Imports
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WeinerSchnitzel
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Our generation will have 350Z's, RX8's, and maybe a couple more(I'm thinking RWD sportscars we'll be able to get cheap, like 240SX's right now). Not as much as the 1990's, but we'll have a couple. I'm 16 and I've thought about this, too.
We'll definitely see a bunch of the new Camaros, Mustangs, and Challengers on the drag strip in 2030, though. Just like how we have the old ones right now.
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I'm not only an ASE Master re-certified tech,but I've been racing and working in a machine shop for most my life. Having my background and knowledge of motorsports in general I've experianced many different platforms. However when it comes to building a drag car,among the imports of today the cheapest and easiest car to reach a 9 sec goal with would definately be a Civic hatch. They are light,have great engines to start out with, and the drivetrains don't have all the issues that the AWD guys know all to well.
If someone gave me $20K and wanted a 9 sec car out of it I would recommend a Civic of some type. I've raced/built everything from a SBC powered F-body or G-body. To my present drag car, my 92' Eagle Talon. I've built El Camino's and Camaros that ran consistant 8 and 9 sec passes for under $20K. But when you add two more drive wheels into the mix things tend to get very expensive. I put my 93' Talon AWD deep into the 10's for under $15K (including price of the car). 11.30's for $7,000, and 12's for a few hundred bucks. However,with an AWD car, when you are attempting to make 4-5 times the amount of power the car came from the factory with while trying to keep it in one piece it can easily run you a small fortune. Last time I added up all my reciepts for my current drag Talon I had over $60,000 invested in the car. Just in parts. Not including the cost of the vehicle and some TIG welding that I was'nt equipped to handle at the time.
Maybe 8 years ago putting a Honda into the 9's was an amazing feat. But now,in 2011, there are literally hundreds of them scattered around the world.
Go on www.dsmtimes.org See how many 8 and 9 second DSM's there are. Quite a bit more than there was a few years ago. But still. Considerably less than there are Hondas and domestic V-8 powered cars. Reason being (IMO) once you get past that 11.50 - 11.00 barrier things tend to get expensive.
I was sick of rebuilding my transaxles every 25-30 passes. So I went ahead and got myself a Shep Trans Dogbox/PPG gearset for just under $7,000. Yeah,it's not cheap but that gearbox will last a whole season of abuse from a 1,000+WHP motor and a pretty aggressive clutch with a 3200lb pressure plate rating.
My original point was that it's nothing amazing to have a 9 second Civic now a days. Knocking on the door of 7 second or 6 second passes? Thats something to be amazed by. But 9's are like what 11's were 7-8 years ago.
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- Midship_Express
Fast car < fast driver
CodeRedR51
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May be everywhere on the east/west coasts, but hardly any here in Arizona. 9 Seconds is still quick, no matter how you look at it.
True, but they're still impressive. If you don't see that, well then that's you.
- 5,428
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No I'm not impressed by someone with money building a fast car. Anyone with enough money can buy a fast car.
McLaren
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Same in Texas. If it's not amazing to see a 9 second Civic, then it's not amazing to see a 9 second sports car of any kind; the former is a much rarer sight.
CodeRedR51
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I don't feel like arguing, you just don't get it.
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Lol. I disagree so it means I just don't get it. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
- 8,480
- P_Balance
Agreed.
I might appreciate the work put into it, but I wouldn't say impressed.
Keef
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- GTP_KeefRacer
- GTP Keef
Pretty much the most awesome thing for pages and pages. More of this please.
Also, I want one.
- 5,987
- 5,987
There's a change in the play!
- 8,480
- P_Balance
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- Midship_Express
I am digging that subaru wagon. In the local autocross club I'm a member of there is a German guy who used to drive a mid 90s legacy wagon. The car was bone stock but the guy was a beast. He would consistently run times competitive with much faster cars like RX8s and such. God forbid anyone ever let him drive their car either because he'd just embarrass you.
- 1,522
Lol nah bro.
Yes...
