Top speed on cx-9?

edubag

Member
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2013 cx-9
Hey guys i have a 2014 cx9 which is the same as a 2013 i guess. And a have some friends with the previous versions one 2008 and another 2011 and both of them state that the cx9 top speed is 200 kms/h or about 125 mph, howver a couple of weeks ago i had a road trip and could get my car to pass 180 kms/h or 112.5 mph. Kind of frustrating since it reaches this speed in 4th gear and not even redlining, so you have 2 extra gears and no speed gain. It must be limited electronically for sure. But i am curious if they have changed this between models.

They have models with 20 inch wheels and tires (one gt us version, the other gs )and mine is 18 inch wheels and tires.

Before you write about driving so fast and being illegal. I live in the dominican republic and down here depending on the road we drive faaaaaaasssssstttttt!!! I used to have mercedes benzes and bmw so when i say fast i mean over 125 mph.

Regards,

eduardo
 
The top speed is electronic limited at around 125mph.
It is not limited by horsepower or wind drag.
Without the limit, my guess is around 145mph.
 
Interesting, I have wondered this also, I know the CX-9 will do 100mph in third but i have never gone faster in the 9 yet.
 
I pegged mine at 123 MPH on Hwy 50, aka, the loneliest highway in america. That was on flat land with no wind. Ceric is right, probably 145-150 before it hits the wall aerodynamically.
 
I have hit an indicated 120-122mph in my 2012 CX-9 Grand Touring FWD. It was an emergency situation and I had the gas pedal firmly to the floor for over 10 minutes without letting up. I was on a mostly level, rural 3-lane interstate, and it pegged at 120 or just a tick over. I have no plans of trying another top speed run and pray that I'll never be in a situation again where I need to drive that fast!

Quick explanation- My mom was out of town on a 'girls' weekend and my step-dad is totally lost without her. My step-dad and I were going to grill steaks on Saturday evening and I didn't hear from him all day, which was unusual for him since he wasn't sure what time I'd be there. They live about 30 miles north of me in the middle of nowhere and I called both of his cell numbers and the home number when I was heading out to see if he needed me to pick anything up before I left civilization. No answer and I kept trying every few minutes with no luck.

I got there about 40 minutes later and as I was unloading my overnight bag because we always have a 5-6 beers with our steaks and I didn't plan to drive back home that night. As I was getting my stuff out of the back, I heard Buddy, the World's Most Awesome Golden Retriever, freaking out howling and barking. He had broken part of the glass storm door tryign to force his way outside and I knew then that something was VERY wrong!

I found my step-dad laying in the bedroom floor, unconscious with labored breathing and a weak pulse! It would take 20 minutes (at least) for an ambulance to arrive and then, if it was a heart attack or stroke and the paramedics couldn't stabilize him, he would probably die. It would also take an ambulance at least 20 more minutes to get to the nearest hospital. I decided the best chance of saving his life was to take him myself.

Their nearest neighbor isn't visible from their yard, but less than 1/4-mile away. I needed his help to get him into the car and he is also a pharmacist and I know that Georgia requries a certain amount of medical conitinuing education classes and First Aid/CPR to remain licensed. He was there in two minutes but I already had my step-dad half way to car and was starting down the front steps. He backed my CX-9 up to the porch, we folded down the 2nd and 3rd row seats and it was a Mazda Ambulance! I was relieved when he told me he was going with us to the hospital, so he could keep a close eye on him.

The nearest hospital is located 17 miles away but it's a curvy two-lane rural highway the entire trip. A much better hospital is located about 25 miles away and after the first three miles, it's all expressway. I went with the latter option because I knew I could get there faster since I could go all-out on the interstate. It's usually a 25-28 minute drive to that hospital, but I made it in 17 minutes. I called the hospital about 12 minutes out (when I finally took a breath myself and it occured to me that they needed to be waiting for us). They were like a NASCAR Pit Crew sliding him out the tailgate and within 30 seconds he was on a gurney and the bolted thru the E/R with him. It was a heart attack but didn't do any major damage, thank God!

