What's more impressive...

... a street car that hits the track or a track car that's driven on the street?

What are some important aspects of a street car? AC? killer stereo? great handling?  

Steve,
Handling is important, but so is drivability on the street. If it handles great, but feels like a cement mixer on the highway, that ain't so good.

nick  

hay steve'
hence street/strip car if you have all thoes goodies its not gonna be very good on the strip to heavy but if its gonna  be a cruse car its nice to have all thoes goodies hence pro parkinglot....  

What defines each?  Two people looking at the same car might come to opposite conclusions.

I don't think street cars need A/C or stereo-- after all, it wasn't too long ago that such things didn't even exist in cars.  So I don't necessarily see "luxury" as being part of the street definition for ***

What's impressive is just how far someone can take a vehicle in both directions AT THE SAME TIME.  A man named Kent Kroeker has a daily driver Dodge Diesel pickup that just happened to finish on the podium at the Baja 1000 it's first time out--- with functional A/C and CD player and a surprisingly stock interior (caged and racing seats, but the rest is mostly stock).

Then are the the turbo Buick guys running 8s in cars that are street driven with functional A/C, stereo, power windows and such.

Any street vehicle can go to the track-- if winning isn't that important.  Conversely, within the bounds of the law, any race car can be street driven.

Now build a car that weighs under 3k, pulls a full G lateral, runs 11s and has a nice leather interior with AC and killer tunes, cruise contol, etc while, rides like a Lexus, is quiet as a vault, never overheats or stalls, and passes smog in CA, and *THEN* I will be very, very impressed.  

Hey im new to this an 16 so n ething u guys could teach me that would great. In regards to the post i think wats more inpresive is a street car that hits the track that means that there are lots of backyard gearheads that enjoy to build it an see wat it runs, I mean wats more exciting than havin ur done up highly tuned performance mill run 10.30's in the quater?  

I agree with the daily street driven car that hits the track on occasion. To have something like an all black '69 Charger that you seen rolling through town many times, and then to see it hit the track every once in awhile, watching it murder most of the field on a whim, that's what's happening to me.

The street car doesn't have to have a high end sound system, just the bare min to get a nice groove going to and from work. Obviously, your track based ride won't have such luxuries, probably been stripped for weight reductions.  

I agree on the audio system. My '68 Camaro is just going to have a small am fed by an MP3 (ie, Ipod) player. No head unit at all.

Just some tunes for long cruises. It will help take my mind off the lack of AC or heat.  

I have a killer stereo in my 11 second TA, but I hardly ever turn it on. I like the sound of the engine way too much. The only time I really used it was when I drove the Power Tour from Texas to Green Bay. I agree that it's way more impressive for a street car that can hang with the race cars on the track. When I go to the drag strip I love it when I spank a race only car.  

Hohn:
What defines each?  Two people looking at the same car might come to opposite conclusions.

I don't think street cars need A/C or stereo-- after all, it wasn't too long ago that such things didn't even exist in cars.  So I don't necessarily see "luxury" as being part of the street definition for ***

What's impressive is just how far someone can take a vehicle in both directions AT THE SAME TIME.  A man named Kent Kroeker has a daily driver Dodge Diesel pickup that just happened to finish on the podium at the Baja 1000 it's first time out--- with functional A/C and CD player and a surprisingly stock interior (caged and racing seats, but the rest is mostly stock).

Then are the the turbo Buick guys running 8s in cars that are street driven with functional A/C, stereo, power windows and such.

Any street vehicle can go to the track-- if winning isn't that important.  Conversely, within the bounds of the law, any race car can be street driven.

Now build a car that weighs under 3k, pulls a full G lateral, runs 11s and has a nice leather interior with AC and killer tunes, cruise contol, etc while, rides like a Lexus, is quiet as a vault, never overheats or stalls, and passes smog in CA, and *THEN* I will be very, very impressed.

That's what I'm trying to do............  

Any car that does everything well is impressive. A race car on the street is impressive. However, they are usually outrageously expensive to build. I'm a fan of the everyday style car built on a budget that most of us can relate too. For instance, in this May issue, the 68 Camaro featured is my style of car.
The owners attitudes can add to the mix also. Take an owner who has the 10 second ride, built by himself in his garage. It idles rough, runs on pump gas, has no leather interior or fancy paint. Yet the owner is proud of it and drives it every week. It's flat out nasty sounding and scares children at the cruise nights. Total cost for the car might actually even be under 10 grand. These are cars I'd like to see on a consistant basis.  

Zeus, as much as I like to see the budget type of builds and what guys can do in their garages, I also like to see the guys that are pushing the envelope as far as design, fabrication, etc. I think that the trickle down effect that this has for the home builder is more than they know! Many of the ideas you see today are ideas that, more than likely, came from a pro shop and after the more experienced of us were able to accomplish it in the garage many more followed. Let's ALSO see some high dollar builds and guys and shops that are pushing the envelope for our hobby!

John  

You are absolutely correct. The high end stuff does push the limits and set the trends.They should never be eliminated. They are certainly interesting to see and the quality of those cars are jaw dropping (especially when seen in person). What gets me buying a mag though are articles I can relate to. When I see good tech articles that I can immediately go out to my car and try or when I see a car article that I can come away with knowledge I can use on my own car, those are not only the mags that I buy but they are the ones that I keep around for years.  

Very well said Zeus!  

My 4 link suspension Vega handles fine on the street.  Once in a while the front runners get a little push from the spooled rear and 32x14 M/T slicks, but the key is knowing you are not going to go around a 90 degree turn at 100mph.  Using a bit of sense goes along way.  Now my 81 Grand Prix with the 1 5/8" solid bars and W72 T/A front springs plus custom rear springs is fun in the corners.  Thinking of trying a 17 inch wheel combo on it, but afraid it will be like the 16 inch disaster. Still enjoy the Vega more on the street. Even if it has always been a drag car.  

That is assuming you can keep the front wheels on the ground!

Not like running a 10 sec C10 DMax truck on the street and getting 18 mpg....  Only a sicko would do that.  
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