Street legal drag car

gendox

Track Warrior
Points
67
Location
Corby, Nortants
Car
Pug 206 LX
For the parst 7 months i have been thinking about starting a small street legal drag car i have the time and basic knowlage to do most of the work myself. I have been thinking of joing the RWYB street challenge its a very relaxed season all you have to do is register, have a driving license, M.O.T and Tax.

I have posted this thread to see what you guys think is a good bases for a drag car. My suggestions are light rear wheel drive and easy to modify (popular).

I was thinking of a BMW 3 series 2 door, strip the whole interior new tyres brakes suspension clutch air feed and filter.

What do you guys think good idea ?
 
Sounds like fun to me. I guess you get a season or so practice in before you really start to challenge. There are loads of Engine swap options on the BMW so I think it is a really good base to work from.;)
 
An example to ponder over:
1996 328i
190bhp / 207lbs/ft
Weight 1466Kg

In standard trim:
1/4 mile 15.93 sec @ 88mph. This would put you 106th in the current championship.

Remove 230Kg in weight:
1/4 mile 15.21 sec @ 90mph - 97th

Add 50bhp & 50lbs/ft:
1/4 mile 14.21 sec @ 98mph - 64th

To be competitive ain't going to be easy, but then, if it was it wouldn't be worth doing.

Keep us all informed if you decide to do it. There is quite a lot of drag racing experience on this site so you shouldn't be short of help and hindrance :)

Data gathered from CarTest 2000, drag racing simulation software. Comparing virtual with real data (mine) this software gets pretty close (.15 sec and 2mph) if you can supply it with accurate car data.
 
An example to ponder over:
1996 328i
190bhp / 207lbs/ft
Weight 1466Kg

In standard trim:
1/4 mile 15.93 sec @ 88mph. This would put you 106th in the current championship.

Remove 230Kg in weight:
1/4 mile 15.21 sec @ 90mph - 97th

Add 50bhp & 50lbs/ft:
1/4 mile 14.21 sec @ 98mph - 64th

To be competitive ain't going to be easy, but then, if it was it wouldn't be worth doing.

Keep us all informed if you decide to do it. There is quite a lot of drag racing experience on this site so you shouldn't be short of help and hindrance :)

Data gathered from CarTest 2000, drag racing simulation software. Comparing virtual with real data (mine) this software gets pretty close (.15 sec and 2mph) if you can supply it with accurate car data.

thanks for all the the data is quite interesting im glad there is alot of people on here that do this or have done, the pub i run also has two people in it who used to drag race made there own car ect and there where very in on the scene so i need to buy them a pint and sit with them for a few hours and question them.
 
thanks for all the the data is quite interesting im glad there is alot of people on here that do this or have done, the pub i run also has two people in it who used to drag race made there own car ect and there where very in on the scene so i need to buy them a pint and sit with them for a few hours and question them.

Sounds like good value to me :)
 
ive been helping a mate with a very fast street car

we put an integra type r into an eg hatchback, striped out all weight, example, carpets, rear seats,we also put persprex in instead of glass,

it also has a few mods, includind a stage 2 buddy club exhaust (supposidly the loudest exhaust you can buy)

car is running, but today we must bleed the brakes, put the rad in, and away we go

il let ye know how quick she is later
 
ive been helping a mate with a very fast street car

we put an integra type r into an eg hatchback, striped out all weight, example, carpets, rear seats,we also put persprex in instead of glass,

it also has a few mods, includind a stage 2 buddy club exhaust (supposidly the loudest exhaust you can buy)

car is running, but today we must bleed the brakes, put the rad in, and away we go

il let ye know how quick she is later

sounds cool not to sure about the exhaust for track noise but get some pics and vids posted up.
 
The only thing with that RWYB street challeng thingy is they don't have drive classes. At the very least they should have FWD, RWD and 4WD imo.
 
The only thing with that RWYB street challeng thingy is they don't have drive classes. At the very least they should have FWD, RWD and 4WD imo.

Hmmmm, yes and no.

3 classes would be fairer, but life isn't fair.

If you want fair, enter one of the bracket racing classes.

