. unless i am totaly ignorant(always a possibility) then mid range volvos are nothing special and i really dont no were u got that idea unless u work at a used volvo dealership. Now as for how fast a grand am or any car for that matter can go....engine size has absolutley nothing to do with it...theoreticly rev limit, tranny gears, rear end(or front) gears, and tire size are all that matter. if a bus had a 1 liter engine that redlines at 9K, huge tires, and a really high end gear ratio then it could go 230 it would just take a really long time to get there.

Hey you tell me how much a good setup would cost and what components will be used and yes a volvo platform is way more rigid than the fossil tecnollogy in a corvette thats why the britts think were clowns for praising the corvette as the icon american sports car. I seen the track results of a corvette versus cars like cerberra's and the corvette loses controll trying to achieve what the cerberra does with ease. The volvos handle much better than the cerberra's as well. Its like a buddy of mine spending 20 grand on a mustang so it could ride on rails with a huge horse power gain from a supercharger and the car still cant take the rear sliding out on accelerating turns. Im sorry to say but you are ignorant (ignorant meaning just dont know enough about it) the standard platforms in volvos is very tight tighter than anything stock that chev ever put out. Chev is trying to achieve this tecnology by working with honda and honda looks up to volvo cus in direct competition with one another with the volvo platform in the lead hondas got some work ahead of them. Its ok man these smaller cars these days I tell ya I was having trouble believing some of this crap then one day I started going to dealerships and test driving all sorts and what my find was volvos are pretty zippy and the most tight handling cars. Hondas were pretty good , mitsubishi lancers were pretty good , subaru imprezzas were pretty good and ford focus was pretty good but the volvo was like a driving dream at all speeds , I felt safe perhaps too safe. If you dont believe me mih , no lost sleep to me but rather than argue I will just let you go and test them out yourself so you can have an opinion yourself. And yes I have drivin a c5 and was impressed with everything ,,,,,,, but the handling.

hey theres no doubt that a tvr Cerbera is a badass car but it also costs over twice wat the corvette does....the corvette is badass and gets all the praise because its fairly affordable and can compete with way more expensive cars. as for vettes losing control because they want to achieve wat the Cerbera did then thats the drivers fault...if you watch a c5 go through the course with an experienced driver then it is amazing wat this car can do. ive never heard of chevy looking to honda for getting technology, they look to ford and buy tech because ford does extensive testing with racing and off road stuff and i guess its cheaper that way? but i cant say they dont look to honda because i simply dont no, i just doubt. i also doubt that any volvo short of that 1.2mil one that was a concept(i dont no if they actually put it into production) will outhandle a Cerbera...which volvos are you talking about dude? maybe we are talking about different volvos? do you really think that chevy would put millions in research and development for the corvettes and still not make it handle as well as a 20K family wagon? ditto for the TVRs. i think not....maybe you could find some evidence of this miracle family car that outhandles supercars? its just really hard to believe, especialy since the car and driver reviews of the vettes all praise its handling and the reviews of the volvos dont say anything close to it outhandling a vette or any other respectable sports car

Enjoy your tickets.

Now as for how fast a grand am or any car for that matter can go....engine size has absolutley nothing to do with it...theoreticly rev limit, tranny gears, rear end(or front) gears, and tire size are all that matter. if a bus had a 1 liter engine that redlines at 9K, huge tires, and a really high end gear ratio then it could go 230 it would just take a really long time to get there.

I agree with most of your post, but the last part is not exactly accurate. There is a limit to how fast an engine can push a car. That limit is how much HP that engine can produce. every vehicle has a specific HP requirement to travel at a given speed, which is directly proportianal to it's coeficient of drag. A bus is a brick wall on wheels, hence it would require astronomical amounts of HP to travel 230mph. If, and I repeat, if you could get that 1 L engine to produce the necessary power to push it to 230mph, it wouldn't last long enough to get it there. In realistic terms enigne size does matter for the fact that a 5 L engine producing 300 HP will outlast a 2 L engine putting out the same HP, if maintained and treated equally because there is less stress on the components.

the 1 liter bus was a huge exageration just to get point across, but i really think that to a limit the hp doesnt matter, because lets say we upgrade to a 4 liter in the bus putting out 250hp and torque...that will get the bus moving and eventually it will get to 50 mph yes? well if u keep the foot on gas theoreticly(forgeting about friction, bumps, wind resistance, and that junk) then eventually u will go through the gears and wind up redlining it, at which point u will b going the outrageous 230mph...as long as u have enough hp and torque to get it moving then its possible, no? i could be way off, this is the way i understand it though, and i got a few speed calculators and when u factor in hp it doesnt affect anything.

