Drag Race

I ended up going up to the dragway in my Acura almost 10 years ago. I hadn't been really in years, and just wanted to go back, as I was looking to find a hobby. I ran my Acura, it was a 3.0 CL, and ran a best of 15.9 if I recall. That was so much fun, and I realized that my love for drag racing was still there as when I was younger.

Nest I started talking around, asking everyone what they did to their cars, and everyone that went pretty quick, 13's or better, seemed to have spent a bit more than I was ready to, or wanted to. Eventually I saw an SRT4 on two different occasions, each time running 12's. I approached the owner of each car and asked what it took for that, and they both had the same answer, around $2000 give or take. That was a lot less, and a bit faster comparatively than most other cars that I saw.

I wasn't actually there for this video, but this is about how fast I saw the car go, and then I was sold. Around six months later I got my own, and the rest is history. This is a pretty well known drag racing video, and my favorite kind of race.

I met the owner of this car and her boyfriend, and they helped me learn a ton. I made so much progress from meeting people like them on the forums, and just hanging out with our cars, so much more than I would have ever dreamed of on my own.

Next thing you know, I was in full, wanting to know all about how they get these cars to do what they do. There is a lot more to it than meets the eye. I started off with the traditional modding path for the SRT4, starting with a K&N air filter, then onto the AGP wastegate, intercooler, then exhaust, and some drag radials. I was running mid 14's bone stock, and then down to the low 13's with the other mods I just listed.

Here is where I found out there is more to it. In spite the fact I had the power to run a 12 second pass, I wasn't getting enough traction. You now need to consider your suspension, how you launch, and the tires, which need to be drag radials or even better slicks, to get to the next level. I ended up running a 13.1 before I upgraded later with more mods, including a big turbo kit and better drag radials, which got me into the 12's.

Next thing after all this, I find myself loving watching some of the faster cars, and trips to Raceway Park in Englishtown to watch the spring and fall drag racing national events or any that sounded good, started becoming a regular journey a couple times during the year. It was at Englishtown where I first saw cars like the one in this video, running 7 second passes on a 4 cylinder turbo, which I thought was the coolest thing ever.

I also have tons of videos here on my blog devoted to drag racing videos.

Now I am an entirely different person, with a decent knowledge about drag racing that I could never have imagined. I am always learning at the same time, but from where I started, it's pretty awesome. I remember having so many questions, and wondering so much about it all, and it seemed like this impossible to grasp mystery with way too much stuff to remember.

Well, over time, with lots of learning, reading, talking to people, sharing ideas etc., I have a much better grasp on it all than I did, like night and day. I did not expect to go so far with my car as I have, as I am still running the stock shortblock wiith the only aftermarket part on that being an oil pump, and I have run 11.1 and trapped 131, and this motor has over 145,000 miles on it and is still running strong.

Here are my last 3 decent days out where I ran all 11.2's when I had good runs, and an 11.1...so close to that 10! I haven't drag raced very much since this video, but that's how it goes and I can't wait to get back out there and hopefully run a ten second pass.