After I got the news that he was going to be okay about an hour after we arrived, I went outside to get some air (and my emergency stash of Valium in my console). A few paramedics that happened to be there already helped to get him out the car and into the E/R when we arrived and they were still hanging out waiting for their next call. Both of them said they could hear me coming for at least 60 seconds before I finally skidded into the parking lot! Both said they thought I was going to lose it turning in because I was going more than double the 25mph speed llimit. They were shocked that my CX-9 was glued to the road an unshaken making that turn (and that I stayed on the gas during the turn. But they were asking all about the CX-9 and I took them over to the parking lot to see it.

That was a one-time only performance, at least I really hope it was. But I'm not sure I'd have made it as quickly and/or without crashing as I sped thru every turn, access ramp and parking lot at double and triple the normal speed!
 
Here are the figures shown in various Car and Driver tests of the CX-9 over the years-

2007 CX-9 Touring FWD – 121mph
2008 CX-9 Grand Touring FWD & AWD – 119mph
2010 CX-9 Grand Touring AWD – 118mph
2013 CX-9 Grand Touring AWD – 118mph
*All are noted as (governor limited)
 
One major reason for e-governed speed limit is tire they put on the vehicle.
With H-rated tires (max=130mph), they would put a limit below it. 120mph would make sense.
 
One major reason for e-governed speed limit is tire they put on the vehicle.
With H-rated tires (max=130mph), they would put a limit below it. 120mph would make sense.

You're right, the GT comes with V-rated (max=149mph), but it looks like the Sport/Touring 18-inchers are H-rated. It makes sense to use the same limit across the board on a this type of vehicle.

I'm sure that the governed max speed is especially conservative for an SUV/CUV. The laws of physics have proven that they're easier to roll due to a higher center of gravity, no matter how great they handle.
 
This reminds me of my old 90' Jetta Gli 2.0 16v..... I nervously took her out one day onto the interstate and on a long portion of downhill road, she maxed out at 118, downhill with a tailwind, and just about in the redline in 5th gear. Fortunately no policy enforcers were out there that day.
 
Wow, great job, you, your neighbor, Buddy, and the Nine. Unbelievable. Hope all is OK now.
 
Not in my 2012, but in my 2009 I hit the governed speed limit of 118mph going up a good size hill on a highway (figured no cops checking speed going up hill, just at the crest). The reason why our top speed is so high (yes that's high compared to most SUV's/trucks as they are limited to 100) is b/c we have a 4 star roll over rating, which makes our car almost as stable as most sedans.
 
Glad to hear your dad is doing better and very happy that you were there for him in his time of need.

My first mazda was a 84 626 4dr Sedan 4cyl 5 speed Manual Transmission.
When I was a lot younger and not as smart took that car up and over the 115 MPH a couple of times never really found out what its Top end was but I'm sure it was close to 120 MPH.
First time was going to a concert and a buddy wanted to find out what is top end was on his little Toyota Truck and side by side we accelerated up until I started pulling away around 110 MPH and started slowing down at 115, there was plenty of room on the tach to go higher but decided we did not need to go there that day.
That was my introduction to Zoom Zoom and was hooked.
The CX9 handles really well and I love the way it drives, good acceleration and handling.
Had a lot of fun this summer with it on Hwy 7 in Arkansas going thru some really fun curves and hills North of Hot Springs, it handled it really well and reminded me of when I used to take the 626 on similar roads when I was stationed there many years ago.


This reminds me of my old 90' Jetta Gli 2.0 16v..... I nervously took her out one day onto the interstate and on a long portion of downhill road, she maxed out at 118, downhill with a tailwind, and just about in the redline in 5th gear. Fortunately no policy enforcers were out there that day.
 
Good to know, fastest car I've had was a Ford Contour v6 which I hit around 140 in. The P5 could just about make 120. I have a nice (and will remain undisclosed) straight way that when I was younger and stupider would see what my cars would do. I've done over 100 in an F150 to get to an emergency situation on a gravel road, which I would not recommend doing.
Glad to hear your Step dad was ok.
 
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