Aussie supercars
05-23-2013, 09:54 AM
#24
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I agree that the GT/GTS classes in World Challenge make for good spectating....starting with the standing start! If you liked them at COTA, we are racing at the Houston Gran Prix in conjunction with the Indy Series October 4th -6th. WC hasn't raced in Texas for many years and this year we are here twice!
05-25-2013, 05:15 PM
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05-25-2013, 07:16 PM
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Those Australian Supercars are extremely gutted and then when a roll cage is added they essentially put a frame under the car. In fact some of the cars have the wheelbase changed to meet the rules and yet the doors swing and such.
It would be a lot easier to start with a car that already has a frame and that's the Corvette
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05-26-2013, 02:32 AM
#27
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Those Australian Supercars are extremely gutted and then when a roll cage is added they essentially put a frame under the car. In fact some of the cars have the wheelbase changed to meet the rules and yet the doors swing and such.
It would be a lot easier to start with a car that already has a frame and that's the Corvette
.
It would be a lot easier to start with a car that already has a frame and that's the Corvette
.
I think I understand your thinking 'BUT' NON of them have a changed wheel base.
All the cars have a common chassis with bolt on panels. They are a race car! not a street car designed to look like a race car.
They don't gut a standard car ok! They don't just add a roll bar OK! They don't after fitting a rollbar fit a frame under them OK!
What comic book you been reading.
This is a new race car as of 2013. The old supercars used a live rear with a watts link setup, these new ones use independant rear.
Body panels may well have to be altered slightly to fit, but that's it.
Last edited by ls1 1990 VN; 05-26-2013 at 02:38 AM.
05-26-2013, 04:56 PM
#28
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The Supercars ie: some of the cars have changed wheel bases:
I think I understand your thinking 'BUT' NON of them have a changed wheel base.
All the cars have a common chassis with bolt on panels. They are a race car! not a street car designed to look like a race car.
They don't gut a standard car ok! They don't just add a roll bar OK! They don't after fitting a rollbar fit a frame under them OK!
What comic book you been reading.
This is a new race car as of 2013. The old supercars used a live rear with a watts link setup, these new ones use independant rear.
Body panels may well have to be altered slightly to fit, but that's it.
I think I understand your thinking 'BUT' NON of them have a changed wheel base.
All the cars have a common chassis with bolt on panels. They are a race car! not a street car designed to look like a race car.
They don't gut a standard car ok! They don't just add a roll bar OK! They don't after fitting a rollbar fit a frame under them OK!
What comic book you been reading.
This is a new race car as of 2013. The old supercars used a live rear with a watts link setup, these new ones use independant rear.
Body panels may well have to be altered slightly to fit, but that's it.
I didn't say they added a roll bar to a street car. I said they put a frame under the street car bodywork. When I said "extremely gutted" I meant that they only used the outside bodywork. However, the cars do appear to have normal floorpans and the doors do swing. It is perfect craftsmanship of using the stock bodywork on a race car frame. But then the light weight of the car is astounding.
As the shortened wheelbases: There are Ford cars and GM cars. There are different year cars and different model cars. The previous unibody (which does have a wheelbase), being set on a standard wheelbase frame, has to be shortened in several cases.
And may main point was that the Australian Supercars depend on a strong frame. Then I recommended the Corvette as having a strong frame for U.S.A. racing. With a Corvette you can use the OEM street car AND have a strong race car frame
.
Last edited by B Stead; 05-26-2013 at 05:33 PM.
05-26-2013, 05:54 PM
#29
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I thought I read somewhere that the new car for 2013 is a "spec" tube chassis. Holden, Ford, Nissan and Merc are all the same underneath. Makes it easy for other manufactures to get involved and makes for a level playing field. Don't know what they do about floorpans though. Maybe they are all the same too. I was watching one of the races from Bahrain a couple years ago (first year that Triple 8 had switched to Holden) and they talked about "Project Blueprint". They explained that they are able to "control" wheelbases, engine and driver locations, wings, splitters and so on from (the term the guy used was) datum (or data?) points. One thing he did mention was the back doors (and I assume the wheelbase) had 100mm missing out of the cars. But in my defense, sometimes I have a hard time understanding Aussie accents...
