8 replies to this topic

[V10 Fireworks]

I think it's the stupidest idea VESA have ever had. ]

At the end of the day although TEGA has juggled the suspension mounting points, and engine choices a little over the years since '93, we are still running Group A based touring cars and that's the way the Australian Touring Car Championship/V8CS should be.

At the moment even though all of Stone Brothers, Prodrive, and Triple 8 all build Falcons they have all started and built their own race car from scratch, just from what happens to be the same base car. In all discernible aspects the cars are just as different in the way they are engineered as they would be if Prodrive were representing Volvo starting from a S60 base car, Triple 8 representing Vauxhall starting from a Vectra and Stone Brothers representing Mazda starting from a Mazda6 base car.

If we sort of lump everyone to forcably run the same chassis it can't be a good thing, and for the fastest & best series of traditional touring cars to distance itself from the likes of Super 2000 & BTCC doesn't seem to make sense - it could be a bad mistake.

Tander Commodore

TKR Commodore

T8 Falcon

SBR Falcon

Larkham Motorsport Falcon

Whilst the cages are largely similar, there are differences between all of them, some fairly significant like the recessed A-pillar on the SBR car and the weird treatment behind the roll hoop on the TKR car.

[Witt]

Where did you read this? This is sad if this is true. The cars are already much the same, but to completely, and most concerningly do it so openly and without shame, homogenise the category, makes me want to spew.

May as well buy second hand NASCAR chassis and race them if they want to save money and promote competition...

[bystander31]

uhhh? what?

[zac510]

Originally posted by V10 Fireworks
we are still running Group A based touring cars

You're joking, right? They are already so far removed from Group A that a control chassis would make little difference. It's just one step closer to NASCAR in a technical aspect.

[Mat]

If this is true, im impressed.

Yes, I agree we are another, further step away from the traditional Touring Car sense of the word, but VESA are trying to take this sport to the people, and they are trying to see if they can compete with the traditional stick and ball sports.

NASCAR proved this is the way to do it. It does create great, close racing and it does allow for a wider audience to get into it.

[RDM]

I thing more exclamation marks and question marks would better highlight the point.

[Joe Bosworth]

I am hearing a ground swell that is saying that NASCAR has gone too far with standardisation, carb restrictors and false points system.

If so they are now riding for a decline that is not yet evident do to long term inertia.

Any others see the same thing???

V8 Supercars work largely because the masses still see it as a Ford vs Holden thing and can relate.

[McGuire]

Race cars based on/built around production unit-body chassis are very expensive and time-consuming to build, maintain and especially to repair when they have been crashed. As the photos show, it's like building a ship inside a bottle: essentially you build a space-frame car inside a unibody structure. When they get wadded up, often all you can do is throw them away and start over. A "panel car" (tubing space frame chassis with replica bodywork hung on it) is much cheaper to build, , is far more repairable, will last longer and hold a setup better.

This is why very few race series still run production floor pans, and to me part of the tremendous charm and appeal of the V8 supercars. They do still look like real cars. But no one can make the world turn backward. The V8 supercars are subject to the same economic pressures as everything else.

[zac510]

You woke me up McGuire - it has now become obvious. The possibility of Holden or Ford dropping their RWD sedan models in the coming years in favour of an imported FWD platform with a 4 or 6 is quite a possibility.

Now it is important to consider moving the popularity of the V8SC to a silhouette/space frame series.

Of course it would lose some its charm..