Competition rules are simple. If your car is road legal, you can enter. You alone chose what type of car to drive, so if you drive a FWD that is your choice :)

Anyway, you would probably find the AWD boys wanting to race on their own or against FWD cars only, as the REALLY quick cars are RWD :)

I plan to enter the competition next year and would not be happy if there were no AWD cars to embarrass :)
 
Ok, well i have done a few number crunches and i recon i have about 1500 to 2000, to spend on a car. I say 1500 because this leaves more money to be spent on modifying the car, i recon i have about 3500 to spend. This is all pounds sterling might i add. This car does not need to be road legal, so insurance, mot and tax are out of the window for the time being, until i need to race then the mot will be biggest part, anywho !

I want to forget the BMW thing at the moment, and start with what i beleve to be important engine and drive.

Criteria:
Engine - 1.8L + (up to 2.5L)
Drive - RWD (prefered)
Weight - As light as possible

So what do you guys recommend if you where to do this?
What car would you choose and why, i want some reasons so i know plus and minuses of a few cars. Im in the dark about what car to choose im new in the drag scene and i want to get it right.
 
Nissan 300ZX. Two choices - the lighter Z31, with only a single turbo, or the heavier Z32 with a twin turbo.

Don't forget to check the engine fitted!

Should be able to get one for around £1500-£2000.

They are a bit heavy (about 1.5T), but have a good drag co-efficient of 0.3 (less wind resistance).

Not sure of any other RWD cars available in the sub-£2000 bracket.

Downside is it's a bigger engine than you're aiming for (3L V6).
 
Last edited:
If you haven't been already, get yourself to a RWYB (Run What Ya Brung) drag meeting to see what everyone else is using, what is fast and what isn't and what takes your fancy. Santa Pod has regular meetings of this type.
 
Nissan 300ZX. Two choices - the lighter Z31, with only a single turbo, or the heavier Z32 with a twin turbo.

Don't forget to check the engine fitted!

Should be able to get one for around £1500-£2000.

They are a bit heavy (about 1.5T), but have a good drag co-efficient of 0.3 (less wind resistance).

Not sure of any other RWD cars available in the sub-£2000 bracket.

Downside is it's a bigger engine than you're aiming for (3L V6).

you see i only said 2.5L because i thought anything over that would be to heavy but im stripping the interior completly and adding light weight componants so i dont see why 1.5T should be a prob, and thats nice drag co.
 
I suppose a second hand kit car would be out of your budget?

There's a lot of nothing to them so you get a nice power to weight ratio and simplicity makes it easier to maintain and modify (as a general package - you could have all that EFI black magic if you want!)
 
Yeah, had another couple of thoughts.

Twamgl3 made one - kit car.

The other is an 80s Toyota sports car, such as the MR2 (sub-£1,000) or the early Supra - never thought about these two yesterday.

Still trying to think of other RWDs in your price range.
 
The MR2 makes a goos track car due to the mid-engine, but this makes it unnecessarily complicated for a drag car, maintenance is made less easy as the engine is less accessible - you'll need to remove major parts of the engine to get to the clutch which will no doubt be a cause for concern if you're drag racing.

The Mk III Supra would be a good move as it is fairly basic RWD job, and an OK one falls within the budget. They are not as over-priced as the Mk IV, which I feel is a design classic.
 
The MR2 makes a goos track car due to the mid-engine, but this makes it unnecessarily complicated for a drag car, maintenance is made less easy as the engine is less accessible - you'll need to remove major parts of the engine to get to the clutch which will no doubt be a cause for concern if you're drag racing.

The Mk III Supra would be a good move as it is fairly basic RWD job, and an OK one falls within the budget. They are not as over-priced as the Mk IV, which I feel is a design classic.

I love supras but i thought they would be way to expensive ill have a look about.

But anyway the whole project is now on delay as my car was broken into last night the cd player, amp, sub and wiring was all stolen damage to door, thankfully no broken windows or internal damage other than a few scuffs and scratches so a new alarm system is on the cards also it puts doubts in my head for this car being stored not in a garage.
 
A lot depends on your area but a nice radio is a big tempation. If you have a face off radio then never leave it in the car whilst it is parked.
 
it was a tidy install all wired hidden under carpet sub in boot stealth shelf made by me cd player did have face on stupidly but they left my ipod and snap on tool kitin the boot while they robbed my pads and shelf i guess its easier to take shelf of than 6x9s but they took all wires every thing i recon it was for another 206 got my eyes out
 

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