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1/4 mile
2001-08-07-11:34 a.m.
Against my better judgement I finally went to go see "The fast and the furious" last night. I'm really into cars, but because of that, I didn't want to see this movie. All too often I see "riceboys" riding around town in what are basically economy cars, with nothing added except go-fast stickers, a loud exhaust, and MAYBE some aftermarket rims. Most people actually just put on what I call "Wal-Mart" rims though. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, these are the replacement stick on hubcaps for cars that are made of plastic and painted with chrome. So from a distance, (say, maybe a mile away), it may appear that they are real rims. But get up close, and you can see the black steel factory rim behind it. As bad as these sound from my description, rest assured they look even more horrific in person, yet they continue to proliferate. Go figure. Actually, no wait, don't, it's pointless anyway. Add on an exhaust tip the size of a garbage can and a spoiler so tall it looks like a shopping cart handle, and you're all set. Never mind that bigger, heavier wheels, drag-inducing spoilers and poorly tuned exhaust systems all serve to actually SLOW DOWN the car, and you see why I don't want to see a movie like that. But it still wasn't that bad of a movie, I'll spare you the details though. BTW, the good ol' bug is still the worlds fastest 4 cylinder car. The air cooled horizontally opposed flat 4 has the world record for a 4 cyl. 1/4 mile at a 7 seconds, and they'll be knocking on the 6's soon. Even my daily driven 69 bug with a 8 valve motor, no nitrous or turbo, not even fuel injection, still ran faster 1/4s than the hottest new factory civics. No japanese FWD car has ever clicked off anything but a 9, MAYBE an 8, although I haven't heard of it yet. Sure the engine design is a lot newer (a year or two old vs. almost 65 yrs.), but front wheel drive cars will never get the traction needed to run much quicker, and few of these racers understand the importance of balance and care in the longblock construction, as well as desinging the motor to work as a whole. Well, I'm ranting, and most people who read this don't know or care shit about cars, but I do and I needed to say this. -- Ronnie
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