TexaSGuy

Yeah, so street racing is bad and dangerous and (most importantly) very against the law these days.

However, I still do it (only on abandoned roads, though, of which we have a lot of them down here) from time to time.

Now, my best friend has a very slick SVT Contour (soon to be a very slick 12 second Contour) that I just love to rag out (even after fragging a transaxle he still lets me use it when he's in town).

Anyways, so when we're driving around in his car and I see, say, a new Corvette, or a turbo Supra or something, I'll tell him to line up with the guy and race him. But he almost always says "Nah, man, that car has X amount of horsepower, it'll beat me", and he won't do it. This I never understood. This is a guy who will race a minivan if the minivan driver wants to race, but won't line up with a Vette just cause he knows he's going to lose. Also, I know he's not being careful or anything, because he redlines his car DAILY (as in at least a dozen times a day) just doing his normal driving - and is even harder on it lately since he's decided to get the 3.0 block.

I, on the other hand, don't care if I lose, I just like to see what some of these sweet new cars will do. Therefore, I'd race a Ferrari just to see it run, you know?

What kind of driver/racer are you? Keep it safe and only race if you know you can win, or give it a shot no matter what?

I'm curious because I see a lot of people on here asking if they could win racing this car against that car, and I always think "Why not just go do it and see?". For me, it's always been about the experience of racing, seeing what my car/truck can do, and seeing what their car/truck can do. Again, for example, when I go to the track on slow days, I'll race anything, just for the fun of it. I put a 19 second Honda Civic (literally the slowest car I ever drove, but it got 40mpg in the city) up against a Dodge Viper just so I could see the Viper run and because the only other people at the track that early were too afraid to do it because they knew they'd lose (it was an open track day, not a points day, so this only confused me - we were all just hanging out waiting for more people to show up so they could fill up some bracket spots and whatnot).

IROCaholic

If I am in my car I only race something that will be a good race(stock LS1's,mild Lt1's, mustangs, etc.). Because to me its not worth it to pound on my car and waste gas for a 19 sec civic or to a 12 second viper. Now if I had a ton of money or was in someone elses car that didnt care if I pounded the hell out of it that would be a different story. I just actually value my car and dont want to beat the hell out of it for no reason.

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

Your friend won't race those cars because he runs no where near 12's. If he were to actually race one of those cars his 12 second mentality would turn into a 15 second reality. If he did run 12's all the time spent at the track would tell him that he could most likey beat those cars. But since he has never been to the track he has no idea.

TexaSGuy

Note what I actually said:

That's after the 3.0L, the supercharger, and the NOS. Maybe not a long term engine with so much stuff on it (and especially with his lead foot), but he's dead set on spending his combat pay on this setup, so more power to him. I'm sure going to enjoy ragging it out!

Inwo

Sounds like a solid 15 second car to me. Just because a car 'feels' fast doesn't mean it is.

25thmustang

Me personally I dont race people because it isnt in my nature. I did however do it the other day in my friends 20th anniversary GTI, and only ran from a 10 mph roll to about 65 in a 55 zone. I raced a kid in an Integra and there was an MX6 behind me. There was noone around, and a ton of room to see in front of me, and I shut down before either of them did!

If I were to race Id race whatever was next to me, and expect to lose! But I would NEVER do it in my white car! I make money racing that at the track, not gonna wreck it on the street!

TexaSGuy

Ya'll are seriously kidding right? I'll ignore the fact that you think me stupid enough to not be able and tell the difference between a 15 second car and a 12 second car (I mean, it's not like I've been racing cars/trucks/motorcycles since I was ten or anything). But ya'll seriously think a 300hp Contour would run a 15 second quarter mile? Hate to burst your bubble but NOTHING under 3500lbs with 300hp and a decent transmission runs a 15 second quarter mile. I mean, come on guys, just because it's a Ford four-door family sedan doesn't mean that with a little work it can't be a serious contender.

If you don't believe me, give the SHO Shop in California a call. Their 3.0L SVT conversions put an otherwise stock Contour SVT at 13.8 on the quarter at 103mph with only 230hp and 210 TQ at the wheels (this is proven performance, I drove one a year ago and knocked out a 13.9 and a 13.7 at the track). Add a supercharger and you're looking at anywhere from 325-350hp and then a fifty shot of nitrous oxide and you've got a solid 375-400hp going to the wheels (on pump gas, too). If that can't knock out at least a 12.9, then there's something seriously wrong with the car.

Still, no need to debate this. He'll have it finished in about six months when he's done with his deployment to Iraq, and I'll be happy to liberate it from him for a weekend for a little track action in the Lubbock area (near his duty station). I'd be more then happy to hand out some humble pie too

Jgolden314

dude, they are saying before he does his mods, it is a 15 second car. Calm down, nobody is denying your smarts here man.

Half-FastRacing

I'm like you TexaSGuy ... I'd run a car I can't beat just to hear it, see it, and smell it.

I don't run often because my car is a pile and I don't drive it that much, but if a Ferrari pulls up and wants to race, I'd definitely do it for the experience.

twobirds

I race my car as much as I can. Its only a car (which I love) and I'm only on this planet for a short time. So let em rip.



Conrad

Dubkor

If I were going to race someone, it would have to be in a car that I either knew very little about, or thought would be a fairly close match for whatever I was in. I would not likely race someone who could very easily beat me, who I would stand no chance against. On the flipside, however, I wouldn't race someone I thought I'd absolutely destroy either.

If I was at the track and there was a Viper there, I'd want to see someone who could challenge it try to race it. If there was no one like that around, I'd problably try to convince the guy to just take it for a rip against the clock. Though I suppose if someone else wanted to race it with a car that it would easily beat, that's their buisiness, but I just want to see that Viper go. To be honest, I'd problably be happier seeing it do e-brake slides and spinning the tires. Easy to do or not, it's still cool to see. :P

TPI-454

I abso-freeking-lutely agree!

ShiftyCapone

iTrader: (7)

The reasoning for my doubt has nothing to do with the brand of the car. I could care less. Track times are enough to convince me of all "dude it will run this" type scenerios.

I know those swaps can be quick, but 12's is pushing the limits of that platform. I doubt the slush box tranny can take that kind of power and I doubt you can hook a 350+hp FWD box without massive wheel hop. You are also relying on peak numbers when in fact I bet the power curve isn't that flat. 13.9 is very fast for that car but it will take a tremendous amount of modding, to both the motor and the car, to knock a whole second off. I hope I am wrong. Why you would put so much money into a latform to only run high 12's is beyond me. The GTP guys who are around 3500 lbs are pushing 320+ hp on their blown 3.8's and they run great times. However, those times are usually in the 13's though. I just look at it that way.