4.8is Top Speed!!!
 

Guys i was on a business trip yesturday, and i was coming back at 1 a.m.
i was driving about 140km/h and i'am not in the United States at the moment, i'am in republic of georgia, and we have 2 lane highway here.

I saw that a car was catching up to me and flushing the lights to pass me, and here we go, the more i pushed the more he was on my tale, and when i got up to about 200 km/h i started to gather distance, and then i wanted to know what car it was and let him pass me, it was e55.

And then we started racing, meaning i was on his tale and he was trying to loose, me, and before we entered the capital city, there is about 50km autobahn, and as soon as we both stepped in to the autobahn form a two lane road, both of us floored it, and to my surprise he was doing amazing, and i felt that final kick when my car went in to a sixth gear, and i started to pass him, and when i passed him i looked at my speedo, and i was shocked to see 270km/h.
I was amazed that my SUV was actually asking for more, and i could tell it was gathering more pace, as soon as i saw that i started to slow down.

and i let him pass me.

I'am so excited as i write this, that i'am going throught same emotions as i was going through last night.

anyways sorry for such a long post, i just thought you guys wanted to know.

270? wow. it is a lot for SUV. i got 140 miles max on my X5 3.0i here in US,as afraid to be stopped by police

The last time I was doing 167mph, it was in a Ferarri Testarosa. It was the fastest I'd ever been in car. The road looked like a total blur! I never would have thought the 4.8is could go that fast! WOW!

I'm assuming US spec cars are limited to 155mph right?

thats about 167.8 mph i doubt it speedo is probably a bit out at those speeds ;-)

Top speed on a 4.8 is "limited" to 155mph on US spec. So no matter what the speedo says on yee ol' American model, it stopped at 155mph.

Nothing a little "tune" can fix. I am also under the impression the 4.8 may have that removed. I have no place here to test it... but we will see. Side note: I have a little VW golf that is capable of 180mph... no really GPS verified

270 km/h!!! :wow:

well i understand the different replies i'am getting but, i'am shocked about one fact.

When i was going really fast, meaning over 220 km/h i felt one more kick and felt how car went in to sixth gear, and from then one it wen even faster, and when i glanced at speedo, and saw 270, it was actually gaining speed, someone mentioned here, that no matter what speedo sayd it stopped at 155 mp/h, but i felt how it was gaining speed.

My car is U.S. version 2005 model.

Perhaps a previous owner had a software upgrade to remove the governor...

:iagree: .

:soapbox: "REMEMBER FOLKS...SPEED Doesn't Kill........ITS the Sudden STOP!"

Please be safe...nothing withing consumers reach survives at that speed.....Knowing you have the ability to go that fast doesn't mean you have to....(standing down now!).

Should have had a heart rate monitor attached to you at that speed.....i am sure that was off the charts as well....

On the autobahn, our E46M3 reached 169 mph indicated even though it had a 155mph limiter (have it on video, btw). There we several of us on the same trip that pegged the limiter at 169mph. BTW: an E46M3 is good for 160 mph in 5th gear, then a shift to 6th.

I wouldn't be surprised if the 4.8iS limiter was a bit 'relaxed' too. Software upgrade would certainly remove it so that is also a possibility, as previously mentioned.

My concern would be over the tires on your X5 and whether or not they carry the speed rating for that. Oh, at night you probably were overdriving your headlights too...but you knew that.

4.8 tires are Y rated

Tire speed rating info:

M 81 mph 130 km/h
N 87 mph 140km/h
P 93 mph 150 km/h
Q 99 mph 160 km/h
R 106 mph 170 km/h
S 112 mph 180 km/h
T 118 mph 190 km/h
U 124 mph 200 km/h
H 130 mph 210 km/h
V 149 mph 240 km/h


When Z-speed rated tires were first introduced, they were thought to reflect the highest tire speed rating that would ever be required, in excess of 240 km/h or 149 mph. While Z-speed rated tires are capable of speeds in excess of 149 mph, how far above 149 mph was not identified. That ultimately caused the automotive industry to add W- and Y-speed ratings to identify the tires that meet the needs of new vehicles that have extremely high top-speed capabilities.

