Street Racing Essay -- Racing Sport Sports Cars Essays

Street Racing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The intricacies that are involved in turning a regular car into a â€Å"Street Racer† are many; and racers pour their souls into these magnificent machines. After seeing â€Å"the Fast and the Furious† many people have or wanted to become involved in street racing. They do not realize that this is a sport that takes knowledge, hard work, and nerve. Many of these racers have spent their lives under a car, learning the trade and improving upon it. As I have learned, this is not just a hobby; it is a way of life. This lifestyle does carry a price, racers face persecution from police and the general public. They have their cars impounded and defaced by those who reject racing. Having a racer is not illegal, but some of the things people do with them are. This is what the general public does not understand. The IRA* is a legal racing circuit that embraces Street Racers. It gives the much-needed outlet to build magnificent cars and race them legally. Police are not the only worry on a racers mind. Death, fraud, and theft are the dark side of this moon. Some racers lack legitimate funds for equipment, and they resort to theft and fraud. This is where the misconceptions of the general public resonate. Yes there is crime; and laws are broken, but in everything there is a good and bad. So I warn anyone who pursues this life, enjoy the good, and be ready for the bad. What drives these racers to this lifestyle? They have an addiction to speed. The six-cylinder engine fuels this â€Å"need for speed.† Some may think that their two hundred thousand dollar car is fast, with these engine modifications will have an Accord blowing the doors off a Ferrari. The six-cylinder engine has six pistons pumping in six cylinders; hence, the name. Fuel is injected and burned; causing gas compression (picture a shaken soda bottle). This compression forces the pistons up and down that move your car. With compression in the cylinder, the Turbo comes into play. If two balloons were filled with air, one half and the other full, which would go faster? This is the job of the Turbo. Burning requires air, and when you introduce more air a fire is larger and hotter. It forces compressed air into the engine, letting it burn more air each time the pistons pump increasing boost**. There is a drawback to more air, more heat in the engine. Heat in the engine makes the air d... ...d slows, this is how the spoiler helps. To add more push to the back of the car, the angle and height of the spoiler is increased. This is why some normal cars have little spoiler for show and racers use them for performance. There is a problem to adding all of these parts to a car, weight. As I have said the racers have adapted to this problem. They have lightened their cars by using carbon-fiber** parts.4 They are strong and half as light at metal, so racers can add these parts and not get dragged down†¦literally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A warning to those who read this, do not get dragged down into the dark side of racing. Racing on streets is dangerous. If you enhance a car like this, it should be raced only on a legal strip. A ten-second rush is not worth killing yourself or others. Work hard and be fair. If you do this you will always win. I hope to have helped any curious person who wanted to know how people make these racers. I wanted to dispel the stereotypes of racers and their lifestyle. Yes, some of this lifestyle is dark; but most racers are kids who love cars. They whole-heartedly adopt the dogma that, â€Å"Nothing else matters, and for those ten seconds or less†¦ they’re free.† 5