Striping for a time slip???

[Dan B.]

I'm not a big track racer but like to play around from time to time. All that I've ever done is a tire swap to experiment with potential changes in gearing. But it always amazes me what folks do to chase a time slip.....removing headlights, striping interiors, etc. Totally impractical stuff when it comes to actually driving your car on the street. Last time I was down a fella was running a Nissan truck with some engine mods and a tune.....a rather new truck. He had the interior STRIPPED down to just the driver seat just to try for a 13 second time slip. I've also seen newer muscle cars with the interiors out. Headlight removal for airflow also seems big.

I street raced a guy one night in the Ranger. We both had passengers. Both wanted to ride along for the race. At the track both vehicles were comparable in ET but his car was striped out and had slicks to run the number but mine was "as is" on the street. He made his passenger sit out to save weight...I let mine ride along. I wiped him up.....bad.

If your ride can't run the number in street driven trim then why bother?? Just MHO.

[scott5]

Because its sometimes and more economical to strip weight than to add power. For instance. Guy at my track bought a brand new mustang. literally gutted every piece of the interior only thing that was left was a driver seat. He did it because it didn't want to void the warranty he said.

This area is always a big opinion. Definition of street car. and some people have a goal in mind and will do anything to achieve it. I am one of those guys. I built my one Camaro for one reason and one reason only. Be the fastest Stock ci ls1 in the country. And I will cut/delete anything that is not needed to get my car as light as it possibly can be to hit that number.

and on the other hand. My other cars I could care less about et with. So they are mostly full option/interior cars.

[mustang50lx]

What ever it takes to make the go car as fast as it can in your budget :)

[PaxtonShelby]

My seats aren't coming out. Headlights either. No helium in my tires. No barium enema the night before. Street trim and some tires is all.

[gpfarrell]

On a related note, I don't get the cars that require a 26-step launch sequence to get all the car has to offer. BMWs seem to do this on some of their M models... Turn to sport mode, hold M button, activate muffler bearings, good grief! Mash and go!

[Silverhatch]

Im almost finished up with a remote control to drive my car from the starting line. Saved 180 #s.

[PaxtonShelby]

Now THAT'S a driver mod!!

[phillysrt4]

There was a WRX last time I was at PRP that was stripped down to bare metal on the inside. Talk about maD tYte weight loss!

But yea, if you want to run a number there are several ways to do it... you can race at the Dead Sea in January but only if there is a 30mph tailwind, or you can gut the car within an inch of its life. Most choose the latter especially with the violence over there right now :)

[PaxtonShelby]

I could run a 3 minute mile if I would just lose 100 pounds...

[Martin0660]

I have tried several times at least a little reduction ... remove passenger seat, fire extinguisher, spare tire cover, etc ,etc ... Every time I've tried it, that car has done something stupid and not run better (usually spins).

I'm happy that my "milestone" time slips (12.99, 11.99, 10.99) was all done with the car in complete street trim as I drove it in.

I get doing it if that's what you need. For example, I know Ed changes his headlight for ram air and removes his seat. It pays off for him and puts him in a better place if running MOD on a regular race day. There are reasons to do it, it just never seems to work for me.