Where do you test your car's potential?

[nicolodeon]

Nowhere. Takot ako sa aksidente.

[ptk675]

usually NLEX. pagnapapa south, sa STAR.

[niky]

Greenfield, Santa Rosa, for common cars... lots of run-off room, long loooong sightlines, so you can see other trucks and cars coming from waaaay off. Just not at rush hour, it's too crowded, then. Otherwise, any deserted parking lot (cement or gravel, either will do) with no obstructions will do, for simple balance and grip level tests, as well as to help train yourself to understand understeer and oversteer and how to cope with them.

For speed tests, the Skyway is decent, as long as it's not rush hour.

But for modified cars with lots of cornering speed and grip, the track is the only place to do it. Simply because the limits are so high that the potential for disaster if you "overcook it" is all too real.

The dyno (I've had quite a few, in three different places, so far) can only tell you how much power you're putting out. Whether your car has the clutch, tires and engine mounts to actually put that power to the road can only be assessed by a road test.

[B2Bomber]

so to those testing in public highways/roads do you just try to reach your top speed and go back to the specified speeds OR do you continue as long as you can hold it?

what about, towing/load capacity for the UVs, how/where do you test your rigs?

[yuichi]

NLEX Sanfernando-Angeles stretch

[ghosthunter]

so to those testing in public highways/roads do you just try to reach your top speed and go back to the specified speeds OR do you continue as long as you can hold it?

continue as long as your "balls" hold out or your engine gives or you run out of room... whichever comes first.

[flakez]

coastal road pag madaling araw, don ako madalas dumaan eh. hehehe.

[niky]

I used to enjoy testing for "top speed", but it doesn't really make much sense.

For one: you'll never really use it on a public road, unless it's the NLEX on Good Friday and no one else is on...

For another: you'll never really see top speed on the racetrack, anyway.

And last: my car does top speed (220-230 km/h) exactly at redline. If I hold it at top speed for more than a minute, I risk blowing it up...

My testing consists solely of 0-100 km/h testing, high speed stability (to see if the car has suspension issues), braking, repeated braking (to check for brake fade) and cornering (balance of over/understeer and stability in cornering).

[Jun aka Pekto]

so to those testing in public highways/roads do you just try to reach your top speed and go back to the specified speeds OR do you continue as long as you can hold it?

With my DSM (HKS), I'd keep it sustained at 130 mph (209 kph) and then make a push for 150 mph (241 kph) and then down back to 130 mph cruise. Stock, my DSM had done 142 mph (229 kph).

But one time, I was riding with a friend in his turbocharged Mustang 5.0. We were cruising at 150 mph and spiked up to 160 mph (258 kph) before dropping back to 150 mph. He would've gone for 170 mph (274 kph) if I wasn't riding shotgun. Similarly turbocharged Mustangs have been clocked at 180 mph (290 kph).

I also do informal 0-60 mph runs to develop my takeoff technique. I now have my technique down for my Sonata after an afternoon in the desert plus 2 new tires (soon). But, I haven't pushed it beyond 130 mph yet although it could probably do 144 mph stock (like that rental Sonata that was caught by lasers doing 147 mph).

Add: None of the tests were done at redline. The DSM was close. But, the Sonata was downright scary with 130 mph at barely 4k rpm's and still far away from redline (6k rpm's). I thought something was wrong. But, others in the internet have had the same readings. Makes me wonder if the 160 mph rumors are true.

[niky]

Ouch... that is scary... :lol:

I don't do too many 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) runs in my car, simply because I don't want to wreck my clutch (my tires are too sticky). What do you launch the Sonata at? 2k? 2.5k?