"Racing Stripes" (also called "Rally Stripes") were originally applied to the hood of closed-wheel race cars so as to provide a straight line in alignment with the driver's line of sight. They were often extended up over the roof and onto a car's rear deck in an effort to provide the car with graphically balanced look. These stripes were initially fairly narrow, and sometimes were single, double, triple or the familiar narrow-wide-narrow design. Contrasting colors were used, and they assisted the driver in determining the direction of a car in the event of a spin, when tire smoke or dust could cause temporary disorientation. This was obviously more useful to less experienced drivers and it would be undesireable for an experienced driver to been seen with them. It is also said that "back in the day", the veteran drivers on a team would make the novices wear stripes until they had proven their driving expertise.

So why do you have racing stripes on your car? Are you trying to declare to the world that you're an inexperienced driver? Or is it a declaration of complete ignorance of the purpose and origin of racing stripes?

Are the stripes in the center, but without the edge directly over the driver's line of sight? This means that you're trying too hard to look cool you just plain don't know what you're doing.

And my personal favorite: Are stripes over the passenger side? This indicates that a complete idiot is emulating a foreign car in hopes of looking like they know where stripes belong, thereby making them look even stupider than if they were misaligned on the center or driver's side. For example, the average American teenager emulating a classic European race car that is right-hand-drive vehicle in order to look "cool", or vice versa.

Keep this in mind, and please take every opportunity to educate those poor misguided IDIOTS. =)

My car doesnt have racing stripes, but if i decide to do them, Ill still be a better driver and have a faster car than you.

around my neck of the woods raceing strips symbolize that your car is a beater and if you pull out in front of one of thies "beaters" thay wont be afrad to hit you

you calling me an idiot? or you calling the people that happen to just like the LOOK of stripes an idiot? are you calling people an idiot cuz of their personal tastes and opinions? kinda closed minded, imo.

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1988 Fiero Aero Coupe - Waiting an engine transplant
1986 Fiero SE 2m6 - The Bug has Biten me:)
FieroNews.com - Photo Gallery - RPSpot.com
I am the signature virus, please put me in your signature so I can spread

"Racing stripes" can really make a car look alot better. My dad had some added to his 97 SS Camaro when he had it repainted, and it looks 1000X better.

quote Originally posted by HI-TECH: around my neck of the woods raceing strips symbolize that your car is a beater and if you pull out in front of one of thies "beaters" thay wont be afrad to hit you

You're just jealous that their beater is faster than yours.

Tell my friend Alex that he is a noob or an idiot and he'll show you the taillights of his racing striped car. Na, not worth the waste of gas.

www.riceviper.com

Wow that was harsh. Where did you get this information? Sounds like garbage to me. I can't see how it would aid driving in any way, especially in a spin. I still like the look of stripes on some cars in some cases. That is what they're all about.

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Alan Frazier
'86 GT-'92 3.4 TDC 5 speed(sold)
'84 2m4 project car

quote Originally posted by FieroGT42: "Racing Stripes" (also called "Rally Stripes") were originally applied to the hood of closed-wheel race cars so as to provide a straight line in alignment with the driver's line of sight. They were often extended up over the roof and onto a car's rear deck in an effort to provide the car with graphically balanced look. These stripes were initially fairly narrow, and sometimes were single, double, triple or the familiar narrow-wide-narrow design. Contrasting colors were used, and they assisted the driver in determining the direction of a car in the event of a spin, when tire smoke or dust could cause temporary disorientation. This was obviously more useful to less experienced drivers and it would be undesireable for an experienced driver to been seen with them. It is also said that "back in the day", the veteran drivers on a team would make the novices wear stripes until they had proven their driving expertise. So why do you have racing stripes on your car? Are you trying to declare to the world that you're an inexperienced driver? Or is it a declaration of complete ignorance of the purpose and origin of racing stripes? Are the stripes in the center, but without the edge directly over the driver's line of sight? This means that you're trying too hard to look cool you just plain don't know what you're doing. And my personal favorite: Are stripes over the passenger side? This indicates that a complete idiot is emulating a foreign car in hopes of looking like they know where stripes belong, thereby making them look even stupider than if they were misaligned on the center or driver's side. For example, the average American teenager emulating a classic European race car that is right-hand-drive vehicle in order to look "cool", or vice versa. Keep this in mind, and please take every opportunity to educate those poor misguided IDIOTS. =)

Sounds like a bunch of BS to me. It has no bearing on the asthetic look it provides today. Wish I could delete what I just read from my brain and use that space for something that actually means something. How is this Fiero related?

Racing stripes were brought back to life with the Dodge Viper (even the Ram, back in the day). It's a personal expression with or without the background knowledge of why they came to be. I will be adding them to my Fiero, and yes I race it. I just know that I can use them when I get disoriented from spinning the rear out in front of me when it is a bit slippery (for fun, of course!).

Greg

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quote Originally posted by fieroX: Tell my friend Alex that he is a noob or an idiot and he'll show you the taillights of his racing striped car. Na, not worth the waste of gas. www.riceviper.com

That car is a P.O.S. too..

haha You KNOW I am kidding about that. I have always had a thing for the VR4s since seeing one blow a NEW 98 Vette away in 98. FieroX you ever get my e-mail?

