Autocrossing and Road Racing with a Lenco? Hum! Got me thinking now!

No autocrossing for me. I will have the car on a road course at least once im sure just to say ive done it. It will see ALOT of street time and spend some time at the Texas mile and local drag strips pretty often as well.:thumbsup:

Tracking a car with a Lenco sounds like a liability

It wont be a serious all out run, just to run around a road course so the car has done it. Goal is to have a street car i can drive anywhere, run 8's in the 1/4 and 200+ in the mile. I cant think of any other trans that will support the power it takes to push a heavy car that far. Ive had way to much bad luck with T56's in the past to put those in any high hp vehicle

I don't want to start an argument here - mostly because I don't really "care" - but an 8 second car is all about weight transfer to the rear - and hooking up - and a 200 mph + car is all about keeping the wind out of the bottom and downforces and low drag.... and Lencos are drag race pieces... and drag race tires and widths are one thing - and 200 mph tires and wheels are quiet different.

And I'll stand by my statement === 10's are WAY different than 9's - and 8's are even more serious... and a 9.98 is a 10 in my book not a legitimate 9....
while it might be semantics... it's 2 one hundredths into the 9's -- which is not a 9.3 car... or anywhere near it.

Just saying.... The argument that was trying to be settled was -- run 9's and handle a road course.... I suppose a guy could say it ran 9.98 and he is technically correct... but 10's and 9's are vastly different. As in about 10 car lengths at the end of a quarter mile assuming equal lights. That is a HUGE difference....

I tell all my customers that want this type of car. "You can build a great street car OR a great race car. If you try to build both you end up with a slow race car and an uncomfortable street car! :yes:

You have to make too many compromises to get a "best of both world" setup. Suspension that works in a straight line and is adjustable doesn't like to turn, and one that turns doesn't like to transfer weight / have adjustments for track conditions. Just my $.02

Greg must be a drag race guy because his logic is dead on. Some guys will try to make 9's with spray and stages but those cars are not usually very consistant. I have assembled a lot of high HP engines at my friend Joes, but he tells all of his clients HP is just one part of the equation to get into the 9's or to any other desired ET. (You gotta Hook up) to get to the other end.

That was my point.... but I don't like arguments... and there's always someone willing to argue... But the two contests are vastly different cars... and PT is vastly different from drag racing...

If you look at my first post - where I say "Never happened" -- I post up TWO ROFLMA faces.. because first of all I KNOW that I was poking fun at the whole notion... but also know there are some SMOKIN' quick PT cars... a car that runs 12's is pretty sweet... and a car capable of 10's is really getting the job done -- and REAL 9's (9.1 - 9.2 - 9.3 - 9.4 -- because anything else is 9.5's which is a different car altogether)...

When I pit crewed for McCulluch and Whipple - the difference between 7.1 and a 7.0 was a WORLD RECORD... :rofl:

The video of the blue Camaro is really impressive btw! :thumbsup:

Isn't that kind of the point of PT. Have a car capable of doing multiple things reasonably well? I do agree that it makes for a slow race car but not neccesarily an uncomfortable car. It's when you get inot full cages, race belts on the street, no AC or radio, high rate coil springs, solid motor mounts, that is gets uncomfortable. It all comes down to your goals. There has to be a line where it's no longer a PT car. That is one of the downsides I can see with the Optima Challenge and other events. The competitive juices may eventually make some of us lose site of the original finish line. A car just as capable of going out to dinner with the AC on and your favorite tunes blasting as it is on the race track.

I'll give you a perfect example of walking the line between race and pt. If it was race only I could've spent $250 on a new clutch disc. But I want a bullet proof clutch on the race track that won't chatter on the street. Thus $900 later I have a new clutch.

Todd --

Your statement is well thought out... and the COBRA (Optima Invitational) which won hands down - is not a PT car.... never was... never will be. The cars it beat... were arguably the very very best of the PT scene... and while they were beat by mere seconds (or 10ths of seconds - and stopping distances measured in feet not yards)... Those mere 10ths seemed like miles when you were watching it. It was vastly superior... but Gwen nor Kelli would want to go downtown in it. Well.... maybe.... :rofl: