It just looks too outrageous to be true
http://bigtruckfan.com/will-this-dodge-gets-bested-by-a-landrover/?utm_source
I’m having a very hard time believing that this is real/true.
Did not have a link to the video there, but found it elsewhere. It looks like truck is in 2wd, and land rover in 4wd
Can’t run the video. Don’t care.
Can’t play the video.
If barky is right , the truck is in 2wd…the 'rover in 4x4
AND given the fact that the 20’s on the truck only come in a street tread.
And the tires on the 'rover could easily be more treaded.
It comes down to a battle of…
traction !
Try this.
It is simply amazing how often I see 4x4s struggling, without 4-wheel actually engaged. The general driving public can really only handle AWD, where they need do nothing but press the gas.
Duh, It’s part of a land rover commercial!!!
Had it been a VW bug commercial…the VW would win.
Yosemite
And once you smoke the tiires, you have less traction. Anyone else remember throwing bleach under the tires for a better smokey burnout? Chevelle 356 comes to mind!
The video is real. The demonstration was staged so that the little 4WD would win. If the Dodge was in 4WD…it would have pulled the little truck to kingdom come and back again.
Um… if that were true nobody would do the bleach burnouts at the drags. It softens the rubber for better grip.
But, in truth, according to the pros the major reason they do it is to warm the engine up. The softening of the slicks is secondary. Important, but secondary.
I don’t think NHRA allows bleach anymore, they use water. The gas is poisonous. You all probably know that already. I just want to make sure that no casual readers try bleach burn outs without considering the toxicity issue.
Thanks for the correction, jt. Nice catch.
Mybe capri can shed some light
ET Drag slicks, and other racing tires, require the high heat to get the rubber on the tire heated up. Racing tires work best when heated up, but also wear quickly. My guess would be you have street legal tires. Most street tires do not need the high heat of drag slicks. Street tires may actually lose traction when heated up, because they were not meant for such temperature ranges, and will become just a soft rubbery goo, with the traction of a sock on a newly waxed floor
Barkydog asked about this: " … ET Drag slicks, and other racing tires, require the high heat to get the rubber on the tire heated up. Racing tires work best when heated up, but also wear quickly. My guess would be you have street legal tires. Most street tires do not need the high heat of drag slicks. Street tires may actually lose traction when heated up, because they were not meant for such temperature ranges, and will become just a soft rubbery goo, with the traction of a sock on a newly waxed floor. … "
I am not a rubber chemist, so my knowledge about rubber is limited - but like our friends Click and Clack, that will not deter me from having an opinion.
Tread rubber is formulated to operate at a specific temperature. Too low and the traction is less than it could be. Too high and the rubber will decompose into a gooey mess. Race tires are obviously designed to operate at higher temperatures than street tires - and even within race tires, there are differences. For example, rain race tires are formulated to be cooled by the water and operating those in dry conditions will cause them to quickly overheat and lose traction.
So that paragraph is spot on.
Yeah, I can believe it. a 4wd vehicle vs a 2wd vehicle (because if you don’t actually engage your 4wd, you have a 2wd whether you think you do or not) with a huge percentage of its weight over the non-drive wheels. You can make the engine as powerful as you want, and if you can’t get traction it won’t do you any good.
The video is not surprising. It’s not the Land Rover that’s “winning”, it’s 4WD vs a 2WD that has relatively little weight over its drive wheels.
Having done a bit of drag racing I can tell you a trip through the water box and subsequent burnout is essential for best operation on drag slicks. The tires would just smoke at the starting line without it. The poseurs on street legal slicks or street tires notwithstanding. Nothing more foolish than some dude on street tires driving into the box and doing a mini burner 
The drive line is sufficiently warmed up sitting at the tree with line lock or transbrake enabled and rpms in the band…
If the Ram was not 4 wheel drive then it’s an apples and oranges missmatch. Without low range I can only imagine how poorly the Ram would perform as it jumped from no power at pre torque converter lock up to 20 mph wheel spin at lock up speed. Plus the tug of war strap was relatively low on the Ram which would tend to throw more weight to the front and off the rear. In all the smoke it never occured to me that the pickup wasn’t 4x4. It makes for a great “David and Goliath” video though.