SSC Ultimate Aero TT set to smoke Bugatti's top speed record.

[SVT666]

HEMI666: I've sold cars, HemiDude, and that's an industry with no more truth in it than in the Oil Industry or in a discussion with Attorney Generals who aren't under oath.?

It ain't hate, it's absolute distrust!? That's why there's Nardo--where the effort is made to assure that the cars attempting records there are indeed everything they say they are and, just as important, not more than they say they are.? Before Nardo, just about every asshole could claim a top speed of at least 200 MPH (Such as claimed but not proven by Aston Martin and its Vanquish), and more would be doing it today if they didn't know they might someday have to put up or shut up at Nardo.? Those that can truly walk the walk take their cars to Nardo--those that hope you'll believe their marketing departments take their cars somewhere else...Bonneville, Wolfsburg, and no doubt other places...?

Will someone please explain to me why it's so important for a record to be made at Nardo when it can easily be made at the VW test track, another suitable track, or some other straight road that it flat.

[Galaxy]

There's nowhere to put groceries in the Veyron.

  :P

[sandertheshark]

But 0-60 in 2.8 seconds can't be good for your eggs.

[sandertheshark]

They did back in 2003-2004. It was a 3.4 - 179hp engine, a bench seat, and no A/C. Though "TheImpaler" would have been a pretty cool name. :P

That's the only name that coukd make "Vlad Dracul" any scarier.

[SVT_Power]

But 0-60 in 2.8 seconds can't be good for your eggs.

[Galaxy]

But 0-60 in 2.8 seconds can't be good for your eggs.

At least you can get Zabaione home before it collapses.

[Raghavan]

That is what I find so fascinating about the Veyron. You can drive i on the track at 400km/h and afterwords pick up some groceries on the way home. It is a very civilized car.

I would drive the SSC.
It's awesome that they can shoehorn so much hp into a car and still keep it so light.
It weighs as much as a Civic!

[SVT_Power]

I would drive the SSC.
It's awesome that they can shoehorn so much hp into a car and still keep it so light.
It weighs as much as a Civic!

Shoehorning power and keeping car light isn't a real big issue imo. Especially on a purpose built car like this one

[Galaxy]

I would drive the SSC.
It's awesome that they can shoehorn so much hp into a car and still keep it so light.
It weighs as much as a Civic!

At those speeds the light weight becomes more of a problem I think. Unless you can get enough downforce, but then the air resistance is to high.

[Raza]

At those speeds the light weight becomes more of a problem I think. Unless you can get enough downforce, but then the air resistance is to high.

You'd hope they'd think of that issue.

[Galaxy]

You'd hope they'd think of that issue.

I do believe that high speed stability is going to be their biggest problem.

[Raza]

I do believe that high speed stability is going to be their biggest problem.

Well, for the Veyron, they had to go into high speed mode, which cuts a lot of the downforce.  The car is lowered, the spoiler is tucked away, and all that jazz.  At least they won't have that problem.  The have more power in a lighter 2WD car, so you don't have that AWD power bleed at higher speeds, so more power will be getting to the ground.  If they designed it to be a real car and not just a glorified dragster, then they could work the downforce so that it wouldn't be horribly twitchy at those speeds.  275mph isn't worth much if as soon as you hit it, you blink and the car spins and you die.

That would be most unfortunate indeed.

[Galaxy]

Well, for the Veyron, they had to go into high speed mode, which cuts a lot of the downforce. The car is lowered, the spoiler is tucked away, and all that jazz. At least they won't have that problem. The have more power in a lighter 2WD car, so you don't have that AWD power bleed at higher speeds, so more power will be getting to the ground. If they designed it to be a real car and not just a glorified dragster, then they could work the downforce so that it wouldn't be horribly twitchy at those speeds. 275mph isn't worth much if as soon as you hit it, you blink and the car spins and you die.

That would be most unfortunate indeed.

They apparently have trouble bringing all that power to the road even at high speeds, so perhaps AWD would have been better after all.  The Bugatti can not use it's rear wing at high speeds but it does have a diffusor that was tweaked with the resources of an astronomical budget.

[Raza]

They apparently have trouble bringing all that power to the road even at high speeds, so perhaps AWD would have been better after all.  The Bugatti can not use it's rear wing at high speeds but it does have a diffusor that was tweaked with the resources of an astronomical budget.

I think they could make do with bigger tires.

[Galaxy]

I think they could make do with bigger tires.

Tires where another big problem the Veyron faced . Making a tire that would go over 400km/h and not cause the car to go aquaplaning of the road when the car is driven in the rain. Michelin did a superb job there.?

[Nethead]

Will someone please explain to me why it's so important for a record to be made at Nardo when it can easily be made at the VW test track, another suitable track, or some other straight road that it flat.

