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In Reply to: Same story posted by Bob on January 27, 2002 at 22:55:15:
I was going to add in finishing that for a 15 year old car of modest beginnings ($37.5K new price), the car is a blast to drive as long as one respects its limits and looks at it as a fun Ford Cortina GT, a fast Opel GT, or a highly modified Datsun 510 of yesteryear.
What it isn't is a wide-open balls-to-the-walls GT car. One should remember that it was built to be a peppy 4 door transportation device that was fun to drive, or the hot rodder's 528e.
I don't believe that it was ever meant to fill the roll that a lot of owners actually expect of it just because of its BMW badge.
In reality, it is a lot better high speed car than the widely acclaimed e30 M3. I have lots of hours behind the wheel of that car, and it was darty, noisy, and a handful at any real speed in standard form. The e28 "i/is" is also the equal (with enough HP) of the e28 M5.
It just isn't the highway Autobahn burner that the longer wheelbase e23/e32/e38 is when equipped with a decent suspension upgrade. Even my former e23 B9 Alpina (265hp)and my present 5spd e32 735i (with dead stock suspension) were much safer (stable and controllable) at century-plus numbers.
On the other hand, it is MUCH more stable and safe at speed than a certain 1985 Z-51 C4 Corvette I once had, where a sneeze would put you in the weeds before you could say "thank you madam." That was a case of too much horsepower and WAY too fast steering ratio (Just WHAT were those guys thinking?).
I would also mention that I do NOT condone those kinds of speeds on a public highway, ANY public highway.
Even 100mph (147 feet per second) with the best car could get you or some innocent family or pet killed when either unexpectidly and quite properly wandered onto the road from a driveway or side road. NO US public roads are designed with clear line-of-sight vision to make such speeds safe, nor are US drivers accoustomed to judging closure rates at those speeds. 120mph is 176 feet per second, and given standard reaction times plus even decent brakes, stopping distances are insanely long.
Even on a closed road course with minimal safety equipment (a helmet and a 5 point restraint), 100mph is potentially deadly if a suspension part or a tire fails. Run your head into the closest wall in your house at walking speed, then imagine the same collision 35 times harder and you get the idea!
There are lots of clubs where one can drive his car at these speeds on laid-out 2 lane simulated road courses where at least you are only risking your own ass, and not that of others who didn't chose to assume the risk.
If anyone wants to undertake a research program to MAKE a comfortabley streetable (no kidney busting suspensions with 3" ground clearance and track tires) e28 a comfortable high speed machine, please post before I decide to sell mine, as I would probably end up regretting the sale (like I regret too many former sales of cars). Perhaps a speed sensitive steering box (ala Servotronic as in the e32/38) and a tad more caster?
Before I get too badly flamed, the car is still a fun car within its safe performance envelope, and actually more "fun" to drive at realistic speeds than the other high speed transport vehicles I offered.
Just don't get too far out of the envelope powered by horsepower, bravado, and adenaline. The results may not be reversible or survivable.
Bob
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