CarCraft Glorifying Street Racing??

[dieselgeek]

anxiously awaits three people logging in and backing up this awesome story.

[kyhunter89]

250whp? or flywheel hp?

Your results I believe. The other guy - not so much.

Whatever a bolton tuned stock 4.8 put out. I was told not to expect more than 275 then

[Ron Ward]

Heh, heh...

Alex and Scott have jogged my memory circuits...

For some reason, this clip popped into my head:

[Chris C.]

I myself read the article prior to seeing this discussion. Being guy in the middle class and by trade if I can't afford it I will make it or buy something used and make almost as good.

That is how I read the story, yes it was based around street racing, but you have to think about what it is really doing. People with not a lot of extra cash to spare who would like to do the bracket or amateur track events, but the added cost to travel, meet rules, event sponsor requirements can easily add up. With the down fall in the economy on any car web board that has a for-sale section you have noticed many bracket, amateur level roadrace, etc being sold. If you notice they are selling way cheaper then they did in the past.

Now the innovative part I took from the article that it is making part suppliers look into ways to make parts last longer and under extreme conditions. You know that makes progress and American ingenuity progress.

Like one of the people the article followed a guy made his own fuel injection computer and now he does it as business. If he didn't do it on his street car and race on the street, we wouldn't have another business building our economy.

Street racing is it dangerous? Yes, But the article does not follow them on a freeway with minivans racing up to 200 mph like tons of youtube video's of guys with lots of money and assume more common sense, but every evening a new video of some expensive sports car on a public highway in traffic.

The brotherhood is racing in Compton, I bet more people die of stabbings and gun shots in Compton then they do by a car going 100+. Also if you notice there are no cross streets. It is common sense you don't go fast with a cross street, because some local might be driving under the influence from the local pub and might just ignore the stop sign or street light.

I occasionally go to the local early morning street race, but one night we actually kept score of how many races happen compared to locals who ran the red light. 5 locals to one street race in a 2 hour period with only about 3 runs. Lets not count how many times we assisted the cops who stop by looking for local thieves who broke into a house or business.

When you drive thru those areas you roll up your windows and lock your doors. I hangout with my friends and strangers in a big area and never feel unsafe. If somebody does something stupid the group self polices it and it is handled. We respect the property owners by not leaving trash and big frown on any moron doing a burnout trying to look cool in a parking lot full of people.

It is an article about the people who live the life and how they better themselves. Does a Gun magazine talking about the old west give young kids the idea to carry a weapon and shoot people that they have a disagreement with. No, well some do.

It is not like the article had a blue border in the Tech section showing a step by step " How to street race". It happens everywhere, but the stuff on the news is usually over hyped news. People on the outside such as news and general public don't see the real. Heck I bet huge money the cops do and you know why the cops don't hassle. Because people are like cockroaches, they will just go somewhere else. So if you know where there at and you know it is a remote non-congested area then I bet they do occasional drive by.

I have seen it you have 50+ people on the side of a industrial area road at 3am and a cop drives by and everybody is waving. Does cop think there is a new Nike shoe or a new iphone coming out at the closed factory in the morning.

The fast people are smart people and they know when to go fast and when not to. Now the general public or the kid with the fart-can who runs stop signs and drives fast in the neighborhood. Well they are just morons.

[Beagle]

shit. Now I'm confused.

TC - is glorifying street racing bad? You just did with the 6.9 story.

I have a 74 450SL so I don't have a tough time believing anything except glued to the road part. It lifts bad. The friend of mine's 380 SLC from the same era would walk the "Panzerwagon"... they were both slow and had lonnnggg legs. The 6.9 had nothing on your average twin turbo Ford family car of today, nevermind a Cadillac. Modern four cylinders would spank it in a quarter.

Anyway, is that street racing glorification? Them, or us? I say they've done their job at thirteen pages.

[Deaf Bob]

Chris C.... Well well written! Good job!


Beagle... You flipflop so much..it is easily understood why you are confused...

Or Is it me?....

[SpiderGearsMan]

Whatever a bolton tuned stock 4.8 put out. I was told not to expect more than 275 then

new , the 4.8 was rated at 285 hp at the flywheel

[MoparBilly]

Street racer from 82-89, then my Wife demanded I get a Drag Car on a trailer. Didn't have another quick street car until 2008, have a CDL now and wouldn't think of Street racing.

