Should I take my car to the strip?

[Theturbo551]

Hey just wanted to know do you guys think I should take my 93' Caviler to the strip. We discussed in the other forum that modifying my car wouldn't pay because it's too expensive. So do you think I can damage something if I go to the strip?

[Schister66]

You might damage something if you go to the dragstrip, but the chances are low. I have seen people do retarded things and break their cars on the line by dropping the clutch or neutral rev into drive, but if you aren't a complete moron, you have a low chance of having problems. Just get an oil change and make sure your car is running well beforehand.

I had to miss a few drag events this summer because my car was acting up. On my way to the strip one time, i did a hard 3, 4, 5 pull and since i was using thing motor oil, some of it passed the seals on my turbo and smoked. The car was fine once the oil was changed, but for the day, i was out of comission....

Good luck!

[Theturbo551]

Originally Posted by Schister66

You might damage something if you go to the dragstrip, but the chances are low. I have seen people do retarded things and break their cars on the line by dropping the clutch or neutral rev into drive, but if you aren't a complete moron, you have a low chance of having problems. Just get an oil change and make sure your car is running well beforehand.

I had to miss a few drag events this summer because my car was acting up. On my way to the strip one time, i did a hard 3, 4, 5 pull and since i was using thing motor oil, some of it passed the seals on my turbo and smoked. The car was fine once the oil was changed, but for the day, i was out of comission....

Good luck!

Ye, I don't want to break anything I mean it's a L4 2.2 it's/ not ment for racing I don't think it can hurt it but deffently make a oil change if I want to.

[Schister66]

well it may not be meant for racing, but it doesn't mean you can't have fun anyway. I have seen a full array of cars that aren't even close to race worthy at the track before....some of them run as slow as 19-20sec 1/4 miles, but they're still having a good time. If you haven't been to a track before, you probably have the wrong idea of what its like and are intimidated slightly...i was intimidated the first time i went. I was expecting a bunch of cars running 12's and faster, but in reality, there weren't that many. The majority of people there are like you, just there to have fun. They run anywhere from 15's to 19's and are fine with that.

There are however, the guys, like most of the ones i hang out w/, who are obsessed with cars and have to be fast. Its fun to watch them race, but sadly, i can't keep up just yet. Fastest last year was Nick's full interior 98 GSR at 10.8sec which is pretty good. This year he stripped it and dumped another $10k into it....he's hoping for low 10s or 9s if he's lucky. I'm shooting for a low 12 or high 11, but i'm unsure if i can hit that....

[CavLCD128]

ice seen a Geo Metro on the track...and if they can get on the track...you shouldnt have a problem

Street Racing FTW!! lol jk keep your racing on the track

[Theturbo551]

But do you think I'll brake or damage anything?

[millrtime]

like he said, as long as ur not stupid and you dont abuse ur engine all the time you should be fine. my stock 03 has seen the strip many a time and nothing has gone wrong yet. as schister said, just make sure to change ur oil before you go to make sure everything is lubricated and be sure ur car is running well beforehand.

[Schister66]

cars dont break as easily as you think.....take it to the track, be smart about driving it, and have fun. Make sure everything is in running order before you go and i dont think you'll have any problems...

[Theturbo551]

Do I have to do a VSS mod? Hope it doen't shut me down at 108 MPH.

[Schister66]

you're not going to hit more than about 75mph in the 1/4 mile w/ your stock Cavalier....you dont have to worry

[Theturbo551]

Originally Posted by Schister66

you're not going to hit more than about 75mph in the 1/4 mile w/ your stock Cavalier....you dont have to worry

But if I did would I have to?

[Derow69]

Originally Posted by CavLCD128

ice seen a Geo Metro on the track...and if they can get on the track...you shouldnt have a problem

Street Racing FTW!! lol jk keep your racing on the track

Street Racing Way Funner But Dangerous lol STREET RACING !

[spudracer73]

its not made for racing. you may have some people laughing at you, but at least its safer than on the street.

[Lefix]

My car is 15.3 seconds at 92 miles an hour....hehe, thats stock now...after my intake and exhaust and some more stuff, i might get high 14's...hehehe

[Schister66]

Originally Posted by Theturbo551

But if I did would I have to?

I dont know for sure. I haven't had to deal w/ a speed limiter on my GSR. I merely have a redline limiter set at a conservative 8550 which equates to a top speed of 166mph.

If you pull the VSS, it will have other effects on the car. I dont know if your car is an Ecotech or not, but if it is, i would assume it performs like VTEC where the engagement is rpm based, but needs to see a certain speed in order to enage it. This prevents it from engaging in neutral. If it has that feature, then you can't pull the VSS w/o losing a lot of power. At that point, your timing would be all out of whack because the computer would still advance the timing to compensate for the extra air and power, but the mechanical features wouldn't allow it to happen. I had this problem once on my Integra when it was boosted, but not yet tuned. The VSS came unplugged and it started misfiring and mildly detonating. It was horrible...the car wouldn't even accelerate or hold speed. I would look into this more before doing it. It is going to be a while before dealing w/ the speed limiter is necessary.