You of course want everything in perfect working order but just an FYI you have plenty of shut down area at the TM for the Jag.
I have been in the 200mph club many times and didn't ever have any stopping concerns.

 

Ya I am going through everything. I have seen the vids of people flipping and I don't want to be on youtube.

 

Are there any stats on how many people have been badly hurt or killed at this event? You're driving a passenger car with almost zero safety equipment on it. If it rolls or flips you're probably dead. Have you thought about having a shop that checks out race cars professionally give your car a once over? I probably would cost you $200 bucks or so and if it's a good shop with lots of experience they will find all your weak points like loose or worn suspension, wheel bearings, drive shaft, fluid leaks etc. When I first got my race car I had them go over every nut an bolt to check it for proper specified torque settings. It wasn't brand new or even a fresh rebuild when I got it but is was low use with a lot of sitting. That's probably over doing a bit for your situation unless the car has a lot of road miles on it.

How many miles are on the car. Where did it live? What's the service history?
Stuff to think about. A good shop can help you with that sort of an assessment. It might not be just a AAA call if something breaks. Think about how you'd get it towed back home if you really bust something. I've seen a few guys fumbling around trying to figure that out once they've broken down at the track 300 miles or more from home. That being said I've rolled the dice too. I've had break downs in the middle of Nevada. I had to replace CV boots a couple of times along side of a road in the desert.

It's always up to you to decide how important it is to still be around after the event is over.

 

Not to go to far off topic but since this is a subject where I have some experience just a word of caution you may very well already be aware of. I am not sure what type of racing you do or at what level but the car should be checked after every event and during the event as well. My main experience is in drag racing though I have worked with Petite Le mans and GT3 Cup cars. The pro mod drag cars I ran require a lot of work after just one 5sec pass. It is the extreme but I have had the rear end bolts holding the quick change rear together be only finger tight after just one pass, Found cracks in suspension components with only a few passes, found blown head gaskets that would not have survived the burnout box but were not leaking a drop etc... Always check check and recheck anything you plan on pushing to the limit. A novice with a wrench and good eyes can catch 99% of problems beforehand. Just a word of advice.

No one has been killed at Texas and to my knowledge other then a few spin outs and flips that probably likely scared someone to death I don't think there have been any serious injury's? Its a huge strip with lots of run off. You only real cause for pause is in let off and compression braking which can upset the car.

There are safety inspections and There are classes with different speeds. As the speed increases so do the safety rules. Up to 190 is pretty open for hardtop cars with simple safety restrictions after 190 it goes up considerably as the MPH goes up. The rules can be found here http://www.texasmile.net/pdf/Texas_M....3_Edition.pdf

A car with good well rated tires properly inflated, factory safety equipment and that required for your class, A good once over of suspension and break components, a good inspection of cooling system and you should be ok at the speeds the JAG will hit. Dependent on the weather I will venture a guess if its modded in time and no head wind of about 157-159 IMO.

 

Not sure who you're giving the advice to but I'll remember to have those mechanics run along the side of the car during the event and check for loose bolts ... I see them doing that all the time in the Rolex, Petit Lemans, and F1. Tons of time in the pits for that too.

 

I could not possible be talking about between practice sessions, testing and races and yes during the event in drag. Funny all the GT3 teams I know tear the car down to the chassis between races?

 

Yes but they just keep the thing running on the track during an event unless they're forced to bring into the garage. For a drag car (which I'm not at all familiar with) I understand about between runs. There's no such thing in sports car racing. Besides, let's get real here. People who do these amateur type events don't have the same sort or resources as a pro race team. I wasn't suggesting that he do anything like that but you somehow introduced that into the discussion. I've just seen some unfortunate unprepared amateurs suffer because they didn't do a reasonable amount of safety preparation. I didn't suggest anything else.

I don't know how many miles he has on his car but one conversation involved a 90K mile car with a rear suspension that's worn and a bit wobbly. I wouldn't be comfortable taking that one on such a run to top speed. That's why I suggested he have a pro shop go over the car (with him there would be the best) so that he's safe and comfortable with his decision. Remember, it's supposed to fun right?

 

I wrote in in a confusing manner merging two thoughts in one post, sorry. I tend to do that so bear with me LOL.

I quoted you and meant to say that for your race car (as you may already know) keep checking on it. On race cars that are bounced around and pushed things can loosen up and fatigue really quick. I lost a good friend over a small part that failed in qualifying wasn't checked and killed him the next run. I know some smaller scale racers that go over a car once a year, just some friendly advice to keep an eye out before and after every event because even new parts can fail in one run or session.

