Drag racing

"GuacamoleFire - JRCC" (jramoncedeno) 02/11/2014 at 12:26 • Filed to: None

1

26

Please tell me how wrong I am for considering Drag Racing not really driving.

I myself prefer to push a car on bends and hitting apexes rather than pushing the go pedal for 11-20 seconds, I know it's not easy, not playing it down, but I don't think it's really that great compared to a course.

For Sweden > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:28

3

Drag racing is real driving; most of us couldn't keep a 10,000 HP top fuel dragster in a straight line. But it's a very different kind of driving than lap racing/rally.

Casper > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:30

1

They are different disciplines. Arguing one over the other is like comparing someone doing Judo to Karate. They each have very specific requirements and skill sets. They are both driving, they are just different objectives... just like drifting is yet another driving discipline with it's own objectives.

puddler > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:30

0

you're not wrong. but i don't advise making much fun of it, it's like offending the baby jesus himself...

offroadkarter > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:30

1

just because you don't have to take a turn doesn't mean it doesn't require skill

willkinton247 > For Sweden 02/11/2014 at 12:30

1

It's also reaction times, managing your engine, and having balls of lead, even if you are a woman.

Also, if that's your definition of driving, then for the most part I don't drive to work

lone_liberal > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:33

0

Keeping a nitro fueled monster between the lines while cutting a good light is most definitely driving.

feather-throttle-not-hair > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:34

2

puddler > puddler 02/11/2014 at 12:34

2

i also don't consider paved oval tracks racing. you just wanna make lefts it better be on dirt.

jariten1781 > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:36

1

Just because it's not your cup of tea doesn't make it "not really driving".

DoctorDick > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:40

0

When you win a drag race its usualy not down to the driver, its more of a group effort with your team of mechanics and how well they put the car together. So drag is more of a team sport, much like Formula One, where the winner is determined by whoever has the most money/best constructed car.

EL_ULY > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:41

0

well a Chevy Tahoe vs a Nissan Quest at a test and tune session, not so much

but two racecars running in anywhere from 4-7's does take quite a bit of skill buddy :]

Hermann > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:42

0

Well, to actually have a big challenge you'd have to have at least 1hp/lb and a manual gearbox I'd say. It has much higher requirements.

But the fun out of it is a bit like hot lapping. You want that 1% improvement, you want that split second you know is there. It may be the way you launch, the way you clutch, the coordination of changing gear at the exact moment may cost you that thing you're chasing.

It's still about the chase, but like a hot lap it's about the number. Problem is that with a 50hp Fiat 147 you can have the funnest day of your life hot lapping it and chasing 2:37.9 while that WRX bro is chasing the 1:45.32. Other people don't really matter, because you are chasing a personal record because you don't really fit inside a category.

Drag racing with crap boxes doesn't have much fun (but that's just my opinion).

feather-throttle-not-hair > puddler 02/11/2014 at 12:42

2

I dunno man, I think "Not considering them racing" is sort of deliberately condescending towards those disciplines. I mean, do you consider track and field racing? Horse racing racing?

My guess is that you do. You also consider NASCAR and drag racing to be "racing," you just think of them as not particularly interesting forms of racing.

I dont find those disciplines interesting either, but they're still racing. They still require immense amounts of skill and talent to do properly at a high level and I still have respect for the people who do them. I'm just not going to watch their boring ass shit when they're on TV, that's all.

Grindintosecond > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:42

0

Don Garlits detached his retina from the top fuel G-force launches. figure, 25mph/sec is 1 g-force. By 660 feet they are at 260mph. At 60 feet they are doing 110mph. this is 5 G's of acceleration. Here's the anatomy of a top fuel run .

That's top fuel. that's the most extreme version. Drag racing is real racing but the talent required to keep a car straight and nail the launch at 0 seconds elapsed time goes up the more powerful the car gets. I've seen plenty of in-car sawing back and forth and throttle pedaling just to keep it straight. Watch some of the high powered stock bodied cars on Pinks and you'll see that. so, it's real racing just not long enough racing for me to get into.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:43

1

Take your car to the nearest dragstrip on a Friday Night. Read up on etiquette before you go (I'm serious). Bang out 5 passes and I think your opinion will differ.

911e46z06 > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:49

2

Pretty wrong. Drag racing is a really awesome mixture of brute force and finesse. A good drag car has to have tons of power. Putting down tons of power means unpredictability. It takes a lot of strength and skill to keep even 300 lb/ft of torque moving in a straight line at maximum speed when the tires are trying to spin and the rear end wants to fly around. And some drag cars are working with 20 times that much power.

