Automotive weight transfer question

[magic32]

i need some help. my question is about drag racing and weight transfer. i drive a 300c srt8 that weights about 4400lbs. there are many guys out there that believe by getting the front tires to come off the ground and the rear of the car to squat that they are doing the right thing. i believe that with an automobile weighing this much that weight transfer is going to slow the car down. my only baises for raising this concern is watching very fast cars drag race. they leave the hole very leveled and almost like a missle. whereas the average daily driver/weekend drag racer tries to get his car to squat in the rear and lift the front tires off of the front. i know that a car that makes 500 hp will naturally try and lift its tires because of all the torque generated at the moment the gas peddle is mashed.

sorry for the rambling. i just think it would be better off not making an extra effort to make a car this heavy squat even more. am i right or wrong? someone please offer some physics behind this question.

thanks andre

 

[Danger]

Welcome to PF, Magic.
Ideally, the entire car should rise, but with the rear not as much as the front. Taking the front wheels off of the ground might look impressive, but it can cost you ET times because you have no directional control until it comes back down. Keeping your weight transfer to the rear (assuming that you have a real car as opposed to a front-wheel-drive joke) maintains maximum traction. That traction, however, is useless if you can't aim it in the right direction.
Hypatia and Stingray can probably help you out a lot more than I can.

 

[rcgldr]

The only solution to preventing rear tire spin during a drag race launch is to increase the grip by using sticky tires and/or setting up the car to transfer weight to the rear. In the case of a 300c srt8, using drag radials will probably provide enough grip, depending on how much power the car is making. The main issue with street cars is some of them experience rear wheel hop.

Regarding lifting the front end, all top classes of dragsters will often lift the front tires off the ground for a brief period during launch. The idea here is the car or motorcycle is launching at the limits of it's design.

Wheelies are an issue for street motorcycles, but not for street cars until the power to weight ratio gets quite high.

 

[Danger]

I never did anything really serious with the Roadrunner after I clad her in radials.
When I was running the L60x15 Goodyears on the back and the G60x15 Tiger Paws up front, I found the perfect way to launch. Rev to 6,000 rpm, dump the clutch, and come off of the throttle immediately. After about 1/2 second, when it hooked up, balls to the wall.