Suspension is a big issue. also along with the fact that with a 2200lb or whatever car you have your draw backs and the main one being there simply is not enough weight to force the tires down hard enough to grip. Like a F1 car, fast mother ****ers right, they have all them big *** wings and not one helps on launching so a F1 car is nothing better than a low 13 second car with around a 1500 to 1800lb curb weight and over 700hp

 

but, a great deal of that would be gearing as well..hell, nascar stock cars are fairly heavy and with 800hp, some magazine tested one and it only ran high 11s...

 

I don't understand what volumetric efficiency has to do with car's acceleration. IMO. a volumetric efficient car is the one that extracts as much power as possible out of a relatively small motor. What is an important factor is a power/weight ratio as well as weight balance of a given car. Thus a civic with 200hp may have the same rate of acceleration as a 300hp rustang (these numbers may not be correct - I just used them for comparison purposes)

 

Another thing people do not think about is tq

As Oscar Jackson(Jackson Racing) has said, HP sells a product/car but tq moves it.

 

look to moore racing for a front knuckles and shafts if you want a full drag car.

 

Let's face it...with enough money you can go crazy and have an insane 4 cylinder with what?? 1200HP or maybe 1500HP? Sounds pretty impressive coming from 150HP stock. That V8 makes what 350 HP stock? Maybe you be amazed to see the drag guys putting down 6000-8000HP..... Toyota putting down 6000 with a HEMI
How many civics you see run a 5 second 1/4 mile? Check this guys trap speeds....and he's slow. Trans-AM 5+ sec run The only thing that is different in the whole wrenching world is how much money you have for your hobby. The more displacement the more power. Never gonna change that formula. 4 cylinders can make big jumps in power and may be more efficient, but big block, big cubes will always put more down......now if we're talking daily drivers...well that's a whole other topic.

 

Exactly. Big[ger] engines will always be the queens of straight-line racing... but take that 5-second Trans-Am on a circuit or time-attack track and watch it go into the wall on the first turn. THAT'S why you mod a Civic.

 

But a correctly modded V8 rwd car can and has dominated road course events and will continue to. You get down to it that is what the Trans-Am/Firbird was brought along was to get down and dirty in the Trans-Am series which the F-Body car dominated for a long time.

 

This guy is talking just straight up HP

^+1 I agree with Kappa22.
I wouldn't want to deal with the whole tune after every run engine either. Just want to get to 80MPH in a heart beat.

 

something the take into consideration....most of the cars in the NHRA top fuel and funny car class are running chrysler hemis...it doesnt matter whether they are ford, or dodge, or even toyota...that "firebird" belongs to some no-professional, and typically, unless they are die-hards of a certain brand, while it might be a firebird when that picture was taken, it might be a mustang or even a stratus this year, depending on what FC bodies are available, and wont break the bank.

and any car (real car, not a chassis dragster) can be built to rule the road course...cars with a "perfect" weight distribution will do far better than a car set up for drag racing which have all of the weight in the front...but ultimately, you could make a yugo an autoX terror with enough money..