"Drag" Racing...
 

Is it called drag racing because the cars are so bad aerodynamically?

Why don't professional drag racing teams do the obvious things like smoothing the body, adding wheel skirts, etc... The things that won't affect downforce, but do induce massive "parachute effect" drag?

I never really understood this, since I learned about aerodynamic effects in 8th grade with our CO2 "dragster" project.

drag applies to many things, including the oem engines holding themself back. i could babble a few other things beyond air. if to overwhelm a power to weight, not many care about airflow...while doing a wheelie..for normal cars put there anyway. the fastest racing class plays with aero.

I believe the term drag racing came about because people used to race down "the main drag" of town.. meaning a street.

depends on how fast your car is...

Cars that don't finish the 1/4 in 14 seconds don't need it, most don't get over 100. 9 second cars do need aero mods, although most drag racers don't realize it/ they want their cars to look good.
Although.....funny cars need rear will skirts...

This isn't true at all... you take any car that finishes the 1/4 mile at a speed over 45 MPH, and major aero-mods would lower their ET's, even marginally. When you're in any class, .01 second counts.

A lot of my friends had 87-93 Mustang GT's running anywhere from mid 11's to mid 14's. One of the things that slowed the cars down was the the deep rear bumper. It acted like a parachute. Thats why if you notice the "Cobra" version (more performance) of the same years has a totally different rear bumper cover and different side skirts.

GT
http://memimage.cardomain.com/ride_i...0113_large.jpg

Cobra
http://www.dragtimes.com/images/9094...rd-Mustang.jpg

BTW the rear wing on the Cobra was totally terrible. For High Speed runs people would tape them shut

Please show me a class of cars that run 14 seconds, and you'll see why it doesn't matter.

Yes aerodynamics help, but it's not worth it to the people racing.

With top-fuel dragsters, they overcome aero disadvantages with engine power. Also, there is a form their cars must meet in certain classes to qualify.

The term "drag" comes from "dragging" related to the French "draguer" meaning "to act like a playboy or womanizer."

Come to the local drags at Beaver Springs, PA... you'll see lots of the slowest cars out there that have minor aero-mods to help keep the "parachute effect" down. Some of those mods include cutting huge holes in the back bumper covers, folding in mirrors, stuffing foam strips in the gaps between the hood and fenders, etc.

I think you're assuming that I'm talking about professional drag racing only... I'm not. Even guys with Geo Metros take their cars to the track on weekends and bracket race. That's where it's at.

I would like to race my Yaris against a professional top-fuel just for a laugh. Did you know that top-fuel dragsters accelerate faster than F-16 fighter jets?

Did you know that a scale model of a Dodge Viper will accelerate faster than a full-size Dodge Viper on a downhill coast? Oh yes, it will win a coasting 1/4 mile.

(Yes, I knew that they accelerated faster than fighters.)

You could start your Yaris approx 300 feet from the finish line. By the time you crossed it, the Top Fuel car would have his 'chute out.

There's something to be said for a 3.3 second 1/4 mile at over 300 MPH.

LOL stock Yaris drag race versus modded Mustang LMAO...only bad thing is the horrible camera work, bu still funny

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mc3Ih5UFng

My uncle has a first gen prius... I told him when the batteries die and he tries to sell it, to let me know... I'd sell the gear from it and turn it into something insane (read as "inefficient") to drive. LOL.

Probably the most neglected modification in racing is to streamline the roll cage and any other tubes in the breeze.

Drag racing... We're not discussing drag queens running in high heels, are we?

Some of us do try :-)

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...help-7546.html

Fastest time by a Top Fuel is 4.42 at 337mph (Tony Shumacher)

And yes the use power to run these times over aero mods. But the thing is that is overlooked is that the fuel Nitromethane will give more power when its under load...so in a way the 'drag' helps.

They still amaze me and I have been in the sport for 28 years.

Any advice welcome too!

Don't pretty much all fuels provide more power under load? I thought that was a function of efficiency...

As far as aero-modding your car, I read about 3 posts in your other thread... I haven't looked at your car yet, but I realize that you don't want to change your appearance too drastically.

Not sure if it will pass Tech 'Spec, but you can fair back your roll-cage bars with extra material (which will add a little more weight) to gain some aero. Something like hard foam glued to the bars (which counts as a safety feature) and just taper it back so that it's holding to somewhat of an airfoil shape.

Smooth wheels, and a belly pan with a rear extension (past the back of the car) that helps to keep airflow from detaching and rotating wildly after leaving the underside of the car.

If there are any body panels on the car, make sure there aren't any protrustions from the body which are thicker than the boundary layer. Preferably, smooth out all the panels, but at least check for protrusions.

One consideration that many don't take into account nearly enough is weight loss.

Soichiro Honda, back in the first days of Honda Motor Co, used to walk the assembly lines looking for bolts that had too many threads sticking out. If he found one, he'd make the worker take it out, file the end down to an acceptable length, and then file a report so that the newest order of those bolts wouldn't be any longer than they needed to be.

Maybe, this is just splitting hairs... but no matter whether you're a billion dollar race team, or Joe, down the street, the same physics apply. The lighter car will be faster/quicker (all else equal) and the faster/quicker car wins.

I guess if that's where the topic goes, LOL... I like to keep my threads pretty open... I believe that if the discussion turns, we should let it turn as long as it's related to the original topic or a question there-in.

A full grill block and 5" lip gave me about 2mph in the 1/4mile. No change in E.T. but there were other factors at work there. I'm hoping on going back in the fall with some more aero mods to see what change that makes. How does a 15.7 @ 89mph, and 54mpg, sound? :D

Kitty Oneil ran a 3.22 1/4 mile. @ 412mph


In a rocket car...

in the rule books there are some limitations on what you can do to the body... x number of inches past the wheels in the rear, y number of inches longer than the wheel base... so on and so forth...
Very few of the "professional" teams have access to windtunnels for testing, NASA engineers to diagram their air flow efficency... etc... most invest all their money into 7,000 HP engines and their replacement parts

oh... and as for cars slower than 14s... we do drag race ;) its called "Bracket" or a type of handicapped racing

I raced a Pro Street Mustang in my Subaru GL wagon years ago. Killed him off the line and for the first 15 feet. I think he was back home sleeping by the time I actually crossed the line, though. Brake-standing, I ran 19.6 @ 66 mph. To the GL, it was just like pulling onto the highway.

...and the primarily outrageous salaries that some of those drivers make...

Easy Drag Reduction
 

Much aero work does need wind tunnel testing, but it is a pretty good bet that a round tube cutting the wind could be easily improved by a factor of two or three. Five or six might take some science.