Silver 00 SS

iTrader: (7)

What does 8 cars and the hit translate into 1/4 mile time? if i had to give a car 8 cars and the hit how much faster would my car have to be to beat it?

Scott

Snorman

The rule of thumb is a link is a tenth. Then it depends on reaction. You're looking at giving well over a second.
Spot him out 8 from the line and you've just shortened the track for the other guy by ~130' plus the hit.
S.

Silver 00 SS

iTrader: (7)

any one else

Smokinstorm

iTrader: (5)

The break is worth around a half second. A little less if your reaction time is good. I've actaully tried this at the track by giving someone the break and comparing reaction times. Another way to think of how much the break is worth is to think of it like running a pro tree. When the yellow lights flash (he breaks from the line) you take off. The green comes on .4 after the yellow and an average time on a pro tree is .100 for the novice racer. That's a half second total. Remember though, the more you set the guy out the harder it is to break right with him. You just cannot react as quickly if he's 8 car lenghts in front vs just giving someone the break sitting right beside you especially if you do it at night. The 8 car length head start is worth more the slower you're going, less the faster you're going. How long does it take for you to travel 8 car lengths at the end of the 1/4 mile? Is the car you're setting out 15 feet long, 16?, 17? It matters but only slightly. Just assuming you're running low 12's at ~110 MPH, I'd say you'd have to be about a second and a half quicker to catch the guy safely. The other hard part is trying not to panic when you see the guy leave and burn up trying to catch him right off the line. That loses more races than you can imagine when racing on the street.

Disclaimer: I just heard about all this stuff and have never actually raced on the street.