The American Muscle Championship

The American Muscle Championship
This is a series paying homage to the classics of yesteryear ... the lines, colors and sounds of those timeless classics and cult-like "American Muscle" through the choice of track, event and competition.




The Cars
There are 12 cars to choose from, but before you grab the biggest, baddest mofo you can put your hands on, there's a caveat All of the muscle cars are attractive and they all have their individual charm. Rather than run a simple comparison series in which we demonstrate the superiority of one stock car over another, we're going to balance them out a little and give every car a shot at winning.

You may pick any car from the list below, modify it according to the money available, and test as much as you like. Once you select your car and PM me the details this will be your ride for the entire series. (But feel free to experiment and discuss your findings in the meantime).

Note that all cars were given enough upgrade money to gain a very close power-to-weight ratio. They were then individually tested on 3 different tracks by 2 different drivers and the results used to fine tune the upgrade money for both HP and non-HP parts. The result is a very close and evenly balanced field.

Also note that what may seem as an intuitive purchase, may actually not be your wisest choice ... some cars are better off super charging rather than going for NA upgrades, some benefit more from an exhaust, while others can gain more from an Engine Balance and Racing Chip (which actually costs less). I've also seen instances in which the costly transmission didn't net the gains that you may expect. I highly encourage everyone to experiment and test their findings.

The key here is to try and avoid the temptation of just looking at the base HP of the cars; consider the weight, torque and handling, understand the best upgrades for each car (and each can give very different HP increases from vehicle to vehicle), consider the possible non-HP upgrades and shop wisely

You may change the oil as often as you like (after the initial one, this can be considered as 'free'), but you may not run a body refresher. $50 has been included in the HP$ funds available for every car and it's by far the cheapest way to gain HP ... I would suggest that everyone does this, but if you want to save the $50 for something else, you may.


KEY
Car name
Thumbnail (clickable)
HP: base Horse power / post oil change / power-weight-ratio obtainable
WEIGHT: Stock weight
HP$: Money available for HP upgrades.
Non-HP$: Money available for all other (None-HP) upgrades.
Price: Your cost to obtain this vehicle or the manner in which it can be won.


Chev Camaro SS '69

HP: 304 / 319 / 3.134
WEIGHT: 1401
HP$: $13,550
Non-HP$: $21,000
Price: $60,000

Chevrolet Camaro Z28 302 '69

HP: 294 / 309 / 3.434
WEIGHT: 1415
HP$: $13,550
Non-HP$: $17,000
Price: $65,000

Corvette Stingray 350 [C3] '69

HP: 356 / 374 / 3.772
WEIGHT: 1490
HP$: $5,250
Non-HP$: $14,000
Price: $71,500

Chevrolet Corvette Coupe [C2] '63

HP: 253 / 265 / 3.270
WEIGHT: 1370
HP$: $13,550
Non-HP$: $20,000
Price: $84,890

Chevelle SS 454 '70

HP: 456 / 479 / 3.169
WEIGHT: 1762
HP$: $5,250
Non-HP$: $19,000
Price: American Hot Rod Competition

Plymouth Cuda 440 Six Pack '71

HP: 390 / 409 / 3.435
WEIGHT: 1576
HP$: $19,400
Non-HP$: $26,000
Price: $58,360

Plymouth Super Bird '70

HP: 431 / 453 / 3.250
WEIGHT: 1755
HP$: $11,100
Non-HP$: $15,000
Price: American Musclecar Competition

Dodge Charger 440 R/T '70

HP: 380 / 400 / 3.556
WEIGHT: 1650
HP$: $11,100
Non-HP$: $17,000
Price: $75,000

Charger Super Bee 426 Hemi '71

HP: 431 / 453 / 3.610
WEIGHT: 1841
HP$: $9,850
Non-HP$: $15,000
Price: Endurance-NY 200m

Mercury Cougar XR-7 '67

HP: 325 / 341 / 3.153
WEIGHT: 1419
HP$: $11,100
Non-HP$: $14,000
Price: S License - Bronze