05-26-2013, 07:44 PM
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Yeah, the technique for putting an OEM unibody on a race car frame is to get a bare unibody from the factory. That's the famous body-in-white. Then parts of the unibody that are not needed are cut away.
But it's also possible to strip a production car down to the bare unibody. Then the race car frame still needs to be built
.
But it's also possible to strip a production car down to the bare unibody. Then the race car frame still needs to be built
.
Last edited by B Stead; 05-26-2013 at 07:49 PM.
05-27-2013, 05:13 AM
#31
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V8 Supercar Specifications [edit]
The current Car of the Future regulations are an evolution of the previous Project Blueprint regulations. The regulations control many aspects of the car to ensure parity between the manufacturers, allowing for minor differences in the engines and body shapes so that the cars bear some resemblance to their production counterparts. The regulations were also designed to lower the costs of building and repairing a car.[48]
Bodyshell [edit]
The body of each car is based on its corresponding production car. However, due to the regulations governing the dimensions of the cars to ensure parity, the race cars are lowered and shortened or lengthened to meet the regulations.[52] As of 2013, only the Ford FG Falcon, Holden VF Commodore, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG W212 and Nissan Altima L33 are eligible to compete.[53] To save costs, the front guards, passenger-side front door, rear doors and rear quarter panels are made from composite materials.[54] The head lights and tail lamps are carried over from the road car, while the windscreen is replaced by a polycarbonate unit.[8]
The bodies are built around a control chassis provided by Pace Innovations, which includes a full roll cage.[8] Many safety features are utilised to protect the driver in the event of an accident. The fuel tank is positioned in front of the rear axle to prevent it from being damaged or ruptured in a rear end impact. The driver is seated towards the centre of the car and extra reinforcement is used on the roll cage on the drivers' side to lessen the risk of injury in a side-on collision. The cars also feature a collapsible steering column and a fire extinguisher system.[9]
Aerodynamics [edit]
All cars have an aerodynamics package consisting of a front spoiler and splitter, side skirts and a rear wing. The aerodynamics package for each manufacturer is homologated after a series of tests which ensure that the different body styles produce near-identical downforce and drag numbers.[55][56]
Weight [edit]
The minimum weight of each car is 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb), including the driver. A minimum of 755 kg is to be loaded over the front axle. The minimum weight for the driver is 100 kg and includes the driver dressed in full racing apparel, the seat and seat mountings and any ballast needed to meet the minimum weight.[57] Some other components also have a minimum weight, such as the engine (200 kg) and the front uprights (10.5 kg each).[58]
Engine and Drivetrain [edit]
All cars must be front-engined and rear-wheel drive. All cars use a 5.0-litre, naturally aspirated V8-engine with electronic fuel injection, capable of producing between 460 and 485 kW (620–650 bhp).[8] Manufacturers are free to choose between using an engine based on one from their own line up or a generic engine provided by V8 Supercars.[59] Both Ford and Holden use US-based racing engines with pushrod actuated valves and two valves per cylinder. Mercedes and Nissan, meanwhile, use modified versions of their own engines, with hydraulic-lift valves and four valves per cylinder.[52][60] All engines are electronically limited to 7500 rpm and have a compression ratio of 10:1.[61]
Power is transferred from the engine to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential transaxle with an integrated spool differential.[8] The individual gear ratios and the final drive ratio are fixed with drop gears at the front of the transaxle allowing the teams to alter the overall transmission ratio for different circuits.[62] The cars use a triple plate clutch.[8] There are two fuel tank sizes used in the series, with a 112-litre tank used at all events except for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. A 120-litre tank is used at these events due the longer distance races. The cars run on E85 fuel.[8][63]
An electronic control unit (ECU), provided by MoTeC, is used to monitor and optimise various aspects of the engine's performance. Numerous sensors in the car collect information which is then transmitted to the team, allowing them to monitor things such as tyre wear and fuel consumption and find potential problems with the car. The ECU is also used by officials during the scrutineering process.[64]
