Which is the difference from a the asphalt at the Drag strip and in the street?
Why looking at every pics of a dragstrip it seems that the asphalt is the most slippery surface i ever seen?
Why I'm asking?
because we in Italy we are organizing a Drag strip championship called "street legal".
Only american cars are allowed to run.
The first race was only a way to test the strip and doing the category of all the cars.
We have a real christmas tree and all the sensors....even the 60 ft mark.
The dragstrip is not a real dragstrip.
It's a portion of straight part of a closed racetrack that allow 1/8 mile runs.
The surface of the asphalt is like a perfect surface of a new sreet road.
On this first race i had problem with my C4 and i had not the way to try.
over 30 cars were ready to race.
What surprised me is that the best 60 times were all over 2.2 - 2.3 sec.
Another time (last year at the same closed racetrack) I made no better than 2.3.
A friend of mine with a 427 SB on his 79 C3 made a 8.1 on the 1/8" at about 92 mph. Even this car equipped with Drag slick Hoosiers has made better than 2.2 on the 60'!
Probably the sensor for the 60 time is not good positioned.. but if there's an error it can't be much more than half a foot.
What caused the difference in best 60 times at the dragstrip vs. perfect street asphalt?
-Beppe-

 

Lots and lots of VHT.

 

The track down here is the same way. We don't even have a concrete launchpad.

The best I did on street tires was 2.05, and 1.85 on DRs. Most everyone else runs 2.2-2.3 on street tires, and 2.4 for the FWD cars. It helps when enough rubber gets laid down, the rubber coating can be more than 1/4" thick.

Although last time out, a guy pulled a 1.3 60' on his drag slicks.

 

Ok, I understand...
...I'll never do 1.7 with my 383 even with DR...
There is NOT in Italy a single place dedicated to the drag race...
I was interested on buy an area and start a business with 20 others friends...
the permissions to do a thing like this In Italy is near to impossible ..

 

VHT Trackbite???
...and if i put this thing on my rear tires??
-beppe-

 

We use it for street racing, it works great. We tend to find bridges to pour it on and make our own launch pad. It's no secret around here. At our track, I can launch at 4k on street tires w/o spinning, it's super sticky. So yeah, go ahead and pour it on your tires and all over the road. We also use torches.

 

Someday I'll do the same, if only an 1/8th mile dragstrip out in a remote place, and keep it private. Asphalt lasts forever if you pave it right and don't use it much. You may want concrete for the first 50 or 60' of track though, and maybe for the burnout box. You'll get better traction and it won't peel up on hot days.

The track down here is literally in a pre-existing parking lot, all temporary like you described. Temporary barriers, port-a-tree timing system. There's some traction simply because so many cars have launched off of it. Ever watch Nascar? They don't run as fast until they've put enough rubber down on the track to increase the grip on the banked corners.

Everyone here bitches about the traction all day. I try to shut up and just get the most out of what's traction there is. Some of the guys will line up and blow the tires off every single time and get a 2.4 60', never trying to launch softer.

 

the Europeans have never been all that business friendly.

There is Santa Pod in England, tho... but that's quite a step away.

 

I believe this is why the tracks you see appear to be so shiney. It does help traction....

Larry
code5coupe

 

It all sounded like a great idea until I read this

 

Chucks88, could you explain better what are you saying?
Probably the translation of "business" is wrong?
what and where do you thing I'm wrong?
What's wrong on having the idea to promote the drag racing in Italy.
How to start interest with a champinship if there is NOT a permanent dragstrip available to use it as pratice?
I was expecting applauses for this initiative to promote the drag racing even in Italy... not critics because I want to start a "business". period.

-Beppe-

 

No, no, no, I commend you for wanting to start a business in a growing field. However I would talk with a few business owners that you know and ask them if they think it is a good idea to go into this with 19 partners. It's hard enough having one business partner trying to run a business let alone 19.

 

Thanks, and I'm sorry to have not good understand what you said..
the 20 people involved were only take in consideration to share the cost...
This project is definitively dead due the permissions problems and the additional costs and times required to accomplish these problems.