Lol, calm down. Just having a little fun. I was just kidding about the n00b and idiot part, and I do think that racing stripes can look great! Actually, I was considering striping my car excet that I'm poor =P

But yes, the information is historically accurate.

So I guess you can't argue with the fact that if someone has misaligned stripes, it shows that they either don't have a clue what they were originally for or they don't have enough respect for the great drivers of the past to do it right. Lol, j/k again. Come on people, take a joke.

I do sort of think that if you put stripes on a car, you should consider centerin them over the driver or centered on the car with an edge over the driver - just for the sake of historical accuracy.

[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 10-13-2005).]

quote Originally posted by Will-Martin: FieroX you ever get my e-mail?

Just sent you a PM

Ok, just checking:

You say that the owner of this car is a TOOL for putting stripes on his car?

Becouse if your answer is yes, I'd have to contest that and use this as proof:

Yes boys and gurls, thats a "Kalifornia" CARB approved OBD II install of a 3.5 DOHC into an 88 Fiero. They just dont hand those out, to any tool that asks for 'em.

Now if you dont actually like the stripes, thats cool, but to call somebody an idiot becouse of stripes on their car, is well...not very nice. Not very nice at all.

Late reply - I guess that you were joking...

[This message has been edited by mcaanda (edited 10-13-2005).]

"Lighten up, Francis." -Sgt Hulka

mcaanda, in fact I was going to show that car as an example of how to do stripes correctly because it shows good contrast and *great* lines right over the driver. I just couldn't find the car again when I looked for it.

It also follows the classic pre-sponsorship blue and white FIA color scheme for U.S. cars, like the Shelby Cobra's classic "bleu et blanc": https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/055105.html

And to top that off, I don't think I've ever seen a wide and narrow set of stripes like that before so it passes the originality test as well!

[This message has been edited by FieroGT42 (edited 10-13-2005).]

You beat me to it, Allen. I was just about to say that when I was riding in this car today all I could think of what why the idiot driving had put the stripes on it... Luckily he put them on the driver's side so he won't be accused of trying to impersonate an import.

Personally, I am going to say that the car that brought the stripes back (if they ever left) was the Camaro. Camaros have offered some sort of 'racing' stripes on them in every year they have been produced since 1969. Stripes never left, and it is only noobs who think they are some new creation for wannabes.

Yeah, we're all joking. That is what makes the forum fun!

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3rd Annual California Coast Run, November 11-13, 2005

[This message has been edited by Songman (edited 10-13-2005).]

quote Originally posted by Pontiaddict: You're just jealous that their beater is faster than yours.

hay you talking to the guy who started it ...my old 84 supra i got for 200 bucks had stripes..and a lady in a 2000 vett pulled out in front of me...i smacked her front pritty hard trying to serve out of the way...she was @ falt for not yealding to traffic and i got 1000 bucks for a 200 buck car so :P

edit:* and that supra wasnt slow...

[This message has been edited by HI-TECH (edited 10-13-2005).]

quote Originally posted by FieroGT42: Lol, calm down. Just having a little fun. I was just kidding about the n00b and idiot part, and I do think that racing stripes can look great! Actually, I was considering striping my car excet that I'm poor =P But yes, the information is historically accurate. So I guess you can't argue with the fact that if someone has misaligned stripes, it shows that they either don't have a clue what they were originally for or they don't have enough respect for the great drivers of the past to do it right. Lol, j/k again. Come on people, take a joke. I do sort of think that if you put stripes on a car, you should consider centerin them over the driver or centered on the car with an edge over the driver - just for the sake of historical accuracy.

Hehe, can you even SEE the hood of the Fiero as you go down the road? I know I can't haha.

quote Originally posted by Will-Martin: Hehe, can you even SEE the hood of the Fiero as you go down the road? I know I can't haha.

LOL, Hell naw! But if there's ever a worthy substitute of functionality, isn't it for the sake of technical and historical accuracy?

It's all good, I cant see the hood either from the driver seat

At least I like them

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quote Originally posted by Rickady88GT: It's all good, I cant see the hood either from the driver seat At least I like them

Man, I have yet to see a BAD angle of your car. That thing is gorgeous! The ONLY thing I would ever do to it would be to chop the top on it. Other than that it looks perfect.

--Will

\

Stripes work here too...

stripes make anything look good... i bet you could put good stripes on a Geo and it would be HOT! lol

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http://www.roadconetuning.com/

quote Originally posted by FieroGT42: they assisted the driver in determining the direction of a car in the event of a spin, when tire smoke or dust could cause temporary disorientation.

*Looks at hood while car is spinning* "Let's see, green stripes are on the oustide, fat stripes are on the inside, that means I'm heading west-southwest and to get to the finish line I need to go directy east"

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Nick www.naskie18.com AIM: Naskie182010

quote Originally posted by naskie18: *Looks at hood while car is spinning* "Let's see, green stripes are on the oustide, fat stripes are on the inside, that means I'm heading west-southwest and to get to the finish line I need to go directy east"

hahahahaha

FieroGT42,That was as good a job of backpedaling as I have ever seen!

