memorial day is coming up, which means the annual high school drags event at Bandimere is going on. problem is, the old man wont let me run my trans am, he says im going to break something at the track that he's gonna have to front me the money to pay for. (Being 17, in school, and buying the TA a couple months ago hast exactly left me with a ton of money, and certainly buying my $500 license plates last week didnt help.)

my thought is, hey i get on it every once in a while, but i by no means hot rod it all the time. how is going to the track for a few runs gonna be much different? if anything, its much safer. plus, my car is basically bone stock- its not like im puttin down so much power that im gonna go blast the rear end to pieces.

so my question is, does the old man have a good point? or am i right on thinkin hey, i run the risk of breaking something but that risk is pretty small? let me know what you all think. thanks

 

Of course you can break something, but it depends on how you drive the car. On street tires I doubt you will be able to stress the drivetrain much but theres still a chance. But you gotta pay to play.

 

You have an A4 so it wont be as hard on the rear, so as long as your not launching from 5k on slicks then i wouldnt worry about breaking it to much. Of coarse there is always the risk of breaking something, but if something is gonna break, it will break sooner or later. Just look over your car real good, make sure it is in tip top shape (Make sure there is plenty oil! dont wanna mess that up) and just do what you want.

 

I'd listen to your ol' man. He's probably been in your situation before. I wish I would have listened to my dad more when I was younger, and now still. You might be pissed at him now, but later on when you wanna race it, it will be that much more taken care for. Either way, they can be wrong sometimes though.

 

its pay to play...

if you aren't prepared for something to break, then don't go.

 

yeah that's what I am talkin about!! Here's what I just did:

POOF!!

Lid, Flowmaster, 3400 stall, 3.73, all season Kuhmos w/treadwear of 420 (so not sticky by any means).

 

I'll have to agree with your old man. Drag racing is a very expensive hobby. Always be prepared to break something.

In my bone stock LT1 I used to drag race it weekly and eventually my automatic gave up to the ghost. I put a upgraded one back in and blew it up again drag racing. Later, I put a 6-speed in it and broke it too

Save you a few dollars just incase something happens then go racing!
Good luck!

 

sounds like the consensus is hes right.. i guess i didnt realize it was that huge of a risk

 

Here is the thing. I remember when I was in High School and you had that sweet car that you wanted to impress everyone with. That is the greatest feeling. But when you get around all of those other people that are your age you do some stupid things to try to impress. Your dad may be more on the protective side of not wanting you to not only break something but to wreck something, being your car or you. Like someone else said they wish they listened more to their dad when they were younger, well I back that up, cause there are times where I listened to him more too, my father was a very smart person. Make the right decision, I personally dont think you would break anything if you do it once or twice but remember you are setting the car up for breaking something eventually. Good luck.

 

There's another angle to consider as well. You're not alone on the drag strip. You could be a perfect driver in a perfect car... perfect launch and the perfect run under way. Just to your side there is another person who pushes it a little too hard and loses control of the car. Next thing you know you're in the wall with a smashed car... maybe hurt or worse. Now consider the waiver you sign to run on the track which releases the track from all responsibility. Also check your insurance policy- I bet racing the car releases them from having to cover you or anyone else.

I'm not trying to scare you but giving you more of the picture your Dad is probably seeing. In most any form of racing you have to account for the risk other racers pose to you. In your case, you're racing against high school kids- not very comforting. I'm sure your Dad trusts you and your car completely or he wouldn't have let you get the car. I'm with him in not trusting the stranger who lines up next to you.

Racing is somewhat like gambling... there's always a good chance you may end up going home broke. Racing your only car when you don't have the money to fix it is a great way to get familiar with public transportation.

 

i guess i would more be going down to get a baseline on what my car ran stock, and see some other cool cars- not so much to "impress everyone with that sweet car".
but, i can understand why you are saying what you are saying. im sure it is easy to stereotype teenagers as dumb kids who just go around trying to impress one another.
i think many kids these days dont really appreciate what they have because they often dont have to work for their things, as i have had to do. it just sucks getting lumped into the category of "people your age who do stupid things to impress."

 

I remember a time before I got my license and dad was driving my car when a couple of kids I went to school with that knew me rolled up beside my ws.6 in a saturn (of all things lol) and revved the engine.

They took off getting for all it was worth and dad just kept driving normal and laughing at those guys and shortly asked:

Do you know what they know now compared to what they would have known if I had gassed it. I said I guess they know the same, that they would have got their asses whooped.

My dad is the smartest guy I know and he always told me to let them wonder about how much power it has.. and Im not saying I wont and dont floor it now and then, but your car serves its job alot better in one piece.

I guess it seems like Im trying to talk you out of it but Im not. Its your decision and most importantly take care of your car.

 

Im not even stereotyping, Im 24, i can just recall how I acted at 17/18 years old. And your totally right, I remember how no one really appreciated anything, and now that Im older I cant believe how teens really dont appreciate as much. Not trying to throw you in the category, it been like this for years where older people say, those young kids this and that. Sounds like you have your head on straight so Im sure you are going to do the right thing.

 

here's a younger guys opinion (19). I raced for the first time when i was 16. My dad didn't think it was a good idea saying i might break something but hell I had to! There's nothing wrong with having a little fun, if you want to run your car a few times at the track do it! You will have a blast and I'm sure your car will be fine.

 

yea im 21 ran my old T/A when I was 17, got a few runs in had ALOT of run, its such a rush, but just be careful and dont be stupid KNOW your limits and dont push them....I was VERY responsible at 16 considering I had to work for EVERYTHING I got just about, worked since I was 16 to buy my first car so I appreciated it more then alot of kids who get S*** handed to them, but yea be safe and respect your car and your limits and you will be fine

 

Im 19 and ive had my car since i was right at 17 and i took my car to the track to get a baseline run when she was stock.. Just think how many tests these cars were put through with GM before they hit the market to be sold .. They put these poor F-Bodies through alot more **** then a few track runs will do to it.. I think 2 passes at the track is not bad at all and i can almost guarantee you that you wont break anything on stock power, although it could happen i just highly doubt it .

 

It's an A4 and it's basically stock. As long as the car is in good shape with no exsisting mechanical issue's your not going to break anything. There is always the chance, but your not spraying it, launching it on drag radials and power shifting. I think the chance of you breaking anything in this case is pretty slim.

Lifes short, go racing