Quote:
Originally Posted by larry_g
That is freaking awesome! If you don't mind me asking, what kind of power does it take to do that?
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Disclaimer: I certainly don’t ever mean to patronize, and I hope this isn’t taken that way… Some already know a lot of this, or some of it, and some don’t… I’m always happy to share my experiences… and pass on helpful tidbits along the way… End of Disclaimer…
The Camaro, 5th Gen, typically is considered to need 1000 RWHP to go 200 mph in a mile, though it has been accomplished with 850 or so when all the stars align… Vettes are considered to need reliably 800 or so, to accomplish it…
The rub is, it’s incredibly hard on drive trains…
Say stock, just for giggles, you go to a drag strip. You run low 13’s, high 12’s or thereabouts. Your compadre is running low 12’s, high 11’s, with almost stock power… He added long tubes, a CAI, and gears. He switched out to say 4.10’s, he launches quicker, and accelerates faster… He given up top speed for the acceleration… If he runs a mile race, he’ll probably run out of gear and bounce off the rev limiter for a 1/2 mile…
Now, you can run a mile with the factory gearing, what 3.45’s for a manual car… or 3.23 for the auto, if memory serves… At stock power, no issue, and you might manage 160, if the speed limiter is removed… That’s a stretch… you’ll pull pretty hard through 5th gear, but 6th won’t gain you any more… wind and rolling resistance are exponential and ever present…
Now, up the power to say 900 or more, and change out the gears… and while you have a lot more top end, you lose the bottom, to some degree… To take advantage of the power your mods add, you go to a taller gear… say, 3.07’s… Your 0-60 sucks but holy heck when you finally get into and stay in the power… You don’t want to get into 6th gear, and with the improved build, maybe you run a higher rpm… and you load it up for a mile… It’s brutal… I’ve seen many a combatant, myself included going home on a trailer with lots of oil leaks, or windows in the block, etc etc etc…
My typical comparison is a 10 speed bicycle.., I’m old, that’s what we had…
1/4 mile racing… gears used… 1, 2, 3, 4, done…. Easy pedaling, quicker acceleration… less fatigue…
Mile Racing… Gears used, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, same bike, you’re blown out, tired, everything is stressed… Same thing with the cars…
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard some “expert” claim, “well my buddy has a 4th Gen with a Blaupunkt stereo and a 3/4 cam, and he hits 140 in the 1/4 mile, so he could go 200 in a mile. Yeah… no… It doesn’t work that way… Your bud is completely tapped out, if, that’s true, which I am highly suspect…
Very few cars do both well, and they are usually very very expensive… and yes, they break a lot of stuff too…
Don’t forget the safety equipment in the build as well… A friend broke a ceramic brake disc in excess of 200 and rolled many times. He was fortunate.. Some rich clown showed up at an event with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis car, and he was tech limited (very expensive car) to maybe 180… (I might have a picture of it with my car and yes, I smoked him badly… His was a bit quicker, mine was a lot faster…) He argued the car was built by…(insert company) to go 200 therefore… blah blah blah… Here’s the rule book, based on our experience… including a Lamborghini going arsehole over tea kettle a number of times, at 200~~ mph…
Last thing, unless any of this leads to any other questions, read the rules very closely for the event you plan to attend. For example, the OP here mentions drag radials. The Texas Mile as an example won’t allow drag radials or slicks… and you damned sure don’t want skinnies at 200 mph… If, and you will at some point, you get sideways, you will want all the front tire you can stand… Roll a skinny off the rim and you become a Tasmanian devil, rolling like a devil and scattering parts and dust everywhere…