New standing mile record

[Michael Stora]

Performance Power Racing Ford GT sets 283 MPH standing mile record | Fox News

Mike

[Motorhead]

I saw this over on the FGT Forum. Those guys do some cool stuff. The community over there is questioning if this is a valid world record for a few reasons.

1. Johnny has a bad reputation for not taking competition very well when he looses. 2 years ago at a Texas Mile event he brought a security guard with an assault rifle to the event and harassed another Ford GT owner and his family. Since then Johnny hasn't been seen around any of the public speed events. He ends up hosting his own "public" events yet they aren't really made public.
2. Johnny uses his own timing equipment, this isn't handled by a private party. Both the Texas Mile and Mojave Mile events use the same private company in order to ensure that speeds are accurate. This is a bigger issue than most who aren't involved with this would think. It's not a cake walk to set up the timing equipment correctly and can be done incorrectly.
3. None of the Ford GT owners have heard of the supposed sanctioning body, the IMRA. It seems it might have been setup just to try and make Johnny's speed run seem legit. It hasn't been involved in any event outside Florida. It has on their own website various cars listed as having an IMRA record when in other states other cars of the same make and model have gone faster.

This is all from the FGT Forum and that crowd really doesn't like Johnny after his Texas Mile sh!t. If Johnny really did go that fast, good for him. I'm waiting to see if Ray Hofman, another Florida local, will challenge Johnny in a battle of Ford GT's. There is also Mark Heidaker's Ford GT in the stupid fast category as well. It would be cool to see all three at one location to see who is the fastest with friendly competition. I know this 283 MPH run has caused some controversy and more than one Ford GT owner wants to see a head to head battle to test the metal of each car.

[Michael Stora]

Originally Posted by Motorhead

I saw this over on the FGT Forum. Those guys do some cool stuff. The community over there is questioning if this is a valid world record for a few reasons.

1. Johnny has a bad reputation for not taking competition very well when he looses. 2 years ago at a Texas Mile event he brought a security guard with an assault rifle to the event and harassed another Ford GT owner and his family. Since then Johnny hasn't been seen around any of the public speed events. He ends up hosting his own "public" events yet they aren't really made public.
2. Johnny uses his own timing equipment, this isn't handled by a private party. Both the Texas Mile and Mojave Mile events use the same private company in order to ensure that speeds are accurate. This is a bigger issue than most who aren't involved with this would think. It's not a cake walk to set up the timing equipment correctly and can be done incorrectly.
3. None of the Ford GT owners have heard of the supposed sanctioning body, the IMRA. It seems it might have been setup just to try and make Johnny's speed run seem legit. It hasn't been involved in any event outside Florida. It has on their own website various cars listed as having an IMRA record when in other states other cars of the same make and model have gone faster.

This is all from the FGT Forum and that crowd really doesn't like Johnny after his Texas Mile sh!t. If Johnny really did go that fast, good for him. I'm waiting to see if Ray Hofman, another Florida local, will challenge Johnny in a battle of Ford GT's. There is also Mark Heidaker's Ford GT in the stupid fast category as well. It would be cool to see all three at one location to see who is the fastest with friendly competition. I know this 283 MPH run has caused some controversy and more than one Ford GT owner wants to see a head to head battle to test the metal of each car.

Thanks for the history. Did not realize it was the same guy.

So is the GT the most aerodynamic vehicle ever designed?

Mike

PS: Pandalloy?

[SloW8]

Yes.

J/K. But, of all the high performance cars I have driven, it is the most stable at speed. Solid like a rock.

[Motorhead]

Mike I don't think it is the most aerodynamic vehicle but it is one of the most. During the Petunia Project, Ford had the car tested in a wind tunnel in order to hammer out the aero. In order for the car to be a 200+ MPH car, Ford needed to make sure that the car would be safe at those speeds. So the aero on the GT was tested up to 260 MPH. The result of this testing is a car that is incredibly stable at speed, like cruising down the highway. With stock coil overs, the front shocks will bottom out at 220 MPH due to the down force on the front end. I'm sure the maximum speed possible in the FGT is the limitation of your tires and how much power you have. I wouldn't be shocked if I heard one day that the FGT was the first street car to break 300 MPH. These guys are doing 270+ MPH in a single mile from a stand still, so I can only imagine what would be possible on a rolling road where you can enter the straight at speeds well in excess of 100 MPH.

[tirod]

The strange thing about race cars after the GT was designed was that downforce started playing a bigger hand. Cd was traded off to get more grip, and track times improved.

That's why you see so many race cars with spoilers at high degrees of angle. They really are spoiling the aero for more downforce. Back them off, they could go faster - but the tracks aren't long enough. So, no point to it. They race for time, not speed, and the fastest time wins. It's all about the money.