Pontiac Tempest Le Mans GTO '64


HP: 332 / 348 / 3.184
WEIGHT: 1420
HP$: $11,100
Non-HP$: $22,000
Price: $52,600

Shelby Mustang G.T. 350R '65

HP: 311 / 326 / 3.890
WEIGHT: 1268

HP$: $6000
Non-HP$: $16,000
Price: Shelby Cobra Cup


Starting Cash
Each car has a variable amount of money that comes with it. You may spend this on HP upgrades (Oil Change, Port Polish and etc). You may buy whatever you want, but you'll find that it's not enough for everything you want

Each car will also come with a variable amount of none-HP upgrade money ... you can spend this on anything else; tires, flywheels, weight reduction, whatever you like.

You can also save HP-upgrade money to spend on None-HP items, if you wish.


Some modifications will allow you to alter car settings (such as transmission or suspension), which is highly encouraged to get the most out of your chosen ride. You may discuss settings freely during the week if you wish.


Upgrades/Modifications
You have two pools of starting money: HP$ and None-HP$. The former may be used on an oil change, engine mods, NA, Turbo and anything else that affects the Horsepower of your car. I considered no "Racing Chip" to keep things authentic, but the resulting HP boost is small and in some instances is required in order to balance the cars effectively.

No one can afford NAIII.

NOS is not permitted.

Racing tires are not permitted.

Don't forget that NA and Super Charging are mutually exclusive ... if you buy both, you're wasting your money, so make a smart choice. Be careful, they offer different performance increases not only car to car, but sometimes the NA is a smarter choice than the Super Charger ... or visa versa. Shop wisely

None-HP$ modifications include everything else from weight reduction through to flywheels, new tires and so on. Be careful, you'll not have enough to buy everything you want, so consider your choices carefully.

You may SAVE HP$ money for none-HP modifications (but not the other way around).

When you have your car and upgrades, please PM me your final choice and shopping list (including prices). Money not spent can be saved for later in the season.


RULE CHANGES:
1) You may switch your car **ONCE** during the racing season. You must abide by the rules as given in this thread at the time of the switch regarding your new car and permitted upgrade dollars. Please PM me your new shopping list and make it clear in any new splits that you may post.

2) The bottom third of any racing lineup will be allowed to change their parts, free of charge, after any race week. This will help even the field, correct mistakes, and encourage one to learn about these great cars and how to get the most from them. It will also help avoid penalizing a poor choice.

3) Some cars have had a slight adjustment on upgrade figures.
.


Races
Races will be run in GT mode, using your car of choice, single hot laps. There will also be two season-long events; the point-to-point and Drag Strip.

Tracks have been chosen to favor the spirit of the Muscle Car. They are presented here in no particular order: you will find out what track we're running on the Sunday of each race week.

The Drag Strip and Point-to-Point will be events that run for the entire 8 weeks ... you may submit your best times at any stage throughout the entire season.

In all other instances we'll be running single hot laps.

Tracks: In Race Order
1. New York - Normal
2. Seattle Circuit - Reverse
3. Laguna Seca Raceway
4. Infineon Raceway - Sports Car Course
5. Citta di Aria
6. Tsukuba
7. Hong Kong
8. Special Stage 5 Clubman

:: For the full 8 weeks
Las Vegas Drag Strip
Point to Point on The Ring (Sectors 2 to 4)


You may run each race as often or as little as you like to obtain the optimal time.
When submitted, times are final. Please do not resubmit.


Race Settings:
All races will be run in GT Mode.
You may adjust the settings of your car according to those items that you managed to buy with your starting cash.
Tires: Sports (Any combination of Soft, Medium, or Hard) from whatever you managed to buy
Driver's Choice of TCS and ASM
Driver's choice of AT or MT.


Rules:
Races will be run on a weekly basis and timed so as to not conflict with other race series. Race week will run Sunday to Sunday.
Deadline will be Sunday mornings 11:59AM PST.

(This will enable me to gather times, post the results and details of the next race, without conflicting with the WRS, other series or keeping people up late while they wait for the results )

During the week I highly encourage the discussion of sectors, but there is to be no discussion of final times. For Drag-Strip and Point-to-Point discussion over the full 8 weeks you may wish to conceal hundreths and thousandths of a second). Although I am considering keeping a full, live running drag-strip/Point-to-Point leaderboard posted with times to beat. Input regarding this is most welcome.

