QUICK question "When is a street car a drag car"

[XR-ENVI]

: : after going to the drags a few times i was wondering when a car has been fully stripped interior wise and is running race fuel why is it still considered a street car because it is not a street car anymore, it is vertially a drag car, except for a few roll bars and a parachute??? to me a real street car time would be that done by are car which can be driven on the street legally, most of these cars i see at the drags are bought in on trailers and home again on trailers.
i understand the use of slicks due to traction problems and probably safety as well, i know that ill be putting slicks on mine when i finally take it down the strip.

im just a little confused i guess, not having a go at anyone just curious and confused

Basically what is determining factors between street car and drag car?


Narelle used: used: used:

[XRQTOR]

To me a street car is a car you can drive to the strip throw a set of slicks on run a few pass's then drive home. Spoke to a bloke who owned a 8 sec rotor the other day, it was driving home from a car show and he told me it runs 8's. I asked as it sits and he said yes, after telling him he's full of sh*t i finally got the truth Slicks, wheelie bars, no zorst at all, pure race gas, huge stallie that isn't street friendly and a few other things that have slipped my mind. Certainly not a true street car if you ask me, have alook at them dam yanks illegal street racer's are running as quick as high 8 sec passes at the strip drive there swap the tires for real slicks and off they go.

[Walkinshaw]

To go in street class i believe you should have to drive the car from home to the track.

[GT-P 390]

Don't know about the East but here in WA Street Car = Has number plates.

It doesn't matter that the number plates are merely a remnant from the days when it was a 4cyl shopping trolley and now its a 502 cube nitrous breathing animal with an illegal (on street) welded in roll cage, slicks that almost touch in the middle and a db reading that the doof doof boys would be proud of.

Like it has been said before in this thread...a prerequisite should be that it drove to the track and has hte intention of being driven home.

[Quadcams]

Seem to be the same at WSID has number plate is street car not to mention wheelie bar, parachute, roll cage, tubed to the max, striped to a shell but hey its got number plates so its a street car.

[eb six on boost]

its not the owners nor the track staff, people should get the s with over this problem, but the rta who should be getting onto the workshops who pass these cars for rego.

half the cars in super street bracket, havent been driven on the road or to the track.
atleast i tookoff my plates when i canned the rego.

[brenx]

Street car is a car that :

a) runs on pump fuel
b) gets driven (like my own, even had small dints stone chips etc from driving it)
c) can get through rego (like mine did)
d) can carry passengers etc

A big histall doesn't make it a drag car ;)

A drag car is :

a) not running pump fuel
b) absolutely impossible to register
c) see's no street use

Whether a car runs @ the strip exhaust on/off or runs slicks it's irrellevent. I find most whinning about this are usually jealous of the people that can afford to have a couple sets of rims etc etc.

[Stav]

Originally Posted by XR-ENVI

: : after going to the drags a few times i was wondering when a car has been fully stripped interior wise and is running race fuel why is it still considered a street car because it is not a street car anymore, it is vertially a drag car, except for a few roll bars and a parachute??? to me a real street car time would be that done by are car which can be driven on the street legally, most of these cars i see at the drags are bought in on trailers and home again on trailers.
i understand the use of slicks due to traction problems and probably safety as well, i know that ill be putting slicks on mine when i finally take it down the strip.

im just a little confused i guess, not having a go at anyone just curious and confused

Basically what is determining factors between street car and drag car?


Narelle used: used: used:

About time someone said something.
Good on you mate.When I got the stall converter I had this moral dilemma myself.Wtf had I done? Had I crossed the line?

When I told people that Iwas going to the drags for the first time they ****ed themselves laughing. My car looks that stock.The exhaust isnt crazy loud but that is what I wanted from the car. You are right though fancy calling a car that pulls 500rwkws has all the race trim a street car.Thats not a street car...that engine belongs in the Spirit of Tasmania cruise boat not a car.

I suppose at the end of the day it also boils down to how you drive the car on the street as well.If you drive like a moron then you probably are...

[Sharky]

i drive my racecar to and from the track. the only thing i do is change fuel and tyres at the track and put my parachute on. when racing is finished then i drain the race fuel out and put BP Ultimate back in.... take the chute off and put my number plate back on........ change the setting on the computer from race to street and im cooking again.

on long trips i will trailer it.

my drag car is fully street legal and engineered plus also fully insured

[XR-ENVI]

Originally Posted by brenx

Whether a car runs @ the strip exhaust on/off or runs slicks it's irrellevent. I find most whinning about this are usually jealous of the people that can afford to have a couple sets of rims etc etc.

