Drag Racing or Track

[whitestivo]

If the closest you have been to either is on a Play Station, read and enjoy the thread but refrain from posting

Drag pros

o Is only 12-16 seconds of pain on your car

o Straight line should be easy

o Well prepared surface

Drag Cons

o Car sits for 30minutes to an hour before stints, your supposed to warm it up with a burnout, what sort of damage is that doing?

o There is another car right beside you

o How much skill involved to go straight

Track Pro’s

o You will learn more in one track day about you and your car than in 50 drag races

o Saturday sprints, no racing, marshalls to observe

o Plenty of dirt to go off most spots

o Car get warm up lap, cool down lap

o Track is prepared for race cars

o Respect, I mean who hasn’t wanted to drive on a race track

Track Cons

o 5 laps in car is long time driven hard

o Requires careful maintenance and watching engine temp

o Requires far more skill

o If you go out and thrash lap after lap, you will be in trouble

o More expensive

I prefer track now (I’ve hit the drags plenty in my youth). Track is about skill, it’s about maintenance (though I think it’s easier on the car), it requires far more driving intelligence, and I can stick it to plenty of drivers in the sportivo than I could at the drags. I get 5 hours full session out there, never a dull moment. And others out there people are always keen to talk about times and laps, I find drag racers not to be.

What do people think that have done both please?

Edited March 9, 2009 by whitestivo

[ELEGNT]

the pros of drags are right^^

car sits for about 20 mins max and if u get there early u pretty much do a run come back and ur at the front of the line again.

NEVER do a burnout on street tyres...waste of time! its proven that it doesnt warm streets up unless u skid it for about 5 mins...slicks on the other hand are to be warmed so drive round the watered spot on your dailies.

my optinion drags is a car vs car challange....like my car is faster than yours...no skill involved really especially in an auto

track on the other hand is probly 85% skill of the driver and what he is capable of/experiance/and balls, the ability of the car is needed eg. springs, braces...but its not a major...its purely driver skill with more of an advantage if your cars setup. you as a driver gets respeced ith your time not your car like at the drags

EDIT: sorry i havnt done both i didnt read that

Edited March 9, 2009 by ELEGNT

[bozurolla]

ive done a couple of stints of Hillclimbs & speed events & have been coorsed to the odd drag

I personally think track days require alot more training & driver awareness & this it itself makes you a better driver socially as it prepares you for any conditions.

Expenses really come down to how serious you take your sport, the track day car is pretty much wat our members are setting their cars to by changing suspension setups,electronic tuning,intake upgrades but the drag setup is pretty much the same but emphasis on handling is secondary & power seems to be the main drive.

On a dash(drag) u can blow transmissions,the odd driveshaft all sorts but a track day the wear is gradual & not as extensive (other than crashing) then youre rooted!drags waste tyres on a track day u learn to preserve them

The saying'Anybody can drive in straight line but it takes talent & awareness to follow through a corner fast' Track days are of refined gentlemens sport ,there is a sense of organisation on the day,everybody looks at technique & driving prowess & the odd burn out isnt jeered at but disapproved because your wasting everybodies track time?

i would recommend all members do a track day in way or another

[MT]

Havent been to the drags, but I find that utterly boring. Awesome, launch your car, flick through the gears til you reach the end, maybe 15 seconds of fun. Where's the skill in that? None.

Track days involve more skill, but I still find them boring because they are just lap after lap of the same thing, you always know whats coming up and what the condition will be. Still, people who go to track days are bigger men than drag racers :P

Hillclimbs are entertaining and a good way to teach yourself about your car and driving techniques, but I prefer them to track days because its a real competition, and you only get 1 chance at a time. 1 lap, you stuff it up, you stuff your day up. So it teaches you to be concentrating right from the second you start.

But, better than all the above is rallying. Driving on dirt is so much more fun than tarmac. Sliding into corners, drifting out, late braking and stopping individual wheels from locking cos they are all on different surfaces. Also, a circuit is max 1-2km of the same thing, over and over again. In most club level rallies, you only have a road book (no pacenotes) so its up to 40km of drive as fast as you can, guessing whats over the next crest or around the corner. In my opinion, rallying requires a lot more skill, a lot more talent and a lot more balls to do it properly. And its just awesome fun.

But by all means, I dont mean any disrespect to those of you who like circuit racing, you are out there doing something which is a start, and you are learning which is better than 90% of the people you see on the street. Most people I see driving scare me.

