Author Topic: Police Cruisers (Read 979 times)

Chairboy · « **Reply #15 on:** September 07, 2004, 12:58:19 AM »

[Elwood Blues Jake Blues has a fight over the police car Elwood Blues got after he traded away the original bluesmobile for a microphone]
Elwood : You don't like it?
Jake : No I don't like it...
[Elwood Blues floors the pedal and jumps over an open drawbridge]
Jake : Of course it's got a lot of pickup...
Elwood : It's got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it's got cop tires, cop suspensions, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say, is it the new Bluesmobile or what?
[A brief thinking pause while Jake Blues lights a cigarette]
Jake : Fix the cigarette lighter.

BlckMgk · « **Reply #16 on:** September 07, 2004, 01:02:37 AM »

Speaking of the Impala..

Had an undercover one race me, flash is lights and call me a "Du mb A ss", we were only going 50ish when he flashed me, was pretty embarassing to say the least.

-BM

Lazerus · « **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2004, 03:30:32 AM »

Supercharged Impala hits 60 in 6.5, quite a bit faster than that Dodge, and gets about 30mpg on the highway. Not to mention it's a good bit cheaper. Not much of a decision for my tax money.

RTSigma · « **Reply #18 on:** September 07, 2004, 03:55:04 AM »

Slow times....get a 2004 Neon SRT-4, 5.9 0-60, 13.5 on the 1/4, great suspension, too bad it's small.

Station near where I used to live (two towns over) just bought a puckload of Intrepids and they look close to the ones they race on NASCAR. Minus the mullets

lazs2 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 07, 2004, 08:47:57 AM »

I have owned two ex CHP cars. one was an 80 impala that wa surprisingly fast for those days... it was light because it was stripped and even had roll up windows and rubber floor mats... it had heavy duty suspension and my son put a set of bilstein shocks on it... it had heavy duty brakes and the big radiator and charging system. It handled and drove very well.

also bought a 90 mustang CHP car.. it was the lighter lx coupe (not a fastback) with a 5 speed and heavy duty suspension and posi with a 3.55 rear end instead of the 2.76 it also had roll up windows and heavy duty cooling system including factory oil cooler. both cars had speedos that were calibrated and went to 160 mph.

Both cars were fun to drive.

At work, I have rescued a city cop car for my guys to drive to the lab... It is a crown vic...96 I think... not very fast... good suspension. stable car.

lazs

Masherbrum · « **Reply #20 on:** September 07, 2004, 08:50:43 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by lazs2
also bought a 90 mustang CHP car.. it was the lighter lx coupe (not a fastback) with a 5 speed and heavy duty suspension and posi with a 3.55 rear end instead of the 2.76 it also had roll up windows and heavy duty cooling system including factory oil cooler. both cars had speedos that were calibrated and went to 160 mph. lazs

The Mustang's that LE used were the "Notchbacks".

Karaya

Masherbrum · « **Reply #21 on:** September 07, 2004, 08:53:52 AM »

Quote

Originally posted by J_A_B
Overall the police car scene has suffered badly ever since Chevy stopped making the Caprice cruisers with LT1 'vette engines (my Roadmaster has this same engine and it performs a _lot_better than any of the Crown Vic cruisers I've driven). Those Chevys had better straight-line performance the the 5.0 Mustang pursuit cars! The Crown Vics just don't perform anywhere near as well and are less comfortable too. Ford's saving grace is the CV handles a little better than the Chevy did. The new V-6 Impalas are worse still. J_A_B

Comparing a 5.0 to a 5.7 liter engine? Come on, I'm sick and tired of people comparing the Mustang to the Vette. Chevy is the one who pulled the plug to begin with and allowed Ford a virtual monopoly on the market, blame Chevy.

Karaya

lazs2 · « **Reply #22 on:** September 07, 2004, 08:55:12 AM »

whatever.... I called em coupes.. they were a lighter car than the regular fastback or convertable. with the 3.55 gearing the car would actually do 140 or so.. the 2.76's of the regular mustang were too tall for the 5 speed or aod to pull.

lazs

Masherbrum · « **Reply #23 on:** September 07, 2004, 09:49:35 AM »

I wasn't criticizing you, don't get your purse strings tangled.

Karaya

J_A_B · « **Reply #24 on:** September 07, 2004, 11:34:04 AM »

I wasn't comparing a Mustang to a Vette, I was comparing a Mustang to a Caprice. The fact is the 5.0 Mustang was horrible for police work--too small, not enough utility, and it didn't even have a performance advantage over the Caprice which was still available then, unless you made substantial modifications to it. GM was stupid to stop making the Caprice, no doubt there.

FYI the Hemi-powered 300C and Magnum don't have a Chrysler tranny. They get a Mercedes 5-speed auto. Chrysler was smart enough to NOT risk putting their famously crappy transmission in their top-of-the-line cars. Models without the Hemi get the regular Chrysler transmission.

Police Impalas in no way get anywhere near 30 MPG in police work. The best I've heard of them getting in day-to-day use is about 14 MPG and since the CV is usually good for 11-12 MPG there's little to choose between them. The CV has the advantage of better durability, its tires last longer, it's just a better car overall. The Impala's only saving grace is it's a bit cheaper to initially buy which is a deciding factor a lot of the time. Well it also has more comfortable seats than the 1998-current CV has. I could almost call the Impala comfortable while spending long periods in the CV usually leaves me with sore knees. Nonetheless, I still have yet to see a front-drive car that is actually good for police use.

J_A_B

Masherbrum · « **Reply #25 on:** September 07, 2004, 11:49:12 AM »

you cannot compare the two engines.

Karaya

J_A_B · « **Reply #26 on:** September 07, 2004, 12:01:36 PM »

"you cannot compare the two engines. "

You very much can compare their ability to do a job. You can also compare the V-6 in the new Impala the same way and come to the same decision--it just isn't as good for the job.

On the normal market it's a different situation and the 5.0 is one of my favorite engines. I geatly prefer it over the 4.6 they make now.

J_A_B

Captain Virgil Hilts · « **Reply #27 on:** September 07, 2004, 12:09:36 PM »

Beware the Chevy Tahoe. They make a 2 wheel drive 9C1 Tahoe that just plain flies. It handles very well, it is lowered from the factory, with excellent wheels, tires, and brakes. Has about 320 HP. Much like the Chevy Caprice with the LT1.

Oh, and 95% of the departments DO NOT have the speed governers removed. They do have them bumped to around 100-110, but not removed, for liability reasons.

We did however rechip a Tahoe a while back, it does about 130.

J_A_B · « **Reply #28 on:** September 07, 2004, 12:43:24 PM »

"They do have them bumped to around 100-110, but not removed, for liability reasons. "

Stock civilian CV's are governed at 110.

The Crown Vic "Police Interceptor" (the actual police package car) will do more than that. As would the Caprices.

If the PD's in your area are limited to 110, it is possible they are just using regular cars outfitted with lights and such. A lot of departments do that when times are lean. Or maybe the departments in your area are a lot more worried about high speeds than the ones here in Ohio.

J_A_B

demaw1 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 07, 2004, 07:10:38 PM »

Well which one will it be?