By Dakota King
Magazines, car manufacturers, and car enthusiasts alike will always bring up acceleration times. Regardless if the time is from 0-60 MPH or a set distance such as 1/4 mile. We enthusiasts like to look at these times and assume we can just press the gas and get the same times. We often forget that these times are obtained under perfect conditions with the most skilled driver. This has always been something at the back of my mind, but it was really brought home when I used the 0-60 timer in my car.
5.63 seconds was the best I could muster. That is about the same as a MazdaSpeed3 from the factory. 4.6 seconds to 60 was the best MT could do with a manual transmission Challenger SRT8. Why the disparity? I suck as did the surface I was drag racing on. It was cracked, uneven, and very slick. I stuck to the right lane in all but a few runs. When I used the left lane, I spun over half of the way down. It looked really cool, but was very useless.
I also have a manual transmission working against me. Sure, I love this transmission. it is very fun and rewarding (I can chirp/spin the tires shifting into fourth gear!), but ultimately doesn't help in drag racing. Look at cars such as the GT-R and Audi RS cars. You just set launch control and mash the appropriate pedal. That's it, no skill. That is fun at first, but then I get bored. I love the challenge of the six speed, but it does me no favors. The automatic Challenger SRT8 is always faster and always consistent. I don't really care, I'm just doing this for fun. On a track, the manual is better because it won't unsettle the chassis.
At the end of the day, unless you are very, very skilled at launching a car, you can pretty much disregard the 0-60 times and even the quarter mile time. Even with the automatic it can be difficult, especially without launch control.
If you missed it before, here is a pass at the strip. I recommend the volume on full, as long as there are no sleeping people in your house.
0-60 link
0-60 link
1/8 mile pass
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