Races must abide by standard OLR rules ...

No wall touching.
No hybrids
No Cheating of any kind
2 wheels on the track at ALL times.
Save your best "ghost" replay.

I want to keep this series open and relaxed, so we'll be using the honor system for time submissions. Verification of times is not required. I reserve the right to call into question any time that seems inaccurate for the car, track or driver and remove said time from that week's results if verification cannot be provided. If supported, I will be calling for random replay verification.

Before the Sunday morning deadline, I will require a PM stating:
Driver Name:
Car:
HP:
Weight:
Modifications:
Best Lap/Time:
Sector Times: (if applicable)

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I truly hope that this series will capture the spirit of "American Muscle", while at the same time being relaxed, friendly and interesting.

I will not be breathing down anyone's neck to hand in results, you may come and go as you wish, and I value input and suggestions.

Please post any questions or general interest that you may have below

Thanks to Rob and Jump_Ace for making this posible, and Balls', Kenny, Teledriel and TeamLosi' for your input.

~ Natalya

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FAQ:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=1865733&postcount=78

Ill have 69 corvette, Im interested and might be able to participate.

What an absolutely smashing idea Natalya! 👍

I am VERY interested. Love the handicap system also. That's what is needed in a race series. STRATEGY!!

Being an old Ford man, I would definitely be going with the Shelby purely for sentiment. Never had a Shelby in R/L, but had a '70 Boss 302! (and it was purple!) LOL!!

Good job girl!

Steve

Thanks guys. I've got to go through them and add the non-HP$, but this thing will definitively be kicking off in a few weeks time and I'll be promoting it heavily as time moves on.

I like the Shelby myself - largely because of "Gone in 60 Seconds" (even though it was a slightly different version, of course), but there's something about the Camaro's and Chevelle that just looks so damn good ... I'm probably going to try and make one of them work.

I'm torn between three cars.

I love the Shelby GT350, the the beautiful original that people compare to the ugly stepchild of today's Ford Mustang .

But then theres the 'Vette Stingray, prehaps one of the best looking and sportiest of the bunch.

Or the Hemi Super Bee, which is just, no matter what, a powerhouse. Now if only I could win it in a color that didn't make me relate it to nausea.

Good thing I have time to decide before this all starts. I love the drag strip race Nat. Good for us "drag racers" . That in itself will be challenging enough with these powerful heavyweights.

👍 Nat.

Great idea Natalya and I wish you luck to your series. However, I hate muscle cars so I refuse to participate (J/K I think I might have just sinned...lol)

You did a very thorough job compiling this, I'm glad to be of service.

How many people can pick the same car?

Darkwind and I will have a severe advantage at the drag racing portion I already know how to instantly tune a rear-engined car to the absolute best result.

"Although I am considering keeping a full, live running drag-strip leaderboard posted with times to beat"

Do it.

Also - how is Sears Point an original when you have Infineon (exact same thing) on American?

kennythebomb

How many people can pick the same car?

Click to expand...

Good to have you onboard Kenny ... I really hope you can join us.

To answer your questions, anyone can pick any car ... so in theory we can have multiple instances of the same car with different drivers.

kennythebomb

"Although I am considering keeping a full, live running drag-strip leaderboard posted with times to beat"

Do it.

Click to expand...

Cool, will do

kennythebomb

Do it.

Also - how is Sears Point an original when you have Infineon (exact same thing) on American?

Click to expand...

That's my bad ... someone suggested "Sears Point" as a track when I already had Infineon on the list, so I assumed that "SP" was something I had not seen before or raced on. If they're the same thing, I can drop the duplication. Thanks for the tip

I found another error - Chevrolet Corvette Coupe [C2] '63.jpg

I'll take the '69 Vette, since I met a guy today at a cruise night with an awesome car and an awesome personality, very welcoming kind of guy! Mine will be in red

If it weren't for this encounter today, I would have been a sheep and picked the GT350R due to it already being a race car, and having the handling of one (despite the low money to upgrade it.)

