23 replies to this topic

[cbstdscott]

The latest edition of Honda Tuning, in the Editor's Column, declares that the Sport Compact World is losing interest in drag racing and drifting. The up swing in interest is in racing on tracks where turns and traction are appreciated. Is this so? Post your opinion.

Scott

[Richter77]

The latest edition of Honda Tuning, in the Editor's Column, declares that the Sport Compact World is losing interest in drag racing and drifting. The up swing in interest is in racing on tracks where turns and traction are appreciated. Is this so? Post your opinion.

Scott

I'm guilty of drag racing my Honda, it has taken almost 8 years for me to see the light. Drag racing is the easiest/cheapist form of racing to participate in with your stock vechicle. If you are truly into these little compact cars, you gotta give autocross/road racing a try.

[RARECRX]

Drag racing is where all forms of motor-sports derived from. I come from generations of a hot rod/drag racing family. Yes I do bracket race and have hundreds of passes from ranging from 12 seconds to 17 seconds in many different cars. I am currently building up a V-8 "drag car" to run down the *Quarter Pounder*.. Its relatively cheap (sometimes), its FUN, and I meet great people when doing it. Thats what counts.

I respect all forms of Motorsports equally. I can't stand to watch some of them, but I respect them. I can almost guarantee I would love doing them all though (myself behind the wheel).

Drag racing and drifting has come under a lot of scrutiny due to the ricer boy image movies that have been produced. I agree some of the characters that do them are "less than classy" to say the least.

I will always drag race no matter what decline or loss of interest becomes to it..

I'm glad drag racing and drifting is declining, this means it will weed out all the Wannabe's and ONLY the hardcore enthusiasts will be left.

I can't wait until Fast & furious 5 Autocross/SCCA Edition "Burns With Turns" comes out so you guys can have your *turn* (pun not intended)..


FAST & FURIOUS MOVIES= Killing major motorsports 1 sequel at a time....

[JU5TIN]

FAST & FURIOUS MOVIES= Killing major motorsports 1 sequel at a time....

your funny

to me drifting looks cool, but when i am in the car driving i have always known, well since i started riding quads, you do better to stick than to slide

Justin

[EuphoricBlue]

your funny

to me drifting looks cool, but when i am in the car driving i have always known, well since i started riding quads, you do better to stick than to slide

Justin

I'll start by saying not to take the following to heart, I'm just throwing thoughts out there for the masses to digest and prove me wrong, or maybe agree with me.

Now then, quads... You are more likely to flip a quad than drift it on pavement, and when was the last time you took your quad to Auto-X? Quads are comparable to 4x4s, not so much to the sport compacts.

As for better to stick than to slide, let me present NASCAR. Here is a form of racing that is a cross between drag and circuit racing. Those guys get on the power pretty much at the apex and slide their cars out to the wall at the exit. If 100% grip was faster there, they'd be doing it. I remember someone saying 90%ish grip is fastest (as in pushing to just where the tires start to slide). So, sliding your car does have its place in some applications. Drifting in particular though is not really a race applicable practice, It's just great fun and a cool show. Full drift IS slower than full grip and it burns up the tires. (The only true exception is when apexing turns sharper than your car's turn radius)



Now for the actual topic. I've drag raced my CRXs, I enjoy getting my MR2 sideways now and then, but when money allows I'm going to start looking into auto-x/road course racing.

If someone was to come up to me and say "Hey, I'll cover all your racing expense for a year, but you'll be limited to one type of racing for the year. You can chose from Drag, Drift or Road Racing" I would take road racing hands down. (Which is what I voted for)

Now, having said that, I'm still going to go to the drags now and then... And I'm still going to take my RWDs sideways. To me, driving is about enjoying my car and the road, about going with what I feel. Not about fitting myself into a strict bracket of rules and shunning the rest.

Remember, the mixed stage rally guys laugh at you pavement hugging autocrossers, just as much as you guys laugh at Drag/Nascar

[cbstdscott]

As for better to stick than to slide, let me present NASCAR... If 100% grip was faster there, they'd be doing it. ... So, sliding your car does have its place in some applications.

No, Hell No, a Thousand Times No. Please put that incorrect thought out of your head.

NASCAR has no choice in the matter as they use a spec tire, spec shocks and a spec chassis (COT). Any racer will tell you that any kind of slip (loss of traction) is loss of speed. If the individual NASCAR team could choose their tires, etc. they woud use a set up that does not slip. NASCAR management makes them use all this spec stuff to keep speeds and costs down.

Scott

[EuphoricBlue]

No, Hell No, a Thousand Times No. Please put that incorrect thought out of your head.

NASCAR has no choice in the matter as they use a spec tire, spec shocks and a spec chassis (COT). Any racer will tell you that any kind of slip (loss of traction) is loss of speed. If the individual NASCAR team could choose their tires, etc. they woud use a set up that does not slip. NASCAR management makes them use all this spec stuff to keep speeds and costs down.

Scott

I understand where you are coming from. You are looking at maximizing the potential of a set car/driver ability by increasing the μ. Absolutely, having more grip that you can use will give you the best time.


But I'm looking at it from the side of maximizing the potential of a given μ.
The laws don't change just because the μ changed. If maximizing the potential of one μ means sliding out of a corner, then maximizing the potential of another μ will still mean sliding out of a corner.

