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Top Speed?

20K views 86 replies 39 participants last post by  YB Normyl 
#1 ·
Call me stupid, but I dont know much about Intrepids, but my friends dad has a 98 2.7 intrepid that will get up and go. But my question is what is the top speed of ALL the Intrepids; ES, SE, R/T and if there are more..
 
#53 ·
The first gen 3.3 was drag limited to 115-it could max out 3rd gear for 115, and then hold that 115 in 4th
The first gen 3.5 could do 135, maxing out 3rd gear (the most efficient gear in the transmission), but could not hold that 135 in 3rd gear, they would drop down to 130.
Before Black94ES goes crazy, you said that the tach was 4200 rpms, that equates to 128 mph, you need to get the better dyno picture from the March 1997 MotorTrend it compares the 1st gen and 2nd gen engines.

The second gen 2.7 can do 130 flat out.
The short lived 3.2 could do 135 (or 140 in 3rd at 6650)
The 3.5's can do 140 [or 145 if you wanted (or could) rev to 6900 in 3rd]
 
#54 ·
:D Hey guys, I just returned from a short run to check out the new ECU.

I-10 heading west towards San Antonio from Katy is straight and flat, with a concrete divider. Perfect for testing top speed. I really only needed a short run to get it to over 135mph. :eek: :eek:

I have a good friend who is a state trooper here and he paced me up to 135, then he passed me!!:crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

BTW, he drives a 2002 Intrepid, unmarked of course. He didn't say just how fast he was going, but I would guess that he passed me at about a 10-15mph difference.

Driving that fast is not something I condone or do on a regular basis. I used to autocross,I've attended several driving schools and held a competition license for several years. I've never heard of any instructor condoning this type of behavior. But given the right conditions(time,traffic,weather,line of sight,road condition and the need for backup) it can be done with a certain modicum of safety. I still fit into my nomex, and I was wearing my helmet.

This little trip reinforced the need for those new struts(KYBs maybe?) and brakes(still looking for a kit for this car).

See Ya'll Later
Tiregod1
:thumbsup:
 
#55 ·
i have an intrepid 2000 2.7 and i went 115 on 3rd gear (very easy, plus i was with a friend, so thats an extra weight) and on 115 the car shifted to 4th gear. the rpm was between 6 and 6.5, i didnt notice the exact rpm because i was looking at the road! the red line of the rpm starts from 6.5 to 7 so i dont think i harmed the engine (i hope).

after that i didnt go faster because i had to exit.

but if the 3rd gear goes to 115 then the fourth should push till 130 at least!
 
#56 ·
MikeW said:
The first gen 3.3 was drag limited to 115-it could max out 3rd gear for 115, and then hold that 115 in 4th
The first gen 3.5 could do 135, maxing out 3rd gear (the most efficient gear in the transmission), but could not hold that 135 in 3rd gear, they would drop down to 130.
Before Black94ES goes crazy, you said that the tach was 4200 rpms, that equates to 128 mph, you need to get the better dyno picture from the March 1997 MotorTrend it compares the 1st gen and 2nd gen engines.

The second gen 2.7 can do 130 flat out.
The short lived 3.2 could do 135 (or 140 in 3rd at 6650)
The 3.5's can do 140 [or 145 if you wanted (or could) rev to 6900 in 3rd]
hahaha, it was 4200rpms in 4th gear with torque converter disengaged

You're right about 3rd gear though, it shifted to fourth but didn't go much faster then o/d kicked in. So 130-140 is a good estimate.

I guess the speedo could be off.

You can checkout my dyno in the Performance 1st gen section, but it cuts at 5000rpms. (apparently 5000rpms is = 100mph in 3rd)
 
#62 ·
alderran said:
Yeah if you run it in on the f*ckin moon or something... or maybe you could run it in circles in a hurricane that might work... or maybe if you go up to the top of a mountain.....

I am talking about today on a highway on this planet ...
Very low humidity, low pressure, decent temp (not too cold nor too hot), tail wind, etc.....all happens on this planet.
 