Suspension [edit]
All cars are required to use a double wishbone setup for the front suspension and independent rear suspension. Both the front and rear suspension systems feature adjustable shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar which can be adjusted from the cockpit.[8]
The current Car of the Future regulations are an evolution of the previous Project Blueprint regulations. The regulations control many aspects of the car to ensure parity between the manufacturers, allowing for minor differences in the engines and body shapes so that the cars bear some resemblance to their production counterparts. The regulations were also designed to lower the costs of building and repairing a car.[48]
Bodyshell [edit]
The body of each car is based on its corresponding production car. However, due to the regulations governing the dimensions of the cars to ensure parity, the race cars are lowered and shortened or lengthened to meet the regulations.[52] As of 2013, only the Ford FG Falcon, Holden VF Commodore, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG W212 and Nissan Altima L33 are eligible to compete.[53] To save costs, the front guards, passenger-side front door, rear doors and rear quarter panels are made from composite materials.[54] The head lights and tail lamps are carried over from the road car, while the windscreen is replaced by a polycarbonate unit.[8]
The bodies are built around a control chassis provided by Pace Innovations, which includes a full roll cage.[8] Many safety features are utilised to protect the driver in the event of an accident. The fuel tank is positioned in front of the rear axle to prevent it from being damaged or ruptured in a rear end impact. The driver is seated towards the centre of the car and extra reinforcement is used on the roll cage on the drivers' side to lessen the risk of injury in a side-on collision. The cars also feature a collapsible steering column and a fire extinguisher system.[9]
Aerodynamics [edit]
All cars have an aerodynamics package consisting of a front spoiler and splitter, side skirts and a rear wing. The aerodynamics package for each manufacturer is homologated after a series of tests which ensure that the different body styles produce near-identical downforce and drag numbers.[55][56]
Weight [edit]
The minimum weight of each car is 1,400 kilograms (3,100 lb), including the driver. A minimum of 755 kg is to be loaded over the front axle. The minimum weight for the driver is 100 kg and includes the driver dressed in full racing apparel, the seat and seat mountings and any ballast needed to meet the minimum weight.[57] Some other components also have a minimum weight, such as the engine (200 kg) and the front uprights (10.5 kg each).[58]
Engine and Drivetrain [edit]
All cars must be front-engined and rear-wheel drive. All cars use a 5.0-litre, naturally aspirated V8-engine with electronic fuel injection, capable of producing between 460 and 485 kW (620–650 bhp).[8] Manufacturers are free to choose between using an engine based on one from their own line up or a generic engine provided by V8 Supercars.[59] Both Ford and Holden use US-based racing engines with pushrod actuated valves and two valves per cylinder. Mercedes and Nissan, meanwhile, use modified versions of their own engines, with hydraulic-lift valves and four valves per cylinder.[52][60] All engines are electronically limited to 7500 rpm and have a compression ratio of 10:1.[61]
Power is transferred from the engine to the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential transaxle with an integrated spool differential.[8] The individual gear ratios and the final drive ratio are fixed with drop gears at the front of the transaxle allowing the teams to alter the overall transmission ratio for different circuits.[62] The cars use a triple plate clutch.[8] There are two fuel tank sizes used in the series, with a 112-litre tank used at all events except for the Sandown 500 and Bathurst 1000. A 120-litre tank is used at these events due the longer distance races. The cars run on E85 fuel.[8][63]
An electronic control unit (ECU), provided by MoTeC, is used to monitor and optimise various aspects of the engine's performance. Numerous sensors in the car collect information which is then transmitted to the team, allowing them to monitor things such as tyre wear and fuel consumption and find potential problems with the car. The ECU is also used by officials during the scrutineering process.[64]
Suspension [edit]
All cars are required to use a double wishbone setup for the front suspension and independent rear suspension. Both the front and rear suspension systems feature adjustable shock absorbers and an anti-roll bar which can be adjusted from the cockpit.[8]