Originally posted by Andy:
I've watched a 99 SVT blow away an 89 Trans AM GTA 350tpi and a 89 Cougar XR7 5.0. The GTA only ran a 17. Rear wheel cars have no grip. The SVT just ripped of the line. While the "big boys" were leavin most of their tires at the line.
The only mods on the SVT where an air filter and - the resonator.
Obviously the GTA had a bad run, normally he should be in the high 14's low 15's unless he has mods. We all know a car is only as good as who is behind the wheel. At the track, one missed shift and it's a bad run. If the person is driving a Lightning....they can run high 13's all day. Just point, stomp and hang on!!!
As for rear wheel cars having no grip...when is the last time you saw a top fuel dragster with front wheel drive? You haven't. RWD is much better at the track due to the weight transfer. When a FWD car pulls...the weight is transferred from the driving wheels...to the back. This makes FWD cars much more difficult to launch effectively.
If you want a really fast car cheap for the track, like everyone else said, buy an F-Body or Mustang. Those cars were designed and built for the 1/4 mile. A stock T/A WS6 with ATX runs 13.7s all day long at the track. You can buy a new bare bones Z28 with MTX and 310 HP for right at 20K. Sure beats spending 16K on a new Civic and spending 6-10K on it and now just approaching the performance of the Z28.
I got smoked at the track by an 89 Civic CRX, he ran a 14.866 @ 100.39 mph. He obviously was no where near to stock. He had bottles obviously. Remove those little bottles....and it's going to be a tad closer. Yes, it was fast, but a stock T/A would still beat it.
The point? Make whatever you can afford....go faster. But there is a point where it's self defeating. If you want an all around performance vehicle....the SVT/Contique is a good choice. You want a 1/4 burner....buy the F-Body or Stang. Of course, if money is no object....you can make anything fast. Yes...a Yugo could beat a 911 Turbo if someone wanted to do it.
