we all seem to be on a constant quest to make our cars faster,
now having been this route over and over for fifty plus years,
and with many cars, and dozens of engines ETC.
and having spent a small fortune on cars and engines over the years,
it EVENTUALLY sinks in that YOU'LL NEVER have the fastest car around,
mostly because none of us has an unlimited bank balance , we can constantly draw from,
and the time required to build and maintain the car.
and you only get to ENJOY your car when its running correctly.
this is based on the obvious fact you can,t afford ,
to buy and test every idea and part available,
a team of top engineers and mechanics ,
and all the best exotic parts and machine work.
So, whats a realistic goal,
whats IMPRESSIVE to you?
and what will make YOU happy?
you can build a damn nice 10 or 11 second car,
that can be driven on the street.
now I sat down and spent some time thinking this thru, thinking about what it takes,
to have a good car, and for ME its not all about speed or E.T.,
Ive owned a very low 10 second corvette,and a low 10 second camaro,
Ive had several 11 second cars,
but the cars Ive enjoyed the most were the ones I got to drive on the street,
with both performance and DARN FEW PROBLEMS,
The CARS I really enjoyed were those that while faster than average,
and had few problems.. were also cars that appeared to be nearly stock,
and didn,t attract a good bit of attention,
its just a P.I.T.A. to drive a car when your constantly needing to think about keeping the plugs from fouling or the local cops hearing it running,
or when every idiot teenager that sees the car wants you to race their 14 second Junker
or one thats about to get stolen if you park it, without constant supervision, ETC.
and when the local track requires a certified roll cage, trans blanket,
blow proof bell housings, and battery disconnects,
ETC. and you can't drive to the track, it fast becomes a P.I.T.A.
most of the cars I've really enjoyed driving were big block cars that would run in the low 12s or high 11 second range on street tires,
they could be driven on trips to the store, or on vacation,
, DEPENDABILITY was a HUGE PLUS,
what made them so great was that they were both dependable,
and faster than ALMOST all the cars they got to play with on the street,
you could EMBARRASS the local street screech ricers and mustang crowd, and there was little worry about breakage or problems, and you could park them without needing to watch them every second.
I just thought ID point that out for the newer guys here!
don't get so worried about running fast!
build your car so you can ENJOY it and DRIVE IT.
having 600-700 hp is nice, but nearly useless if you can,t go anywhere with the car............think it thru......you may really want 400-550 hp and a dependable car rather than a 600hp-900hp garage queen!
having a larger displacement engine generally means you can run with the engine slightly out of perfect tune and still have impressive performance,
as WITH most things a compromise needs to be struck,
but having a car you can enjoy on the street beats having a toy you can rarely get to drive,
and only at the track, in most cases.
WHEN YOU CAN,T DEPEND ON THE CAR TO JUMP INTO IT ANY TIME AND DRIVE IT ON A local 2-3 hour TRIP ITS BASICALLY NOT A STREET CAR
RELATED THREADS
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2709
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1908
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2834
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=783
now having been this route over and over for fifty plus years,
and with many cars, and dozens of engines ETC.
and having spent a small fortune on cars and engines over the years,
it EVENTUALLY sinks in that YOU'LL NEVER have the fastest car around,
mostly because none of us has an unlimited bank balance , we can constantly draw from,
and the time required to build and maintain the car.
and you only get to ENJOY your car when its running correctly.
this is based on the obvious fact you can,t afford ,
to buy and test every idea and part available,
a team of top engineers and mechanics ,
and all the best exotic parts and machine work.
So, whats a realistic goal,
whats IMPRESSIVE to you?
and what will make YOU happy?
you can build a damn nice 10 or 11 second car,
that can be driven on the street.
now I sat down and spent some time thinking this thru, thinking about what it takes,
to have a good car, and for ME its not all about speed or E.T.,
Ive owned a very low 10 second corvette,and a low 10 second camaro,
Ive had several 11 second cars,
but the cars Ive enjoyed the most were the ones I got to drive on the street,
with both performance and DARN FEW PROBLEMS,
The CARS I really enjoyed were those that while faster than average,
and had few problems.. were also cars that appeared to be nearly stock,
and didn,t attract a good bit of attention,
its just a P.I.T.A. to drive a car when your constantly needing to think about keeping the plugs from fouling or the local cops hearing it running,
or when every idiot teenager that sees the car wants you to race their 14 second Junker
or one thats about to get stolen if you park it, without constant supervision, ETC.
and when the local track requires a certified roll cage, trans blanket,
blow proof bell housings, and battery disconnects,
ETC. and you can't drive to the track, it fast becomes a P.I.T.A.
most of the cars I've really enjoyed driving were big block cars that would run in the low 12s or high 11 second range on street tires,
they could be driven on trips to the store, or on vacation,
, DEPENDABILITY was a HUGE PLUS,
what made them so great was that they were both dependable,
and faster than ALMOST all the cars they got to play with on the street,
you could EMBARRASS the local street screech ricers and mustang crowd, and there was little worry about breakage or problems, and you could park them without needing to watch them every second.
I just thought ID point that out for the newer guys here!
don't get so worried about running fast!
build your car so you can ENJOY it and DRIVE IT.
having 600-700 hp is nice, but nearly useless if you can,t go anywhere with the car............think it thru......you may really want 400-550 hp and a dependable car rather than a 600hp-900hp garage queen!
having a larger displacement engine generally means you can run with the engine slightly out of perfect tune and still have impressive performance,
as WITH most things a compromise needs to be struck,
but having a car you can enjoy on the street beats having a toy you can rarely get to drive,
and only at the track, in most cases.
WHEN YOU CAN,T DEPEND ON THE CAR TO JUMP INTO IT ANY TIME AND DRIVE IT ON A local 2-3 hour TRIP ITS BASICALLY NOT A STREET CAR
RELATED THREADS
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2709
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1908
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2834
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=783
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