W 168 mph 270 km/h
Y 186 mph 300 km/h

We're talking about pushing a heavy vehicle with a relatively large Cd to 167mph with 350hp???? c'monnnnnnn

I'm not calling the OP a liar---he may have seen it on his speedometer, but there's no way it was accurate with anything short of some serious mods under the hood.

Well, standard 4.8 is electronically limited to 153 so ....

The other interesting thing is he mentioned it seemed to have more headroom. I would think he would hit the limiter eventually but where is that? 175mph on the speedo?! Could the speeod be that far off? I can't remember what the speedo goes up to on mine. Is it 180mph?

You should've taken a pic, it's the ultimate proof.

:bsflag:

not sure if you guys checked, but the speed rating on the Diamaris is W, not Y. I was just detailing the car I noticed.

The E39 M5 can hit 192mph with 400hp so yeah, you can prob do 165mph with 350hp.

My Hankook new tires are Y rated ... Hankook Ventus S1 Evo

I've had my 4.6is to an indicated 137mph and it wasn't even trying I could have easily done 150, which is what I've read the 4.6is is limited to.

The horsepower will get u there with power but the transmission gear ratio will tell u your top speed.

My previous X5 was a 2002 4.4i. I still have the factory window sticker. This X5 had the Sport Package, within the list of items included in this package is "unlimited top speed". I know it doesn't mean it would go 300 MPH, but I assumed it meant there was no "limiter".

Ideas? Facts?

There was a BMW press release that said something about Sport Package had the de-limiter option. Not sure if it was unlimited or just given a higher limit. It WAS on the Homepage but since its been re-organized it looks like we lost some valuable info. Not sure why we couldn't keep them but it may be because it was inaccurate in the first place. :dunno:

See this post and associated thread:
http://www.xoutpost.com/582938-post58.html

it's supposed to be limited to 153, but I can verify that I've had >160 indicated and it was still going

Not exactly apples to apples----the e39 is an entirely different animal.....lower weight, lower Cd, no driveline loss due to AWD, etc. The fact that an M5 can hit "192" (which no unmodified e39 that I've ever seen/driven/heard of can---typically quoted more like low 180's) has nothing to do with whether an X5 can hit 167. Do you have any idea how much power would be required to bridge that delta (for any vehicle) between 167 and 192? Using that same logic I could say that there's no way the X5 could do it because a much lighter/more aero e46 M3 tops out in the upper 160's with only 17 hp less than the 4.8.

Also, for the poster that said it was gearing.....maybe if we were talking about a 500-600 hp engine, sure, but when you get in the 150-200 mph range in a vehicle in the hp range we're talking about, in the battle against wind resistance you're going to run out of motor a lot faster than you're going to run out of gearing 90% of the time.

The effect that drag has on required power/gearing in the quest to reach a certain speed increases exponentially with speed....in other words, it takes a hecukuva lot more power for an X5 to go from 150 to 160 then it does to go from 80 to 90....it's simply a heavy vehicle pushing a lot of air out of the way. I realize that we love the vehicles we drive on here, but the laws of physics still apply.

I've had my 4.6 up to about 140-ish....I'm only down about 10 hp on a 4.8, with slightly less weight (hey, no panorama roof counts for something :D) , and I can guarantee you that my truck did not have gobs of speed left in reserve at that speed, much less going "167 and having plenty of headroom left". It takes a looooong time just for one of these vehicles to get from 145 up to the 155 limiter.

If someone has some proof that a stock 4.8 can touch just south of 170, I would absolutely love to eat my words---seriously.

JTis, your 4.6 also has a 5spd tranny, gearing counts for a lot

The delimiter seemed to be not there in my X or gone when I had the DME replaced as I had tried after the DME was replaced on my 4.8is.

jigaro, next time make sure you have helmet and other racing gear....and have your co-pilot take pic of speedo.