I have a question. How are stripes painted on the hood of a car used to determine what direction the car is travelling? Isn't the driver usually stationary, in direct comparison to the stipes. In other words, the driver is always in the same position relative to the stripes, so how are stripes painted on the car used to determine the direction travelling?

quote Originally posted by 1986 Fiero GT: I have a question. How are stripes painted on the hood of a car used to determine what direction the car is travelling? Isn't the driver usually stationary, in direct comparison to the stipes. In other words, the driver is always in the same position relative to the stripes, so how are stripes painted on the car used to determine the direction travelling?

Exactly, if you are sliding sideways or in a circle, how the hell are stripes gonna help you?

"Historically, in most racing circuits, racing stripes were awarded to the male drivers with the largest genital. It was considered a point of pride and a badge of honor to be recognized by your peers for being a big enough man to join the racing team. Men with small appendages were typically relegated to pit crew duty, since their smaller size made them lighter on their feet and able to quickly service the race car when it came into the pits. This is also why women have typically not been accepted into the fold as an equal among race car drivers."

You guys all have it wrong. Racing stripes came to be in order that the outside of the car would like similar to the inside of the driver's underwear after a praticularly close call or exceptional spin.

Get your history right or get outta Dodge.

John Stricker

It put stripes on the hood of a '70 Firebird I owned. The reason I put them there was to eliminate glare from the long hood. If you are wondering how I did that with stripes, they were flat black and covered most of the hood. My favorite hood stripes are the ones Chip Foose applied to his Stallion project Mustang. These really add to the visual impact of the car.
Anybody Snope the stripe story posted above?
Racing stripes were first used as part of team colors by Briggs Cunningham back in 1950. http://users.rcn.com/edwardh.nai/chm1.htm

quote This definitive car, the Cunningham C-1, would set the pattern not only for Cunningham's own C2R (early '51) and C4R (late '51) sports cars, but for every American sports car from then on. The basic concept established by Mr. Cunningham ("Mr. C") laid the groundwork for America's two best known sports cars, the Corvette (1953) and Cobra (1962). In fact, the fathers of the Corvette (Zora Arkus-Duntov) and the Cobra (Carroll Shelby) both raced, and lost to, Cunninghams at Le Mans (1950 - 54). After seeing the Cunninghams in action, they took his approach with their own cars. Mr. C also pioneered the use of racing stripes as part of the team "colors," an effect that has become a standard.

[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 10-13-2005).]

Personally I also like stripes have been kicking around the idea of putting two silver stripes over the roof of my car starting at the Sunbird GT turbo hood vents I am using and continuing over the roof and down the deck lid. So does this mean I am stupid or will not be stupid until I actually do it. I also will still be faster and a better driver than you. Dan

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imghttps://images.fiero.nl/pffimages/logo2_7.jpg/img

quote Originally posted by FieroGT42: Lol, calm down. Just having a little fun. I was just kidding about the n00b and idiot part, and I do think that racing stripes can look great! Actually, I was considering striping my car excet that I'm poor =P But yes, the information is historically accurate. So I guess you can't argue with the fact that if someone has misaligned stripes, it shows that they either don't have a clue what they were originally for or they don't have enough respect for the great drivers of the past to do it right. Lol, j/k again. Come on people, take a joke. I do sort of think that if you put stripes on a car, you should consider centerin them over the driver or centered on the car with an edge over the driver - just for the sake of historical accuracy.

Sounds like you changed your tone once others started ripping you A$$ apart. Please explain how stripes will guide me through a cloud of smoke of get me undizzy after a spin out. Any driver knows if you want to look forwars after a spin out put your head in the head rest. Are these stripes yoy speak of magnetic or navigational.

[This message has been edited by goatnipples2002 (edited 10-13-2005).]

Where's, the love of my life, Rverhalens car? So what if people don't know this historic pieces, if it adds dimension, or just makes it look amazing I say why the hell not?

quote Originally posted by Will-Martin: Man, I have yet to see a BAD angle of your car. That thing is gorgeous! The ONLY thing I would ever do to it would be to chop the top on it. Other than that it looks perfect. --Will

Thanks I have let several people drive it too. I like to show people how power steering can improve the 88. To bad you cant be the Songman Coast Run thins year

That car really does drive like a dream (Personally I think it is the stripes!). I always said that I didn't think a Fiero needed power steering. After I drove Rick's car, I will be adding power steering to my Formula!

The first thing I did to my Magnum was the stripes. I dont consider them 'racing' stripes, just a graphic like any kind of striping. Its sort have become a Dodge trademark. I get lots of postive comments at shows specifly about them. As to functionality...center stripes are just as usefull as the driver side ones. In Europe race tracks are clockwise, and center stripes seen from the drivers seat tell you where the inside of the pavement is in relation to the car. (try it ...)

Aaah its just sticker-tuning like ricers do, but stripes are for people who cant read

quote Originally posted by Fie Ro: Aaah its just sticker-tuning like ricers do, but stripes are for people who cant read

Heheheh