Then there's the finesse. You need the quick reaction times, sure, but more than that, posting good times means keeping your car right on that edge of putting down maximum power with minimum loss of traction, which is insanely difficult. And then factor in that most drag competitions are scored on consistency, so you have to calculate on the fly how to remedy small inconsistencies like getting a little more grip off the line than last time, or shifting to second a little later than last time, to make it all even out to a consistent time.

It's different, for sure. But there is a lot that goes in to it, and though personally I prefer the twists, I have as much respect for drag racers as for any other type of driver.

feather-throttle-not-hair > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 12:51

1

I will say this: I'm not too into drag racing and it's not something i particularly enjoy watching on TV.

Buuuuuuuut

It's fun as shit to watch at the track at any level.

It's hand's down the best grassroots spectator motor sport. As you alluded to, not that much happens in a drag race and the stuff that does happen is over after a split second. However, they set events up so that that split second happens to take place in perfect view of any onlookers. Every "test and tune" night i've ever been to features a huge array of cars that run the gamut from "holy crap how can something that slow be that loud?" to "Holy crap."

Drag racing at the other end of the scale is equally worth viewing in person. I've been to two top fuel events in person and it's worth it just to experience an engine so loud that your eyeballs vibrate when they launch.

RayRay > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 13:00

0

Your second paragraph: A+ excellent points, moderate argument, I agree

Your first sentence: F- buzzfeed-article-title linkbait trollfest


...but it got me to comment :D

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 13:02

0

It's real driving.

HammerheadFistpunch > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 13:07

1

Its an extreme niche of the driving for pleasure genre. Far left (or right if you prefer) of the bell curve. it still takes lots of skill and grit, but its far from the cultural norm. I think drag racing is stupid, because its too finely niched and doesn't really have any room for growth (how much faster can you really go?) but its real driving.

CobraJoe > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/11/2014 at 13:18

0

It's all a matter of difficulty and skill.

In a slow car, it'd be really easy to go around a track at top speed, just like how it'd be really easy to do a quarter mile at top speed. Of course, some skill and experience will help reduce lap times in both situations.

Now once you start adding horsepower, it starts getting more difficult. Skill and experience will vastly help reduce times and help keep you from taking stupid chances.

But at the top end of each racing type, it would be effectively impossible without a lot of experience. The controls are vastly different than the average consumer car, the reaction to inputs are vastly different, and even the speeds necessary to make the cars work correctly are vastly different.

In other words, it might be easy to hop in a Honda civic and take it on a track or a dragstrip, but not so easy in a Viper, and impossible in a Top Fuel or a Formula 1 car.

puddler > feather-throttle-not-hair 02/11/2014 at 13:19

0

when you're right, you're right.

Aaron James > For Sweden 02/11/2014 at 16:06

0

I don't even think I could stay conscious in a top fuel car. The effect they have on the human body of spectators is pretty great, I can't imagine the noise, pressure, and G-forces from the inside of the beast. I mean you can't even breath when one goes by you in the stands, quite exhilarating.

George McNally > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/16/2014 at 10:05

0

I was a passenger in a car that did a 9.40 in the 1/4 mile.

Not "fast" by professional NHRA standards, but I can tell you that shit happens *fast* when you are going that quick.

Also, it's incredibly violent, the G forces really affect your depth perception....can't imagine what a faster car is like.

Just wear your damn mask... > GuacamoleFire - JRCC 02/23/2014 at 22:27

0

You are wrong. Ignorant and wrong.

Just about anyone can drive a car down a dragstrip, just as just about anyone can drive an IndyCar around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a Sprint Cup car around Bristol, or a Formula One car around Spa. Doesn't mean you'll be any good at it.

GuacamoleFire - JRCC > Just wear your damn mask... 02/24/2014 at 13:39

0

Wow. So much hate. Easy, Bro. Relax, everyone has a point of view, my take isn't the universal truth. Drag racing just doesn't do it for me, and bear in mind that I attended several, several drag competitions, I've seen those massive turbine powered funny cars, I've driven myself a 600 hp drag prepped Mustang, I have pictures hehe, and I've driven my lowly 200 hp hatchback on a race and I rather have 30 mins of fun around a track than 11 seconds of adrenaline rush. Am I ignorant? probably, but I know what I'm talking about.