Do-It-Yourself High Performance Car Mods

The Dragstrip

A dragstrip is not just a racetrack; it’s a measuring tool. Better yet, it’s a very inexpensive measurement, and definitely one of the more enjoyable ways to measure your car’s performance. The dragstrip has sensors in the pavement at regular intervals to measure your car’s progress down the track. Four measurements are especially important: the reaction time, the 60-foot time, the trap speed, and the elapsed time (et). These four measurements show key information about the driver, the chassis, the engine, and the overall results.

The reaction time measures how quickly the driver was able to get the car moving. At most dragstrips, the timer for this will start when the final set of amber lights turns on and stop when the car begins ...