How to Create a Drag Racing Car

Creating a drag racing car requires time and money.

While you can drag race any type of vehicle, a dedicated drag racing car will need to be modified from a stock configuration. A drag racing car will need performance modifications for it to be competitive and safety modifications to make it safe to race. If you want to create a drag racing car, you will have to commit a lot of time and money to the project. In the end, however, you will have the excitement of being able to race your own custom drag car.

Things You'll Need

• Stock car
• Racing tires
• Roll cage
• Racing seat and harness
• Nitrous oxide system
• Supercharger

Instructions

1. Purchase a stock car as the base for your drag racing car. Mustangs, Camaros and Chargers are all popular options for mid-range American-made cars. Honda Civics and Subaru Imprezas are popular cars for import racing. The type of car you choose should match the type of racing you will be doing.

2. Install a roll cage in the car. A roll cage is a vital piece of safety equipment in any drag racing car, as it is what will protect you in case of a rollover during a race. Unless you have significant welding experience, it is best to have this done professionally. The pipe bends and welds need to retain their strength in order to be effective.

3. Exchange your stock seat and seat belts for a racing seat and harness. In case of a rollover or hard impact, this type of seat and harness will help keep you safer than the stock seat and restraint.

4. Replace treaded road tires with slick racing tires. Because racing tires have no tread, they are able to better grip the track; these tires, however, are not street legal. Keep the stock tires and re-install them after the race if you intend to drive the car on the street as well.

5. Add a nitrous oxide system to your engine. According to the University of Bristol, nitrous oxide, "provides more efficient combustion of fuel, the nitrogen buffers the increased cylinder pressure controlling the combustion and the latent heat of vaporisation of the N2O reduces the intake temperature." These things combined will allow your engine to accelerate more quickly for short periods of time.

6. Decide if you want to install a supercharger on your drag racing car. A supercharger increases your engine's power by forcing air into the engine combustion chamber, causing fuel to be burned more quickly. This is an expensive upgrade, but will add significant power to your car.

Tips & Warnings

• The faster your car is, the more safety equipment you will need to install.

• Street-legal racing slicks are available. These tires have grooves that make them legal for street driving, but you should still not drive in wet conditions using these tires.

References

• Hot Rod Magazine: Tips on Drag Slicks
• University of Bristol: Nitrous Oxide
• Turbo Whistler: How Does a Supercharger Work on a Car?
• SFI Roundation: Seat Belts Essential to Driver Safety

Resources

• Staging Light: So You Want To Be A Drag Racer