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Car race debate at work


The_buster
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I was watching a video of a SRT8 TT Grand Cherokee drag racing. Co-worker said that was stupid and that things like suv's and crappy Hondas shouldn't be on the dragstrip. That anyone with money can make a car fast. He thinks that only cars that are meant to be fast are cool and those are the only ones to choose from- as long as its an American car with a big v8 and not an import.

 

yes whiny bitchy post.

 

Debate for here. If you were to get beat by something, would you rather get beat by something inherently fast and meant to be fast? Or something surprising and out of the ordinary?

 

Me personally, I would rather be beat by the sleeper car that you wouldn't expect.

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So I ran brackets with my GTO, which means if I got beat (and it happened often) it was by the better driver and not the car. Sure having a faster car made it a lot more fun but I once took 2nd at a bracket night in E-town in my 16 sec jeep.

 

That being said....you're co-worker is just talking out of his ass. The whole institution of "fast" cars is built on the idea that someone took a slow car and made it fast. Every American V8 muscle car owes it's origin to a greasy 1940's/50's teen who swapped a flatty or a chebby v8 into their model T chassis. To smugglers who needed moar power to haul hundreds of lbs of liquid stored in hidden tanks, to people who couldn't find american cars to road race against the light, underpowered ferrin' jobs so they built things like ol' yeller on the concrete floor of a 1 car garage. Innovation comes from problem solving, and there is no greater test to problem solving than racing. The S2000 wasn't shat out of some engineer's brain fully formed, it came from decades of people racing things like the honda S600 and S800 and civics, and accords, and other things and taking that knowledge and learning from it and building the next thing.

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Is this an autozone debate?

 

My shit is slow so I'd rather get beat by something that's supposed to be fast. I have too much pride to get beat by a Honda

 

That would be understandable if you own a car that is supposed to be fast but is not (at least not as fast as the sleeper). That sleeper took creativity to be the unassuming guy in the room that has the horse dong lol.

 

So I ran brackets with my GTO, which means if I got beat (and it happened often) it was by the better driver and not the car. Sure having a faster car made it a lot more fun but I once took 2nd at a bracket night in E-town in my 16 sec jeep.

 

That being said....you're co-worker is just talking out of his ass. The whole institution of "fast" cars is built on the idea that someone took a slow car and made it fast. Every American V8 muscle car owes it's origin to a greasy 1940's/50's teen who swapped a flatty or a chebby v8 into their model T chassis. To smugglers who needed moar power to haul hundreds of lbs of liquid stored in hidden tanks, to people who couldn't find american cars to road race against the light, underpowered ferrin' jobs so they built things like ol' yeller on the concrete floor of a 1 car garage. Innovation comes from problem solving, and there is no greater test to problem solving than racing. The S2000 wasn't shat out of some engineer's brain fully formed, it came from decades of people racing things like the honda S600 and S800 and civics, and accords, and other things and taking that knowledge and learning from it and building the next thing.

 

PREACH! lol :ninja::ninja:

 

PS- by no means am I a honda lover, I do have a respect for what they can become with a driven individual.

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That would be understandable if you own a car that is supposed to be fast but is not (at least not as fast as the sleeper). That sleeper took creativity to be the unassuming guy in the room that has the horse dong lol.

 

 

I guess what I'm saying is I'd rather lose to a C7 Z06 than a 700whp hatchback civic. I'm losing both races by a lot regardless.

 

Edit: I like a sleeper too, I think there is a definite cool factor to them. I'm just answering your question as to which I would rather lose to. I guess it depends if people are watching or not and how much I get beat by.

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Love a sleeper, even more love for a beater (using spare parts/junkyard metal and pocket change to go fast).

 

Still not the biggest fan of FWD cars with a lot of money being built to go fast. This isn't the 1980s...there are PLENTY of really solid USA/Euro/Asian RWD or AWD platforms to use! That's all I'll give up to your "co-worker".

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So I ran brackets with my GTO, which means if I got beat (and it happened often) it was by the better driver and not the car. Sure having a faster car made it a lot more fun but I once took 2nd at a bracket night in E-town in my 16 sec jeep.

 

Bracket racing is cool and makes it more of a driver's race however it takes the fun out of it when you have a stupid consistent vehicle that has no power and is just throttle wide open the whole time. In college I watched a scooter (A FUCKING SCOOTER!) win the whole competition because the light would change and he would just WOT it the whole way down the track to a 19.8x everytime. He ran against 8 to 10 second cars and just putted down the track to an almost guaranteed win. Pretty sure they banned him after that shit show because I never saw him back.