Sure, HemiDude!? Nardo is the world's automotive Olympic stadium--the track is a 13 km or so instrumented loop--speeds and times can be measured at multiple locations around the track.? The staff is equipped to do inspections to see that the record you're trying for is legitimate--if you're trying for an under 2-liter record, say, they can verify that you aren't running a 3.2 liter engine (the equivalent of using steroids at the Olympics)!? If you are running for a production vehicle record, say, they will verify that the specs for your production vehicle are matched by the vehicle you have brought to the track to try to set a production vehicle record, instead of letting you get away with an extra 120 cubic inches of engine or nitrous bottles mysteriously occupying an especially bulky firewall.?

Equally important is that Nardo is a loop, where you have to show that you can sustain a speed--not just reach it and then have to shut down before you run out of track (a convenient excuse if you happen to know that your Gollygeewhiz Sport can maintain 225 MPH for only six or seven seconds before it explodes or becomes airborne and starts flipping end over end).? Hitting a high speed for a second or two is a shitload easier than maintaining it for long laps, else most speed records would be held by Top Fuel dragsters with front brakes.? And of course, it's important to have a vehicle that can turn left and right as well as scream down a straightaway--something that's not tested at Bonneville, Wolfsburg, or some stretch of closed-off Nevada highway...

Nardo was created to reduce the incidence of cheating.? Why do you have a problem with that?

[nickdrinkwater]

I'm not surprised in the slightest they didn't beat the Veyron.  It's an incredible machine really.

[SVT666]

It doesn't even sound like they went for a full throttle run.

[Raghavan]

Well, i wouldn't make a full throttle run after spinning the wheels at 190 mph.

[TheIntrepid]

I thought you said you payed for your intrepid? This post makes it sound like your dad bought it. The wording could be off though. 

I did. It was my dad's company car from when it was new in February 2004 up until March 2006. We didn't pay jack during that time, the company paid for insurance, gas, etc.. At the end of the corporate lease in March 2006, we had the option to buy the car off them for somewhere around ~$2000. At this time I was able to sell my 1999 Camry (4 cylinder, no ABS, with 230,000km on it) for abotu $8500, and this was a much better deal. I sold the Camry, bought teh Intrepid, and pocketed the $6500.

[Nethead]

It doesn't even sound like they went for a full throttle run.

Likely reasons:? A: Something was going wrong (oil pressure drop? steering wheel chatter?).? B: The Ultimate Aero TT (hereafter abbreviated UA TT) didn't have the acceleration to get to a record speed before it ran out of road--another reason to go to Nardo.? C:? As configured, the UA TT is not a 253 MPH automobile and will need some redesign and many more bucks spent before the next attempt to beat the Veyron's record.?

A sounds quite possible, since why advertise the dog & pony show and then only use half throttle in sixth gear??
B is quite possible, too--why insist upon going WFO in sixth gear and have to eat many acres of sand seconds thereafter?
C is quite possible, too--attaining 230 MPH is far short of sustaining 252 MPH like the Veyron did at Nardo.? It's also well short of the McLaren F1's record established back in the 'Nineties...

And some combination of A, B, and C is possible, too, of course.? There may even be D reasons, E reasons, yada yada yada, that will be publicized later.

I hope the reason was A--the easiest and cheapest to remedy--and that the UA TT folks make the necessary repairs and try again.? That's the bright side.? The dark side is whether the rest of that throttle in sixth gear can propel the UA TT the additional 23 MPH faster that will be necessary to set a new production vehicle speed record.? That is a big, big jump from 230 MPH at half throttle in sixth gear...

[850CSi]

That is what I find so fascinating about the Veyron.? It is a very civilized car.

It also happens to weigh as much as a BMW 530i.

There's nothing spectacular IMO about a car with a huge-ass quad-turbo engine "supercar". The Veyron is something anyone can do with the proper budget.

[Galaxy]

It also happens to weigh as much as a BMW 530i.

There's nothing spectacular IMO about a car with a huge-ass quad-turbo engine "supercar". The Veyron is something anyone can do with the proper budget.

It is not as simply as creating a lot of displacement and slapping on four turbos. The inguinuity of the people behind the Veyron is amazing and most would not spend the money even if they had. I find a car which can awe you with it's acceleration and top speed while also allowing you to take a civil stroll down town with the AC on and music playing much more intersting then a simple race car. The race cars I find interesting are F1 cars which treat curves like straights and extream record setting cars like that Mach 1 car.

[SVT666]

The Veyron doesn't impress me either.

[LonghornTX]

Likely reasons:  A: Something was going wrong (oil pressure drop? steering wheel chatter?).  B: The Ultimate Aero TT (hereafter abbreviated UA TT) didn't have the acceleration to get to a record speed before it ran out of road--another reason to go to Nardo.  C:  As configured, the UA TT is not a 253 MPH automobile and will need some redesign and many more bucks spent before the next attempt to beat the Veyron's record. 

