skinny z

So the subject has come up in another thread and it probably has here before.
Where is the boundary between a daily driver or everyday street car and one that by certain definitions is a dedicated race car?
I guess the reference is to drag racing although any dedicated track car can apply. Autocross. Road racing. Land speed record.
What is it? Pump gas? Licensed and insured? MPG? Nitrous?
Who says what?

skinny z

The more I think about, the more the issue becomes clouded.
I say street legal and all that goes with it. Does that mean I should be running a catalytic convertor to comply? I suppose if you can slip between the cracks and have real plates and insurance then all's fair.
That opens the door for the extreme.

Keegan84

iTrader: (1)

I think daily driver is pretty obvious.
Race car would probably be tubbed and/or have a roll cage.

skinny z

Some here would take their tubbed and caged cars and drive them on the street everyday.
Still to me, it's not just everyday but across the country. The same way you would drive a new Camaro. You would still have to be reasonably quick. 11's would be nice. Some semblence of mileage too. And it's not all about going in a straight line. After all these were sports cars when they were released from GM. When I get 20+ mpg highway, can run mid/high 12's and enjoy a long distance tour, I'm getting there. I wouldn't want to give up a whole lot to go a second faster or get miserable economy or it was so uncomfortable because of sacrifises to the suspension or other comforts that I couldn't enjoy it.

brodysZ28

Heres my opinions...

Daily Driver = Driven atleast 5 times a week, but doesn't have to be in the winter, and is your only/main form of transportation.

Street Car = As long as it passes inspection, and has legal plates, its a street car.

Street/Strip = driven both on the street and on the racetrack atleast once a month.

Race Car = A car that cannot legally be driven on the street. Trailored to and from the track.

zraffz

I think he's more so trying to say what is the boundary of a street car? It's a personal limitation question that was brought up when I changed my mind about my motor build. I originally wanted a "mild" street car and then changed my set up to about as extreme as I could get on pump fuel.

I think a street car is anything that is street able to it's owner. It's more or less a test of the owner's patience. Some people can deal with a low vacuum motor, running a high stall, etc. I think a true street car should be running on fuel you can get at almost any gas station.

t-topsavage

well i know if here in the state of washington if your car has more than 750 hp its no longer street legal.

transamws6

**** **** *****

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

My take on the subject...

technically its a street car if it passes the states inspection requirements, licensed and insured, and can run on pump gas available in the state. E85 is now pump gas in some locations and that really can change the game on whats streetable and whats not for most ppl. E85 you can get away with lots more compression/etc.

I call my car a street car...runs 9's, passes the states inspection criteria, and is insured/licensed. Has full interior, runs on pump gas, tame enough to drive around but there are alot of features that make the car hard for any person to just get in and drive. Electric switches for fans and waterpump need to be turned on just after startup. Got to remember that and to turn them off. Full manual valve body TH400 trans and a B&M ratchet shift thats hard to operate (I hate this shifter). Roll cage to climb over. Fixed back seats and very limited view out the rear..lots of blind spots.

So its not like my sister can jump in a drive it without knowing what things to do. My dad does because he's been there with me while I built it and knows the car enough to toy with it.

But there are guys with MUCH more powerful and faster and more streetable cars than mine that are almost in the daily driver category...although you normally dont DD them.

To me a DD is a very reliable car that you dont mind taking out in snow/wind/rain/etc since it is required to operate in those conditions. You can have a summer or nice weather DD too tho which is what my 89 used to be when bolt ons only.

The 383 motor I had was a street strip car that was a daily driver in the summer alot of the time. I took it to work alot. It was powerful, noisey, smelled abit like gas but I'd take that car anywhere as long as the ground clearance was good. Thats when it was stock car with just a big motor. Full interior as stock but no A/C since I didnt need it in PA.