Now, Bonneville Land Speed Records and such, it's not much different than the old days. Then, if AAA didn't sanction the event, you were a pariah. Same as today, it's under one of the SCTA and affiliated groups or it's not "official."

I'm going to throw in, if it doesn't meet safety requirements with door bars, it's not legal. That means you cannot drive one with normal working doors and make records. Yet Ferrari, McLaren, Lambo, Porsche, etc all make thousands of 200 mph cars a year. Same thing, persona non grata. Don't come to our events. You are too dangerous to yourself, we don't want to be held liable.

However, they have a class for the electric bar stool, the record is something like 55mph. Yeah, just you on a bar stool with one 12VDC battery and a motor driving the wheels.

I might be overstating it a bit, but these organizations have rules that sometimes are all about an agenda, rather than some common sense. If said driver is poking at the envelope with his attempts, well, so did guys in the '30s. Check out Ab Jenkins and the Mormon Meteor.

And, why is the Daytona Coupe still a serious record holder from the '60s? Surely cars with working doors have gone faster since then.

[dukegrad98]

Originally Posted by tirod

They race for time, not speed, and the fastest time wins. It's all about the money.

There is a relationship between speed and time though, right?

Cheers, John

[expat]

Originally Posted by dukegrad98

There is a relationship between speed and time though, right?

Cheers, John

only if you're a hooker

[Greg_M]

My brother and I were discussing this. There is no limit to what you can bring to the Texas Mile. Someone should drive a funny car 3/4 of the way down the track, stop, and do a near 300 mph 1/4 mile run. That would shut everyone up

Greg

[Motorhead]

Originally Posted by Greg_M

My brother and I were discussing this. There is no limit to what you can bring to the Texas Mile. Someone should drive a funny car 3/4 of the way down the track, stop, and do a near 300 mph 1/4 mile run. That would shut everyone up

Greg

Greg the purpose of these speed runs is to be a scary fast street car. You can't drive a Funny Car on the street.

[dukegrad98]

Originally Posted by Greg_M

By TX law no vehicle modified from it's year of production specs with added headers, air intake, missing cats, etc. will pass the emmisions inspection thus it will not get the inspection sticker so it's not street legal.

I'm sure you realize that only a handful of counties in Texas have any emissions testing or requirements. Sure, there are federal regs, but only Dallas, Houston, Galveston, and maybe San Antonio have any kind of checks during annual inspections. Does the Texas Mile do its own inspection on emissions?! Safety inspections I would fully expect, but not tailpipe sniffs or even visuals.

In the small towns around where I live, I'm not sure you couldn't could install some headlights, taillights, blinkers, and so on...and tag your funny car.

Cheers, John

[tirod]

The Texas Mile isn't limited to Texans only. Any car can race there. And drive on OK and TX highways as long as it's got plates and insurance like any other "legal" car. Reciprocity is a funny thing.

Fastest lap times on tracks with turns are actually posted by cars with the average highest cornering speed - because they have downforce to help get around the corners. Their top end speed is actually limited because the spoilers have high drag.

Strip those spoilers off for a top end run, and some significant improvements can be made. Top end is entirely different than controlled course short track racing. Even NASCAR needs downforce on a track like Daytona or Talledega.

Federal Law allows an individual to build a car for himself without much regard for emissions laws. If it's your VIN, it's your call. Headers, superchargers, whatever you want according to the specifics of the model year of that motor, the year chassis, and what states laws. In MO, I could build a 96 351 stroker, install 180 headers, an Edelbrock Pro Flow XT injection system, and no PCV, get titled, and drive it properly plated and insured on OK and TX highways to try my hand at top end.

If anything, the bump at the end of the strip is a bigger worry.

[dukegrad98]

Greg, it's a big-city (and adjoining counties) thing. Safety inspections are statewide -- they check lights, signals, horn, etc., but emissions testing only takes place in a few areas. Up here where I live we just have the "flash and honk" inspection. I also used to live in Houston/Harris Co., and it's a whole different ballgame down there. However, you're the first person I've heard of to fail on a visual inspection. Most emissions failures are at the tailpipe test with the sniffer. You had one uptight inspector!

Here's a map that shows which counties perform which tests -- anywhere else means "unregulated emissions."
Texas Department of Public Safety - Inspection Criteria for the Annual SAFETY Inspection

If your BIL's nuts-o Camaro was located nearly anywhere else, you could tag it for the street pretty easily. Tinkering with or removing the catalytic converters and so forth is still federally problematic, of course...but like so many of the fed mandates there is no enforcement mechanism. Let's not take that discussion any further!

Cheers, John

[Greg_M]

John,
Uderstood and I confused the safety inspection and the emissions testing inspection. I deleted the earlier posts to prevent the black helicopters from coming.

Greg