Originally Posted by cawpin

Ok, maybe I've misunderstood you. Ok, for horsepower to exist, there has to be torque. My point is that you do not need all that torque to make the car fast. If drag racing is your cup of tea --> in a FWD, I would advise you to stay away from the torque. 250wtq in a Cobalt is sufficient enough to get a VERY good launch in a Cobalt without KILLING the tires. Once you get up to speed the wheel hop will be minimal. However, making 300+ ft/lb tq would begin to slow you down a bit OUT OF THE WHOLE, which is what we're talking about here. The more torque you have, the more lift your car has, and the more weight shifted to the back. What do you think happens when all but a few hundred pounds of the cars total weight is sitting on the back tires, NOT the front? All BUT the weight of the engine will be gone from the front tires, forbidding the tires to ever have decent traction. It's not like RWD cars, you can't just making a 1000 ft/lb torq in a FWD car and expect to hook up..it's not going to happen. AND since you mentioned "street" cars..we'll have to assume that an ordinary Balt is not going to have 14k springs in the back w/ a wheelie bar. We'll assume that is not going to be found on a street car, and since you don't have any reinforcement on the rear side to help to car's weight from shifting..you'll just burn the tires through the first 35ft of the track, and you'll bark tires through 2nd and 3rd, which will furthermore HURT your times, especially if the race is close. At this time you've lost a half a second. So if you want buttloads of torque..maybe you should take the car to Pheonix during the Summer months when the asphault is "sticky" and try to run then. You'll have your best times there despite the 105 degree weather because you'll actually hook up. Torque in a FWD is good for keeping up with bikes in a roll on, not drag racing other RWD cars. If I had the time and money, I would TEST my theory and prove to you that it's right. Which by the way, my theory is not MINE, it's actually the laws of Physics. Torque in FWD cars makes the coefficient of friction go down, which is not good.

Originally Posted by adam0416

First, Torque has absolutely nothing to do with the coefficient of friction. There is no relationship there. In fact, there's not even a correlation.Second, if you've got too much power (or torque), just use as much as brings you to the edge of traction, and then use the extra power (and torque) when you've got traction. More power or torque won't inherently make you slower in the 1/4 mile... unless you suck at driving.

Originally Posted by Blainestang

When you give the car gas, and the torque kicks in-->your car shifts back-->the weight comes off the front tires-->the tires lose traction because less tire is on the ground. So no, the ACTUAL coefficient does not change, but how much of the tire is on the ground does change, which will change the overall effect of the coefficient. If the X number coefficient of friction is sufficient for a good run with the WHOLE tire sitting on the ground..then that same X number coefficient will not be effective if you pull 30% of the tire off the ground because the weight has shifted. My bad, I should've worded that differently. And I promise, on some crappy street tires using 215/45/18's, or whatever similar size there is..you'll not only have tire spin, you'll also have wheelhop. I never said it will make you slower altogether, it just won't be as fast as an engine with the correct amount of torque to launch the car. Launch is all you need the torque for, AND I BELIEVE that too much torque will hurt your launch given that you don't have the expensive suspension mods, RWD setup, and big enough tires to compensate. Let's not fight, please. Your right, I'm wrong. Does that make you happy? Either way, it won't change the outcome of anything.

Originally Posted by SilverTurboRidin

Fair warning from a SRT owner to a future owner... Dont buy a modded SRT...its like trying on a used condom...lol

Seriously that is just various signs that it has been abused. And if you need to know what to look for let me know

Originally Posted by adam0416

First, Torque has absolutely nothing to do with the coefficient of friction. There is no relationship there. In fact, there's not even a correlation.

Second, if you've got too much power (or torque), just use as much as brings you to the edge of traction, and then use the extra power (and torque) when you've got traction. More power or torque won't inherently make you slower in the 1/4 mile... unless you suck at driving.

Originally Posted by cawpin

Actually, torque related DIRECTLY to coefficient of friction in locomotion of vehicles. That is basic physics. Torque is translated to motion, in a car, through the coefficient of friction between the tires and the pavement. This is why we use "sticky" tires to get a better launch.