The other info was for the OP and some tips. I agree with a good inspection but as I said going over the car before and between runs with a wrench and keen eye would be good insurance. Most likely he is driving it there and a lot could happen between his inspection and the event, maybe a pothole and cracked wheel.
A vett that wiped out recently lost a wheel, it may have cracked on the run and maybe not we will never know now. I know if I was him and didn't pull them off and inspect I would have felt responsible. Your 100% correct amateurs can not try to mantain street cars like pro teams and there is no need in that. I am just recommending employing some visual safety procedures that don't cost a dime except your time and just may catch something before it happens while at the event.

As for the TM almost all the issues are in the shutdown area. People snapping the throttle off, breaking to aggressively or not knowing how a chute will affect the car or how to drive into the cute. Almost all happen to cars in the 230+ class as well.

Sorry for any confusion in my hacky posting style.

Jim

 

To complement safety aspects; a while back I wanted to organize a trip with xkr enthusiasts to an large oval test track (many miles long) in Germany where we could find our limits in speed. I found a really nice one in Germany, and considering the unlimited top speed on their highways it could already be a nice trip in itself to the track. But their restrictions where that (besides you needed a certain race license) that the tires to be used should have undergo a special inspection (kind of x-ray) to ensure they are in perfect shape (or use new ones), so obviously you couldn’t drive on their track with road tires as just on the way to the track you could have maybe damaged them slightly.
So that killed that idea, so funny enough you were able to drive on the public road to the track at 190 mph or higher, but due to safety couldn’t use your road tires to drive on their track to test if you could reach 190mhp.
The danger of potential tires issues at very high speeds where not new to me obviously, and am usually very careful when I am in Germany and only drive 170mph+ when there are enough lanes with low traffic (only short burst), but after I learned more when organizing the trip I am not going to even try 190mph anymore. The power is there on my car and also the urge to do it, but there is a family waiting at home.

 

I think you will be fine, i've held my old '05 R floored on the oval track me and a bunch of people rented for MILES AND MILES...at 155mph. The computer kept slowing the car down, and I wouldn't lift my foot at all. The temp gauge moved up a little bit, I believe to the 3/4 mark after 10 min of that, so I wouldn't do it too long. From what others that race often have told me, that was very hard on the car. I'm glad it was a lease

 

Bone stock 155mph... I tried for a while but it doesn't go any higher... Since I've ported the SC and Headers, installed the 3# pulley, got a K&N Cone filter in there and planning to replace the stock cats for high flow ones.. But the real restriction is in the ECU.

 

Jag say it's limited to 155. Tuers can remove it.

 

You can watch a Brit on YouTube take his STR over 160 mph on an airstrip. The speedo is pegged and she's still gaining speed.

 

Michael Star, you are now the hero who is going to scotch once and for all the rumor that Jaguars are "old man's cars". We'll all be rootin' for you!
Leedsman.

 

How do you know it's over 160? The speedo over-reads quite a bit.......

 

Jagv8, I believe he had a GPS to monitor speed too. Check out the vid.

 

Not sure I trust a GPS to monitor speed since my friend's little sister swore that her pt cruiser hit 160 (based on her gps). Unless it was set in Km I don't see that hefty tank hitting 110

 

So did he have a tune that removes the 155 limit?

Er.... the limit MAY only apply to the NAS (USA/Cdn) market LOL

 

I always thought the 155 limit was an understanding that all Euro car companies had on their luxury or normal cars so that they would be the same for consumers that would want fast cars on the autobahn. I may be wrong but I thought thats why every Euro car seems to have the 155 as the magic number.

This is from Wikipedia so take it with a grain of salt but this is what I always understood as why the 155 was the limiter:

"Today, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz limit their production cars to 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph). Certain quattro GmbH and AMG cars, and the Mercedes/McLaren SLR are exceptions. The Rolls-Royces are limited to 240 kilometres per hour (149 mph). Jaguars, although British, also have a limiter as do some Volvo cars.[citation needed]
German manufacturers initially started the "gentlemen's agreement", electronically limiting their vehicles to a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph), since such high speeds are more likely on the Autobahn.[citation needed]
In European markets, General Motors Europe sometimes allow certain high-powered Opel or Vauxhall cars can exceed the 250 kilometres per hour (155 mph) mark, whereas their Cadillacs do not.[citation needed] The Chrysler 300C SRT8 is limited to 270 km/h.[citation needed] Most Japanese domestic market vehicles are limited to only 180 kilometres per hour (112 mph) or 190 kilometres per hour (118 mph).[5]
BMW and Mercedes will 'unhook' their speed limited cars in Europe and Mercedes will provide some vehicles in the USA without limiters for an additional price.[6] There are also third-party companies who will re-flash vehicle computers with new software which will remove the speed limits and improve overall performance."

 

Check the YouTube vid. It likely aged enough to where the author has abandoned it?