Bill Stoneberg Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 http://www.buzzspeed.com/news/39/buick-grand-national-goes-against-challenger-hellcat-in-one-of-the-most-epic-drag-races Check out the street race... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 As always the Buick turbos are formidable competitors for "straight line" racing. One "sign" to me that those cars have seen "racing" is the body cracks at the top of the back of the side door window, where the "top meets the B-pillar". Gen 2 F-body cars had some of the same body flex issues, but they weren't "full frame" cars. One thing I noticed about GN drivers, respectfully so, is that many might talk "stock", when the real changes were "electronic" rather than "hard parts". Kind of like 5.0L Mustangs (Fox body) usually had Flowmasters on them. Thanks for that link, Bill. NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Shaw Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Too bad they chose not to do this at a local drag strip! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 The Hellcat is definitely making the power. Can't hook it up (I'm guessing he kept the traction control on, which kills power in 1st and 2nd gear) but once it was on the roll, it walked away from the Buick. Don't get me wrong, I have a strong-running 5.0 Mustang that I used to race, I still won't tangle with the big, bad, blown Bufords, but that wasn't a close race and they were out of it before half track in a true quarter-mile race. The Hellcat is legit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 I concur, Mark, but the "street racing" culture seems to be a somewhat clandestine part of the car hobby. I remember the earlier pushes to get racing off of the streets and onto the then-new drag strips of the later 1950s. I also remember how street racing venues have had to move farther and farther out of the metro areas as housing developments caught up with the road system. Now, it seems, things are coming back into certain areas of the newly-expanded freeway systems. Somewhat popularized by many YouTube videos and "cable" television series devoted to such! Remember when 400 horsepower meant an engine that was "hard to drive"? Then "nitros" became available and the horsepower levels escalated? Now, with a factory 700 horsepower that is an easy-driving car, it now seems that a nitros-assisted 1000 horsepower car is needed to keep some people happy! Oh, and don't forget about the 200mph club, either! YIKES! Yet 30 years ago, we never thought we'd see a factory car with over 250-300 net horsepower again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrlforfun Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 OK Buick People: I got a thrill ride....and I mean A THRILL RIDE!!!! in a fresh 2016 HellCat last week. The owner was really getting the hang of all the computerized gadgets and was getting the groove of how the car performs. I have a friend who has the '16 ScatPack. That i drove. The extra HP of the HC over the SP is incredible. I have been in a handful fast cars and this HellCat was not only super fast it had real manners too. I had a smile on my face and was giggling the rest of thew afternoon. I'm tellin' ya! BTW......BOTH owners had old Bu's. The HC owner had a 65 Riv, the SP owner, a 60 Electra. Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 I was driving to school a couple of days ago and on the mile long stretch between the next two intersecting roads, A guy in an Accura was in front of me and the car next to him was a ????????. At the light, the guy in the Accura was sort of a clown and was trying to egg on the guy in the ??????. When the light turned green, the ?????? was out of sight in a couple of seconds. He was stopped a mile down the road at the next light when everyone else caught up to him. I was able to make out the name on the badge - Tesla. After doing some research I found that the Tesla will exert 1.2 G's on your body in .2 seconds. Those electric motors are damned quick. I found a YouTube of a Tesla racing (on a track) a V10 Viper. The Viper was 3 - 4 car lengths behind within a second of two. But it finally ran down the Tesla toward the end of the strip. Does anyone else have any experience racing electric powered cars? Ed 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 Pretty much instant torque when dealing with electric motors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted September 27, 2016 Share Posted September 27, 2016 The Tesla Model X has a "Ludicrous mode" that allows it to sprint to 60 in like 2.8 seconds. It's currently the fastest-accelerating SUV in the world, but I'm pretty sure only the Bugatti Veyron is faster overall. Electric motors = 100% torque at 0 RPM and there's a motor at each corner. Pretty hard to beat that... unless your race is longer than, say, about a mile. Ludicrous mode drains the batteries pretty fast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 2 hours ago, Matt Harwood said: The Tesla Model X has a "Ludicrous mode" that allows it to sprint to 60 in like 2.8 seconds. It's currently the fastest-accelerating SUV in the world, but I'm pretty sure only the Bugatti Veyron is faster overall. Electric motors = 100% torque at 0 RPM and there's a motor at each corner. Pretty hard to beat that... unless your race is longer than, say, about a mile. Ludicrous mode drains the batteries pretty fast. Yeah, but there are no Flowmasters available for the Tesla -- that Hellcat roar is half the fun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted September 28, 2016 Share Posted September 28, 2016 I'd have to compare the Tesla to my farts - silent but deadly. Kinda sneaks up on you without warning and leaves you gasping at its power. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted September 30, 2016 Author Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) Driven the Tesla "S" and it is a damn quick car. I didn't tax it nearly as much as the owner who is a Race car driver. He scared me. Torque plus tremendous handling = a pretty fun ride. Actually given a choice between that and his Ferrarri that I drove the same day, I liked the Tesla. Also drove his 1915 Model T that day. It was disappointing to get back into regular car...... Edited September 30, 2016 by Bill Stoneberg (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Wow - driving a Tesla followed by the Model T has got to be the closest thing to time travel that one can experience on four wheels! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted October 1, 2016 Author Share Posted October 1, 2016 (edited) If I can find the pictures of the T head to head with the Tesla I will post them. I grew up driving (and starting) that particular Model T so I know it well and I enjoy driving it. Imagine where we would be if Ford would have chose electric as opposed to Internal Combustion.... Edited October 1, 2016 by Bill Stoneberg (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 There were electric cars in the Model T era. Mostly "city cars". AND wireless charging? But the nation was not fully electrified, back then, plus you could take gasoline with you in a storage container. Only batteries could store electricity ... back then. IF the move toward electric cars had been made back then, things surely would have been different. But for the more wide-spread growth of automobiles, gasoline made more sense in the long run. Of course, many R&D charges can probably be amortized over Musk's other vehicle ventures, especially in his Mars vehncles. NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldstyle Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Hellcat is a nice car and I wouldn't mind having one but I'd still pick the GN first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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