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Oh I meant in life in general, not just this thread
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Mar 16, 2017 15:58
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WAR OF ATTRITION - Rain, Failures Cull Field At Spa SPA - CMW and Flamarbol split the class wins today at Spa-Francorchamps, as the cool, rainy Belgian weather and a series of mechanical failures retired almost a third of the field. The race started under cloudy and cool conditions, but the rain held off until just before sunrise, when the skies opened up and soaked the track in short order, with cars sliding off the track at nearly every turn. The rain continued until noon, where it tapered off somewhat, but it reintensified in the final hour. When all was said and done, only 22 of the 30 cars crossed the finish line, of which only 14 ran a clean race. CMW and NEMW had difficult races in the Prototype class, with one car from each team falling to engine failure during the course of the race. In the end, CMW rang up their thirteenth win of the season, with NEMW four laps behind in second place. Group C was a wild race once again, with the CMWs and VHs fighting aggressively for the entire twenty-four hours. Even a minor mechanical scare for the #61 CMW in the eighth hour didn't dampen the battle either, as all four CMWs and V12 Specials finished on the lead lap, within half a lap of each other. Both teams looked visibly relieved at the end of the race, as the stress and excitement of a full day of wheel-to-wheel racing took its toll both mentally and physically. Flamarbol notched their fifteenth win of the season in what has been a dominant performance so far on the season, and with only six rounds left in the season is all but a lock on the Group B Constructor Championship. Their win today also ameliorated the sting of losing a car to engine failure, which, paradoxically, meant that in spite of the win meant that all of their rivals, except for NEMW, made up ground on them in the Constructor Standings. Automurdermotive kept their cool after an early accident involving the #89 Fiasco Furiouso, the lead #88 taking the last step on the podium when all was said and done. Group A was a chaotic and wild affair, with four different teams in the top four when all was said and done. Flamarbol absolutely ran away with the race; not even a minor accident put so much as a minor dent in their victory today, finishing a full three laps up on second-place CMW. The second Flamarbol wasn't quite so lucky, as an aero failure caused the car to crash hard, needing almost forty minutes in the garage to repair the mangled car. Their rivals at CAME fared little better, as the lead 976 ground to a halt in the wee hours of the morning after an engine failure. In fact, none of the Group A teams ran a completely clean race with both cars; however, only FISH was able to keep things relatively under control, with their cars finishing third and fifth in class, for the best points finish of anyone in Group A. NEMW came fourth in class, after their second car blew up spectacularly inthe second hour. On the topic of NEMW, the race today was one that the New England-based team would really like to forget, as half of their cars crashed out of the race, or experienced an engine failure. Team officials were tight-lipped at the end of the race, and the mood was a sombre as the weather while the team packed up their gear. At this point, the series bids farewell to Europe, after a very successful and historic tour of the continent in a year that will likely prove to be historic both on and off the track. Prototype Winner: #4 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 (Overall Winner)  Second Place: #6 CRT-NEMW Neponset Group C Winner: #62 CMW 976 3.8 RSR  Second Place: #61 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Third Place: #37 VH Racing V12 Special Group B Winner: #11 Flamarbol GrB  Second Place: #52 NEMW Merrimack GT-R Third Place: #88 Automurdermotive Fiasco Furiouso Group A Winner: #21 Flamarbol GrA  Second Place: #84 CMW 976 3.9 R Third Place: #1 FISH Aluvera R0 Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  Revision Points Status: 
MrChips fucked around with this message at 04:29 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 02:25
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Sending in a revised Prototype and Group B with all-new engines. EDIT: WARSAW, POLAND - New England Motorworks today opened their first Polish dealership today, offering cars to the former communist country and hinting at a new factory for the European market in the southern city of Nowy Sacz. The first car sold was a Merrimack GT, the street going version of the company's somewhat successful Group B car. The new owner was fined for speeding an hour later. Kilonum fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 03:31
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"...lead gone by almost one-hundred points gents... what in gods green are we going to do about this." An actual gauntlet gets tossed on the table. "Ok then." "...but that's what happens when your leadership sees smoke on the horizon and doesn't circle the wagons in choppy seas." extreme_accordion fucked around with this message at 21:14 on Mar 17, 2017 |
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Mar 17, 2017 17:34
