Street Racing

When they meet, they talk about their cars’ alterations, engine specifications, sound kits, seeing who has the best racing news. But most times they just race against each others. Some do it for passion, some for the rush, the adrenaline or just for the danger of being caught by the police. You can watch them accelerate, spin, make what they call “starts” (small races of 400m) or long races at maximum speed along Vasco da Gama Bridge. Sometimes people bet money or even their cars’ papers. These races can be seen on Friday and Saturday nights, all over Portugal.
Along with street racing comes tuning. Very often, people go to garages and change their exhaust systems, wheels, aerodynamic kits, air filters, power chips, reduce weigh, reduce height, all possible preparations to increase the power and the safety of the car. In the interior, they change the steering wheel, shift lever, pedals, seats, and sound like subwoofers, amps and radios. But it’s very important to say that tuning is not the same as street racing. Tuning is the art of preparing cars and street racing is a speed contest.