Markgase2000, your cool, I realize you like the volvo's, along with others on this post and I think that you can back me up with this. My "family car" didn't cost 20K, try higher and you will be closer. The guy with the chevy has more power but it is how it is used. He could take me from a stop, but I bet if we were running 65 and went from a roll, I would clown the chevy. I can do it to a corvette, honda s2000, mustang GT, plus more cars that cost more. I can also promise you that to have a car handle like a volvo in the curves of the country, markgase2000 is correct, you would need to spend 10K on the system. I could run laps around people in those conditions and feel as safe as I was when I was only going 25mph. The car is safe all the way across the powerband, it doesn't have a huge torque jump, and has high amounts of power all the way across, which I can truely say that many cars don't have that and that the volvo have a setup that is superior to almost anything, even the "American Muscle, The Corvette, which I think are worthless just like the britts do. That is just my 2 cents and you are free to have your own opinion, but if you doubt me, go to a local volvo dealership and see if they will let you take the V70 T5-R out, it has the same setup and I think that it's zip to 60 and up will be plenty to change your mind.

the 1 liter bus was a huge exageration just to get point across, but i really think that to a limit the hp doesnt matter, because lets say we upgrade to a 4 liter in the bus putting out 250hp and torque...that will get the bus moving and eventually it will get to 50 mph yes? well if u keep the foot on gas theoreticly(forgeting about friction, bumps, wind resistance, and that junk) then eventually u will go through the gears and wind up redlining it, at which point u will b going the outrageous 230mph...as long as u have enough hp and torque to get it moving then its possible, no? i could be way off, this is the way i understand it though, and i got a few speed calculators and when u factor in hp it doesnt affect anything.


Ok, yes, in theory it is possible. You would need a long, very long tunnel that is sealed at both ends and all of the air removed from it (this way here you would have a vacuum created where there would be no air resistance), then all that would be needed is to overcome the rolling resistance of the vehicle, which is where torque comes in to play. The reason HP doesn't come in to play on some speed calculators is probably because of the fact that they are only calculating speed on the actual mechanical aspect of the vehicle. Basically, if you have an engine that spins at 5000rpm, with final gear ratio through the transmission of 1:1 and tires that have a circumference of lets say 60", you could have an estimated top speed figure drawn up from that.

1 Mile=5280 Feet
Our example tire is 60", or 5 Feet in cicumference. So we know that one turn of the tire will move the car 5'. Since our gear ratio is 1:1, every 1 revolution the engine makes, the tire will make.

So 5000rpm of engine=5000rpm of tire. 5000rpm x 5'=25000'/min. 25000'/min x 60= 1,500,000'/hr. 1,500,000'/hr divided by 5280 = 284.09mph.
This does not include any CD, rolling resistance, or inclines in the road. That is as basic a speed calculation as you can get. In practical use though, this is no good. I think this proves what you are saying though. Sorry I had to lay it out this way. LOL. If you were to double the engine rpm in this example the top speed would become 568.18mph. Almost every vehicle made today have engines that redline above 5000rpm with final gear ratio's in between 2:1 and 3:1 and similar size tires. Very few of them can make it to their estimated top speeds. Suspension and tires will affect this because they determine how well the car will handle the given speed. The biggest reason for not reaching extremly high speeds is there CD. This is where HP counts.

arent volvos known for having safety not an insane suspension system. maybe a sports coupe but no way in hell a family sedan. if you can smoke a coevette from rolling 65 then thats not a stock car considering a stock corvette can do 0-100 in about 11 seconds. volvo has never been known for performance in any range including suspension just safety. there have been some nice euro cars i just dont see volvo as having any of them there might be one im not sure but id take an s2000 or a corvette over any vovlo.

Yes, Volvo's are known for european performance, which surpasses any american vehicle for a comparable price. Like I said, if you think that volvo doesn't have any performance cars, then just go to a volvo dealership and ask if they will let you drive a V70R, it is an allwheel drive wagon that will do 0-60 in just under 5.2sec. If that isn't performance I don't know what is, That is a wagon that will keep up with most performance cars, then drive the S60R which can be chipped for only 595.00 and it will keep up with a BMW M3, I have driven a couple of those along with a totally tricked Audi S4 (Which will and has beaten a Z06, I was in the car, although it was slightly damp, slightly. My point is that volvo's perform like many european cars in a sense that hey are safe and race-inspired. If you doubt that volvo has performance, try my idea and drive an S60R, you will change your mind, I Promise.
VOLVO REPRESENT

Granted the newer Volvos are better cars now. For years they were safe pieces of boxy crap that old folks drove. Back in the day I drove many 240's that you had to almost push up a hill, the things could be eaten up by a ford escort all day long. The 740 turbo Diesel was the only thing that had any umph to it, but it sucked too. Used to eat those things with RENTAL Ford Thunderbirds, and Pontiac Grand Prix with the 3.4 engine in them, (also rentals).This is a PONTIAC THREAD, so can we get back to that or let this thing drop. You wanna post about Volvo's then post in the Volvo area.

Wow, long thread.

My two cents....

My Grand Am GT could do up to about 150. After that, I would probably soil my pants. WAY too much speed for a Grand Am. The aero aspect is probably what would keep it from any more. They aren't bad until there.
The stock tires on a Grand Am are decent for speed. Governor's are not always right at the limit of the tire. Sometimes they are at a LOW safe operating speed. I understand the governor on the Grand Am GT's to be around 125.

