BIGBULS Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 So I was driving an 05 Buick Lacrosse the other day with the usual 3800 Series III/4T65-E combo (with a 2.86 FDR !!! ), and gave it a quick run up to the top speed governor (109mph indicated, I didn't have my GPS, but I'm sure that's within 1-2mph of actual). Anyway, I noticed an oddity: it has a "soft" governor. It just pulls to 109 (only 4400rpm in 3rd, so there was plenty left), and instead of cutting down, it just........stops. Now, I've run into this before, but rarely.........on GM's, only twice before; 1 was a 95 Bonneville with a 3800 Series II and a 4T65-E (108mph), the other was the 4th gear governor on an 02 Grand Am GT (119mph). All other GM's (and *most* other cars) I've ran to the governor are "hard" governors that cut off the fuel abruptly and slow you down, before "kicking back in". This includes the Grand Am GT I mentioned earlier............that thing had a "hard" governor at 127mph if 3rd gear was held manually (at 5800rpm), but if put in "D", would shift 3-4 at 5400rpm (118mph), acclerate to 119 and just.........stop......... So..........what I was wondering is: 1) Who has run into a soft governor before? 2) What speed was it at (and what car/model/engine/year etc)? 3) Did you notice any odd behavior (such as the Grand Am that I mentioned)? Just thought I'd share this and see who else has experienced weirdo computer interference........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegasm Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 I had a late model Ford Focus for a rental car once, (the previous gen to the current one). And I think it did what you described when I had it up to 100. () It just kind of stayed there with the pedal mashed to the floor, although it's entirely possible that it reached the limits of that four-banger as well. The GTO supposedly has a governor at 163mph, I've yet to have the balls to confirm that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted November 12, 2008 Report Share Posted November 12, 2008 My 95 Regal stops accelerating at 109mph. It goes up that high, then just keeps it at that level, and no higher. It doesn't cut off the fuel or slow down, just doesn't go any faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadz34 Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 My 95 Regal stops accelerating at 109mph. It goes up that high, then just keeps it at that level, and no higher. It doesn't cut off the fuel or slow down, just doesn't go any faster. My 96' LQ1 Lumina will pull at least 118mph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 My Ciera abruptly stopped at 111 ish. Which made it faster than my moms MC which stopped at 109 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cam'ron Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 My 03 Monte Carlo with the 3400 ran into a wall at 185KM/h The power was cut so abruptly at that point i thought something broke haha. The 04 is a different beast, PCM tune and the extra goodies this bitch was pulling very hard at 220+ KM/h (speedo was wrapped and hitting the trip reset, not sure how fast i was going) on the way out to the lake one day this summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to eaton Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 97 gtp pulls to 126 and just stops pulling. But if i put it down into 3 it hits a wall at 110 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian P Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 I'd like to think soft governors will be the norm now with the usage of the electronic throttle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 my l67/4t65hd w/light mods went 138 redline in 3rd 152 @ 4400 in 4th then ran outta steam. damn did it take a long time to get there past 140 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbtk2 Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 I'd like to think soft governors will be the norm now with the usage of the electronic throttle? Yea its very easy to do with the drive by wire, so they just back off the throttle. However, some non drive by wire stuff does pull a bunch of timing to act as a governor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBULS Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 My friend's electronic throttle '06 350Z has a soft governor.........156mph with stock tires. I DO have to admit the Lacrosse is the NEWEST car (outside of the Z) that I've taken to the governor, but I have hit top speed cuts of various kinds in DOZENS of cars, and the vast majority were "Hard" cuts. For instance: 00 Grand Prix GTP, 128mph hard cut in "D", 110mph hard cut in "3". 91 Grand Prix LQ1 5 speed, 124-127mph (depends which tires I had on it) hard cut (6600rpm in 4th, 4300rpm in 5th). 99 Dodge Neon R/T, 125-127mph hard cut (again, depends which tires were on it.......it was DONE at that point anyway). 97 Grand Prix GT's (2 of them), 107-108mph hard cut in "D" and "3". 96 Beretta Base, 107mph hard cut in "D" or "OD". 99 Grand Prix GT, 108mph hard cut in "D". 95 Beretta Z26, 111mph hard cut in "D" and "OD". 97 Olds Cultlass, 107mph hard cut in "D" or "3". 00 Grand Am GT, 127mph hard cut in "3" or "D" (note that this is DIFFERENT than the 02 mentioned above). 96 Grand Am SE, 106mph hard cut in "D" and "3". 97 Ford Escort ZX2, 107mph intermediate cut (it wasn't a full on "CUT", but it cut on/off) in 4th or 5th gear. 98 Honda Accord EX, 130mph hard cut in 5th gear (could only hit it down hill). 94 Ford Crown Vic P71, 136mph hard cut (also only down hill). 