If you follow gaming or home theater gadgets, you may have heard of the Guitammer ButtKicker system. The core of the system is an electromagnetic piston capable of reproducing low-range frequencies without sound, providing an immersive experience to correspond with music or on-screen action. The NHRA is testing this industrial-grade vibrator as a way to simulate the drag racing experience on the couches of fans at home. This weekend, Jeg Coughlin Jr. will be carrying the transmission system in his Chevy Cobalt drag racer and a group of test subjects will be experiencing seat-of-the-pants racing like never before.
Billed as an investigative study, the system may be expanded if response is positive, and be available on a subscription basis for the various race classes. The company is also in talks with NASCAR to provide a similar system, and officials there will be looking at this weekend's experiment very closely. See, we got through the whole post without making a "Squeal like a pig" joke. Oh, dammit. [Autoweek and ButtKicker.com]