[87crexsi]

well i was originally a Z guy having owned a 84 300zx turbo, 87 non-turbo and a 88 turbo. so a modded up 3.0l v6 with a 60-1 turbo along with a 3.70 lsd makes for sideways an anytime kinda thing. and i love rwd cars and will always love drag but driftin is an awesome feelin all in its own. just ridin with someone that knows how to drift is fun....i got a buddy with a built s14 that he slides around everything....fun as hell. now i'm back into the fwd game for now but atleast its a turbo'd fwd. lol so drag is inevitable....but i love road racing too.....mountain roads n such. and i wanna try a track sometimes to get that feeling....in which my buddy with the s14 does as well.

[zakats]

I went with 1/4 due to my car's current status as a double decker bus around the turns... stock suspension that is very worn-out and awful tires
when I get around to tightening up the chassis and suspension along with decent tires I then will definitely be all over the autox scene but until then, I'm shooting for deep 13's

[CRXfanatic]

Always has been, always will be ot/ax for me!!!

[RETROCRX]

No, Hell No, a Thousand Times No. Please put that incorrect thought out of your head.

NASCAR has no choice in the matter as they use a spec tire, spec shocks and a spec chassis (COT). Any racer will tell you that any kind of slip (loss of traction) is loss of speed. If the individual NASCAR team could choose their tires, etc. they woud use a set up that does not slip. NASCAR management makes them use all this spec stuff to keep speeds and costs down.

Scott

Scott,

If you drive your CRX on track and do not slide it AT ALL, then you are a WAY slower driver than I had ever imagined!

All Race cars are sliding in a corner......Even an F1 car. The trick is to slide in a manner that does not scrub too much. Scrubbing latterally does not necessarily affect your speed in a corner if you do it properly.

HOWEVER.....that amount makes it look like the cars are not sliding at all. The moment the car is pointed lets say more than 5 degrees from the direction you are intending to travel then you are scrubbing to much.

The drift an F1 car sustains around a corner vs the "DRIFT" a 240 SX drift car sustains are 2 very different things with 2 very different purposes.

As for my vote.....I am and have ALWAYS been a road racer......I can only get my jollys with lateral G's!!

Tail hung way out drifting is fun to do but not productive on a track and drag racing is no fun to me unless you have at least 500hp under your right foot!

Rob

[AnyasGrandma]

you people are so cruel to drifters

i love it

[crazy87rexsi]

Drag racing is where all forms of motor-sports derived from. I come from generations of a hot rod/drag racing family. Yes I do bracket race and have hundreds of passes from ranging from 12 seconds to 17 seconds in many different cars. I am currently building up a V-8 "drag car" to run down the *Quarter Pounder*.. Its relatively cheap (sometimes), its FUN, and I meet great people when doing it. Thats what counts.

I respect all forms of Motorsports equally. I can't stand to watch some of them, but I respect them. I can almost guarantee I would love doing them all though (myself behind the wheel).

Drag racing and drifting has come under a lot of scrutiny due to the ricer boy image movies that have been produced. I agree some of the characters that do them are "less than classy" to say the least.

I will always drag race no matter what decline or loss of interest becomes to it..

I'm glad drag racing and drifting is declining, this means it will weed out all the Wannabe's and ONLY the hardcore enthusiasts will be left.

I can't wait until Fast & furious 5 Autocross/SCCA Edition "Burns With Turns" comes out so you guys can have your *turn* (pun not intended)..


FAST & FURIOUS MOVIES= Killing major motorsports 1 sequel at a time....

I agree with that(movies killing everything) Hollywood represents made up fiction that everyone else wants to see but in truth how many of us are out jacking trailers in the middle of the nights driving my black boosted neon lighted civics LOL


I have been in to drag for awhile my friends, family(long history there my grandmother drag raced back in the day and lost her license for it too)im still going to drag i go to the track as often as i can i may not not run every time but i go to have a good time
hell id love to go and see drift cars i will probaly never do it untill i find a car able to do it
that goes for autocross to but now my car is suitable to do just need another set of tires and where to go here in VA i would rather do drag and autocross just do to growing up here not much drifting here

[cbstdscott]

Scott,
If you drive your CRX on track and do not slide it AT ALL, then you are a WAY slower driver than I had ever imagined!

As has been pointed out, the path to speed is to fight traction loss with all possible means available. And yes, even the stickiest car will lose traction sometime. And yes, I do lose traction when I am racing... but I would be faster if I could find a way to gain some more traction (traction control is a VERY good thing).

The average moron is vastly impressed by tire smoke and lateral acceleration. It is not just the stupid movies that glorify this waste of tire rubber, TV shows like Top Gear turn off the traction control on test cars just so that they can throw them sideways in great billowing clouds of tire smoke for the camera. But you notice that The Stig keeps the traction control on when he does a lap for time.

And the worst offenders of all are... Car Commericals!!! When a manufacturer wants to impress potential buyers you would think they would show how well a car sticks around a corner. But Noooooooooo. They throw their product around with tires screaming because that average moron at home is impressed by "performance."

Scott

[zakats]

Top Gear turn off the traction control on test cars just so that they can throw them sideways in great billowing clouds of tire smoke for the camera. But you notice that The Stig keeps the traction control on when he does a lap for time.

all in the name of cinematography I believe... the show has to be entertaining to the average joe the british plumber shiny objects and tire smoke just so happen to be aesthetically pleasing and interesting to look at without minding how useless it is. fwiw I recall most of the time the stig doesnt use traction control

besides, at times, we all like to indulge ourselves in (very) primitive forms of entertainment- really how else would television companies like fox/fox news EVER get any ratings otherwise?