2018 Sport top speed?

[my2015p71]

I was trying to reach the top speed in a 2018 Explorer Sport, but the vehicle would not allow me to pass 121mph? Does anyone know if the sport has a limiter on it?

 

[1995E]

That sounds about right. The police Explorers are limited to 133MPH.

 

[my2015p71]

I see videos on youtube where the sport is a 140mph.

 

[1995E]

I see videos on youtube where the sport is a 140mph.

That’s probably with the speed limiter disabled.

 

[my2015p71]

How do I disable it? And why is it limited anyway?

 

[peterk9]

How do I disable it? And why is it limited anyway?

To prevent your 'A' pillars from flying off and more importantly, to prevent people from going over 120mph. Also the factory tire is speed rated at 130mph.
Maximum Speed / Speed Limiter

Peter

 

[Mbrooks420]

Peter is correct. The biggest reason is the tires not being rated higher. If you need to go faster than 121mph, get a better equipped car.

 

[NEWPORTNJ]

If you need to go faster the 121mph, I recommend a JET...LOL...!

 

[1995E]

Also, the mechanical reason is because halfshafts will break beyond 133MPH.

 

[Mbrooks420]

133 sounds like way too specific a speed. Lol.

 

[Sgt1411]

Also, the mechanical reason is because halfshafts will break beyond 133MPH.

I remember the engineers explaining top speed limiting of the PIU and PIS and they said the same thing that it's limited by the drive shafts.

They wanted to know how important it was to challenge the Chevrolet Caprice at 150MPH, the overwhelming message back to the engineers was 130MPH is already too fast, forget trying to match the Caprice.

 

[blwnsmoke]

I remember the engineers explaining top speed limiting of the PIU and PIS and they said the same thing that it's limited by the drive shafts.

They wanted to know how important it was to challenge the Chevrolet Caprice at 150MPH, the overwhelming message back to the engineers was 130MPH is already too fast, forget trying to match the Caprice.

What's a caprice? Lol

 

[thefranchise713]

They wanted to know how important it was to challenge the Chevrolet Caprice at 150MPH, the overwhelming message back to the engineers was 130MPH is already too fast, forget trying to match the Caprice.

Police Officers: We need a car to catch the bad guys.
Police Chiefs: You do, but our pursuit policy... if you're doing 90, you're breaking that off.
Mayor: If you're getting to 90 in the first place, it sounds like a liability issue waiting to happen.
John Q. Public: That cop was going 61 miles an hour in a 60, he's reckless, pull his (her) badge! Every cop should be in a Prius because green!

So yeah, sounds about right.

 

[my2015p71]

To prevent your 'A' pillars from flying off and more importantly, to prevent people from going over 120mph. Also the factory tire is speed rated at 130mph.
Maximum Speed / Speed Limiter

Peter

The Explorer Sport tires are only rated at 120 mph? Speeds over that will damage the vehicle? How are the Police Explorers able to reach 130 mph than?

 

[my2015p71]

152 mph explorer sport

 

[reserved50]

Not impressed till anyone hits at least 160mph, anything below 140 doesn't leave a big enough debris field if you lose control to make a statement. Some of the old Crown Vics were reprogrammed without any prior consent to a lower top speed when in for service because Ford realized the 1 piece driveshaft exploded above a certain mph . I think they had the optional 3:55 gears

 

[Centaurus5.0]

The issue is the shafts Critical Speed and that changes based on length of shaft, diameter of shaft, quality of the balancing,and the material used for it's construction. You then calculate the top (safest) speed based on the tire size and gear ratio (tire rating aside). For example, here is chart showing the changes in critical speed comparing a normal P71 aluminum driveshaft to a 1999-2000 mmc aluminum shaft that was specifically for p71's with 3.55 gears (shortest gear you could order from the factory). The shafts were expensive to make (and so discontinued) and it was just easier to limit the speed.

maximum Critical Speed (16 inch wheels) - Ford internal data.
--------------------------------------
CVPI Amuminum Driveshaft 4.10 = 116mph
CVPI Amuminum Driveshaft 3.55 = 132mph
CVPI Amuminum Driveshaft 3.27 = 145mph
CVPI Amuminum Driveshaft 3.08 = 154mph
CVPI Metal/Matrix Driveshaft 4.10 = 133mph
CVPI Metal/Matrix Driveshaft 3.55 = 154mph
CVPI Metal/Matrix Driveshaft 3.27 = 167mph
CVPI Metal/Matrix Driveshaft 3.08 = 177mph

A steel oem civilian shaft would have lower critical speeds than aluminum and a carbon fiber shaft has even better harmonic damping characteristics than the mmc.

::edit::

Just watched the 152mph video.. One hand on the steering wheel on a public highway while passing other cars in a vehicle with parts that are not design to handle the speed and then challenge others to do the same?? It's a tragedy waiting to happen. You know hes going to practice beating that speed also.. hopefully he doesn't hit another vehicle and destroy someones family if and when a weak link present's itself at those speeds.

If the oem tires are known to wear out at 15,000 miles with normal daily driving, how long could they possibly last when seeing speeds of +120mph??

 

[ExPlat]

Impressive speed for a brick shaped vehicle.
I'm trying to imagine what the temperature of the 17.9 fl oz of fluid in the PTU might be during a speed run like that.
An PTU oil analysis after that would be fun to see.

 

[1995E]

The Explorer Sport tires are only rated at 120 mph? Speeds over that will damage the vehicle? How are the Police Explorers able to reach 130 mph than?

I don’t think that’s the correct logic you should be thinking... Manufacturers put different tires for different reasons such as rim size and cost. For Ford, they put a 120MPH tire because it’s probably all they need for strength, payload, and fuel economy. They will limit the speed to the rating of the tire for both convenience and to reduce the chance of damage to other components in the car for warranty reasons.

If you go 130MPH on a 120MPH rated tire, it might overheat or cause tread seperation on the tire and you would have an exploding tire.

 

[Mbrooks420]

The Explorer Sport tires are only rated at 120 mph? Speeds over that will damage the vehicle? How are the Police Explorers able to reach 130 mph than?

Different tires. The Explorer is not a sports car. It’s a light duty built SUV that isn’t known for stellar reliability in the first place. Going 120mph is enough of a liability/load for them to see, they have no interest in letting you push 150 and shorten the lifespan of its components into the warranty period. Plus, it’d cost them millions a year in premium performance tires. All so what? You can brag about how fast your off the lot car will go?