"im just a girl"

it definately isnt about jealousy seeing as though i have never taken my car onto the strip, when i do it wont be to get the best time, was just curious cos the drag scene is new to me

[ratter]

the fact is, it's probably one of those questions that will never get answered that everybody agrees with.


A lot of the street cars you see at the drags are not roadworthy, so are they street cars?

If you had a high horsepower car and there was a chance you may brake something by dragging it (higher traction than whats available on the street), so you decide to trailer it to the track because you live so far away, does that make it a drag car.

I've seen a car (years ago) drive into calder for the street drags, driven on a set of drag slicks, so was that a street car or a drag car?

An engineer told me, to remove my back seat and door handles, to lower the carrying capacity of my big block fairlane to compensate for the extra weight of the big block, so would that make it a drag car?

Too many different possibilties to get an answer

[dansedgli]

Originally Posted by brenx

Street car is a car that :

a) runs on pump fuel
b) gets driven (like my own, even had small dints stone chips etc from driving it)
c) can get through rego (like mine did)
d) can carry passengers etc

A big histall doesn't make it a drag car ;)

A drag car is :

a) not running pump fuel
b) absolutely impossible to register
c) see's no street use

Whether a car runs @ the strip exhaust on/off or runs slicks it's irrellevent. I find most whinning about this are usually jealous of the people that can afford to have a couple sets of rims etc etc.

I disagree with only 1 of your points. The AU I had had no chance of getting passed rego in a legit manner but there is no way that cant be classed as a street car. It was driven everywhere, had full leather, electrics, sunroof, bodykit, 19 inch wheels, air con and a baby 2500 stall etc.

Vic rego is a , it passed rego easy in QLD and is daily driven by the new owner :P

Tyre changes should be okay, if the car is regulary driven on the street it should be classed as a street car. If it races how it is driven on the street then it runs in street trim. If not it runs in race trim. Its still a street car.

My torana is going to be my daily when its done but I will run race fuel and slicks at the track on occasion. I think its a street car.

[XR-ENVI]

Originally Posted by ratter

the fact is, it's probably one of those questions that will never get answered that everybody agrees with.


A lot of the street cars you see at the drags are not roadworthy, so are they street cars?

If you had a high horsepower car and there was a chance you may brake something by dragging it (higher traction than whats available on the street), so you decide to trailer it to the track because you live so far away, does that make it a drag car.

I've seen a car (years ago) drive into calder for the street drags, driven on a set of drag slicks, so was that a street car or a drag car?

An engineer told me, to remove my back seat and door handles, to lower the carrying capacity of my big block fairlane to compensate for the extra weight of the big block, so would that make it a drag car?

Too many different possibilties to get an answer

i guess there are no set rules and specifications then,
to me pulling out interior doesnt make it astreet car, although it doesnt make it a drag car but maybe it shouldnt be considered a "street car time"
im glad that i dont seem to be the only one confused about it all

[ratter]

One of the yank magazines had some street car shoot outs quite a few years back,

The cars had to be started under their own power by the driver only (no priming injection set ups by a second person)
They had to maintain an idle of some sort
They had to do so many laps, of a track, at road speeds and not overheat or cut out.
Not sure of the other rules, but this eliminated a lot of the "race cars that wear number plates"

But when there is a set of rules, people will always work around them.

Et street radials are really meant for draging only, but they are legal to be used on the street and are probably Sh#t in the wet, but they are manufactured to be legal in drag classes that require DOT tyres, so would they pass as street tyres.

Some guys will use methanol as a fuel, not just to get more power, but to keep the motor cool

People will always work out ways to get around rules

[brenx]

Originally Posted by XR-ENVI

i guess there are no set rules and specifications then,
to me pulling out interior doesnt make it astreet car, although it doesnt make it a drag car but maybe it shouldnt be considered a "street car time"
im glad that i dont seem to be the only one confused about it all

Are you aware that Calder Park frowns on this due to safety reasons.

Everyone will go as far as they can push the limit too. I know I sure as hell am

[XRQTR]

Its an argument that first started when Paddy and Wally argued about whos plow horse was quicker down the field, Paddy used a timber plow and Wally a steal one.

Guys the same could be said about the monster dyno motors that some of the shops are building these days, it does nothing to prove reliability but goes a long way to getting bums in seats and wallets through the gates. Even though most of these engines could never be run for more than a few minutes at a time ( if their lucky ) and usually sit somewhere in the corner of the shop covered up and with a couple of Rotties chained to them for security.

People will always want to see something spectacular and if it can cause some controversy on top of all that then thats great, why you ask, well this thread is a perfect example, when your not watching your talking which generally gets you back watching. It may not necessarily be intentional but its a great by-product.

