How to make a 10 second car

[obi_waynne]

Where would you start if you had a project of creating a 10 second car?

What base car would you use, what would your target power figure be and what do you think the lowest cost would be for a 10 second car.

Discuss and debate! Let's see where this little adventure takes us!

 

[HDi fun]

Are there not some rough bhp/kg tables around to give us an idea of what's needed for the 1/4 drag?

I am thinking you'd need close to 1000bhp in a one tonne vehicle plus the means to get it onto the tarmac effectively.

 

[T9 man]

OG touched on this subject sometime ago I think, I think I would go along the lines of a small lightweight production fibreglass car with a 550 to 650 BHP engine installed. I think I would keep it at 4 cylinders with a massive turbo etc for weight saving performance! Just a thought from me you understand; so don't verbally try and rip out my jugular just because I might have made a mistake - this is hypothetical after all

 

[HDi fun]

Yeah - I think it has been touched on in previously. Nothing wrong with 4 cylinder forced induction engines - it's the way the industry seems to be going.

Ford and VAG seem to think that three is enough. In some ways I agree, a three cylinder with significant internal balancing can be superb. Better than a badly balanced four (which requires two balancer shafts), a three cylinder requires just one shaft, albeit of significant mass. A V6 also requires just one.

Straight sixes are in perfect primary and secondary balance and require no additional balancing - the problem with these engines (such as mine with seven main bearings) is that the crankshaft and camshafts are long which limits their ultimate high revving ability. Mine red lines at just under 6500rpm - limiter stops you at 6600. A good four cylinder will run to well over 7000 without issues and it's lighter as well. All good for the drag strip performance as you say

More is not always better :-D

 

[old-git]

550bhp/500ftlbs and 1000kg will do it.

Or 350/300 and 500kg

 

[adam1983]

Tyres make a massive difference in times which I can say from experience. Driver skill is also a big factor in getting decent times

 

[old-git]

Agreed. The above power requirements assume decent tyres and driver skills

 

[SLEEPER]

Weii i just need to lose 600kgs then...............

Just to add that a good straight six engine will rev well over 7000 with no problems in standard form
My rev limit is set at 8350 but will rev higher and that's with a stock head head

 

[old-git]

Rev limit on my 4-pot is 8250 (ish)

 

[obi_waynne]

Which route is cheaper, lighter and lower power or just ramping up the power of a heavier car? I tend to think it makes more sense to reduce weight as much as possible as this IMO is cheaper than pushing up the power but what are your thoughts?

 

[old-git]

There is no right answer, just a lot of options all as valid as each other.

Removing weight starts off as free, but can evolve into a lot of work and expense and is not always the best way to go on your daily driver as it can make it noisy and uncomfortable.

Where are you starting from? If you have a small, light car then sticking to 4 or 6 cylinders is probably the easiest way. With a big, heavy car you need a lot of torque which usually means a V8. This, however, is not definitive but there are very few fast big cars with small displacment powerplants.

A lot of Jap cars are running in the 10s, 9s and even 8s using in line motors, albeit with one or two turbos, superchargers and/or nitrous.

My friend's Ford Anglia (Ford Pop shape) is over a tonne, but has clocked 10.6@131mph after only three runs. He has a 351 V8 Cleveland in it pushing out around 550bhp. Once he gets his 60ft time down he will be close to the 9s. Then, of course, he can switch on his nitrous system

You could, of course, fit a big block Chevy into a Fiat 126, but that has already been done.

Do you want to follow tried and tested methods or plough your own furrow? By following other people you may get close to going as fast as them but not faster.

Are you looking to go faster or FAST? There is a very big difference in work required and the cost involved in going from lower to upper case

 

[SLEEPER]

It can be done with heavy cars (there is a stagea in nz that has run 8.83) but I think it is easier and cheaper to start with something a fair bit smaller and lighter ike a civic or similar or maybe an elan ???

 

[old-git]

By heavy cars I was thinking Yank Tanks but I take your point.

An Elan running 10s? Wouldn't give it houseroom

 

[RedlineX2]

Wouldnt start with a fwd car that's for sure... think most 10sec cars are turbo/sc V8 atm. A light, cheap rwd platform, fox body mustang or late model camaro/firebird. ofc with big bucks one could build tt supra or gtt skyline.