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THE BATTLE FOR ATLANTA - Prototypes Smash On First Lap As Flamarbol Nears Group B Title BRASELTON - CMW took the chequered flag at the Road Atlanta 10 Hours today, the #4 Turbo 8 avoiding a massive incident on the first lap that involved the remainder of the Prototype class; the lead CMW and both NEMWs were forced back to the garage for repairs. The stewards investigated the #3 CMW and the #6 NEMW for possible violations, but ultimately found none, allowing both cars to continue the race without penalty. Unfortunately for the #3 CMW, their race ended prematurely as the car pulled into the the pits for a routine stop trailing whisps of smoke, only to find a terminal engine problem that prevented the car from rejoining the race. Group C once again proved to be a thrilling battle between VH and CMW, the drivers for both teams going absolutely flat-out all race long; the pace the teams set for one another that they lapped closer to the Prototypes in terms of lap time percentage than at any other race this season. In the end, CMW pipped the V12 Specials for the team's ninth win of the season, the VHs both just half a lap behind as the race ended. NEMW showed a bit of an improvement with the Hoosic GT-R, the track layout here suiting their car better than the first four tracks of this leg. Flamarbol inched closer to the Group B Constructor Title with their decisive win today, their 613-point lead over second-place NEMW large enough that they could clench the title as early as Round 22 at the team's home race at Bathurst. NEMW, who finished third and fourth in class, has made it clear that they will not make it easy for their Australian rivals, with a highly-revised Merrimack GT-R set to debut at the next round in California. Automurdermotive and LATOY, who have become fan favourites the world over with their spirit and fun-loving attitudes, managed to put on a show as well battling on track, and also with both team's personnel battling off the track in a charity barbeque cook-off, spurred on by an argument overheard between two mechanics from both teams over which style of barbeque was better earlier in the season. Race fans (and rival teams) lined up hundreds deep to sample the finely smoked meats and delicious sides that both teams had prepared. When all was said and done, the judging panel (of which your correspondent was a part) determined that LATOY had won by a pig's snout, their Carolina-style pulled pork beating out Automurdermotive's brisket narrowly. Flamarbol too repeated their success in Group A, with the #21 car absolutely dominating the field to win the class. They did not, however, manage to sweep the podium spots, as the #20 GrA lost drive in the second hour of the race, coasting to a halt in the Esses and bringing out the second caution of the race. Second-place CMW also suffered mechanical misfortune, with a suspension failure hobbling the #83 car and necessitating a forty-minute long repair in the garage. As both Flamarbols were still running, CMW's mechanics worked frantically to get the #83 back on track as fast as possible, as every Constructor Point is critical at this stage of the championship. CMW's consternation turned into a small sense of relief as word that one of the Flamarbols retired just as the team was pushing the car back into the pit box to resume their campaign. FISH too breathed a sigh of relief and backed off ever so slightly, trying to ensure that both cars would finish the race in order to maximise the number of Constructor Points they would earn, with one Flamarbol out and one CMW all but assured of a last-place finish. Their strategy worked, as both Aluveras crossed the line in third and fourth place, good enough for a combined 134 points, good enough to make up ground on both CMW and Flamarbol. NEMW and Automurdermotive too capitalised on their rival's misfortunes, with the #54 Hoosic finishing in fifth and both Fiascos right behind in sixth and seventh. LATOY also managed to make good on the situation, finishing in eighth and ninth in class, as the #55 NEMW sufered a pair of minor accidents as well as a fuel pump failure. With this, the second to last leg of the SASC Championship has ended; with five races to go, three of the four classes are too close to call, and with how wild the racing has been so far, all three could easily go down to the wire. It will be interesting to see how the teams respond to one another; NEMW has pushed out an updated Merrimack to play spoiler to the Flamarbols, as well as a revised Prototype package as well. CMW too has responded with some tweaks to all three of their cars; it is rumoured that they are even planning on running a development engine variant in their Group A car, intended for next year's 990 GT. Prototype Winner: #4 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 (Overall Winner) Second Place: #6 CRT-NEMW Neponset Third Place: #5 CRT-NEMW Neponset Group C Winner: #61 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Second Place: #62 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Third Place: #37 VH Racing V12 Special Group B Winner: #12 Flamarbol GrB Second Place: #11 Flamarbol GrB Third Place: #52 NEMW Merrimack GT-R Group A Winner: #21 Flamarbol GrA Second Place: #84 CMW 976 3.9 R Third Place: #1 FISH Aluvera R0 Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  Revision Points:   I have also decided to hold over this last revision deadline until the end of the weekend - the final revision deadline is now 2359 GMT (7:59 PM EDT) on Sunday!
