Often people are heard saying that they could make this car or that car faster given the same amount of money when talking about supercars. Sometimes I agree with them and sometimes I do not. I realize that a lot of the time engine swaps are a big part of this process and that is something that cannot be addressed in this test. Keep in mind also though that this is not strictly a power test, though power will play a significant role. All that said, none of these cars will be producing a power to weight ratio that anyone could consider to be mild for a street car, and to truly beat a supercar, it needs to remain street legal. When there is a * beside a hp or ft.lb figure means nitrous was in the car and used but not reflected in the power figures.
Street legal can mean many things in many different places, and I know that there are not many ways to get close to supercars when staying totally street legal. Over my years of tuning cars here where there is no aircare, I have learned what can and cannot usually pass by a cop (if you drive nice on the street and the cop isn't in a bad mood). Here are the rules, must be on street tires, that means s3 rubber is the softest that can be used. You can have a loud exhaust but too loud makes everyone mad at you so one semi-racing is allowed. Other than that because of no aircare, everything else is a go.
To level the playing field a little bit all the used cars will get an oil change and chassis refresher without the cost being added to the total. The used car must be bought for under $10,000. It is then allowed to use the rest of the money to tune to its delight. The total cost of car and modification may not exceed the price of the new supercar it is facing. Cars will be tested on top speed with one lap and the test track (first lap of practice mode), acceleration with a run at Las Vegas drag strip(best of many), and lastly one lap of El Capitan(best of many), a track that can tear apart any car. The modified cars will also be allowed gear and suspension tuning between tests. All testing will be done with DFP and no driving aids. Lets see if any car can catch the supercar.
I will not be including a detailed summary of what I have done to each car, as I dont want huge lists in this report. My tuning goes in the order of what I think is the most important features in a car, this is the order they will be tuned in if there is not enough money to do everything. Tires, suspension, brakes, big power adder such as turbo or NA tuning, LSD, customizable transmission, body lightening stage one and two (three is done if everything else is and there if enough money left), drivetrain lightening, then the other power adders that can be put on with the rest of the money. If a car comes in well below the cost of the supercar then you can be sure that everything that can be done was done to that car, if it is very close, it may have just been lucky or it may be missing some hp or the stage 3 weight reduction. My goal is to make all the cars handle well first and go fast in a straight line second. If you have speed in the corners the speed on the straights will be there anyways
And the moment you all have been waiting for The car that will set the benchmark is the 2000 RUF RGT. This means that there will be $143,000 for the used cars to play with.
RUF RGT
Bone stock $143,000 (and change)
3600cc
1330kg
379hp/7700rpm
376.88ft.lb/5200rpm
3.509kg/hp
Test track 203.262
Las Vegas 12.557
El Capitan 149.578
Simply a dream to drive, all of the times are so fast while the car itself never seems to be out of step. Even at over 300kph the RGT remains stable and composed. At the drag strip traction is put down easily with launches around 5500rpm, and there is enough power that the rest is a breeze. Out at El Capitan the RGT sucks up most of the bumps of this road course with ease. Slight slip angles are present around the corners though careful throttle input will keep it to a beautiful and fast line through the corner with the back tires screaming for mercy. However sloppy steering or pedal inputs will either get you understeer off the track or facing the direction you just came from, with snap oversteer. This is going to be a very hard car to keep up to, let alone beat.
TOYOTA COROLLA TRUENO (83)
Tuned at HKS
Total cost of car and modification $114,775
1587cc
855kg
*242hp/6600rpm
*195.43ft.lb/5200rpm
3.533kg/hp
Test track 208.894 +5.632
Las Vegas 13.862 +1.305
El Capitan 157.897 +8.319
Looking at this on paper it seems as though the two cars would be very close, the corolla has a very good power to weight ratio, almost as good as the RGTs. However the times will tell a very different story and so will the feel of driving the two cars. Out at the test track with the help of nitrous the corolla could maintain a speed of about 300kph through the intermittent use of the squeeze. About halfway through the last corner however the nitrous ran out and the car ended up crossing the line at about 280 due to wind resistance. The car did not want to go that fast, the back end seemed like it wanted to fly away at that speed. In the end it would not match the speed of the RGT. Out at Vegas the corolla seemed to have a lot of trouble getting the power to the ground even in second gear. First gear was a joke with launches at about 3000rpm and then excessive wheelspin even with the throttle only about halfway down, second gear wasnt much better. By third full throttle could be used and only once 4th was hit could the nitrous be touched. This is why I chose Vegas as the grounds for the drag race as it will take a lot to get power down out here, something the RUF did very well. Around El Capitan though if felt to be much faster than the RGT the times will one again tell different story. This first test has shown that the RGT if a force to be reckoned with, however from here the cars will continue to get faster.
