Drag racing anyone?

Derek Nicol

Well-known user
If electric cars start hitting the drag strips hard then I think the sport will nose dive as a spectator sport. Too many motor sports are being over run with tech and not enough man against man racing. I USED to love F1 now I could not care less.

Thats what rules are for.. Rotary Nortons winning British F1 Championships (late 80's, early 90's), the big four Japanese manufacturers threaten to pull out, the rules are changed to 'Superbike' to exclude the Nortons. The same thing happened with Le Mans when Mazda won it.
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
If electric cars start hitting the drag strips hard then I think the sport will nose dive as a spectator sport. Too many motor sports are being over run with tech and not enough man against man racing. I USED to love F1 now I could not care less.
That`s the great thing about the Silverstone Classic and other such race events . Proper cars prepared by proper mechanics making a proper noise and proper high octane smells . Long may it continue , but I fear the end is slowly and inexorably creeping up on us . :unsure:
 

Derek Nicol

Well-known user
That`s the great thing about the Silverstone Classic and other such race events . Proper cars prepared by proper mechanics making a proper noise and proper high octane smells . Long may it continue , but I fear the end is slowly and inexorably creeping up on us . :unsure:

Thats a bit pessimistic... classic car ownership and classic racing will continue, actually i think it will thrive and grow. We still have Steam locomotives, i understand that getting the correct coal is getting more difficult and it may eventually be the case that getting petrol will go the same way but where theres a will...
I remember a few years ago driving south into Bedford on the A6 just before the Rushden Traction engine weekend, there were around ten steam engines towing caravans making their way up the dual carriageway, a wonderful sight. Sure, they were making a fair bit of smoke but in the greater scheme of things thats insignificant.. every time a Volcano decides to get a bit frisky the smoke from a few heritage engines pales into insignificance.
Classic cars and classic racing are not going away. I think that the sooner the UK fleet of 'going to the Supermarket and taking the kids to soccer' cars are replaced with electric cars the better.. once local air quality around schools and in inner cities improves and the Gov can boast about reduced CO2 we will be able to enjoy our classics without the finger being pointed our way. The electric car will ultimately be the savior of classic 5 litre plus V8's.
If you watched the 1/8 mile Tesla drag racing video i put up by YouTube Tesla Plaid Channel you would find that this guy has been drag racing a long time and has huge respect and a love for some of the cars hes racing against like the orange Baccarrrruuuuuda. He did over 1000 drag races in his 'old' Cheetah mode Tesla which was frequently beaten by the quickest drag cars. Hes having fun, same as the rest of them.
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
Thats a bit pessimistic... classic car ownership and classic racing will continue, actually i think it will thrive and grow. We still have Steam locomotives, i understand that getting the correct coal is getting more difficult and it may eventually be the case that getting petrol will go the same way but where theres a will...
I remember a few years ago driving south into Bedford on the A6 just before the Rushden Traction engine weekend, there were around ten steam engines towing caravans making their way up the dual carriageway, a wonderful sight. Sure, they were making a fair bit of smoke but in the greater scheme of things thats insignificant.. every time a Volcano decides to get a bit frisky the smoke from a few heritage engines pales into insignificance.
Classic cars and classic racing are not going away. I think that the sooner the UK fleet of 'going to the Supermarket and taking the kids to soccer' cars are replaced with electric cars the better.. once local air quality around schools and in inner cities improves and the Gov can boast about reduced CO2 we will be able to enjoy our classics without the finger being pointed our way. The electric car will ultimately be the savior of classic 5 litre plus V8's.
If you watched the 1/8 mile Tesla drag racing video i put up by YouTube Tesla Plaid Channel you would find that this guy has been drag racing a long time and has huge respect and a love for some of the cars hes racing against like the orange Baccarrrruuuuuda. He did over 1000 drag races in his 'old' Cheetah mode Tesla which was frequently beaten by the quickest drag cars. Hes having fun, same as the rest of them.
You are correct about getting good quality steam coal is a problem . The UK is still sitting on an island of it but our government is hell bent on shutting our last few pits as part of it`s ill conceived carbon neutral plan . If this happens then all UK steam locomotive operators will have to procure steam coal from other countries still mining it and shipping it across the worlds oceans in mega sized diesel powered ships to reach the UK ! How absurd is that ? All the government is doing is shifting the so called " green & clean " issues into someone else`s back yard , for which they will then ransome us drastically to buy the product back . But our politicians will smugly sit back and say " look how clean the UK is , we are saving the planet . Absolute bo**ocks ! Anyone thinking electric cars will save the planet is not getting the whole picture on the carbon footprint , they are just swallowing the hype from politicians .
Were will all the lithium for millions of batteries come from ? What about the carbon footprint of mining it and shipping across the world ? What about the scrappage rate of defunct electric cars in the future when too costly to replace batteries ? What about the massive infrastructure costs and problems of installing charging points for inner city dwellers and the carbon footprint of all that work . Renewable energy will not support all that demand .
Politicians want people to use public transport more , how big do you think the carbon footprint will be , not to mention the spiralling financial costs of HS2 just to shave 20 minutes off the London to Birmingham train times !!! Wake up and smell the coffee , the King has not got a new suite of clothes , he`s stark naked !
Ice ages have come and gone for millennia , there were no electric cars and dinosaurs still died !
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
I wasnt expecting you to say that!
I was NOT expecting you to say that!!