99 Ford Crown Vic P71, 127mph hard cut. 04 Dodge Stratus 2.4L, 115mph hard cut. 99 Dodge Stratus ES, 109mph hard cut. 04 Dodge Intrepid ES 2.7L, 114mph hard cut. Etc Etc Etc The list goes on (and ON). Like I said, I was just curious as to exactly which cars (namely of the newer W's) had soft fuel cuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 i fucking hate drive by wire with a burning passion. my l67 was no gov obviously - btw Also my other cars i've topped: 1991 grand prix LE 3.1/auto 114 4th topped out 1996 saturn sw2 1.9 dohc/5spd 109 hard cut 5th 1996 jetta 2.0 8v/5spd cant remember what happened but i know ive had it a little over 110 2000 cherokee 4dr/4.0/auto topped out 105 4th 2000 sable 3.0 dohc duratec/auto 109 hard cut 4th 2000 protege 1.8/5spd 109 hard cut 5th Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pontiacmaniac94 Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 my 1994 GP SE is hit or miss on the whole governor thingy. The first time i took up, i was able to hit 115, and then I kinda ran outta speedo, so i let off. but a couple of months ago, I ran it to 109, and it just kinda slowed down to 104, and then climbed back up to 109, then dropped back down. it was real soft, i barely noticed it the first time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 i've only taken one car close to 120mph. but hey that was 9 years ago and it waws a 75 buick electra with a 455 and 400thm. and never since. WAY too fast. I did however force someone to hit their speed governor while pulling away from them. Rudefyet's Sonoma was governed at 90 and fell flat on it's face... so I did about 92 mph in the 94 sedan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake91 Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 fastest ive ever drivin was around 90 going down hill in my geo metro :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BXX Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 fastest ive ever drivin was around 90 going down hill in my geo metro :lol: 153mph in my 84 T/A with the T-tops off :eek: I had to determine the speed based off the rpm and gearing later that night.. Man, I miss banging through teh 5-speed in my T/A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeP2389 Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 no governor here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AL Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 hit 109 in my 99 GP SE 3100... I got pissed that it stopped so I hit the cruise control and hit res so it would pick up speed and it pushed it to 112 and did a hard cut so i cruised at 109 for a while. Open Highway with no traffic FTW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBULS Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 i fucking hate drive by wire with a burning passion. my l67 was no gov obviously - btw Also my other cars i've topped: 1991 grand prix LE 3.1/auto 114 4th topped out 1996 saturn sw2 1.9 dohc/5spd 109 hard cut 5th 1996 jetta 2.0 8v/5spd cant remember what happened but i know ive had it a little over 110 2000 cherokee 4dr/4.0/auto topped out 105 4th 2000 sable 3.0 dohc duratec/auto 109 hard cut 4th 2000 protege 1.8/5spd 109 hard cut 5th I have hit the governor in an 00 Taurus with the Duratec 3.0, and mine was a 111mph hard cut (4th gear.......trying to hold 3rd manually resulted in a lower cut at 101mph.........WELL before redline). I have also governed a pair of Saturn DOHC's; a 91 5 speed at 111mph (hard) and a 99 auto at 109mph (hard). And I have ALSO run a 00 Cherokee to it's 112mph hard cut (wrapped to 4900rpm in 3rd one time, shifted to 4th another, and pretty much DONE either way ). Did I mention I have a lead foot??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGBULS Posted November 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Rudefyet's Sonoma was governed at 90 and fell flat on it's face... Was/is that thing a 2.2??? I had a 2.2L to it's 93mph governor (and it BARELY got there), but all the V6's I've seen (but never DRIVEN) cut at 98-100mph (newer) or 110-112mph (older). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevegasm Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 I'm not too fond of drive by wire either. The GTO has it and it gets on my nerves sometimes. I've had the GTP to 130+, but it didn't have a governor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 Rudefyet's Sonoma was governed at 90 and fell flat on it's face... Was/is that thing a 2.2??? I had a 2.2L to it's 93mph governor (and it BARELY got there), but all the V6's I've seen (but never DRIVEN) cut at 98-100mph (newer) or 110-112mph (older). 4.3 5 speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted to eaton Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 the 4.3 in my 97 blazer shuts down at 98... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 2.2's SUCK. Half throttle or more just to keep 65-70 on flat surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 I have hit the governor in an 00 Taurus with the Duratec 3.0, and mine was a 111mph hard cut (4th gear.......trying to hold 3rd manually resulted in a lower cut at 101mph.........WELL before redline). I have also governed a pair of Saturn DOHC's; a 91 5 speed at 111mph (hard) and a 99 auto at 109mph (hard). And I have ALSO run a 00 Cherokee to it's 112mph hard cut (wrapped to 4900rpm in 3rd one time, shifted to 4th another, and pretty much DONE either way ). That sable was 109 religiously. I never tried 3rd tho. in ur defense my protege let me go 112 once. maybe sometimes the governors nod off?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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