NISSAN SKYLINE GTS-T TYPE M (89)
Tuned at Mines
Total cost of car and modification $140,697
1998cc
1071kg
*401hp/6400rpm
*326.64ft.lb/3200rpm
2.671kg/hp
Test track 158.078 -5.184
Las Vegas 12.961 +0.404
El Capitan 153.792 +4.214
The power to weight ratio on this car is ridiculous, and as the car gets up to speed before the start line at the test track all that can be heard is the turbo forcing air through the engine as the semi-racing muffler keeps the exhaust note subdued. There is an overwhelming surge of acceleration though till the 6th gear, then power starts to fall off. Why the power fall? Based of the Hp figures this car should keep pulling hard right past 300 as the RGT did, its got a better power to weight ratio. Then the realization comes, the aerodynamics of this car are nothing close to as effective at this high speed. This can be overcome though as the nitrous bottle is opened and let to do its thing. Despite the poor aerodynamics the car remains stable at high speed and averages just below 320kph around the course and beats the RGT by 5.184 seconds, a considerable gap. Once again Vegas shows its teeth and the skyline is having troubles getting out of the hole. After many launches at many different rpms and many runs with the nitrous hitting at different times the skyline finally manages a time under half a second short of the RUF. Something really has to be said for rear engine weight transfer on launches Out at El Capitan the skyline seems very very fast when it is driven, the potential is definitely there for a very nice drift car, this it racing however so drifts are kept to a small slip angle and corners feel very fast. On the straights the skyline is a rocket and times are expected to be very good. Then I look at the clock, 4 seconds behind the RGT, how did this happen? A couple of laps are done with no slip angle at all on the skyline straight grip driving, the times come up slightly slower. On a positive note, this if my favorite skyline I have ever driven, I have ragged on skylines in the past for dull feedback and understeer. The two wheel drive skyline has none of that and I love it, if only it came with the same engine.
MITSUBISHI GALLANT VR4 (89)
Tuned at Trial
Total cost of car and modification $142,583
1997cc
1139kg
360hp/6000rpm
*310.15ftlb/3000rpm
*3.164kg/hp
Test track 206.529 +3.267
Las Vegas 10.897 -1.66
El Capitan 155.784 +6.206
Once again in a similar fashion to the skyline the lack of good aerodynamics held this car back on the high speed course. Seemed so stable at this speed though that the drive was almost boring, I guess that is a testament as to the roadholding abilities of this car. At the drag strip was where the fun began, to launch the car you simply had to hold the pedal to the floorboard with the tach bouncing off of the rev limiter. Launching in this fashion seemed to be just at the very end of the tires capabilities and quite exciting. This must be the beauty of all wheel drive, yes I know wrong company but I couldnt resist. Once second gear is hit it is time for the nitrous and laughing the rest of the way down the track. Out at El Capitan it took a while to get used to the handling of this Mitsubishi after driving the insanely powerful and rear wheel drive Skyline, but it became almost second nature after a while, it was apparent that this would not get close to the time of the RUF but there was something addicting about driving this car, it seemed as though a monkey could even drive it around the track and get a decent time. This car may very well have changed my opinion on awd cars, there may be more of them in my future now.
MAZDA RX7 GTX (90)
Tuned at RE
Total cost of car and modification $135,150
1308cc
1062kg
*390hp/6500rpm
*327.65ft.lb/3500rpm
2.723kg/hp
Test track 152.593 -10.669
Las Vegas 12.894 +0.337
El Capitan 151.805 +2.227
The aerodynamics of this car give it a huge advantage out on the top speed course, with a weaker power to weight ratio than the Skyline it still pulls way ahead and cruises easily at 315kph when the nitrous it hit it climbs to over 350kph briefly. Nothing can come close to the rx7 on the test track. At Vegas the Rx7 just edges out the Skyline but still cannot seem to catch the RGT. El Capitan it the course that I am truly interested in for this car though. I think that with its front-mid engine layout it just may be able to keep pace with the RUF going around the track this is another car that feels like it is going incredibly fast, almost like there is no way that anything could keep up to you. Well there was something that did keep up, matter of fact it went a bit faster. Even on some laps where it felt like the Rx7 was going to leave the road behind the RGT still came in more than 2 seconds ahead for the lap.