Still in shock.
It`s a travesty in my book , using the iconic Mustang name for a soccer mom`s eco warrior SUV ! But then all the major car manufacturers at it now and milking historic ` brand names for all there worth . This is what electric propulsion should be for , a high speed Pendolino with regenerative breaking putting power back into the national grid .Pendolino_at_Beck_Foot_-_geograph.org.uk_-_358839.jpg
 

Oneball

CCCUK Member
Still in shock.
Stop licking the battery then!

Thing is the reason why most electric cars aren’t exciting is because they’ve not been made by people who make exciting cars.
Tesla’s big idea was to make the car white goods like an phone or fridge. That’s why the shape is generic and dull.
It`s a travesty in my book , using the iconic Mustang name for a soccer mom`s eco warrior SUV ! But then all the major car manufacturers at it now and milking historic ` brand names for all there worth . This is what electric propulsion should be for , a high speed Pendolino with regenerative breaking putting power back into the national grid .View attachment 12796


Remember the original Mustang was nothing more than a re-style of an existing car that in every way except looks made it worse, heavier, slower, less roomy and more expensive!

Back to the scheduled programme

 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
I freely admit it is bit more eco friendly than than this shot taken approaching the same location climbing up Shap Fell some years ago . I am on the second of the two steam locos . Lots of noise , lots of unburnt carbons , lots of fun ! :LOL: 24049570227_58f934dea6_h.jpg
 

Derek Nicol

Well-known user
I freely admit it is bit more eco friendly than than this shot taken approaching the same location climbing up Shap Fell some years ago . I am on the second of the two steam locos . Lots of noise , lots of unburnt carbons , lots of fun ! :LOL:

But the general perception is that railways are 'green' (re your leaning paedophile) so nobody cares about the odd diesel or steam loco here and there.

Thats the position we need to get to with road transport.
 
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Oneball

CCCUK Member
Tesla’s big idea was to make the car efficient. That’s why the shape is generic and dull.

They got that right but I don’t think that’s the clever bit. I think the clever bit is the way it appeals to non-car people. Even the buying experience was really well thought out to not be car like.
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Oh, those were the days in mid 1970s
104 octane leaded gas, smell of burning tires on a drag strip
Deep dish mag chrome wheels
Hooker side pipe headers, lots of noise, and no wife around as she hated drag racing :)

Love to go back to those days !

74drag.jpg

75drags.jpg
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
But the general perception is that railways are 'green' (re your leaning paedophile) so nobody cares about the odd diesel or steam loco here and there.

Thats the position we need to get to with road transport.
Indeed you are so right Derek , we can only hope that common sense prevails . The big problem is , good sense is not very common . :rolleyes:
 

Derek Nicol

Well-known user
Electric drag racing will be like watching porn with no sound, God gave us ears so we could hear the thunder of the V8. My radio doesn't work in my big block, I just listen to the music the engine makes

Im not sure about the analogy. If they make electric drag cars have fake V8 sound then it will be just like pron. :ROFLMAO:
Otherwise i agree with you.
Dont worry, theyve got a long way to go to catch up to the top fuelers, the best an electric car has done yet is 7.52 @ 201mph (Steve Huff who beat Don Garlits to the first 200mph electric pass).
 
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richie500

CCCUK Member
All joking aside, the electric cars are quick and they will win tropheys, however anyone who has ever been to Santa pod on race day will never forget the noise, and I haven't mentioned the smell. I was lucky my late dad who didn't really like cars used to take me to the custom car shows at Ali pally and Santa pod drag racing when I was a child, I am 56 years old and petrol will forever be in my blood. When you get to my age it's not just about speed it's the overall experience which I know most of you are the same otherwise we wouldn't be driving vets.
 
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