Imports
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This might probably interest some here. I went to the touring cars at Croft last weekend, and one of the DC5 Integras was being worked on in the paddock as I think it had had problems very early on in practice. I'm not sure if it raced on Sunday or not but it definitely wasn't out in qualifying on the Saturday. Anyway, I took a bunch of detailed photos of different bits of the car - it's not often you get the opportunity to snap away at purpose-built racers, but as things like engines etc are sealed in the BTCC then there's no secrecy and the mechanics don't mind you taking a closer look. Anyway:
Interior
Engine bay
Rear brakes
Cockpit
Right rear remote resevoir damper
Lovely billet aluminium wishbone
Interior
Engine bay
Rear brakes
Cockpit
Right rear remote resevoir damper
Lovely billet aluminium wishbone
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Those are some cool pics Home4, I love seeing the details of a full house racing car 👍
They can look good, they're just not really my deal IMO. You could just buy a Corolla as well
How about a stroked 2.2 with a Trust T67 hanging off it?
They can look good, they're just not really my deal IMO. You could just buy a Corolla as well
How about a stroked 2.2 with a Trust T67 hanging off it?
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I wish I had the time/space/money for three cars...
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I didn't wander into a pit garage or anything, they may have taken issue if I did that. The car was on airjacks in the paddock with a couple of mechanics adjusting bits and pieces, but the car was basically there most of the day with the bonnet and boot open and both the windows down, and all the wheels off.
The car was a privateer entry (indeed, there is only one true factory team in the BTCC at the moment, Vauxhall VXRacing) and also I'm guessing second-hand, since none of the top teams are running Integras this year. I'm guessing this is an ex Matt Neal/Gordon Shedden car from a couple of years back when Team Dynamics were running a couple of DC5s.
So in that respect there's probably nothing on the car that other teams don't already know about, and nothing that other teams can't do as well or better either. Still, Matt Neal took the title in an Integra a few years ago so the pics are of a top-spec car no doubt. The game has moved on a little since the Super 2000-spec DC5 was competitive but it's still an amazing car.
Unfortunately, I've not yet had the chance to get a close look at any of the other cars in the series but here are some of the others currently being run:
BMW 320si
Honda Civic
Chevrolet Lacetti (being replaced by the Cruze in the World Touring Car Championship)
Vauxhall Vectra
Vauxhall Astra Coupe (amazing to think people have been running these for 8 years now)
Ford Focus (first Ford since the Mondeo left in 2000)
Seat Leon (still running petrols in the UK - it's diesel in WTCC now)
Joey D
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Chevrolet Lacetti (being replaced by the Cruze in the World Touring Car Championship)
Tripod and backfire, that picture is full of win!
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See? The Lacetti is a proper Chevy 
Keef
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Custom front strut top mounts and camber adjustment thingies, custom solid engine mounts, custom carbon-kevlar intake manifold, custom this and that, in the rear there's custom shock mounts again (they must not fit, lol), custom subframe, custom trailing arms and control arms, nascar-style sway, etc, etc, etc.
Wow. That's the reason cars like that still work when they're slammed. They're designed for it, even though those touring cars are still using a mostly stock chassis. Imagine if it was a tube frame car with only a stock body on top. Screw Cusco, screw J's Racing, Buddy Club, or whoever, those are race car parts.
Btw, that Focus is sexy. Excellent post.
My ass. If they're aren't actual Ford wheels, then they're replicas. Replica Mustang wheels are quite popular and come in all sorts of sizes.
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Rotary Junkie
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Took you long enough.
EDIT: All of the cars posted aren't even tucking tire dude. No slammage, just plenty of travel.
I find it strange to call it custom parts though, "custom" just sounds like something you apply to street cars. Saying an F1 car has a custom built engine with a custom suspension and custom steering wheel just sounds a bit weird.
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Can't wait to see what bad things people have to say about that last pic revheadnz.
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I loved it.
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I just will say:
That rim dont fit in this car, unless the owner change/modify the body of the car.
👍
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Glad you enjoyed the post 👍 I knew there'd be Honda buffs around here who'd appreciate the engineering that goes into a proper race car rather than an impressive but still essentially off-the-shelf track car or show car.
You're right though, the chassis is still essentially stock, though obviously it's been seam-welded everywhere and has some pretty hefty chassis bracing and roll cage in there. It's a good series for showing how sound a chassis really is as cars that handle very well as road cars tend to make decent race cars too. The exception to the rule would be the Vectra probably, which VXRacing must have worked wonders with to turn it into the championship winner it's been.