The problem is that in the 4.8is, 6th gear is a serious reduction gear, designed for fuel economy....where it helps is by allowing the gear ratios to be more closely spaced in 1-4 to aid performance in lower speed driving. If anything, in a stock, unmodified 4.8is, you're going to have just as good a shot at hitting top speed in 5th as you are in 6th....drag is going to ultimately slow you down before gearing does....my 4.6 doesn't have 1500+ rpm left until redline at 145 because it needs gearing, it's because the engine is running out of ability to overcome aerodynamic drag at that speed

I'm not trying to be confrontational, I just view the possibility of a stock 4.6 or 4.8 breaking much above 160 as slim to none.....again, I'd love to be proven wrong.

I don't think you ever go into 6th gear - you do it in 5th, and 6th is not a serious gas mileage gear it's like a 300 RPM difference from 5th to 6

That is basically the point I was trying to make----top speed is going to happen in 5th just as likely as it is in 6th in a 4.8is, so the addition of 6th gear is not going to be some massive advantage in a 4.8 vs a 4.6. 5th gear ratios and final drive ratios are identical in 4.6 vs 4.8. Again--the point is not pegging 4.6 vs 4.8---just using it as a frame of reference.

but the gearing is different, 5th is longer in the 4.6 than in the 4.8 b/c you don't have a 6th gear, which means you are at a RPM that makes more power in 5th at those speeds in the 4.8 versus the 4.6

No, in both a 4.6 and a 4.8, the 5th gear ratio is .08:1, and the final drive is 3.91:1.....absolutely identical gearing when in 5th.

In the 4.8, 6th is 0.69:1, but as you and I both mentioned, that much reduction is going to be a liability rather than an asset in trying to reach top speed with 350 hp.

Bottom line is, both trucks are going to make top speed in 5th, and 5th is identical---is 10 hp going to be good for another 10 mph (to get to the speeds the OP is talking about doing)? I say no, but I've certainly been wrong before.

interesting, I thought the final drives were different, but obviously not...anyways, I know that at an indicated 160 it still felt like there was room to go

I understand----it's not a big deal at all to me either way....just enjoying the discussion. Keep in mind that most BMW's seem to show 5-10 mph of generous error at high speeds when compared to GPS/radar measured speeds, so that could explain what you felt.

also, where'd you hit an indicated 160---somewhere between N. FL and DC? Sounds like a road I need to visit! :D

Scan from my old window sticker. Hope this wasn't too large for this venue, tell me if it is. Look in bottom left corner.

http://i43.tinypic.com/2rpee5j.png

Now thats what I'm talking about! LOL. Unlimited TOP SPEED!

I did that on I-75 northbound heading back from Tampa...3 or 4 lanes perfectly flat and straight and minimal traffic, it was just begging to be opened up :)

Guys i understand all your posts, but it does not change anything really, my X went so fast to 270 and so easly that i could not believe my eyes when i looked at speedo.

When you are coming back from a trip and the thing happens spontaniously and you are going 270 i doubt you will think of taking a pick, especially reaching in your pocket taking your Nokia Arte out of the cover, turning camera on and then taking a pick for X5world guys to see, now that would be a suicide i assure you:rofl:

Anyways, eventhough my car has alpina badges all over the place i doubt it has anything to do with it, but if you guys want to find out if your car can do this, for those of you who have 4.8 try it.

I am sure most users here dont know what a Nokia Arte is :) :)

YouTube - x5 4.8is
YouTube - x5 4.8

i guess its not impossible ..... and also his DME probably is upgraded for a few more bhp's

270 not miles, European car for sure,so 270km , about 160-170mph

HA! That 2nd one has the dreaded self leveling suspension inactive message!

He also has a bunch of other things on DTC 4X4 lol

not calling the OP a liar or anything but e55'S ARE VERY FAST CARS. It rivals the M5, he had said he pulled away from him at the end.... i hghly doubt the E55 was really giving.... The E55 would of left any X5 in the dust.

:rofl: I was going to say that too

The E55 Driver probably was thinking - that dude is nuts - it's not worth dying or going to jail over!! :D

lol by the way I just saw in the X5 brochure top speed rated for the 4.4i is 240km/h and the 4.8is is 248km/h