Top speed of police cruisers?

[WakkoSS]

My 99 Vic has a big light bar on it and at 110 or 115 is governed. Considering the crap fuel they give us, if we're going against a good headwind I'll have to back off the throttle lower than that or it'll ping like a the dickens.

The guys with the '03 and '04 cars have low rise LED light bars...and they do 130 no problem. One guy told he got to 136, but I can't verify that.

Those speeds scare me and I won't do em (in whatever car). Something in the roadway, a strong gust of lateral wind or a bad tire can really ruin your day.

 

[victa1]

My brothers' friend is a NJ state trooper. But he was before the time of the fabled 9C1 Caprices. The late model Crown Vics, without a light bar, will do 125, then given enough road, will slowly go to 135-140.

As for the police LT1 Caprice, they will do anywhere from 132-142.
Mine is bone stock and has the 130 limiter, but got up there suprisingly quick.

The light bar is a HUGE aero handicap.

The last of the "boxy" Caprices with the 350 TBI engine would go from 115-122.

In my younger days I was lucky as my 440 New Yorker could leave the "boxy" Caprices, Crown Vics, and Diplomat/Gran Furys in the weeds. But the brick like NY would fade fast above 105 (top with 2.76 rear was about 135). The late model Crown Vics would gain ground on me fast.

 

[Drac0nic]

Originally posted by JC Turbo
We still have a 96 LT1 Caprice that is used for school, court or training. It has 165k on it and it still would whip the CVPI's ass!
http://www.zeusautomotive.com/main.htm

From what I've heard the cops really really miss the 9C1 caprices, supposedly they had good power for a boat car and were almost designed to be a cruiser. Then again, GM killed a lot of the good stuff. B-bodies, S-trucks, Astro vans, F-bodies etc. etc.

 

[WakkoSS]

Ah, but they couldn't handle for peanuts.

 

[turbov6joe]

And if you were not at least 6'10" you couldn't see out over the rear package deck!

 

[Tin Man]

When I was on patrol, I topped several 98-2001 CV's The fastest I ever got one was about 120 mph. It took forever and a day to get it there. They are slow all around, transmissions suck, and they dont handle at all. I miss the old 5.7 caprices. Those were good cars.

Zac

 

[JC Turbo]

Originally posted by WakkoSS
Ah, but they couldn't handle for peanuts.

The 9C1 has too much motor not enough brakes. The Fords are exact opposite. And your right they don't handle like the CVPI does.

 

[turbofish38]

I found this for the year 2002. I'm still tring to find 03 and 04. I was going to call BS on the 169 MPH Camaro but according to this it might be possible. http://www.nlectc.org/pdffiles/msp2002bulletin.pdf
It is still some intersting reading though.

 

[TurboJunky]

The Real World

We have 01-05 Crown Vic "Police Interceptors". They vary on top speed with the lowest at 111mph and the fastest at 133'ish. Personally, I haven't heard or seen anything above the 130 mark. They aren't governed and suspect the difference in top speed to several factors. Those being model year and treatment. Obviously the slick tops fair better than those with light bars but the wind noise is extreme. Stability is surprisingly good. I haven't timed the 0-60 performance would suspect they're in the 8-8.5 second range. They're not geared for that type of performance and instead top-end.

I'm assigned to a 2002 Chevy Impala and am very satisfied....but I'm in the minority. As equipped, it'll top out at a little over 110 mph though the Crown Vic will pull away from me slowly out of the hole. It has a 6-way articulating bucket seat and ROCKIN stereo whereas the Ford does not. The casette player allows me to directly input my XM Radio with supreme sound quality
.

In conclusion the small difference in top end doesn't offset what the Chevy offers.

My $.02....

 

[ThikStik]

Soo..the perfect cop car would be the lt-1 orca powertrain, in the new fwd impala , if oriented correctly that is.

 

[turbofish38]

Originally posted by ThikStik
Soo..the perfect cop car would be the lt-1 orca powertrain, in the new fwd impala , if oriented correctly that is.

Actually the perfect cop car would be an Impala set up like this car: http://www.fast-autos.net/pontiac/pontiacgrandprixgxp.html

The GP and Impala share the same platform so this would be a no-brainer if GM ever comes to their senses and wants the recognition it got during LT1 Caprice days.

At one time around 96 or 97 GM actually considered a 300HP version of the supercharged 3800 in the Lumina 9C1. This same engine was supposed to be available in the GP and Regal GS instead of the 240HP version they eventually got. Somewhere I have a copy from Automotive News I'll have to scan it so every one can read it and get a laugh.

 

[turbofish38]

Originally posted by ThikStik
Soo..the perfect cop car would be the lt-1 orca powertrain, in the new fwd impala , if oriented correctly that is.

Actually the perfect cop car would be an Impala set up like this car: http://www.fast-autos.net/pontiac/pontiacgrandprixgxp.html

The GP and Impala share the same platform so this would be a no-brainer if GM ever comes to their senses and wants the recognition it got during LT1 Caprice days.

At one time around 96 or 97 GM actually considered a 300HP version of the supercharged 3800 in the Lumina 9C1. This same engine was supposed to be available in the GP and Regal GS instead of the 240HP version they eventually got. Somewhere I have a copy from Automotive News I'll have to scan it so every one can read it and get a laugh.