CarTorque Episode 9: Honda Civic Time Attack 

+macross40 I don't understand why import fwd's aren't using something like a traction bar to deal with tire spin. which of course makes the front end push. whether it's a street/strip car, or road course car

Because traction bars in circuit or time attack don't work to the same degree as in drag racing. It hinders movement in the very areas that circuit racing cars need suspension movement Remember, The purpose of the known "traction bar" like from Full-Race.com or other companies is to transfer the high amount of torque that a hard launch forward creates in a transverse-mounted FWD engine, which causes the engine to shift backwards, an initial "shock" and "shutter" of the suspension.. (causing loss of initial traction). and transfers that engine weight forward more directly over the front wheels . This additional weight provides more downforce over the wheels for increased traction . It uses the engine and part of the chassis itself to force the suspension to behave in a way that it was not intended, The problem with that is that in a situation like a Time Attack or circuit situation, there is no "launching", no sudden shift backwards of the engine that the bars have to initially counter for to fight for traction. Unlike a traditional sway bar that works WITH the suspension to allow for a certain amount of flexibility of feedback for the driver, a traction bar's purpose is to FIGHT the suspension (in relation to the engine) to work in the opposite direction, and doesn't allow for turning flexibility that is needed in circuit racing. This is why we stick to using proper sway bars and LSDs in circuit racing, so the driver can take advantage of the suspensions behaviour and be able to steer and countersteer quickly and effectively. "Traction bars" tend to hinder that ability.

macross40 I can see where you would need a certain amount of flexibility. but it also seems like you'd want to keep it to a minimum. keeping it from flexing beyond the intended geometry. the 69 dart in my profile, was most definitely a street/strip car with traction bars. even though it was set up for the drags, and not at all a track car, it always did pretty well in the corners for a drag car. the only problem we had was with tire rub. when I made that comment, I wasn't really talking about time attack cars. I was talking about street/strip cars. I was hoping to hear from someone to tell me WHY they aren't using them. most of the people you run into say something stupid like...."my shit don't need it". at least here in the states anyway

That's why there are additional methods to that type of control, when necessary. But in circuit racing, you need the flexibility.

That's kmph... So 62-124mph, still, be nice to hear some actual figures on that!

Front wheel drive car

+Daniel Isabelle shouldnt matter if its FWD or not.

Conor Tobin the air will push down on the front and since its fwd + the speed he has in the corners it makes a big difference

Most likely you want that in a fwd

Justin Miller I think the bigger the wheel the more top speed you gain, not shure.

No u want the smaller when in the back so you can toss the rear end into the turn and take it faster

Justin Miller Oooh i get it now thanks man.

Thomas Higgins Got it , thanks :)

+Must Tard FWD

+Eggly Bagelface And if the driving clips were not sped up.

Eggly Bagelface Wtf has that got to do with anything...

Be broke the gearbox not the clutch. And he's most likely running a stage 3 with a friction point close to the floor. And sounds like he's running a dogbox so smashing gears and clutchless shifting is necessary at high rpm

+Violetta it's called "double clutching". there's more then one way of getting around the track. it's doing basically the same thing as heel/toe, just in a different way

+gary williams - That may be because in your experience you've only witnessed the inexperienced driver in a turbo Honda that more than likely used an application in which the turbo was too large for its purpose, or something as simple as they had the wrong tyre for the car. . Like with anything else, its all in the exposure and experience of that type of car and its application. I've enjoyed them for over 20 years, and these applications are not for everyone. If its not your cup of tea, then that's ok. But turbochargers have a fantastic ability to make a smaller engine behave like a larger one, more efficiently.

Really?? the fastest cars on the planet are turbo/supercharged motors.. Why on earth would you think otherwise?

AKA Zeus I clearly said that the car is fast, and this level of car isn't really the cars I was talking about. I was talking about drag racing, and the street racers in particular. almost all of the turbo cars, especially the fwd., if they are making any significant hp, they spin the tires through 1-3rd gear at least. I've seen plenty of lesser cars win a race because the other guy is too busy smoking the tires.