Can you build a sub $10,000 car up to the point where it can beat a supercar for the same amount of money? I havent seen it happen yet, though the RGT was beat in some aspects by some cars, it was never beat in all three categories, most importantly the road course witch is the true test of a car. So the question remains can it be done? Well not by any of the cars that I have tested here today.
Street legal can mean many things in many different places, and I know that there are not many ways to get close to supercars when staying totally street legal. Over my years of tuning cars here where there is no aircare, I have learned what can and cannot usually pass by a cop (if you drive nice on the street and the cop isn't in a bad mood). Here are the rules, must be on street tires, that means s3 rubber is the softest that can be used. You can have a loud exhaust but too loud makes everyone mad at you so one semi-racing is allowed. Other than that because of no aircare, everything else is a go.
To level the playing field a little bit all the used cars will get an oil change and chassis refresher without the cost being added to the total. The used car must be bought for under $10,000. It is then allowed to use the rest of the money to tune to its delight. The total cost of car and modification may not exceed the price of the new supercar it is facing. Cars will be tested on top speed with one lap and the test track (first lap of practice mode), acceleration with a run at Las Vegas drag strip(best of many), and lastly one lap of El Capitan(best of many), a track that can tear apart any car. The modified cars will also be allowed gear and suspension tuning between tests. All testing will be done with DFP and no driving aids. Lets see if any car can catch the supercar.
I will not be including a detailed summary of what I have done to each car, as I dont want huge lists in this report. My tuning goes in the order of what I think is the most important features in a car, this is the order they will be tuned in if there is not enough money to do everything. Tires, suspension, brakes, big power adder such as turbo or NA tuning, LSD, customizable transmission, body lightening stage one and two (three is done if everything else is and there if enough money left), drivetrain lightening, then the other power adders that can be put on with the rest of the money. If a car comes in well below the cost of the supercar then you can be sure that everything that can be done was done to that car, if it is very close, it may have just been lucky or it may be missing some hp or the stage 3 weight reduction. My goal is to make all the cars handle well first and go fast in a straight line second. If you have speed in the corners the speed on the straights will be there anyways
And the moment you all have been waiting for The car that will set the benchmark is the 2000 RUF RGT. This means that there will be $143,000 for the used cars to play with.
RUF RGT
Bone stock $143,000 (and change)
3600cc
1330kg
379hp/7700rpm
376.88ft.lb/5200rpm
3.509kg/hp
Test track 203.262
Las Vegas 12.557
El Capitan 149.578
Simply a dream to drive, all of the times are so fast while the car itself never seems to be out of step. Even at over 300kph the RGT remains stable and composed. At the drag strip traction is put down easily with launches around 5500rpm, and there is enough power that the rest is a breeze. Out at El Capitan the RGT sucks up most of the bumps of this road course with ease. Slight slip angles are present around the corners though careful throttle input will keep it to a beautiful and fast line through the corner with the back tires screaming for mercy. However sloppy steering or pedal inputs will either get you understeer off the track or facing the direction you just came from, with snap oversteer. This is going to be a very hard car to keep up to, let alone beat.
TOYOTA COROLLA TRUENO (83)
Tuned at HKS
Total cost of car and modification $114,775
1587cc
855kg
*242hp/6600rpm
*195.43ft.lb/5200rpm
3.533kg/hp
Test track 208.894 +5.632
Las Vegas 13.862 +1.305
El Capitan 157.897 +8.319
Looking at this on paper it seems as though the two cars would be very close, the corolla has a very good power to weight ratio, almost as good as the RGTs. However the times will tell a very different story and so will the feel of driving the two cars. Out at the test track with the help of nitrous the corolla could maintain a speed of about 300kph through the intermittent use of the squeeze. About halfway through the last corner however the nitrous ran out and the car ended up crossing the line at about 280 due to wind resistance. The car did not want to go that fast, the back end seemed like it wanted to fly away at that speed. In the end it would not match the speed of the RGT. Out at Vegas the corolla seemed to have a lot of trouble getting the power to the ground even in second gear. First gear was a joke with launches at about 3000rpm and then excessive wheelspin even with the throttle only about halfway down, second gear wasnt much better. By third full throttle could be used and only once 4th was hit could the nitrous be touched. This is why I chose Vegas as the grounds for the drag race as it will take a lot to get power down out here, something the RUF did very well. Around El Capitan though if felt to be much faster than the RGT the times will one again tell different story. This first test has shown that the RGT if a force to be reckoned with, however from here the cars will continue to get faster.
