Power loss at high speeds (momentary), accelerator input stopped working

[sub3marathonman]

Not only do I have lots of driving experience and skill, I drive all over the place. ... In India, the sidewalk is considered a valid lane, so you better lookout.

Well, I stand corrected! 2k1Toaster knows how to drive on the sidewalk too, so as he says, "you better lookout."

And, as they discovered with AmericanM5, in a similarly named thread even "Rough Shifts M Mode"http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/e60-m5-e61-m5-touring-discussion/111454-rough-shifts-m-mode.html , it is pointless to attempt to reason with such a person, as LeftieBiker has proven with the logical thoughts presented. Josh took four other people with him when he sailed 200 feet off the end of a runway. (Just reading the thread again, the irony of Gustav's quote, "That is just terrible. I am determined to know the cause of this." Hmmm, that's a tough one.)

So, good luck, maybe 2k1Toaster won't be another Jack Dillon.

Wow, no idea how clueless you guys can be.
...
I've driven and maintain speeds where your eyes can't physically process the sensory inputs in your peripheral and it looks like Star Trek before they go to warp speed with the periphery blending together and getting tunnel vision.
...
In the Prius, it will get up to past 110mph and then just throttle back so it never accelerates more. Different feel.

All that can be said is "May the force be with you," as "live long and prosper" just doesn't seem applicable.

Although, speaking of "clueless," 2k1Toaster should understand that any accident he is involved in, and it appears inevitable, lawyers, who are also inevitable, will find this thread, and those posts, and anything 2k1Toaster has said can and will be used against him.

 

[RonDawg]

Actually, speed limits in the US are federally mandated so that any vehicle that is approved to be sold and driven within the US can navigate that roadway at the posted speed safely, day or night and in moderate weather conditions. Basically the lowest common denominator. Speed limits are set for 1970's 18-wheelers not for 21st century cars. Contrast that with other countries where it's almost the opposite; like in the UK where the national speed limit is 70mph and trucks are limited to 55mph. On a road here in the US with a 30mph speedlimit, in the UK that same road is 70mph maximum and up to the driver's discretion to choose the speed they feel comfortable driving at.

Actually, no they're not. The Feds have not set national speed limits since the end of the 55 MPH era. Now it's totally up to the states. That lack of oversight is why a semi-truck can legally do 75 MPH in some states but only 55 MPH here in California. It's also why you can legally drive at 85 MPH on certain Texas interstates, and why for a short-time Montana had a "reasonable and prudent" daytime limit, at least until their state Supreme Court struck that down.

As far as the UK, it's not true that a 30 MPH road in the US would have a 70 MPH limit in the UK. 70 MPH limits in the UK are only for "dual carriageway" (divided highway) and motorways; otherwise it's 60 MPH in the country and 30 MPH in built up areas, unless otherwise posted. Oh and BTW on those country roads, you get very little warning as to when it drops from 60 to 30 as you enter a village, with a "Gatso" (photo radar camera) often positioned at the edge of the village to enforce that.

Photo radar cameras are also found on motorways, often behind overhead structures that also house variable speed limit signs. The enforcement threshold is fairly low compared to the US; a friend of mine got one of those photo radar tickets in Oxford for doing a blistering 33 MPH in a 30 zone. I got the chart below from http://www.driving-test-success.com/driving-articles/speed-limits.htm

 

[LeftieBiker]

Maybe someone in the "speed thrills" camp got confused by the metric system, and thought they do 100MPH on British highways. ;-)

 

[dhanson865]

When I saw it dropping in speed my first thoughts were overheated battery or traction control. Battery was at 4 temperature bars, ambient temperatures were mild around 50F. No traction control lights on or flashing.

Back to the original topic. I'd check to make sure the traction control light works and the 12v battery is fully charged and not fatigued (at least 11.75v under load / above 12v resting where a brand new fully charged would be over 12.25v under similar load and well above 12.5v resting).

I'd also consider that traction control can kick in partially or for near instantaneous bursts that might not be easily visible by an indicator light. At those speeds a loss of power for even the slightest time would be highly noticeable more so than the light.

But I'm not going to doubt your experience, I'm just saying I'd cover the due diligence on those two items as diagnostics/preventative maintenance depending on what you find.

 

[cliff]

Another thought I had, is that as I remember the frequency of the
pulses sent to the motor is around 5000 Hz. At top motor speed this
would mean only a single pulse is used per rotation position, as this
pulse gets relatively long compared to the position it might cause the
position(rotation) sensor to get out of sync. Once the motor rpm reduced
enough it was able to re-sync. This is just wild speculation based on pushing
the limits of a single pulse.

Also had to mention I was surprised to find while driving in Wyoming, that the
legal posted speed was 80mph.