Tweet
Re: BangShift Question of the Day: Blower, Nitrous, or Turbocharger?
Of course there are a few who still use Stromberg 48s and 97s, so nothing ever completely disappears. ;D
But things do change.
For example, it took less than a decade for flatheads to be subplanted by OHVs. Centrifugal superchargers went from a seldom-seen historical curiosity to a "major player" in even less time. Eaton-style mini-blowers have become much more common than hulking GMC -71 series puffers in the last ten years. Lysholm superchargers and high-helix Roots blowers became important bolt-on upgrades in a very abbreviated time frame. Electronic fuel injection went from "can't touch this" to Megasquirt III in less time than the average kid spends in public school.
Moreover, for several decades now, the leading edge of Bangshifting has been the pony-car class (Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds). That's not to say that other types of rods aren't being built. But the domestic aftermarket has long centered on these cars and their sheetmetal relatives (e.g. a Nova is merely a Camaro with a boxy body). These cars have been relatively cheap and readily available for over four decades.
And fads come and go. Since I've been around, I've seen many fads and trends rise and fall, such as T-buckets, street rods, "street freaks," pro-street, resto rods, Boydsters, billet, rat rods, Euro-tuner, pro-touring, restomods, fastest street car, iheads-up 10.5 racing, import tuner cars, neo-gassers.
So while there will always be some with the time, skills and bankroll to build a pro-streeter that would make Rick Dobbertin envious or a pro-touring car that would impress Mark Stielow, the center of the hobby is likely goiing to be based on whatever is cheap, and readily available. What the OEMs do greatly impacts this.
That doesn't mean that a fair number of lucky Bangshifters won't be building old school muscle and hot rods. It doesn't mean that there won't be a contingent who is willing to put up with the legal hassles, parts breakage and constant refilling expenses associated with nitrous. It doesn't mean that some diehards won't give up some efficiency and power for the visceral appeal of supercharging.
But when it all sorts out (as it always eventually does), the next generation of Bangshifters will be more likely to be working on a turbocharged OEM vehicle than a supercharged or nitroused one.
Of course there are a few who still use Stromberg 48s and 97s, so nothing ever completely disappears. ;D
But things do change.
For example, it took less than a decade for flatheads to be subplanted by OHVs. Centrifugal superchargers went from a seldom-seen historical curiosity to a "major player" in even less time. Eaton-style mini-blowers have become much more common than hulking GMC -71 series puffers in the last ten years. Lysholm superchargers and high-helix Roots blowers became important bolt-on upgrades in a very abbreviated time frame. Electronic fuel injection went from "can't touch this" to Megasquirt III in less time than the average kid spends in public school.
Moreover, for several decades now, the leading edge of Bangshifting has been the pony-car class (Mustangs, Camaros, Firebirds). That's not to say that other types of rods aren't being built. But the domestic aftermarket has long centered on these cars and their sheetmetal relatives (e.g. a Nova is merely a Camaro with a boxy body). These cars have been relatively cheap and readily available for over four decades.
And fads come and go. Since I've been around, I've seen many fads and trends rise and fall, such as T-buckets, street rods, "street freaks," pro-street, resto rods, Boydsters, billet, rat rods, Euro-tuner, pro-touring, restomods, fastest street car, iheads-up 10.5 racing, import tuner cars, neo-gassers.
So while there will always be some with the time, skills and bankroll to build a pro-streeter that would make Rick Dobbertin envious or a pro-touring car that would impress Mark Stielow, the center of the hobby is likely goiing to be based on whatever is cheap, and readily available. What the OEMs do greatly impacts this.
That doesn't mean that a fair number of lucky Bangshifters won't be building old school muscle and hot rods. It doesn't mean that there won't be a contingent who is willing to put up with the legal hassles, parts breakage and constant refilling expenses associated with nitrous. It doesn't mean that some diehards won't give up some efficiency and power for the visceral appeal of supercharging.
But when it all sorts out (as it always eventually does), the next generation of Bangshifters will be more likely to be working on a turbocharged OEM vehicle than a supercharged or nitroused one.
Comment