NISSAN SKYLINE GTS-T TYPE M (89)
Tuned at Mines
Total cost of car and modification $140,697
1998cc
1071kg
*401hp/6400rpm
*326.64ft.lb/3200rpm
2.671kg/hp
Test track 158.078 -5.184
Las Vegas 12.961 +0.404
El Capitan 153.792 +4.214
The power to weight ratio on this car is ridiculous, and as the car gets up to speed before the start line at the test track all that can be heard is the turbo forcing air through the engine as the semi-racing muffler keeps the exhaust note subdued. There is an overwhelming surge of acceleration though till the 6th gear, then power starts to fall off. Why the power fall? Based of the Hp figures this car should keep pulling hard right past 300 as the RGT did, its got a better power to weight ratio. Then the realization comes, the aerodynamics of this car are nothing close to as effective at this high speed. This can be overcome though as the nitrous bottle is opened and let to do its thing. Despite the poor aerodynamics the car remains stable at high speed and averages just below 320kph around the course and beats the RGT by 5.184 seconds, a considerable gap. Once again Vegas shows its teeth and the skyline is having troubles getting out of the hole. After many launches at many different rpms and many runs with the nitrous hitting at different times the skyline finally manages a time under half a second short of the RUF. Something really has to be said for rear engine weight transfer on launches Out at El Capitan the skyline seems very very fast when it is driven, the potential is definitely there for a very nice drift car, this it racing however so drifts are kept to a small slip angle and corners feel very fast. On the straights the skyline is a rocket and times are expected to be very good. Then I look at the clock, 4 seconds behind the RGT, how did this happen? A couple of laps are done with no slip angle at all on the skyline straight grip driving, the times come up slightly slower. On a positive note, this if my favorite skyline I have ever driven, I have ragged on skylines in the past for dull feedback and understeer. The two wheel drive skyline has none of that and I love it, if only it came with the same engine.
MITSUBISHI GALLANT VR4 (89)
Tuned at Trial
Total cost of car and modification $142,583
1997cc
1139kg
360hp/6000rpm
*310.15ftlb/3000rpm
*3.164kg/hp
Test track 206.529 +3.267
Las Vegas 10.897 -1.66
El Capitan 155.784 +6.206
Once again in a similar fashion to the skyline the lack of good aerodynamics held this car back on the high speed course. Seemed so stable at this speed though that the drive was almost boring, I guess that is a testament as to the roadholding abilities of this car. At the drag strip was where the fun began, to launch the car you simply had to hold the pedal to the floorboard with the tach bouncing off of the rev limiter. Launching in this fashion seemed to be just at the very end of the tires capabilities and quite exciting. This must be the beauty of all wheel drive, yes I know wrong company but I couldnt resist. Once second gear is hit it is time for the nitrous and laughing the rest of the way down the track. Out at El Capitan it took a while to get used to the handling of this Mitsubishi after driving the insanely powerful and rear wheel drive Skyline, but it became almost second nature after a while, it was apparent that this would not get close to the time of the RUF but there was something addicting about driving this car, it seemed as though a monkey could even drive it around the track and get a decent time. This car may very well have changed my opinion on awd cars, there may be more of them in my future now.
MAZDA RX7 GTX (90)
Tuned at RE
Total cost of car and modification $135,150
1308cc
1062kg
*390hp/6500rpm
*327.65ft.lb/3500rpm
2.723kg/hp
Test track 152.593 -10.669
Las Vegas 12.894 +0.337
El Capitan 151.805 +2.227
The aerodynamics of this car give it a huge advantage out on the top speed course, with a weaker power to weight ratio than the Skyline it still pulls way ahead and cruises easily at 315kph when the nitrous it hit it climbs to over 350kph briefly. Nothing can come close to the rx7 on the test track. At Vegas the Rx7 just edges out the Skyline but still cannot seem to catch the RGT. El Capitan it the course that I am truly interested in for this car though. I think that with its front-mid engine layout it just may be able to keep pace with the RUF going around the track this is another car that feels like it is going incredibly fast, almost like there is no way that anything could keep up to you. Well there was something that did keep up, matter of fact it went a bit faster. Even on some laps where it felt like the Rx7 was going to leave the road behind the RGT still came in more than 2 seconds ahead for the lap.
Can you build a sub $10,000 car up to the point where it can beat a supercar for the same amount of money? I havent seen it happen yet, though the RGT was beat in some aspects by some cars, it was never beat in all three categories, most importantly the road course witch is the true test of a car. So the question remains can it be done? Well not by any of the cars that I have tested here today.
).
