I blame the "Fast& Furious" movies with Vin Diesel and the late Paul Walker constantly spouting off about "10 second" cars. The reality is very few people outside of Pro Stock drag racers have actually driven a car that does the 1/4 mile in 10 seconds or less. David Frieburger-former editor of Hot Rod said a few years ago "If you think your car can run 12s but you've never been to the track, then your probably running in the mid-13s." Truer words were never spoken. Most people don't know that 1/10th of a second is worth roughly one car length in a drag race. So if your buddys Subaru WRX-which according to Car and Driver runs the 1/4 in 14.1-and a guy in a Buick Grand National beats him by three car lengths-that means the GN is running 13.8. On paper-3/10ths doesn't look or sound like much of a difference. But it is. If a car was a full second quicker-say The Buick GN we just talked about ran up against a new 435 hp Mustang GT that runs 12.80s according to C/ D-it would be a totall ass-whippin'. Ditto if the Mustang ran up against a Hellcat Charger that runs 11s off the showroom floor. 10 car lengths in 1320 feet? Thats not a race-thats total annihilation. Anyhow I'm going to lay down what it really takes to run the 1/4 mile times that people talk about. You may be surprised. # 1. 14 second cars. Cars in this bracket are usually fun daily drivers. They look cool, their fast enough to back up the image-you don't have to take crap from little boys in Honda Civics or soccer moms in V8 Cherokees-the engines idle smoothly, the seats are comfortable and the suspension doesn't rattle your fillings loose. Examples would be '80's and 90's "5.0" Mustangs, LB9 and L98 Camaros and Corvettes, '70's T/A's with a 4-speed ( or an automatic with an axle-ratio change ). Others would be "entry level" musclecars-like 340 Dusters, 351CJ Mustangs, 389 GTOs, 396 Chevelles, 383 Road Runners, etc. #2. 13 second cars. These are great, fun hot rods. Cars in this bracket are usually a light car and have a warmed over small-block with a little extra mechanical advantage-i.e.-a Nova with a warmed-over 350 and a 4-speed with 3.73:1 gears or an automatic with a higher-than-stock stall speed converter. Or a medium weight car with a mild big block-440 Road Runners, 454 Chevelles, 455HO GTOs and Firebirds, etc. They can certainly be driven every day-but increased fuel consumption causes most people to relegate these to weekend cruisers. # 3. 12 second cars. Nitrous can yank a 13 second car into the 12s, but the real glory is to run it "on the motor" which means "off the bottle". To do that you'll need at least 400-450 hp, which means a stout small-block or a warmed-over big block. You'll also need to put all that power to the ground so you need 3.73 or stiffer gears, and because of the bigger cam you'll be running to make all that power you'll either need a stick or a 2,500 rpm converter with an automatic. You'll also need some bigger tires and some type of traction aids-a posi rear end, traction bars or a pinion snubber, etc. Drivability? Sure these cars are eminently streetable-but the loud exhausts,choppy idle, drag race-oriented suspension and the motor buzzing at 3,500 rpm on the freeway don't make them very viable as daily transportation. # 4. 11 second cars. Barring something really light with 350 hp-i.e. a 2,400 lb Datsun 240Z with a small-block Chevy in it or a 2,200 lb Factory Five '33 Ford Kit Car with a 302 Ford-to run 11s you'll need at least 500 hp, which is why you don't see too many 11 second cars without a blue bottle in the trunk. Sans nitrous-that means a small block with a blower or a very healthy big-block. Also most dragstrips require any car that runs the 1/4 in 12 seconds or less (although some have gone to 11.50 ) to have an 8-pont roll cage and a driveshaft safety loop. It also probably means some upgraded drivetrain components. Sure, you can buy a 500 hp 383 Small-Block Chevy crate motor and stuff it in your '86 Monte Carlo SS or '85 IROC-Z Camaro-but guess what-the T-5 BW 5-speed only has a 280 lb ft torque rating. They break behind 190 hp L69 305s if you run them hard enough. Ditto for the 200R4 slushboxes and 7.25 rear ends. So you'll have to upgrad the tranny to a Muncie 4-speed or a Richmond 5 or 6-speed, or to a TH350 / 400. You'll also need a stouter rear axle-these GM 7 1/4 rears used in 82-92 F bodies and '78-88 G bodies break behind 305 Chevys and 307 Oldsmobiles wheezing out 150 hp-what's going to happen when you lean on that 500 hp monster? So you can see your making a serious committment to speed. Daily driver? NO!!! Sure, you can drive it to the store-but do you really want to take the kids to soccer practice in it? "Be careful climbing over the roll cage honey, and don't step on the nitrous bottle..." Puhleeze. # 5. 10 second cars. Sure you could build a 12 second car and put a 300 hp nitrous system on it. Is that rich asshole in the next lane in a 650 hp ZO6 'Vette or 707 hp Hellcat Charger or 600 hp Nissan GTR going to wait while you back up your timing,and arm your nitrous system, or he just going to stomp your ass when the light turns green? So to have a true "10 second car"-your building a race car with liscence plates. What else would you call something with an 8 or 10 point roll cage, powered by a 12:1 compression, 500+ inch, 600+ hp big block backed by an automatic with a 4,000 rpm torque converter and a trans-brake? Seriously-think of the 720 hp GMPP 572 inch crate motor-that's about the power level you'll need-and you'll need a stout car to put it in-a '70's Camaro or Chevelle with a roll cage and an upgraded rear end-a GM 12 bolt or Currie 9 inch with 4.30 or stiffer gears-and you'll need a B&M or TCI built TH400, and you'll need some serious traction aids-ladder bars or maybe even a custom 4-link setup. Drivability? Sure, anything is drivable depending on what the driver is willing to tolerate. But honestly-even with 4.56:1 gears the cars 60 mph cruise rpm is still going to be below your 4,000 rpm converter's stall speed, so how far toward the grocery store can mom go before she burns up the tranny? So the next time some clown claims his car runs 10s or 11s or 12-demand that he produce a timeslip from a dragstrip. Chances are he can't, and he's full of shit. Hope this helps people out. Mastermind
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