I thought I'd go 2.5 cents on that one :the_finge

[Pilch]

It's a subject that no one will never agree on!!!

The only mod I consider okay is swapping to slicks.... although if you claim street, I'd like to see your pass exactly as it would be on the street and that = street tyres. But that is just me

The day I run slicks and drop my exhaust is the day I don't consider my pass to be a street car..... so while the car is a street car, it didn't do the pass as a street car.

[parawolf]

Rather the use of say Mickey's ET tyres, what about the use of "R-Spec" tyres which are used for club race days? These are also road legal, not designed for drag for for cornering as well, and actually can have a reasonable level of water clearance. They come in all flavours from super soft, to hard compounds (obviously super soft would be better for drags). These are far more 'road worthy' compliant than ET's i'd suggest.

[XYGTHO]

Originally Posted by Walkinshaw

To go in street class i believe you should have to drive the car from home to the track.

I agree with most that has been said so far. I do agree with the above statement but to a degree. I drive my car into Rockhampton (10km away as i live it a small town) and around and also drive it around my small home town. However the closest strip to me is something like 200km's (400km round trip) away which is a fair hike with a 450+hp clevo with 4.11's. It could easily do it but what if something breaks at the strip, gotta get home somehow. And also the fuel bill will kill me. I plan on taking it sometime as it has never seen the strip and will most likely drive it. But i understand people trailering their cars as things can go wrong.
I see a street car as one which is ran on pump fuel, can be registered, and has its full interior ect intact, and can be driven on the street regularly. :eclipsee_

[4Vman]

Pretty simple i reakon, to be classified as a TRUE streetcar it must run DOT road legal tyres front and rear (no slicks) and be able to pass a roadworthy check (noise, ground clearance, tyre size, interior fitted, spare in the boot) etc etc.

[4.9 EF Futura]

I'd have to say, something which would pass inspection. Legal treaded tyres, compliant exhaust, 98 octane fuel (unless anyone sells 100 still??).

[XRQTOR]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Pretty simple i reakon, to be classified as a TRUE streetcar it must run DOT road legal tyres front and rear (no slicks) and be able to pass a roadworthy check (noise, ground clearance, tyre size, interior fitted, spare in the boot) etc etc.

Well emissions would come into it to then, i bet only 1% of cars that have been to the strip will pass under these sort of rules. That would leave bog stock car's.

I think full trim, DOT tyres and pump fuel.

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by XRQTOR

Well emissions would come into it to then, i bet only 1% of cars that have been to the strip will pass under these sort of rules. That would leave bog stock car's.

I think full trim, DOT tyres and pump fuel.

Emissions is too hard to police.

RWC condition would be fine for me.

[XRQTOR]

Originally Posted by parawolf

Emissions is too hard to police.

RWC condition would be fine for me.

Well RWC would include emissions, i think what you said is fair except the noise restriction.

[ratter]

I agree, but exhaust is still part of rwc so it makes it a hard line to draw doesn't it.


Do you allow a car that is to loud a little or do you allow somebody who just runs exhaust piping to the rear and calls it an exhaust?

[parawolf]

Originally Posted by XRQTOR

Well RWC would include emissions, i think what you said is fair except the noise restriction.

I just got my BA XR6 Falcon a RWC here in Victoria... no emissions were tested as part of the test. There was no result or checkbox to mark in.

[dansedgli]

Originally Posted by parawolf

I just got my BA XR6 Falcon a RWC here in Victoria... no emissions were tested as part of the test. There was no result or checkbox to mark in.

But would it be fair to be unable to include my old AU as a street car as it would not pass an EPA test or RWC due to emissions although it was a car that was driven all the time on the street?

[ratter]

Originally Posted by parawolf

I just got my BA XR6 Falcon a RWC here in Victoria... no emissions were tested as part of the test. There was no result or checkbox to mark in.

From Vic roads web site

What about the Australian Design Rules?
The roadworthiness test is not a complete assessment of a vehicle's compliance with the Standards for Registration, which, in most cases, are the Australian Design Rules (ADRs). The ADRs are a set of minimum standards for the construction of motor vehicles and trailers. In most cases compliance with these standards cannot be assessed by inspection alone.

[Falcon Coupe]

Regarding the trailer issue, i'm with Ratter, my car is a street car, but i trailer it to the track incase of breaking a part, (Like my gearbox did at Heathcote 3-1/2 hours from home) i drop the tail pipes and put slicks on, i still call it a street car, the cars in Street Machine mag with blowers sticking 3 feet out of the bonnet and road rego plates on them being called street cars ? they reallly make me laugh.

[XR-ENVI]

i totally agree with trailers for broken car reasons