[the_random_hero]

It takes money to win drag races, it takes skill to win circuit races.

[CHA54]

I like both.

Drags for testing power enhancements to the car (MPH dyno doesn't lie) and track for fun.

[vvti16v]

I like track. you learn a lot from the track.

[SuperDave]

Some tracks suit skill more than others. Some people just mask their lack of skill with more power.

[Cappuccino]

I have only taken my car the drags once (being a 3 cylinder turbo it isnt that quick in a straight line) It was the most boring thing I have ever done behind a wheel of a car.

Track days and skid pans is where its at. Unfortunately there isnt too many hill climbs in Sydney. Although I would also like to eventually get into Motorkhanas. I would also love to give Rally driving a shot. Cause it takes real big balls to drive quick on gravel with trees either side of you. My theory is WRC Drivers > F1 Drivers.

Edited March 11, 2009 by Cappuccino

[RME1]

Drag = vehicle punishment, as the car would always be at max. Rev build, clutch down, gear up , gear up, gear up....all over. It feels a bit boring to be honest.

Track = more variables such as racing line, tire wear, braking distances, brake wear, throttle position, and more importantly corners. On a track, I feel that you can learn more about both yourself and the behaviour of your car. You can also recieve feedback from other drivers, as well as give them feedback as well, which provides a great environment to work on different lines etc.

Track work is becoming more 'affordable' to the car enthusist with regards to technology such as Race Chorno. Any phone with GPS and Race chrono installed can give you information such as:

- corner entry speed

- acceleration points

- braking points etc. etc.

More data = more learnings = greater improvements = faster lap times.

I guess there are more dangers in track work as the length of exposure is greater - i.e. Drag = 12 - 16 seconds. Track = 10 - 15 mins.

It's all about the driver I suppose. If you drive within yourself, then you are less likely to 'lose control'. However on a track, there is more than 2 vehicles on at the same time. So it really depends if you are willing to risk it. Computer says YES.

Edited March 11, 2009 by RME1

[SILVABULLIT]

I like both.

Drags for testing power enhancements to the car (MPH dyno doesn't lie) and track for fun.

Couldn't agree more there Jason.

Drag racing is a lot harder than some of you think. How many of you could get your reaction times ultra consistent and land every gear change at maximum RPM every time with the pressure of somebody right beside you trying to beat you across the line??

Personally I think that circuit racing is harder on the wallet is terms of wear and tear and drag racing is harder on the car cause you are trying to extract every ounce out of it for that elapsed time. circuit consumables are tyre and brakes, suspension set ups etc etc. Drags is basically a set of tyres which would last quite a while, maybe a clutch upgrade. for those who break gearboxes it is purely driver error. Miss-shifting or not getting the clutch control right again all comes back to skill.

Entry fees for drag racing are a lot cheaper compared to circuit but then you come back to the argument of time behind the wheel for the $$ outlayed.

Being that I have done both as a driver and also as crew for big $$ drag cars and circuit cars in their respective categories both have big pluses for skill levels. I know of circuit racers who laughed at the idea of drag racing their circuit car till I convinced them to have a go. After 5 runs at a Test and tune the admission was that "damm it isn't as easy as it looks"

Most drag racers that i have had dealings with do have a real appreciation of top circuit drivers and what they do.

Now if you want to blow money and have big repair bills for breakages then go rallying. entry fees are getting ridiculous and if you have a moment it may just cost you your car. I used to sponsor a rally car and also service for it and i tell you it is the hardest form of motorsport on a vehicle that you can compete in.

I personally rate rally drivers(WRC drivers) as having more skill than a pilot of a F1 car. I've seen some footage of rally drivers swapping seats with F1 drivers and you'd be surprised how quickly the rally drivers pick up the gist of driving a F1 car. F1 pilots not so quick and all say that WRC drivers are "insane" doing 250km/hr through trees and over blind crests with not a single crash barrier in sight!!

[DHC09]

F1 drivers makes more money and get hotter chix

Therefore: F1 drivers > Rally divers :P

Also:

F1 drivers: Skilled and Crazy

Rally drivers: Skilled and Suicidal

:P :P

Back to OP:

I enjoyed both, each has its own thrills. Agree to most pts noted above, but there is one other thing i found and thats it seems there more ego in drag racing, whereas on track after a session, some/most drivers get together and chat about their fight with the track. As opposed to the fight with each other at the drags.

Edited March 11, 2009 by DHC09