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 Posted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 1:31 am
Welcome to the second topic in Secret Attic II: Choosing the competition platform.
We all have cars we like, and we all have a common constraint: the budget. This section is going to deal with choosing the car that will give you the biggest advantage and scope for development for the money we have. Some will swear by certain things, and such things may not be very suitable for the application.
When reading this topic it is recommended to leave preferences aside and to be very pragmatic.
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Posted: Tue Dec 14, 2010 7:17 pm
I eagerly await for your expounding into this subject as many people ask me the same thing- how did I come about choosing what I chose. Mostly people who themselves think they are looking for a GT-R but what they are really looking for is a car they think will impress people. I will defer on my further commentary because I'd like to hear what you have to say in this regard first.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:42 am
First, take a ruler. Measure p***s. Go car shopping. Find which car makes p***s seem bigger. mrgreen mrgreen mrgreen
JK mrgreen mrgreen mrgreen
Okay, seriously but. When choosing a road car, yes, it IS important to have one that impresses most of the public: you do NOT want to rock up to a job interview in a piece of crap that's half-primered and held together with gaffa tape. The most stellar resume in the world won't hide that first impression. Even more so when your potential boss is watching how you arrive.
I've seen how mechanics with crappy cars are treated. I've seen a mechanic denied being allowed to run the shop sticker, because his car's condition was just too poor.
That aside, choosing a race car is very different. It has nothing to do with the street. it might never be seen by most of your friends. And the only place it will ever be appreciated, is on the course. It also has to do with rules, the budget, background politics and the establishment, and the most it has to do with are the kind of resources you have at your disposal.
I'd best put the techy bits in the next post.
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Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 1:19 am
Righto. first up, is the bloody tyre.
You need to ask yourselves these questions:
-Do you need to run a control tyre?
-Are tyre sizes controlled? OR,
-Are rim sizes controlled?
And,
-What is the minimum race weight?
Having a control tyre means basically that it influences the vehicle choice right off the bat: having a control size that is small, combined with a minimum race weight that is low, means that you will start at a disadvantage if you choose a large, powerful and heavy car. You are trying to fight the laws of physics.
You need to look at the rules closely, and find out how parity is enforced. Example, the race weight for FWD in my class is somewhere around 850kg. The race weight for RWD is almost 1,000kg. With the maximum rim width prescribed as 8", we will likely run the same tyre size up front. A 150kg difference on the same control tyre, with both engines needing to remain in the original location.
See where we're going with this?
This is also when you need to look at suspension systems: with a small tyre, you need to get the most out of it(the reason for me choosing the Honda; they have suspensions that are quite good off the bat and they don't take much work to become excellent) With a small control tyre, try and prioritize the amount of grip you can generate ahead of power: power eats up traction(though, this in itself will depend on the track: at some venues you should prioritize the straights because there are a lot of them. At other places, maybe you will want to tune the engine to maximize exit speed?) And with a control tyre, the game becomes how much grip you can generate, and how you use it. Anything that makes the tyre work harder than it needs to for the race distance, is not what you want.
It might be good to pick a car that came with thin rims, then go up to the maximum rim width. Choosing a large-tyred car from stock then having to go down to the maximum rim width automatically under-tyres the car, and forces you to run a softer setup which, in turn, automatically forces you to run under-sprung. Its even worse if you are going to increase power(which ALL of us do) What happens here is you can't get on it as quickly.
The best way to get hard data? Arm yourself with a stopwatch, go to the track, sit in the stands, and time everyone doing qualifying for your class.
Also, and I can't stress this one enough, pick a vehicle that is +/- 70-85kg of the minimum race weight, so that you can save on cost for the weight reduction(if the car is too heavy) and you won't pay too much in terms of performance lost to ballast(if the car is too light) Factor in the ROPS, factor in the things that will come out of the car. It also gives you the opportunity to reduce weight in some areas, and add it in others in order to achieve a better overall balance of the car. This also allows you to keep closer to the design size of the tyre, which the suspension was designed to work with.
Weight reduction costs money. If taken seriously, it can cost about the same as engine work. If you go far enough that the car gets oversprung, it will cost the same as engine work and maybe even a bit more depending on how you want to solve the problem.
Here's the really BAD part: all those bits are attached to the BODY.
Which I'll look at in the next post on this subject.
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