I'm gonna invite some people to join this. Feel free to participate in my muscle car photo competition, Natalya

I think you did a SUPERB job in compiling this race in every sense of the word!

I hope I'll have the time to compete though! My work has been fatal to my recreational schedule. If I do, I'm STILL not sure what vehicle to use! lol There are so many nice ones to choose from....

Extremely well done! I think you deserve a cookie at least! lol Too bad this is the only forum I know of without a cookie icon.

This seems great. If I wasn't tied up in so many races (with very little time), I'd join in.

BTW, I love the picture you have up there. I like even better that you got the Shelby out in front. 👍 My favourite of them all.

kennythebomb

I found another error - Chevrolet Corvette Coupe [C2] '63.jpg

Click to expand...

Got it I actually saw that bugger when I previewed the post, and then something - probably icecream - distracted me and that was that.

@Red & Bleu ... thanks guys, seriously. I really wished that all my friends from D3 could join in on this one, but week by week we've all found ourselves with less and less spare time. Part of the timing of the AMC is to wait until the end of the JGTC and DTM, so ir doesn't conflict with some heavy schedules out there!

Thanks for the thumbs up though (and cookie!), I appreciate it.

this looks really good, i think il use Charger Super Bee.

great work kolyana.!

Hm are no not sure if i join yet. i dont like american cars. i only like European and Japanes cars. Beacuse they are the strongest now american muscle got taken down by imports. thats why you can even see people who drove amercian muscle cars are now driving imports.

I have to decide i wont be back by next week back home i am on my vaction now still. but if i do enter i guess i will enter with a dodge or pontiac or chevy. are no. yet. but the drag thing sounds very fun.

Kolyana and myself have been trying to work out the kinks with the power:weight ratios. Some cars are a tad behind, but we'll just probably give them more non-hp $$$ . I too am torn between cars. My ABSOLUTE LOVE for the VETTE and the Super Bee.....I dunno yet.

jump_ace

Ok, next run of inputs are in Nat. Think everyone involved with you helping in this has done a great job. let me know on the inputs. 👍

Let me know the INSTANT you decide to start this race, Koly. I need to take some time off work and school--which starts in about a month. Can't wait till I graduate, but I know it won't be easy this year, what with AP English and the summer reading which I've yet to begin... Oops!

Honestly, though, you've done a beautiful job of advertising and compiling this series. Not only is this well-thought out in advance, potential drivers will be warned for once! lol I think people ought to learn from this set-up if they want a GOOD race series!

I hope I can compete. My schedule will look like cafeteria food at best. lol

I've decided on a car. The 'Cuda Six Pack. It's a great car. Saw a Cuda earlier today and drooled for about 20 minutes However it's currently in the process of being converted into a drag car. Looks pretty nice, they just need to finish painting it.

Sanjko

i only like European and Japanes cars. Beacuse they are the strongest now american muscle got taken down by imports. thats why you can even see people who drove amercian muscle cars are now driving imports.

Click to expand...

Actually... that entire phrase is wrong. American Muscle, which I believe your refering to the cars listed in this race series, were taken down by high fuel prices, and stricter fuel regulations(no more leaded gas) during the 70s. Many car manufacturers stopped producing the muscle cars to make better fuel efficient vehicles(of course the Pinto was just a fire bomb with wheels so we won't count it as fuel efficient). Imports had nothing to do with the downfall of the American Muscle Car Era. However the downfall of American daily drivers, THAT can be blamed on imports.

If Marching Band and Cross Country doesn't get in my way I love to join with the 67' Cougar

Oh good job on the comp mine bombed mainly cause nobody sent in any times at all.

Darkwind

Actually... that entire phrase is wrong. American Muscle, which I believe your refering to the cars listed in this race series, were taken down by high fuel prices, and stricter fuel regulations(no more leaded gas) during the 70s. Many car manufacturers stopped producing the muscle cars to make better fuel efficient vehicles(of course the Pinto was just a fire bomb with wheels so we won't count it as fuel efficient). Imports had nothing to do with the downfall of the American Muscle Car Era. However the downfall of American daily drivers, THAT can be blamed on imports.

