Perhaps you don’t believe in chance, but I will offer you some free advice.
Now that you have publically disclosed that you intentionally and excessively speed and overinflate your tires, I suggest you increase your liability coverage and put a high power attorney on retainer.
If you are ever unlucky enough to be in a major collision, and a civil lawyer gets his or her hands on this discussion, it will be used against you, and rightfully so.
Let’s just print out this thread and mail it to the Denver lawyers and save eveyone the trouble.
With all due respect to Robert…I don’t believe that an Expedition builds up speed to 105 mph going down hill without effort. That you can coast at 105 mph down grade is a joke. The grades on interstates are controlled and the high wind resistance require substantial throttle pressure.
“Whitey and ken green” are right I feel and Robert is an accident waiting to happen or at least will continue to give all emergency vehicle drivers a bad name. Too bad, most are more civic minded. The grave yard has more than a few dearly departed’s who thought they had everything under control while driving 40 mph over the speed limit.
“Fate” is not chance.
Fate implies intention.
Yes, I used throttle to boost downhill speed to 105, (not even sure if it could attain that speed on level ground).
That is when the engine would no longer accelerate and I felt the governor working.
I would not do this around other traffic.
This stretch of highway is much like I-94(?) in Montana where there was no speed limit. Many go 90 to 100 there. Now there is a speed limit there.
.
Why are you driving 105 mph on the interstate …?
Why don’t you try that at a drag-strip or a 1/4 mile circle track.
This stretch of highway is much like I-94(?) in Montana where there was no speed limit. Many go 90 to 100 there. Now there is a speed limit there.
Montana like ? It wasn’t Montana and you were breaking the law. Depending upon the state, at some point over the speed limit (some are 30 mph for example), it’s no longer a traffic violation but a misdemeanor which is a criminal offense. If that’s the case in your state, I wouldn’t bring it up on a public forum being an emergency vehicle operator. You owe that to the hospital who hired you and the reputation of others with the same job.
Most emergency vehicle operators drive responsibly, but some like yourself do not. You might be able to violate the traffic laws and get away with it, but you can’t violate the laws of physics. They will eventually catch up to you. You’re an accident waiting to happen.
A couple of pages back, I posted the following:
“I suggest that we all give up on trying to convince the OP of the wrong-headedness of his actions.
He has made it clear through his constant rationalizations that he does not want to listen to reason.”
The OP responded (as was predictable) with:
"I suggest that you no longer read this.
I am not seeking to have you convince me of anything.
Well, actually I am - about 44 psi tire inflation.
Ford people said it OK and explained the the vehicle is conservatively governed at a speed less than it can safely travel.
As one Ford guy said, “Rolling down a downgrade getting up to 110 before costing down and exiting. Big deal.”
When someone says, “I am not seeking to have you convince me of anything”, that means he has a totally closed mind on the topic.
How about if we just congratulate the OP on being able to defy the laws of physics, his ability to take evasive action with impunity at high speed in a top-heavy vehicle, and his apparent immortality?
All of our continued efforts to save his life and the lives of others are clearly just a waste of bandwidth.
I’d like Robert to respond to an un-asked question.
As only a volunteer, yet high speed driving…
What specialized driving school did you attend to quailify to do so ?
Bob Bondurant in Phoenix ?
Go 4 it racing there in Colorado ?
n.a.p.d. ?
If you have a high speed certification , maybe ( maybe ) I’ll stop harping so much about it.
I had a course in high speed driving of a police-packaged Crown Victoria.
Not a top-heavy SUV behemoth which tops out at 105 mph. (Why does Ford govern it at that speed?)
Though I honed skills in high speed maneuvering, evasive moves, cornering, high speed turning, etc, I have absolutely no plans to ever use those fuel-wasting, air polluting skills.
I would never so much as squeal (wear) tires in a turn or aggressively accelerate.
I believe in being gentle with all equipment, which is why my vehicles last so long and wear so well.
Gentle accelerations and decelerations, gentle wide radius turns whenever possible.
Your harping would be well deserved if around other vehicles, even opposing traffic on the divided highway, and if there were any hazards on the road surface or that could come to the roadway.
