Re: Top Speeds

Posted by Packard Newbie On 2023/2/15 16:49:08

I know zero about 'sanctioned' top speeds for Packards and I have not seen or read any Packard info relating to same. I do think, if it was anything back then, like it is today, one would probably not want to be driving their vehicles as purported by advertising anyway! I watch TV ads today of cars, SUV's and trucks being driven offroad and in challenging conditions and can only conclude that if one drove one's new Ford F150 say, like they do in the ads, it wouldn't last a month!!
That being said, I am a firm believer that common sense and one's ears are the best arbiters of how, and how fast to drive any vehicle. With our Packards, there are more than one rear end ratio out there for any given engine and that definitely affects top speed, and tachs are quite rare, (in the stock cars at least) so I believe listening to the engine is the best gauge. It's not hard to 'hear' when a mill is being over-revved and sustained speed and burst speed are two different things. In my '39 Six I find I can run it up to 55-60 in short bursts but 50-55 is a safe and comfortable RPM and speed to operate at, on the highway. I doubt the roads back in the day allowed much more than that anyway, so they were likely designed for that kind of speed/use.
And SU8overdrive, while I appreciate your desire for better accuracy, composition and spelling on the site, I think we have to take into consideration that we have Packard fans from all walks of life and various levels of literacy on the site, and Oxford (or maybe in your case, Harvard) English just 'ain't gonna happen'!
We can all be reminded to give our posts a read before hitting the 'submit' button and that would help a lot. (like on your post: I presume you meant 'why old cars are geared like tractors' and 'add 4 or 5 miles' - easy oversights to commit, but we know what you meant!) Chris