Can Racing Cars Be Driven on Public Roads?
4 Answers
According to traffic regulations, competition racing cars are not allowed on public roads and can only be driven on racetracks. Especially for modified racing cars, prolonged driving can lead to degradation in safety performance. Moreover, since these vehicles lack license plates and insurance, driving them on public roads poses significant traffic safety hazards. Additional Information: Characteristics of Racing Cars: After modification, racing cars lose power assistance for braking and steering systems, have increased horsepower, achieve higher speeds, and produce significant noise, which can disturb residents near the roads. Therefore, racing cars should only be used on racetracks. Racing Car Categories: Motorsports are divided into two main types: circuit racing and off-road racing.
When I accompanied my brother to the DMV for a vehicle inspection the other day, I specifically asked about this. Regular race cars absolutely cannot be driven directly on public roads—they're fundamentally different species compared to daily commuter cars. Race cars have their air conditioning, audio systems, and even airbags stripped out, with only four-point competition harnesses installed. The most critical issue is the inspection standards: a race car's straight-pipe exhaust can max out the emissions testing equipment, and its headlight brightness exceeds legal limits by over three times. Last year at our track, a modified GT86 tried to get licensed—just restoring the factory body kit cost 60,000 RMB, and the sequential transmission removed from it could only be sold as scrap metal. Nowadays, when you see cars on the road with racing circuit decals, nine out of ten are just cosmetic mods. Those who actually dare to drive real race cars on public roads are absolute madmen.
Once you've driven a practice car from a friend's racing team, you'll understand why race cars aren't street-legal. Factory production cars have suspensions tuned like sofas, while race car suspensions are as stiff as iron plates—going over a speed bump can jolt you so hard you might bite your tongue. The funniest part is the tires; track slicks on asphalt roads are like ice skates, and they can't stop at all in the rain. Once during maintenance, I saw a mechanic using calipers to adjust the brake bias—the pressure from a civilian brake pump is only half that of a race car's. And then there's the roll cage; in a rear-end collision during daily driving, hitting your head on a steel pipe is no joke. Some car enthusiasts secretly swap in racing brake pads, only to have them squeal so loudly when cold that the whole neighborhood can hear.
My driving instructor put it bluntly: race cars are like wild horses without reins, utterly impractical on public roads. Regular highways have an 80 km/h speed limit, yet a race car can redline in second gear, and hitting third gear with slightly heavier throttle can easily surpass 200% of the speed limit. The steering on a track is as precise as a scalpel, but navigating narrow market alleys will give your biceps a workout. Fuel consumption is another story—my neighbor’s modified race car guzzles 98-octane like water, with a fuel tank bigger than my water heater. A quick grocery run burns enough gas to fund a hotpot feast. The team mechanic always jokes that driving a race car in the city means the clutch lifespan is shorter than a mosquito’s.
