[Shadow]

Originally Posted by LS2POWA

My experience with tracks is eh. Ill use OSW(Orlando Speed World), as an exmaple.

By far the worst run track Ive ever been to. Tech looked at my car, listened to it, and knew it was in the territory of atleast a 4pt cage. They went ahead and let me race anyways. My first pass I barely got on it and went sideways, my second pass I went sideways 3 times, I didnt end up in the wall cause I know my car very well.

When I took my car down county road 37 I believe(coming back from polk county back to bradenton) and did 176mph, I never once lost traction. Never once went sideways.

Corvettes are street ready cars or autocross. They are not meant to go down the 1/4m IMO.

Well, I'm not as well versed on Zora'a original purpose behind the cette, but I do know that the original versions were SOLID AXLE cars and could withstand the shock of the engines they held. AS well, you can now upgrade those solid axle's pretty easily with something more "substantial."

IMO (as has been demonstrated repeatedly), the IRS in the vette, regardless of the manufacturer, and there are several "bullet proof" IRS providers on the market, is still the weak link in any Corvette when it comes to the 1/4 mile.

Simply put, too many moving parts.

I agree that the Corvette is much better suited and probably more at home, on a road or autocross track, or the Autobahn

Ok, here comes the DISCLAIMER:

The views and opinions expressed here are personal opinions of the writer and not necessarily the views and/or opinions of the staff, management, owner(s) or members of CORVETTE FLORIDA, CORVETTEFLORIDA.COM, and/or it's affiliates (if any?)

(how's that?)

176 mph on a public roadway is .

I agree that you may "know" your car; however, if you know your car, how did you allow it to go sideways on the track?

Not only once, but twice?

There are a lot of professional cars out there, high HP (higher than your're putting down) cars out there that can come off the line relatively straight, and stay straight though the 1/4, shifts and all.

It's about set up and ability. Training and practice

On a track, it's a relatively controlled environment.

On a public road, even a back woods country road (especially in some cases), you have NO CONTROL over your environment!

You have no idea that the last roofing truck down that same road inadvertently dumped a bucket of roofing nails while headed home.

You also have no idea that a deer, fleeing from a hunter, an another attacker or simply doing what comes naturally and running through the woods, is about to cross your path.

You never know when someone, anyone, a hunter, a ATV rider, an elderly person, an inattentive driver, a child or teen, is going to walk, run or exit onto the roadway from a side street, a private, or a dirt road, right into your path of travel!

When something breaks, and eventually something will break, a tire blows, a differential or one of the many UV joints on those IRS axles decides to go south, where are you headed? Into what?

And last but certainly not least, when the Trooper, County Deputy or City cop, still using the "old school" RADAR units, appears on the horizon, what are you going to do?

It's been a while, but I believe that I could use the Florida Street Racing Statue, make it stick, and have the vette repainted green/black/or blue and white, or Tan & Black or Gray (yes, FWC can get you too!) and the low profile lights look sweet on a vette

I'm not trying to be hypocritical.

Yes, I've broken the 100 mark on several occasions over my 35+ years of driving. And yes, I street raced as a kid. And yes, I've crashed cars!
Both racing (had a full cage in a street raced (semi-street legal) old 70 something Mustang (75-76 era can't recall now ), in pursuits (that one costs me a few days and a private ride back and forth to work for a month!), on police motorcycles (yeah, that one smarted a bit!) and just driving down the damned road

I'm not saying this to brag. I'm trying to make a point.

CHIT HAPPENS!

When street racing, I was young, quick, thought that I had my chit pretty well bagged, and we were running a car that was pretty well a pure quarter miler with a tag and bogus inspection sticker.

Still crashed over something simple!

In the pursuits, you're running high speeds, trying to monitor the bad guys, your backup and fellow officers, and keep and eye on the citizens doing the wrong things at the wrong time, all the while trying to be helpful and law abiding.
(*HINT* Don't abruptly STOP in the middle of the f#@*Ing road when you hear sirens!)

When it goes bad, it goes bad quick!

On the street, any number of reasons from not paying attention to vehicle malfunctions.

What I'm saying is, I've been lucky.

Not been sued (although my daughter may have just jinxed that record recently), not been killed, seriously hurt or seriously hurt or killed anyone else.

But at 176, that kinda luck isn't going to happen.

At that speed, you're moving at approximately 264 FPS

Given an observation and reaction time in the half second range, you're still going to travel 132' before anything even starts to happen to slow down the car...and that's if you don't move the wheel.

Move the wheel and things get ugly quick!

Going straight it's going to take freaking forever to bring that buggy to a halt.

As I said though, move the wheel, and you can just put a quarter in the slot and hang on for the ride!

By the way. While doing 176, are you still wearing the helmet you had at the track? I realize they didn't ding you for no cage, but since when to they determine your speed and ET by sound?

Once you got sideways twice, I'd be asking you to leave my track for liability reasons.
My guess is, if they're that lax, it will bite them in the ass one day and we'll have one less official track on which to send the kids

And since it was mentioned, if you realized that you "should" have had a cage, other drivers and the law be damend, why would you take the same risks on the road without one? That just doesn't make sense to me

Ok, rants over....and I'm no damned saint! Those that know me know...that shine on my head isn't a HALO, it's a GLARE

Just be careful out there and use your head

Gordon