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If it's on the road, I prefer to get beaten by something cool. Something that looks and sounds as good as it goes. On the track, I'll take my whuppins from anyone and everyone. This most recent track day I would be willing to bet I had the slowest set of times of anyone who made it out, but you can still enjoy the ride and fun. Now I DO get annoyed losing to a fully race prepped track car that's essentially a motor with a body around it... though that could be largely because I don't have one of those of my own for a "fair fight"
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Bracket racing is cool and makes it more of a driver's race however it takes the fun out of it when you have a stupid consistent vehicle that has no power and is just throttle wide open the whole time. In college I watched a scooter (A FUCKING SCOOTER!) win the whole competition because the light would change and he would just WOT it the whole way down the track to a 19.8x everytime. He ran against 8 to 10 second cars and just putted down the track to an almost guaranteed win. Pretty sure they banned him after that shit show because I never saw him back.

 

oh yeah, it's boring as shit to watch. no argument from me on that point.

 

For me the fun with the GTO was how far could I push it while keeping the car consistent. This was in the 1990's so it wasn't like the big hp numbers they are today but I went from a solid 14 second worn out 400ci pontiac, to a mid 12 car putting 350hp to the rear wheels. I wanted to (but never did) run NMCA FAST (Factory Appearing Stock Tire) class too so I did it with mostly stock parts and a lot of tuning: .030 over numbers matching block, 670 Ram Air 1 heads, Stock intake acid flowed to match head ports, 1969 GTO judge blue dot carb (blueprinted), Ram Air IV cam, Ram Air IV cast exhaust manifolds, 1968 Factory warranty replacement TH400 with manual valve body and shift kit, 2000rpm converter, factory 10bolt w 3.55 gears and an auburn posi unit. On 10" wide bias plys I had a best of 1.66s 60' and best ET 12.30 (not in the same run). I think my average trap speed was around 112mph. car routinely ran 1.6-1.8 60' if I flashed the converter against the linelok and used the button to release brakes while walking it out. Unless I missed a shift she was rarely off more than 2/10ths. It was a lot of work and money, and I am glad I am not doing it anymore, though I do miss my GTO something awful (its in storage in NY).

 

When you are competing, if you are really into the gamesmanship of the thing it can be fun even with a slow car. Deep staging, shallow staging, burning your opponent down, running a really slow breakout and then top end braking to make the number. However, it is slow torture if you are in the stands.

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I guess what I'm saying is I'd rather lose to a C7 Z06 than a 700whp hatchback civic. I'm losing both races by a lot regardless.

 

Edit: I like a sleeper too, I think there is a definite cool factor to them. I'm just answering your question as to which I would rather lose to. I guess it depends if people are watching or not and how much I get beat by.

 

Hahahah Truth! I can see what your saying with wanting to be beat by something 'respectable'.

 

Love a sleeper, even more love for a beater (using spare parts/junkyard metal and pocket change to go fast).

 

Still not the biggest fan of FWD cars with a lot of money being built to go fast. This isn't the 1980s...there are PLENTY of really solid USA/Euro/Asian RWD or AWD platforms to use! That's all I'll give up to your "co-worker".

 

100%

 

One of my favorites is the el camino from Street outlaws. Just a bunch of spare parts slapped together.

 

I never understood the fwd race car scene. I can understand it from a fast factory car perspective, but not a purpose built one. But then again anything with a motor and a dream can be built i suppose lol.

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Co-worker said that was stupid and that things like suv's and crappy Hondas shouldn't be on the dragstrip. That anyone with money can make a car fast. He thinks that only cars that are meant to be fast are cool

 

Your co-worker is an idiot.

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I have always been a huge fan of the sleeper. Nothing better than the surprised look on peoples faces when you row on by.

 

Same here, especially when it was built dirt cheap.

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Bracket racing is cool and makes it more of a driver's race however it takes the fun out of it when you have a stupid consistent vehicle that has no power and is just throttle wide open the whole time. In college I watched a scooter (A FUCKING SCOOTER!) win the whole competition because the light would change and he would just WOT it the whole way down the track to a 19.8x everytime. He ran against 8 to 10 second cars and just putted down the track to an almost guaranteed win. Pretty sure they banned him after that shit show because I never saw him back.

 

I ban them as a safety hazard. That guy is going to get killed. When a fast car gets loose and crosses the line he's going to take a bumper to the tailpipe at a closure rate of 100+ mph. All the guy would have to do is play some staging games and his opponent will over heat. 12 seconds on the starting line would create some real problems for a competitor.

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