I've been idly wondering, are there any half-mile dragstrips out there? OK, for a car like mine it's pointless, but look at the Ford GT... 11.6 @ 128 (Car and Driver)... that car is horrifically fast (550hp, correct me if I'm wrong?)... is a quarter of a mile really enough for the car to be accurately tested?
For example, race an Evo and, say, a Z06 through an eighth mile and it's a very close race because the Evo can launch so much harder, but at the quartermile the Z06 beats it. (02 Z06 = 12.5, 06 Evo 9 = 13.5) With cars as powerful as the GT, launching becomes so difficult that it becomes far too big a factor in the time to be practical to compare the car to others.
Now, I know that there's the requirement to have twice the strip length as runoff length (so we'd need .5 miles + 1 mile for a dragstrip), but are there any 1/2 mile strips anywhere? And if not, why not?
I was happy when I heard my car ran 10s. Then I found out that was 0-60.
what i was told they had them back years and years ago. but the problem was the cars got to be so fast at the end of the 1/2 mile they couldn't stop in time before the run off was reached. so 1/4 was made to be the norm for saftey reasons
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beyond that a lot of cars would probably run out of gear by the end of the 1/2 mile....
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Scarab (Jersey Jay 1.8T) wrote:beyond that a lot of cars would probably run out of gear by the end of the 1/2 mile....
Exactly. Also most mags also have other things they rate the car on like 60-100mph, top speed. that is how you compare a car like the Ford GT.
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Beyond that, a Ford GT isn't built to be a drag car. You want to compare it fairly to something, than have the same driver take it and the other car around the same road course and see which one gets the best time.... I think the Stig is up for it
Arrival Blue 04 LS Sport
Eco
Turbo
Megasquirt
'Nuff said
Also, alot of top fuel guys, the cars are so wildly built, they would probably blow up before the 1/2 mile was over.
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True, true, all good points, and no t he GT is not meant to be a drag car. Just idle curiousity, really.
I was happy when I heard my car ran 10s. Then I found out that was 0-60.
Scarab (Jersey Jay 1.8T) wrote:beyond that a lot of cars would probably run out of gear by the end of the 1/2 mile....
or be pegged at 108
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when you beat someone in a civic people wine and make excuses
when you beat someone in a cavalier they pull over and check under thier hoods
Back in the 50's and 60's 1/2 mile drags weren't that uncommon. Neither were 4 lane wide race tracks where 4
cars would line up ala Fast and the Furious style and the flagger would start the race. As cars got faster and faster however it was agreed upon by the NHRA and Hot Rod magazine to make a limit of a 1/4 mile the rule for race tracks. Where I can't site the rules exact wording or location it was featured in a drag racing special that Hot Rod put out I believe lest summer. Then when the "Christmas Tree" came into being and flagger went out so did anything more then 2 lanes.
BTW there were also more then one drag strip that was a mile long too.
Semper Fi SAINT. May you rest in peace.