My current DD is a 99 trans am auto LS1 with 2.73 gears. Perfect highway car. Bolt ons, exhaust/tune, 3200 stall. Mid high 12 second capable on slicks but never ran it. Its been great to me and is a fun street strip car too. I would love to put a mild set of heads and a cam in it for 400-ish whp and daily drive it anywhere. LSx motors can easily meet those goals.

zraffz

did I ever tell you I dislike you?
First off you have a 9 second 3rd gen and then to rub it in my face even more you also own a LS1 body style trans am?! You own my two favorite cars (well the Ws6 T/A). I'm jealous lol.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

haha i got a great deal on the LS1 car through a friends shop thats the only reason I own one. Plus I got it when I moved to texas last year and since they dont have snow and ice, it worked out. PA has horrible winters, that TA was no fun in mild snow except in parking lots

brodysZ28

Yea I guess its kind of questionable if I dont drive my 83 camaro in the winter is it still my DD? In the winter, no. In the summer, oh yes. I drive it all the time, there is rarely a day I don't drive it. For that reason I consider it a DD.

If I was in texas I would always drive it no question my DD. Seems all the most badass cars are in TA, I would love to check out that scene.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Texas is home of the texas mile which brings out the most exotic builds you will ever see. i'd love to experience that. I mean 1900whp twin turbo lambos and talk of a 2000whp LSx motor being built...its just insane

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Hummm guess I have an almost race car lol. Do I daily drive mine? Not any more on a regular basis but can and have when my regular daily driver is down and out. Do I trailer my car to the strip? You bet. 190 mile round trip and not knowing if anything is going to go wrong that night, I like having the trailer and not a bill for an expensive tow. Can I drive it to the track? Yup. Legally driven on the street... it's insured and has current registration

383firebird

A streetcar is any car that is actually "driven" on the street on at least a semi regular basis, and could possibly pull up next to you at a light at any time. Any car that spends the majority of its time on a trailor, weather its going to the track or fairgrounds and is rarely if ever driven on the street is not a streetcar.

skinny z

The question of legality has been brought up several times. That's a given when defining the street car side of things. Plates, insurance and whatever testing is required would need to bet met.
That leaves plenty of room for VERY radical cars. It's not too difficult to license a veritable race car in some areas.
Trailering it to the track because of the fear that something’s going to break; to me the line is getting a little blurred. Don't get me wrong. I understand the fear of blowing up your ride during an afternoon at the track. No insults intended here. However my personal definition of a street car (maybe not so much a daily driver) is to be able to use it anytime you would like. That means a long distance haul, maybe even a 1000+ miles round trip to go to an event and race. Granted, I would have to pack my slicks and that might seem a little awkward to some but that's my compromise. More blurry lines.
I suppose part of what I'm getting at is the bench racing/street racing scenario where I have this very drivable vehicle, with 11-second capabilities and I'm up against something that for all intents and purposes, is a legit track car. Poor street manners, terrible mileage, limited streetability in general.
With the explosion of turbos and super charging and the introduction of OEM supercars, the bar is raised almost daily. A small cubed NA engine guy barely stands a chance anymore.

84firebird383

To me legality shouldn't be an issue for a streetcar. Why, because the owner/operator knows if his/her car is legal or not, and makes the choice to drive it on the street, and takes the risk of getting caught driving it on the street. There really should be no blurry lines. If you see it on the street, and is driven semi regularly,its a streetcar, it's that simple. You just need to understand that some people will put up with alot more radical rides and still drive them, while others need their cars to drive as close to stock as possible.

transamws6

dam...im jelouse..let me drive both your cars.
please!!!!!!!!

1bad71

all street driven and raced! the el camino even did the 01 power tour. el camino ran 10.80s. the camaro ran 9.20s and we have a 68 camaro (540 with a f2 procharger) running 8.30s.

so anything can be a street car, as long as your willing to drive it on the street!

skinny z

[QUOTE=1bad71;4799581]so anything can be a street car, as long as your willing to drive it on the street!QUOTE]

I suppose that's true. Now one of the streets I drive on is about 2500 miles long. I can't think of many 8 or 9 second cars that want to tackle that one.
I will admit though, there are a few.