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I think the big thing going on now in California is shutting down intersections, the highway, or parking lots and doing donuts. They are on a few youtube channels, its crazy sometimes.
I loved the muscle cars of the 60’s and ‘70’s. Cars these days are not the same as the “good old days”. My old neighbors had a 1970 Chevy Chevelle 454 and the other had a 1969 Camaro Z28.
I recall the rumble those cars made as they rolled down the street. Back then, loud &
modified exhausts were much more permissible. Miss that culture.
My locale is the typical Heartland blue-collar region, with lots of open land, plenty of empty pavement, and what one might have thought was a local workforce quite adept at traditional wrenching. But appearances are beguiling. Racing, whether at the local drag-strip or in less aboveboard circumstances, does not enjoy strong cultural significance. At the risk of sounding crass and condescending, I'd opine that most of whom would be the traditional suspects, are either too short of funds, or too busy with family and career.
While I don't condone illegal street-racing, it would have brought more joy to life, to have opportunity to be around more fast cars, and more people with the competence and wherewithal to work on them. But such is - at least locally - not the case.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gungnir
...Often the Miata is given like 150 yards in lengths too because numpty with the big and expensive machinery doesn't know the rules, and didn't ask what was under the hood, and doesn't know jack about betting their car....
As a Miata owner/amateur mechanic, I'd be surprised by this. The typical NA Miata (1990-1997) with a 5.7 liter LS1 swap and T-56 transmission runs somewhere in the high 12s, or low 13s... which is to say, not quite 1 second faster than the 4th-generation GM F-body, from which the drivetrain is sourced... despite weighing 1000 pounds less. There are of course extremely impressive examples, as a quick you-tube search of V8/turbo Miatas reveals. But it's a rarity.
Also, 150 yards is more than a third of the entire quarter-mile race. A simple calculation with a Excel spreadsheet reveals that a 150-yard handicap is an enormous difference in power to weight ratio.
As a Miata owner/amateur mechanic, I'd be surprised by this. The typical NA Miata (1990-1997) with a 5.7 liter LS1 swap and T-56 transmission runs somewhere in the high 12s, or low 13s... which is to say, not quite 1 second faster than the 4th-generation GM F-body, from which the drivetrain is sourced... despite weighing 1000 pounds less. There are of course extremely impressive examples, as a quick you-tube search of V8/turbo Miatas reveals. But it's a rarity.
Also, 150 yards is more than a third of the entire quarter-mile race. A simple calculation with a Excel spreadsheet reveals that a 150-yard handicap is an enormous difference in power to weight ratio.
It's a 150 yard handicap against the idiot in the Hellcat.
The one I saw was a dual twin scroll turbo on a DOHC 2.8L Nissan RB engine pushing 700hp before NOS (and it had NOS), the flying Miata is 380hp with a heavier engine, and likely tranny, with only 380hp roughly half the power. And don't get on to "torque wins races" yeah, wheel torque, not crank torque, that's why we have gearboxes.
The one I saw was a dual twin scroll turbo on a DOHC 2.8L Nissan RB engine pushing 700hp before NOS (and it had NOS), the flying Miata is 380hp with a heavier engine, and likely tranny, with only 380hp roughly half the power. And don't get on to "torque wins races" yeah, wheel torque, not crank torque, that's why we have gearboxes.
The forced-induction engines can run some breathtaking (pun intended) numbers. However, there's a weight penalty. The RB engines are around 500 lb bare, plus the weight of turbo plumbing. The LS1 is at around 430 pounds.
The T56 transmission (commonly paired with LS engine) is however quite heavy. An aftermarket-fortified version of the T5 is often the better choice.
Never mind the numbers - it's pretty shocking to be having this discussion on City-Data, as opposed to Miata.net, or Hybridz.org!
One of the best spots I ever saw and I think was the last street race I attended, was roughly 18 years ago. It was on Outer Drive and McNicols in Detroit. One of the known dealers had a Grand National with a Duetwheller 4.3 , supposedly the car ran low 9's. Looked bone stock, maybe slightly lower and it looked like a 10" slick , don't think it was mini tubbed or anything. He was racing an 69 Chevelle BBC with a bunch of spray. The GN gave the Chevelle 10 cars and the leave. When it went down, my jaw almost hit the ground. When the Chevelle left, the GN launched and I swear the right rear bumper was almost dragging the pavement. By the time he hit second gear he had caught up to the Chevelle, then it was all over from there. I'm guess the Chevelle might have dipped into the 10's but he got suckered on that race, for sure.
Had some moron try me today in a 4 banger junker. Let him have the first 500 ft and then i rolled into it and once i passed 90 he was left in the dust.
I don't think the younger generations have much interest in cars. Their interests are in computers and video games. A lot of kids think they should live well without ever doing any work and maintaining a car is hard greasy work.
The newer cars are difficult to work on, requiring expensive tools.
And too many wannabe racers that don't have two brain cells to rub together. Philly had a problem with them a few years back and people were getting killed.
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