Joined
·
141 Posts
Been driving Maggie the Opel quite a bit lately...
Have re-discovered Opelspeed.
Opelspeed is the sweet spot in the rev band - the designers of the Opel CIH powertrain saw fit to make this about 4200 RPM - 4800 RPM. For top gear use, this is *about* 75 -85 MPH in an aoutomatic, 80 - 90 in a manual.
While I'm not advising folks to go bomb about in 30 year-old cars at extralegal speeds, I'm here to tell ya Maggie runs suh-WEET in this range - has a TON of power. Bugged the heck outta this poor guy inna Mustang GT the other day - he had a hard time pulling away from Maggie at these speeds!
Keep in mind these are German cars designed by Germans for Germans for use on German roads. They exhibit Germanic behaviours as a result - slow off the line, but downright sparky at auotbahn speeds. My brother's Porsche was the same way - slow to get going, but once up and running - whew!
Too bad Maggie runs outta steam short of triple digits - the fun's pretty much over by 95 MPH. In a more aerodynamic car like the GT, I could pull strongly all the way to the low 100's before the car began to slow in its acceleration, with the top end just shy of 120 MPH. Maggie's personal best is more like 110 - and that's with a low restriction exh and some mild head work.
Still...it was neat to buzz along at 85+ with Maggie's motor singing a sweet song.
Opelspeed. Made me feel like a kid again.
Have re-discovered Opelspeed.
Opelspeed is the sweet spot in the rev band - the designers of the Opel CIH powertrain saw fit to make this about 4200 RPM - 4800 RPM. For top gear use, this is *about* 75 -85 MPH in an aoutomatic, 80 - 90 in a manual.
While I'm not advising folks to go bomb about in 30 year-old cars at extralegal speeds, I'm here to tell ya Maggie runs suh-WEET in this range - has a TON of power. Bugged the heck outta this poor guy inna Mustang GT the other day - he had a hard time pulling away from Maggie at these speeds!
Keep in mind these are German cars designed by Germans for Germans for use on German roads. They exhibit Germanic behaviours as a result - slow off the line, but downright sparky at auotbahn speeds. My brother's Porsche was the same way - slow to get going, but once up and running - whew!
Too bad Maggie runs outta steam short of triple digits - the fun's pretty much over by 95 MPH. In a more aerodynamic car like the GT, I could pull strongly all the way to the low 100's before the car began to slow in its acceleration, with the top end just shy of 120 MPH. Maggie's personal best is more like 110 - and that's with a low restriction exh and some mild head work.
Still...it was neat to buzz along at 85+ with Maggie's motor singing a sweet song.
Opelspeed. Made me feel like a kid again.
those were some fun times!
