Marauder Top Speed?

yes well over 140. But if you are on a stock driveshaft just know that you WILL FRICK ****Z UP!! the longer you stay there.. ESPECIALLY with 4.10s! its been discussed here before many times the critical shaft speed is significantly reduced with 4.10s.. your shaft will start shaking around 120 or so. and at the very least more than likely you will blow out the tailshaft seal doing 140 with a stock driveshaft! very bad if you are far from home.
 
DTR. I’d be lucky to break wind.


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Now this a dusty old man's joke... Right outta my ally at full speed! My dad used to power lock the windows on the Olds Delta Royal... W the Olds 455 Rocket Engine... Then floor it on the highway to distract us that he had just broken wind... Filling the car with his patented noxious putrid poisonous smell. We'd reach for the the window switch... Only to be denied. One time I opened the five foot 100lb door to get some fresh air (on Freeway) and got a spanking too!

Oh sorry... Back to topic. 137 in Honda Prelude I5 South toward LA.
130 somth'n near 140 in my Black MM 'bout 10 miles from exiting Texas. I recieved a warning, a strong threat, and a personal escort out of the State of Texas by the local constable (who loved and had owned a Marauder) at exactly 1 mile below the speed limit under threat of severe prosecution (or perhaps execution).
 
yes well over 140. But if you are on a stock driveshaft just know that you WILL FRICK ****Z UP!! the longer you stay there.. ESPECIALLY with 4.10s! its been discussed here before many times the critical shaft speed is significantly reduced with 4.10s.. your shaft will start shaking around 120 or so. and at the very least more than likely you will blow out the tailshaft seal doing 140 with a stock driveshaft! very bad if you are far from home.

Or close to home!
 
Oh sorry... Back to topic. 137 in Honda Prelude I5 South toward LA.
130 somth'n near 140 in my Black MM 'bout 10 miles from exiting Texas. I recieved a warning, a strong threat, and a personal escort out of the State of Texas by the local constable (who loved and had owned a Marauder) at exactly 1 mile below the speed limit under threat of severe prosecution (or perhaps execution).

Should have been executed for driving that fast on public roads and then bragging about it on the internet. :shake:
 
You have approximately a second and a half of warning before you explode a shaft. Just enough time to ask yourself “what is that?” then BOOM.

I blew one clean in half at the 1000’ mark one night 1 1/2 hours from home.


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I have 4.10's and my pinion bearing failed on a 120 mph run probably due to the drive shaft needing to be balanced better.
 
yes well over 140. But if you are on a stock driveshaft just know that you WILL FRICK ****Z UP!! the longer you stay there.. ESPECIALLY with 4.10s!
its been discussed here before many times the critical shaft speed is significantly reduced with 4.10s..
your shaft will start shaking around 120 or so. and at the very least more than likely you will blow out the tailshaft seal doing 140 with a stock driveshaft! very bad if you are far from home.

The lonnnnng (non 2 piece) driveshaft on the Panthers results in shaft flex/whip that will eventually wipe out your tailshaft seal & bushing and can even crack the tailshaft housing. It's not nice to the pinion bushing either.
Doesn't matter how well balanced it is....a long driveshaft has to be lighter and stiffer to avoid flex/whip at high rpms associated with steep rear gears.
That's why the 'Police' MMX driveshafts are sought after.
 
Just a bit to add to this conversation...
I don't have Marauder... mine's a GMQ LS with the HPP option. It has the 11.25" torque converter, air suspension, 3.27 gears and the driveshaft is sparkling clean, even with 125k miles. The shaft is stamped "POLICE" and I don't believe it's steel... looks like aluminum or maybe a composite.

Anyway, I once (I think the statute of limitations has passed now) opened the car up on a lonely, straight Interstate, and the car pulled steadily to 106 MPH, when the engine began to sputter. (Limiter in action.) Since then, I've had the "MZT" modification done, along with a tune. (MZT= Marauder airbox & MAF, Police Zip tube, and a Superchip tune) The car exceeded the limiter's restraints. I hesitate to think of what might happen to that car at that speed with the tires presently on it. :(
 
There is a member on here that has taken his Marauder to Bonneville Salt Flats but I'm not aware of what his top speed was, maybe he will chime in.
 
Feels quite happy to do more at that point but I'm a bit of a wussy when it comes to my Marauders, won't go over 125 MPH with them.

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I don’t understand the fascination with top speed runs, I don’t see the fun in it vs the risk. If I want to be dumb and reckless I’d rather smash the gas and see how long of a burnout I can do and how quick I can get to 60.
 
I don’t understand the fascination with top speed runs, I don’t see the fun in it vs the risk. If I want to be dumb and reckless I’d rather smash the gas and see how long of a burnout I can do and how quick I can get to 60.

Out on a long straight lonely highway....I'm only risking my own butt.
Nothing like the prolonged howl of a V8 straining to push your car faster through the air at triple digit speeds.....'allegedly'
I would never do such an unlawful thing on a public road....:eek: ... :D
 
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Over 140 mph with my Black Marauder with 4.10s. I didn't even notice how fast I was going, a GT500 was right next to me trying to pass me though.
 
Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm doing top speed runs all the time. I'm usually sitting at 85 MPH with cruise control on and rarely go into the tripple digits, fuel is too expensive for that over here and the Autobahn is usually too congested to allow for it.
 
My main reason for starting this thread was out of curiosity what the top end limit on my car is. I live in Metro Atlanta where traffic is brutal, so unless I do a road trip to Bonneville, (not likely) I’ll probably never know. Thanks to everyone who replied, you all got some great stories!


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My main reason for starting this thread was out of curiosity what the top end limit on my car is. I live in Metro Atlanta where traffic is brutal, so unless I do a road trip to Bonneville, (not likely) I’ll probably never know. Thanks to everyone who replied, you all got some great stories!


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Riding in the high speed lane through Atlanta is like Bonneville, just without the salt.
 
Riding in the high speed lane through Atlanta is like Bonneville, just without the salt.



I think of it more like a Nascar race, going three wide in the corners, with plenty of wrecks and cautions!


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I read somewhere here in 2004 that the speed limiter on our cars was set to 127. (?) The first thing I did when I got the original 1725 tuner (and MMX drive shaft, DS loop and tail shaft lube) was remove the limiter and take it south of here to an old runway. At _exactly_ 127 I lost all feeling in the front of the car. The front end does not stay down. If I felt any control in front I would have kept going, as I had a good bit of pedal left. That told me that whoever did the wind tunnel test with it was spot on.

If I moved the steering wheel slightly right or left, I wasn’t feeling any response. I just didn’t feel comfortable at that speed, because I felt I could move the wheels accidentally, and when I slowed to 120 they would bite and I’d be heading off road.

As soon as I took my foot off and slowed just 4-5 mph I felt control in the front end again. I’m wondering how others with stock front coils managed higher speeds. (?)

A couple years later I took it to Arizona and set the cruise control at 110 and let it run for well over an hour, with no issues at all. Felt super stable.

BTW, that was before the rear engine cooling mod, and at that speed in 80 degree temps the temp gauge never moved.

If I had the opportunity to drive it on a banked track I suppose you get more out of it than that.


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