#64 ·
To go 140 mph, it takes 130hp to overcome aerodynamic drag, and 12hp to offset rolling resistance.
So you need 142hp at the pavement at that speed, and the engine is only running 4600 rpms(4th gear), and at full power the engine only makes 205 hp there. So with only 75% drivetrain efficency 157.5hp>142 hp, yeah 140 is going to happen.
To go 145, 145hp for aero drag, 12.5 hp for RR. So for 145 mph=4750 rpms, and here the engine is in its worst state, the short runners are not open, and there is poor resonance charging, so here the engine is still only making 210hp, so 75% of that is only 157.5, drag limited.


But this assumes only 2.2 meters of swept area, and a Cd of 0.30, Chrysler probably used Cw in the marketing of the Intrepid, so Cd is probably 0.33.
So for 140mph (with 0.33 Cd) 155 hp (drag)/205 =75.6% and that is inline with current dyno results
 
#65 ·
YB Normyl said:
I can tell you from experience that YES they can reach and slightly surpass 150 mph provided that your ECU is not limited to below 149, which most are.
Maybe it's the intake that helps me get up there pretty easily??????

I know what it's like to have lots of problems......I took my 2.2L Aries up to 170km/h or so a couple of times :) Speedo only went to 140km/h :(........the needle went right past that and I buried that ***** :) It took a LONG time to accelerate after 145km/h...........same deal with the low speedo on the Intrepid, speedo only goes to 200km/h and I've had it right off of the dial and pretty much buried a couple of times :p
 
#66 ·
My 96 3.5 would hit the fuel shut-off about 108 mph.I bought a reman. engine controller from my local dealer (part # r5012677aa).This was in Aug,2001.No more fuel shut off!This was listed as an unlimited controller.However,this car seems down a bit on H.P.Around 120 or so she quits pulling.Can't recall what R.P.M. I was turning.
The 2000 R/T is begging for the police speedo! Max R.PM. in O.D. that I've seen is around 4450.Any one qot an idea what M.P.H. that works out to? Stock tires(Z-rated).
 
#70 ·
alderran said:
You have some proof of that? Your speedo only goes up to 120...
For your information the speedo on my Eagle Vision was 240 kilometers per hour and although I have a 240 kph speedo for the Trep, there's no need to put it in til my 108 mph limiter comes off. Other than the driver of the Stealth which obviously had a limiter, I don't have any proof. Maybe when the Trep is unlimited I'll remember to bring a camera. :rolleyes:
 
#71 ·
Does anyone know for sure whether or not a 1996 Dodge Intrepid base model (non-ES) with a 3.5 liter engine has a fuel-cutoff deal at a certain speed? The reason I ask is because I don't know what having fuel stopped while driving would do to the car if anything. Does it just limit the fuel by not allowing more to be pumped at a certain point or would the engine shut off (hmm, in gear car - engine running + motion = bad times?) or does it shut off and disengage the transmission driving the car, putting it in a state of neutral until one slows down to restart?:dozeoff:

Let me say that if I were doing 65 mph on my motorcycle and hit the kill switch that I would have some SERIOUS problems. (Don't worry, I wouldn't harm my '86 Yamaha XT600 and surely don't want to harm the 'trep either - I just want to make sure noble 'trep won't get hurt when we get frisky and top her out) ;)
 
#72 ·
Ummmmmm it's called a governer, and yes you do have one, probably around 108 or 118 MPH...........no it won't harm your car to hit the governer, it just won't let you go faster, it doesn't shut off the fuel, your car still runs, it just won't let it accelerate past the limit.
 
#73 ·
I've read numerous articles and some posts on di.net..that said some 93-97 Intrepid ES's did not have a speed limiter they came equipped with a special handling and suspension option that included Michelin v rated tires.....these cars are supposed to be capable of 150 mph.
 
#74 ·
Mine Didn't have a Governer until I went in and got my COmputer flashed to the newest software.. (DAMN DIRTY BASTARDS!).

not really that important to get it removed tho...
 
#75 ·
if you have a governor on your car you will know it when you hit it for the first time because youll freak out and think you threw a rod or something.. lol

anyway i think 3.3 cars should be able to break 120, ive hit around 125 in my dynasty, and the lh cars aerodynamic advantage should overcome the extra weight easily. weight doesnt have a huge effect on top speed, not near as much as drag and power.

h rated tires are rated for 130 btw.

and tiregod, do you come to san antonio often? we may have to meet up, maybe well get argus in on it. :)
 
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