With a tailwind and smooth road surface, it was amazing how smooth and quiet and stable the Expedition traveled.
Post overinflation story here. At the former dirt track (now paved) the crew had three Hoosiers that measured to the same circumference. Some were too far over the size and some were smaller by three or four inches.
They took a smaller one, inflated it to 100 PSI and rode it around the track a couple of laps. Then they let it cool a bit and fearfully let the pressure down and the tire had stretched enough to just about match the three others. It’s true as far as I know. The guys who tried it are kind of honest.
I have heard that steel belted tires don’t stretch too far without something breaking. The only ones I knew of that came apart were going about 155 MPH for about twenty miles. Nope, they weren’t rated for that speed. A 1974 Trans Am with 455 SD engine with auto trans. It did it twice. Firestone and Astrostar. The police got him both times.
Thank you for answering several questions in one.
Since we’re not around you and don’t know you our collective’ harping’ accomplishes three goals, no offense intended.
1 ) We draw answers from you that satisfy our curiosity.
2 ) As two ( or several dozen ) heads are better than one, we bring up subjects and issues that , if you hadn’t thought of them before, you now begin thinking of and therefore help youself by broadening you awareness of additional concerns.
3 ) It puts the subject matter out there for others ( who may be quietly doing similar activities ) to read and learn.
No offense.
Just using your word.
I’m all for confrontion and for the reasons you all listed.
They are good reasons.
Since no onelse was around, I continued to gently increase speed while listening and feeling for anything noticeable. At 110 mph I started coasting down because I was going to be exiting. Took the 65 mph straight exit at 80 mph and decelerated smoothly feeling how the brakes were doing. No fade noticed but the brakes were cold and did not take long to brake down to 25 mph at the stop sign ahead.
My two greatest concerns were tire blowout and driveshaft fracture.
The engine idles at 1500 rpm when in Neutral. 500 when stopped in Drive.
So when I was coasting in Neutral, there should be sufficient transmission fluid flow to not burn transmission fluid or harm the transmission.
I guess I never got an answer, so I’ll ask it directly…How fast over the legal speed limit speed is 105 (110 now) mph in your state; the speed you were driving in a truck ?
I guess I never got an answer, so I’ll ask it directly…How fast over the legal speed limit speed is 105 (110 now) mph in your state; the speed you were driving in a truck ?
Sorry, I missed the question.
The tyical Interstate speed in Colorado is 75 mph.
65 is common and 55 closer to cities. Though Denver has 65 in the city dropping to 60 and 55 where it curves more. That same 55 mph area was 70 in the late 1960s and early 1970s!
To save fuel and reduce pollution, usually I drive the Expedition 45 to 50 mph in 55 mph areas and 55 in 60 mph areas.
I love how you are more concerned about your car than the safety of yourself and others. Even if you say “no one was around”, I find it hard to believe you didn’t pass one car while driving at 105. Suppose they accidentally darted into your lane. Could you brake in time?
“I love how you are more concerned about your car than the safety of yourself and others. Even if you say “no one was around”, I find it hard to believe you didn’t pass one car while driving at 105. Suppose they accidentally darted into your lane. Could you brake in time?”
There WERE two semis ahead on the INTERSTATE but I never caught up to them.
Think one was passing the other, but I was carefully watching the road surface so did not get a good look at them.
Other than having the driveshaft fracture, what is going to happen at 110 mph that would not happen at 100 or 90?
Why would Ford set their governor at 105 mph?
You had better warn the police department which wants to increase the governor speed.
I feel like we’re talking to a high school kid who has all the answers and never listens to anyone.
Fortunately, life has a way of curing the myopic “It will never happen to me” crass attitude.
[quote]“I feel like we’re talking to a high school kid who has all the answers and never listens to anyone.
Fortunately, life has a way of curing the myopic “It will never happen to me” crass attitude.”[quote]
No, I don’t have the answer why Ford governs at 105 mph if too fast.
You are incorrect. Even as a child, I always had the attitude ‘It could happen to me.’ which is why I always washed hands, wore seat-belts, made gunpowder wet, wore gloves, ear and eye protection when mowing the lawn, used the paper towel to open restroom doors, figured to lie down on a railraod trestle should we get caught on it by a train, etc.