Things that I say "Oh, I appreciate the work you put into that" to:
Things that absolutely impress me:
I'll refrain from posting all the other forms of motorsports and, even more so, the drivers that impress me. I think I've made my point with this.
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The guy in the honda looks like a Dbag hard parker. Slicks and skinnies on a honda is bad enough but he can't even put a helmet on for the photo shoot so he at least looks like a real racer.
CodeRedR51
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It's a drag car, that's how they're set up.
And that photo looks 'shopped to make it look like he's going faster than 5mph.
- 1,522
A fwd "drag" car at that. I find it amusing how they have pushed the whole fwd pro drag car thing as far as it is today. To know that it all started with a bunch of ricers who, for some divine reason, believed that the Japanese designed a fwd drive-train/platform to go drag racing makes me lol.
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speaking of fwd, I used to hate the crap out of it, but since I drove a new S60 the other day, I expected tons more oversteer than I originally thought.
CodeRedR51
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It all comes down to doing what you can with what you have available to you. Same story goes for the classic hot rodders and the muscle car era. The FWD car is more common today and so we use them, just like our parents used what was available to them in their day.
- 1,522
Not when thousands of dollars are being spent. And also, that has been the excuse since they ever realized how primitive of an idea it was. The fact that these people are so blindly and faithfully putting time, effort, and money to make a fwd Honda competitive in a quarter mile just fully confirms how narrow-minded they are. I've just met way too many of these people...
Yeah and most of them are also equally narrow minded and often not very educated regarding the rest of the world of motorsports and everything else involved with car performance (beyond torque, 1/4 mile times, and that lighter flywheels make you loose torque (lulz)). At least they got the part that their cars are good for going straight. I've also met many of these people.
What was available to them in the 60s is not what was common. It's simply what was available. Today what is common is not the only thing available. And what is common wouldn't even be an option for a motoring enthusiast (or someone looking for the logical car to drag race.)
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McLaren
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I find it funny that you claim that these certain groups are narrow-minded, yet you yourself seem to be no different by writing them off as "primitive ideas" or uneducated with other forms of motorsport.
Just for Kenny's sake, he is anything but narrow-minded. If he wants to show you what he can do with a proper setup, he has a fleet of GT-Rs in Dallas with his name on them.
And some people like Russ, do it just so people like you (probably) get upset when you see what can be achieved with a small amount of money. There was less than $10K invested in this car including the car itself, when he ran low 12's on a bad clutch. A small rebuild is nearly done & this car will be easily in the 11's.
Just for Kenny's sake, he is anything but narrow-minded. If he wants to show you what he can do with a proper setup, he has a fleet of GT-Rs in Dallas with his name on them.
And some people like Russ, do it just so people like you (probably) get upset when you see what can be achieved with a small amount of money. There was less than $10K invested in this car including the car itself, when he ran low 12's on a bad clutch. A small rebuild is nearly done & this car will be easily in the 11's.
- 1,522
Things are what they are. Don't blame it on me. I simply state the fact. I have experience in this topic, as I have stated. From the typical highschool ricers who grow up to have a better job and just continue doing the same thing at a greater scale...to being part of a NASCAR Late Model team where people go with "what the other guys are doing" and "rules of thumb" and where experience/beliefs/misconceptions>common engineering knowledge/common sense.
Lol you just succeeded at proving nothing. In fact, you only further strengthened my point.
Yeah, they'd show me!
Maybe they should get a cheap Miata, swap in an LSx, and then, for way less than $10k, eat corvettes and red hatches for dessert all day long.
(I'm loling at myself for arguing with a drag racer about drag racing...even using the vocabulary
)
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CodeRedR51
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Please show proof that this has been done.
- 1,522
Which part? That an LS motor has been swapped into a Miata before? Or that, given equal engines, the one in the lighter car will be quicker? If your question is either one then you're not really helping yourself out here.
CodeRedR51
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Um, having worked for a Miata tuner for 3.5 years, and watched a dozen LSx swapped Miata's go out our doors during the last year I worked there, I know it can be done.
I want proof that an entire swap can be done correctly, not half-assed, for under $10k.