Things like suspension types have to remain the same as the road version though so there's still variation - Honda gets to use double wishbones all around on the Integra but not on the Civic, Ford can use a fancy multi-link rear suspension setup etc.
I suppose it's "custom" in the true sense of the word, in that every single part has been developed especially for the car.
As for tucking tyre, the old supertouring cars were very low and I bet they still didn't rub that often! The benefits of immaculately developed and tested suspension. They didn't have much steering lock though... Still, they also dispell the misconception that smaller wheels are always better for racing. Supertouring cars ran 19" wheels and were capable of quicker lap times than the early 90s DTM cars.
Supertouring-era Audi A4, for added win:
Keef
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Bigger wheels and lower profile tires allow for much quicker response and a more direct feel through the steering, but at the cost of being a little heavier. But of course those racers are completely re-engineered with everything made as light as possible. They also leave room for much larger brakes. For us guys without a huge budget, getting lighter wheels (and getting them as small as is reasonable) is the easiest way to chop a big chunk of weight off the corners.
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Good point. I actually hadn't thought of that.
More imports - Mugen's newly announced Euro-spec Mugen Civic Type R:
More imports - Mugen's newly announced Euro-spec Mugen Civic Type R:
Keef
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I'm waiting for the test results. Apparently the suspension on the standard Euro-R is conservatively tuned. Even if they hadn't made it as stiff as the JDM R (our American Si cars aren't anywhere near that stiff) they still could have handled all that understeer a bit better. I'm confident our Sis don't understeer that much, because I've driven them. They're playful. So hopefully Mugen adressed that problem. I see they put Yokohama AD08 tires on it...
...which should make it stick hard. But still not as hard as the Renault and its R-comps.
It's still too pretty though. Such is the way with European cars it seems. The dual exhaust really is just for looks and sales, and that's it.
...which should make it stick hard. But still not as hard as the Renault and its R-comps.
It's still too pretty though. Such is the way with European cars it seems. The dual exhaust really is just for looks and sales, and that's it.
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Keef
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That's what I mean by "pretty". They design many european cars quite particularly. My biggest gripes are with the Euro Civic's jewel-like headlights and tail lights, and the trianglular design motif, especially the exhaust tips. Ours just has a simple thing, albeit oval-shaped. I do like the design, bit on the Type R all the sparkly bits seem a bit unnecessary. I guess you're right that ours is more elegant, if you can apply that to a Civic, but the Euro car is definitely flashier.
As with the RS, it is tough-looking. They made it that way. But the Cobalt, I don't think they even designed it at all!
But that's my style. I'd rather have performance without luxury than performance with luxury. Explain that one.
And PB, I know tires usually weigh more than wheels, especially when the wheels are small. But good luck getting light weight tires. I don't think chopping the stock tire's weight in half, like I did with my stock wheels, would be a very good idea.
As with the RS, it is tough-looking. They made it that way. But the Cobalt, I don't think they even designed it at all!
But that's my style. I'd rather have performance without luxury than performance with luxury. Explain that one.
And PB, I know tires usually weigh more than wheels, especially when the wheels are small. But good luck getting light weight tires. I don't think chopping the stock tire's weight in half, like I did with my stock wheels, would be a very good idea.
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That was my whole point. You said race cars use large wheels with low profile tires for response and feel at the cost of weight. By having a large lightweight wheel with a low profile tire, they end up with a lighter overall package than a smaller wheel and a larger tire.
So, they aren't getting response and feel at the cost of weight.
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Really? Because the ones on the far right are from an SVT Cobra.
Those are not the same wheels. Similar though. The ones on the S13 have a dish (albiet small) and do not touch the lip, the spokes on the Cobra wheels go straight to the lip. They are also a lot bigger than Cobra wheels. The ones on the S13 are uhh...curvier? They bow inwards much more than the Cobra wheels as well. Would that be offset? I'm not up to snuff on my wheel terminology.
edit: doh, I wouldn't have had to type all that up there if i finished reading the page before posting.
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They're only bolted on for a laugh, there is no way in pluperfect hell that 13j wheels are going to fit under a 510, let alone anything short of a Lamborghini or one of those widebody 911s.
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Anyone know what wheels are on all 3 cars?
I just found out that the rolling stock for the middle car is a set of.....Kenstyle Lock Smice Duke in 18x10/11 and with offset of -3/-13.
This AE86 isn't too special looking but it has a pretty special engine, perhaps even a one off. I know Mazda never made one. A custom built 18A triple rotor, built around the spinning bits of 12A rotaries rather than 13Bs.
And a mental EX Lancer with a Vr4 motor, runs in the low 12s.
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