2 biggest and most told lies in Street racing since the very beginning and still constant today are: How fast the cars are, and how much money is being bet!! My car in the 80's was 13.0 on motor and 11.90's on spray...like to have a dollar for every 10 second car I outran.

We eventually all got legit 10sec. drag cars, and realized very quickly how dangerous they can be on a narrow unprepped public road.

2500 HP (allegedly), small tire drag cars are not "Legit 8 sec Street Cars"...they are a slip and slide, near uncontrollable disaster-in-waiting on a public street.

[Beagle]

Chris C.... Well well written! Good job!


Beagle... You flipflop so much..it is easily understood why you are confused...

Or Is it me?....

I did it on purpose... so did the OP.

[LORENSWIFE]

anxiously awaits three people logging in and backing up this awesome story.

Loren and I were there! But we were drunk and in the back seat making out. Neither one of us could see the speedometer. There was some bromance huge black guy in the front seat that we had picked up out in front of the Walmart...I don't think that guy has the internet though.

[groucho]

I think it's a good idea to cover it. It's the backbone on almost every form of racing we do now. Street racing-drag racing, moonshine runnin-NASCAR, Mulhulland-road racing. Well, you get the idea. Street racing was a HUGE part of my life and the most fun years too (1975-86ish). From street racing I'm now and have been friends for years with Bob Brandt (Snakes crew chief), Karen and Gary Stoffer (Pro Stock Bike), Larry Dixon Jr/Sr (Top Fuel), Steve Johnson (PSB), and more. However, that particular article SUCKED, both in text and pictures.

[alan627b]

Street racing happened then and it happens now.. the big difference around here (Omaha) is that all the old vintage iron is primarily owned by guys who either take it to the track, or would rather race lawn chairs these days.
The newer stuff still races, but what really killed in this area is heavier traffic around the industrial area where we used to race, and more importantly, the fact that the cops have 3 helicopters.
We used to have several widespread areas to go to, but a whirlybird can be anywhere in the area in a matter of minutes.. tough to outrun that.
You can still get a race off, you just can't bring 300 people along and enjoy the experience for 3-4 hours like the old days. And watching Hondoids race in mall parking lots (true, I swear) or on a street with phone poles 4 feet off the curb line A) doesn't interest me and B) seems like a good way to get killed or arrested.
Aah, the good old days of the Abbott Drive Nationals and Total Insanity Raceway!

[Scott Liggett]

Street racing happened then and it happens now.. the big difference around here (Omaha) is that all the old vintage iron is primarily owned by guys who either take it to the track, or would rather race lawn chairs these days.
The newer stuff still races, but what really killed in this area is heavier traffic around the industrial area where we used to race, and more importantly, the fact that the cops have 3 helicopters.
We used to have several widespread areas to go to, but a whirlybird can be anywhere in the area in a matter of minutes.. tough to outrun that.
You can still get a race off, you just can't bring 300 people along and enjoy the experience for 3-4 hours like the old days. And watching Hondoids race in mall parking lots (true, I swear) or on a street with phone poles 4 feet off the curb line A) doesn't interest me and B) seems like a good way to get killed or arrested.
Aah, the good old days of the Abbott Drive Nationals and Total Insanity Raceway!

We cruised West Dodge Rd from 76th to 96th back in the 80's. The big races usually headed up to Abbott Dr north of the airport in what was technically Iowa in the industrial park. It was nearly abandoned at night. Sometime in 85-86 the Omaha PD signed to patrol that area and Carter Lake.

[Blazerteam]

This happened some days ago..

http://www.streetlegaltv.com/news/vi...n-street-race/

[CDMBill]

Smart phones everywhere, big brother is us.

Side note, I've driven both a 450 SEL 6.9 back in the day as well as a grey market 1980 745 BMW that I owned in the early 80's, both would get to 140+ and I hit that once in the big Merc and quite a few times in the BMW out in the boonies in Az. The prior model 6.3 Merc was the real rocket ship for its day.

I hope everyone here can support your local tracks and the TnT, grudge night deals they run. I was at the reopened Irwindale Dragway Thursday night. Got in four passes. By the time I was packed up at 8 PM the place was full, packed stands, six deep along the entire 1/8 mile fence and all to watch everything from some actual race cars earlier in the day to dozens of clapped out Hondas, Subaru's and two brand new Ford Taurus SHO's of all things. They are getting at least some folks off the streets and onto the track. Should have more of these everywhere.