Mine either didn't work, or the speedometer is REALLY off, because I have had my 2001 up to 145 MPH according to the speedo. Not sure if I was really doing that or not.

Wow, long thread.

Amen.

I started this thread eons ago, and forgot about it, until a few weeks ago it resurfaced, and now it's up to 7 pages. LOL simply amazing

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/forumfun/misc8.jpg

Die! Die! Die!

If the title has the word "speed" or "fast" in it, chances are it will never die. Just to throw a wrench in the gears and keep this thread alive: Why in the world would anyone take a stock GA, or try anyways, to 150mph? For some reason I can picture a heap of crushed metal and flames at the end of that run. Ohhh, ohhhh, ohhh! One more thing, a stock GA does not come with tires speed rated for 150mph, so if anyone could get it up too that speed, you'd probably lose a tire, or 2, or 3...If not, the car would become extremely "loose" from the center patch bulging. Now I will sit back and observe the inputs from fellow readers. LOL

PS I agree with Mr Luos on the speedo being off the mark.

One more thing, a stock GA does not come with tires speed rated for 150mph, so if anyone could get it up too that speed, you'd probably lose a tire, or 2, or 3...

Pontiac's website says this......
Tires, P225/50R16, BSW STL, Goodyear speed-rated

Not sure what that truely means though.

If I remember right, it came stock on Goodyear Eagle RS-A's. Those are speed rated at 149 MPH. VR rating.

Still wouldn't try out those speeds in a stock Grand Am GT. Not a fan of soiling myself. Now, in the Trans Am........

I have to agree with mr luos but I have a different way of looking at it , I think Grand Ams are hairy after 110mph I hit speeds beyond that with 215/60/r15's using Fulda Assuro Rotational Tires and never had a blow out but the car is hairy and feels unpredicatable.

ive had 35 dollar fate-o tires doing 110 there rated at like 90 mph so some tires can handle speeds over what there rated at, my firend had his prelude same tires up to 120 so the tires might be able to handle it depending on there speed rating.

You wanna test your cars with these tires that aren't rated for 150+ speeds? Let me take some insurance policies on you guys. As you guys kill yourselves off, you can make me rich ....

LOL there is so much bs going on in this thread it's unbelievable(sp). There's guys over on grandamgt.com that have supercharged ga's with the DHP pcm that would never reach 150 MPH. There also is no sports package that came with the GA's. There is the SE and GT models with varying levels of trim. I believe the SE's are speed limited to 107 MPH and the GT's are limited to 126 MPH. All GTs come with the 150 MPH speedo. Any other questions???

The SE is limited to 112.5mph, And the only difference I've seen between the SE and GT is the GT has artificial dual exhaust, disc brakes in the rear and the V6 has 170HP as opposed to the 165HP on the SE's V6. I don't really see the point in calling that "GT". That's marketing for ya.

it's 170 for the SE and 175 for the GT. It's mainly the difference in the exhaust manifolds. Some other diffrences include the Ram Air on the GT's(gimmick). And the diffrent final drive ratio.

A tires rated speed is what it can take for EXTENDED amounts of time. Not just one run to a higher speed.

I've got a 2001 Grand Am-GT. It's been lowered, coil overs and gas shocks. I've got Potenza 750 series tires that are speed rated at 170 (I know your looking for cheap but you can't go cheap for something like tires, that would be like being a catcher in a baseball game wearing a "cheap" cup you found behind your house. You gotta spend some money.) I HAVE gotten it to 149 mph. That ticket hurt but it was worth the proof...I even kept the ticket. As far as the governer goes. I bought whats called a Venom 400 chip. It removed both the rev and speed limiter. It's awesome...check out ebay, thats where I found mine. Good Luck

I've got a 2001 Grand Am-GT. It's been lowered, coil overs and gas shocks. I've got Potenza 750 series tires that are speed rated at 170 (I know your looking for cheap but you can't go cheap for something like tires, that would be like being a catcher in a baseball game wearing a "cheap" cup you found behind your house. You gotta spend some money.) I HAVE gotten it to 149 mph. That ticket hurt but it was worth the proof...I even kept the ticket. As far as the governer goes. I bought whats called a Venom 400 chip. It removed both the rev and speed limiter. It's awesome...check out ebay, thats where I found mine. Good Luck

The only way you will remove the Gov. is with a reflash, or disabling the VSS. Your cheap ebay part will do neather. Are you sure you werent reading the KPH?

holy crap. dam itz been a long time since i even 4got about this thread. wow. well, 2 settle this topic and 2 possibly kill this thread(finally) after i finish breaking in my tranny and finally pop in my new chip, ill record my high speed run and post it. maby then we shall all finally alow this thread 2 finally rest in peace

This thread was started in May 2004. I think it has run its course and will be closed.

:1: Seconded.