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Increasing max speed/removing the governor

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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 11:18 AM
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Increasing max speed/removing the governor

Just curious if anyone has tried this or knows how to do it.....

This past weekend I wanted to find the top speed of my 8. So on a 20 mile straight away (yes, more than enough road than I needed) I figured I'd find out. I reached 131 mph in 5th gear ranging in the high 7000s of the rpm range. However, once I hit that speed, the governor kicked in and wouldn't let me go higher. I was a little P.O.'ed since I still had 6th gear to go through.

Does anyone know if there is a way to remove the governor and replace it with a different chip? Or is there possibly a way to change the settings so it is set to cut out at a higher speed or even not to cut out at all?

I am a rookie at all this, so please try and explain to me in simple form.

Thanks for all your help in this.

Phil
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 11:36 AM
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Max Speed is 147 but you could probably go a little more downhill.. more than enough for daily driving.
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 11:36 AM
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i had a 2004 yellow rx8 and i got it up to 155 and no governor kicked in
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 11:38 AM
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Originally Posted by Totaled_RX8
i had a 2004 yellow rx8 and i got it up to 155 and no governor kicked in
lol. How fast were you going when it was totalled?
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 11:40 AM
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According to what i hear the only thing govning us spec rx8 is the engines power.
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 12:42 PM
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Well I had my 8 on the dyno over 195mph. No limiter here.....
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 01:00 PM
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I can't recall exactly but didn't someone mention it was limited in 5th gear (mechanically or govenor) but not in 6th? Really, how fast do you need to go anyway...
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 01:02 PM
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i was goin 50 when i totaled i got t boned by sum *** that ran a red light
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 01:19 PM
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I recall that the US version is "drag-limited", meaning the only limitation is engine power vs. aerodynamic drag. Will depend on how much power you're making, altitude, humidity, how clean the car is, body modifications, etc. You won't reach top speed in 6th gear.
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 02:22 PM
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This is an easy fix....drive in a vacuum! :D The US version isn't supposed to be governed!
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Old Dec 28, 2004 | 02:35 PM
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you can't drive in a vacuum, there's no air to burn fuel
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 12:30 PM
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speed cut

what ways are there to get rid of the cut off either than changing ECU???
n how much does a new ECU cost??
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 12:59 PM
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what speed cut?
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 01:16 PM
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Hopefully you mean the 125mph auto governor and not the 155mph manual limiter. Couldn't imagine needing to go any faster than 155.
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 02:59 PM
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my 8 is JDM version, it have speed limiter at 180 km/h and I instaled HKS speed de-limiter and so far I hit 245 km/h but it still going faster
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Old Dec 29, 2004 | 11:53 PM
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the one we have ere..is the japanese spec....speed cut at 180km/h ..so i need to find a solution ....180km/h is just too slow
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Old Dec 30, 2004 | 02:42 AM
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Originally Posted by Darien
the one we have ere..is the japanese spec....speed cut at 180km/h ..so i need to find a solution ....180km/h is just too slow
If you have the Japanese ECU, then just order a speed limit/Rev limit cutter from one of the Japanese tuners. Some make "plug and play" solutions and others do ECU reflashes. Rmagic, Knight Sports, RE Amemiya, RE Revolution, Fujita Engineering (FEED) are a few to start with.
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Old Dec 30, 2004 | 03:14 AM
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HKS Speed Limit Defencer should solve your problem.

http://www.hksusa.com/products/?id=781&rsku=
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Old Dec 30, 2004 | 12:50 PM
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Thank you for everyone's suggestions. If you are wondering why I'm wanting to drive this fast, it is only because I want to find the limits of this superior machine. On the vacuum idea, you think Eureka or Dirt Devil my want to work with me on this? I'm sure it would be great PR.

Thanks again to all, and happy new year!
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Old Dec 30, 2004 | 12:54 PM
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merged 2 threads that were on the same topic. also thought you all might want to check out this thread about the hks defencer.
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Old Dec 31, 2004 | 12:22 AM
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why get a sports car then if ur not gonna go fast.... i wanna go at leas 200 in a car
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Old Dec 31, 2004 | 12:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Totaled_RX8
why get a sports car then if ur not gonna go fast.... i wanna go at leas 200 in a car
I've only been in the 130's but what would be the difference between 150's and 200's. And assuming you live in the US, where the hell would you go that fast?
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Old Dec 31, 2004 | 10:03 AM
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Originally Posted by baseballgenius80
I reached 131 mph in 5th gear ranging in the high 7000s of the rpm range. However, once I hit that speed, the governor kicked in and wouldn't let me go higher.
The misinformation in this thread is amazing.

Here's the real facts:
- In 5th gear, there is NO governor - you should be able to hit the rev limiter in 5th, which is around 148 mph.
- In 6th gear, there IS a limit at 148 mph. This isn't some random number - Mazda chose 240 km/h as the limiter speed, which happens to equate to ~148 mph.
- It's German car manufacturers VW, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi who have a voluntary agreement to limit top speeds to 155 mph (actually, 250 km/h). Porsche has never been part of that agreement. Mazda has nothing to do with it, and as mentioned uses a 240 km/h limit.

Baseballgenius80, there may have been some other factor kicking in to limit your top speed (slope of road, headwind, safe mode in engine if running too hot, etc), but it wasn't the rev limiter.

Regards,
Gordon
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Old Jan 1, 2005 | 12:41 AM
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huh.....man...Ii got past 130 in my nearly stock mx-6 surely you folks possess the cajones to let the 8 stretch its legs?
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Old Jan 3, 2005 | 11:35 AM
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Thanks Gordon,

That's pretty much exactly what I was looking for. Thanks for all the information. At the time when I reached my top speed (so I thought) it felt as if a governor was kicking in. Like I said, I'm a rookie at this, so it helps that you cleared that up for me.

Thanks again!
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