A sounds quite possible, since why advertise the dog & pony show and then only use half throttle in sixth gear? 
B is quite possible, too--why insist upon going WFO in sixth gear and have to eat many acres of sand seconds thereafter?
C is quite possible, too--attaining 230 MPH is far short of sustaining 252 MPH like the Veyron did at Nardo.  It's also well short of the McLaren F1's record established back in the 'Nineties...

And some combination of A, B, and C is possible, too, of course.  There may even be D reasons, E reasons, yada yada yada, that will be publicized later.

I hope the reason was A--the easiest and cheapest to remedy--and that the UA TT folks make the necessary repairs and try again.  That's the bright side.  The dark side is whether the rest of that throttle in sixth gear can propel the UA TT the additional 23 MPH faster that will be necessary to set a new production vehicle speed record.  That is a big, big jump from 230 MPH at half throttle in sixth gear...

Basically, they were going to test on a 12 mile strip, but it was snowed under.  The 236mph at 56% throttle in 6th gear was only on a strip that had 2 miles suitable to high speed testing. 

http://blog.worldcarfans.com/index.cfm/8070326.003/ssc-ultimate-aero-tt-still-behind-veyron

[Payman]

Why is it whenever I read a Nethead post, I'm reminded of BillFrist? 

[Nethead]

Basically, they were going to test on a 12 mile strip, but it was snowed under.? The 236mph at 56% throttle in 6th gear was only on a strip that had 2 miles suitable to high speed testing.?

http://blog.worldcarfans.com/index.cfm/8070326.003/ssc-ultimate-aero-tt-still-behind-veyron

LonghornTX:  Yet another reason to go to Nardo--there aren't many snowplows needed at Nardo, and a loop seldom runs out of track.  Once again--an additional 23 MPH takes a lot of wallop when you're at 56 percent throttle in 6th gear and going 230 MPH.  I doubt if the Veyron has an additional 23 MPH in it at whatever speed it's going at 56 percent throttle in 6th gear--which I suspect is over 230 MPH.  But where in Hell could you find the speed of a Veyron at 56% throttle in 6th gear???  And since none of us have a Veyron out under the carport by the single-wide, empirical evidence will be hard to get on this one...

Most of all, LongDude, how many will accept the validity of a record established on a stretch of Nevada public highway--how are they recording the speed--a Highway Patrol good ol' boy with a hand-held radar gun?  Is there at least a credible sanctioning organization--SCCA, CART, IRL, et al--doing the timing with some proper equipment?  Without an impartial professional organization certifying the results as valid, the good folks at UA TT may find it tough to get credited as world record holders even if their vehicle reaches 253 MPH or higher.

[SVT666]

LonghornTX:? Yet another reason to go to Nardo--there aren't many snowplows needed at Nardo, and a loop seldom runs out of track.? Once again--an additional 23 MPH takes a lot of wallop when you're at 56 percent throttle in 6th gear and going 230 MPH.? I doubt if the Veyron has an additional 23 MPH in it at whatever speed it's going at 56 percent throttle in 6th gear--which I suspect is over 230 MPH.? But where in Hell could you find the speed of a Veyron at 56% throttle in 6th gear???? And since none of us have a Veyron out under the carport by the single-wide, empirical evidence will be hard to get on this one...

Most of all, LongDude, how many will accept the validity of a record established on a stretch of Nevada public highway--how are they recording the speed--a Highway Patrol good ol' boy with a hand-held radar gun?? Is there at least a credible sanctioning organization--SCCA, CART, IRL, et al--doing the timing with some proper equipment?? Without an impartial professional organization certifying the results as valid, the good folks at UA TT may find it tough to get credited as world record holders even if their vehicle reaches 253 MPH or higher.

I would think GPS is the order of the day.

[Nethead]

I would think GPS is the order of the day.

The Nethead here does not know how acceptable GPS data is for land speed records.  Anyone aware of a land speed record of any type that was established and accepted based strictly on GPS data?  If there has been a precedent land speed record established solely on GPS data, then this could greatly facilitate acceptance of a new record based upon GPS data.  Otherwise, expect trouble...

[sandertheshark]

The Nethead here does not know how acceptable GPS data is for land speed records.  Anyone aware of a land speed record of any type that was established and accepted based strictly on GPS data?  If there has been a precedent land speed record established solely on GPS data, then this could greatly facilitate acceptance of a new record based upon GPS data.  Otherwise, expect trouble...

GPS is accurate enough to steer a cruise missile to target the size of a skateboard in a crowded city.  I don't see why it wouldn't be accepted for tracking a car down a stretch of highway in Nevada.