Click to expand...

Very well put buddy

I just hope they start converting soy or vegatable oil into biodiesel (u can do it yourself I just have to find the website again) before we run out of fossil fuels because unless they find a way to make Hybrids more powerful and efficent we might not see cars equal to that of the Mustangs and Corvettes of today in our short lifetimes.

@Red, I'll give you plenty of notice, for sure. I can pretty much name a date right now, but I'm just finalizing the car balancing first.

@Dark ... I love the Cuda, it's a real muscle car. It'll probably be one of those with plenty of non-HP options, too

@fordgt150 ... love to have you on board.

Acutaly the storngest hybrids that are going to be is European cars. they arlready made one and its 400 hp hybird i forgot the name of the car.

Oh, and if I race... Dodge Charger, just cause ..

Kolyana

@Dark ... I love the Cuda, it's a real muscle car. It'll probably be one of those with plenty of non-HP options, too

Click to expand...

To bad they don't offer a lot of the versions of the Cuda. I'd like to have seen a lot more of the Hemis too. Only 3 Hemis in the entire game(Super Bee, Ram, Superbird[I think]), and one doesn't really count.

I think a lot of American muscle cars are overrated and there is a bit of pretentious pride put into them for fact that 1) they are old and most things that are old are "classic"--notably music such as "classic" rock, 2)they are American, 3) just like American classic rock, everyone likes it because everyone else likes it; it's a bandwagon with big-engined cars! lol ...Okay so it was a bad pun....

There were many imports that could outperform or were better designed, but that doesn't mean these cars weren't good or nice on the eyes. Each car has its own inherent flaws and perks, whether import or local. I'm looking forward to this series, however. Very cool!

You see, that's what I tend to graviate towards ... things that have flaws, and cars that aren't perfect, cars that have power but little handling, or good cornering but bad wheelspin, all cal for a gentle, nurturing hand ... and I kinda like that.

That's an interesting point. Problem is...try doing such "gentle nurturing" with a DS2! It's a bit of a skill--one I still don't have! lol I really want to try out a DFP but I don't want to put down the 150 USDs on it. I mean, just to TRY it.

Meh, forget gentle nurturing with a DS2. It's easier to just powerslide these beasts through the turns.

Anyone find it easier to nurture the cars with the DFP? Or is it the same with a DS2?

I think it depends on the car .. like the Superbird ... man, try and slide that monster through a turn and you end up waiting 5 weeks for it to gain momentum again.

I know quite a few in WRS that can "nurture" just about anything with a DS2! Look at what Holl01 did with the S'bee @ Infineon! And yes, I think the DS2 is better for finessing these big old tippy cars. Kenny beat me to take the Div.2 P1 in the same race by, oh a few hundredths...using his DS2. So all in all, IMO the DS2 has a slight edge for driving these old muscle cars, but the edge is extremely slight!

Myself? I never touch the old DS2 since I got the wheel. In fact I've never done GT4 with anything but the wheel. Maybe the DS2 is better, but for me it comes down to enjoyment. I'd rather be a little slower and enjoy my experience with the wheel. Thing is, I think I'm faster now than when I used the pad in GT3. I have never felt "outclassed" in a race because of the wheel. Most of all, driving skill, talent, repetition, and determination are what wins races. Not controllers!

Of course it all comes down to personal preference. Use what you have and enjoy the game! If you come across a mad $150 and want to splurge, have a go! Even with the reliability flaws in the DFP, I've never regret my choice to go wheel. There's just something about it that's hard to explain unless you've tried it. But by all means talk to a lot of people here that have a wheel to get different points of view. Just make sure you have a good place for the physical setup of the wheel. Resting on your lap is no good! Clamped to a low coffee table is no good. You need a proper desk or other place at the right height, and comfortable enough to burn thru hours of racing without discomfort. 👍

course all this is just MHO!

Sorry about the OT spam Natalya.

Heck, no problem! Nice post and I couldn't agree more in all respects. I've often used my DFP even knowing that I could be faster with the DS2, simply because it just feels so much better and captures the true spirit of racing