How To Convert Your Street Car Into A Race Car

For starters, you need to know what kind of racing vehicle you want. Will you be drag racing on a quarter-mile? Will it spend its time on pavement, or go off-roading? Will the race be short, or is it a 24-hour endurance race? Different motorsports demand different things from the vehicle, and all must be considered for the engine, body, and chassis to perform optimally. No matter which type of car you plan on building, you will need a lot of tools Additionally, some racing series require custom-built cars with nothing in common with production vehicles, in which case you will have to build a car from the ground up. If that is not the case, here is a list of basic racing types. Click on the one from the following list that seems to fit what you are looking for:

• Drag Racing
• Drifting
• Rally Racing/Off-Road
• Road Racing (Not to be confused with street racing.)
• Oval Track Racing

How To Convert Your Street Car Into A Drag Racing Car

Drag racing is all about speed in a straight line, so any focus on grip should be directed toward the drive wheels. Find out your car's drivetrain layout and make sure its drive wheels get plenty of grip. The engine's performance should be your main focus. Lightening the vehicle will help quite a bit, too. The car's aerodynamics should be modified to reduce wind resistance as much as possible, with a majority of the downforce focused on the drive wheels.

How to Convert a Car For Road Racing

Road racing takes place on paved tracks with many turns, where grip is quite important. The tracks can vary greatly, however, so a car that would win on one track might do quite badly on another, so an easily-adjustable suspension kit is quite beneficial for anyone planning to race on more than one track. Reducing the weight is often more important than increasing the power, because it improves acceleration, braking, and cornering speed. Road racing cars often have a lot of aerodynamic downforce (if the series allows it), so a body kit and rear wing may be good investments. Added power is always nice to have when acceleration is all that matters, but engine durability will be financially important when entering a lot of races.

How To Convert Your Street Car Into A Drift Car

Drifting isn't technically racing, but it is definitely a motorsport and requires a lot of vehicle performance as well as driver skill. A decent amount of power is required to get the wheels (usually rear) to spin, and the vehicle must be balanced well when it comes to suspension and weight.

As long as the vehicle has enough power to break the rear wheels loose, driver skill tends to be more important than vehicle performance. In the top levels of drifting, though, vehicle performance is substantial.

How To Convert Your Street Car Into An Oval Track Car

Oval track racing usually occurs on banked, high-speed paved tracks, most notably in the American racing series, NASCAR. Because this type of motorsport takes place on tracks that only turn one direction, an asymmetrical vehicle may be the ideal type.

How To Convert Your Street Car For Rally & Off-Road

Rally racing and other off-road motorsports demand a lot from the suspension, so high-durability parts will likely need to be installed in place of stock components. Rally vehicles are typically lifted so they don't bottom out and have a lot of suspension travel. Four wheel drive is almost necessary to compete off-road, since it is easy for a small amount of power to break traction when not on paved surfaces.

So You've Built a Race Car

So you've built a race car... What's next? You race it! If you plan on racing it yourself, there are still some considerations to make. What series will you race in? Do you have the license to race in your chosen league? How often will you race?