MrChips fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Mar 18, 2017 |
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Mar 18, 2017 02:57
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Some very minor tweaks to my Group A this week to hopefully improve reliability and get two cars to finish a race 
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Mar 18, 2017 11:03
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So with one week left, we have some housekeeping to do; first, I have a survey I would like everyone to fill out if you've got the time; it goes into some detail about the next big GT challenge, as well as a possible second challenge that runs either between or concurrent with the GT challenge. The link is here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeltasfC1_5dIrEdg2RU5it9fva6tzg-6JRGqIQIeLzQN07HA/viewform Also, a quick discussion of how things will wrap up - at the moment, I am thinking of something like what I did in the SA-GT 1975 challenge, with a gallery of the competitors broken down by class, with an overview of their stats and key performance figures. I might also consider doing a quick write up on each car, along with a more detailed personal account of my own entries and how I came to the conclusions I did. If any of you also want to do the same sort of detailed personal account, I strongly encourage you to do so - I think everyone would be interested to see how everyone came up with their entries and what the thinking was behind them.
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Mar 18, 2017 21:21
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SASC-89 Final Week Preview This is it, the last five races of the season. The Championship bids farewell to North America as autumn begins, and heads south for warmer spring weather in Australia, then finishes the season in motorsport-mad Japan with two big races, likely to play a pivotal role in the outcome of the Constructor Titles, as they are all very much up for grabs still. There will be weather, there will be thrilling battles...there will be agony for some and joy for others. This, is what virtual racing is all about.  Laguna Seca 6 Hours The last round in North America, Laguna Seca is the shortest track of the Championship, and one of most unique, on account of its large elevation changes, blind corners and of course, the famous Corkscrew. The tight confines of the track will make for some challenging racing as well; expect lots of incidents.  Bathurst 24 Hours After seventeen races, the SASC returns to the Southern Hemisphere to the historic Mount Panorama Circuit in Australia. Long, fast and with huge elevation changes going up and down the mountain, this track is all about power. The weather is expected to play a factor too, considering that this will likely be the hottest race of the whole season - track surface temperatures could exceed 50 degrees Celsius - which could play havoc with tires.  Adelaide 6 Hours The SASC Championship packs up and heads across the Australian southeast to the city of Adelaide and the Victoria Park Circuit. This is one of only two street circuits in the series, and after Laguna Seca is the second shortest track on the circuit. Brakes will be pushed hard here, with long, fast straights broken up by tight corners on this flat, downtown race track.  (Note - the 1989 layout is slightly different to this; the Turn 16-17-18 chicane complex is relocated slightly, and the S-Curves are slightly different) Suzuka 6 Hours The first of two stops in Japan, Suzuka is one of the most beloved tracks in all of motorsport. It combines all manner of corners, from slow hairpins to confidence-testing high-speed sweepers, and combined with the enthusiastic crowds, should make for a tremendously entertaining spectacle.  Fuji 12 Hours The final race of the SASC Championship is just outside Tokyo at Fuji Speedway. This track is tremendously fast and favours cars with good aero and horsepower, because downforce and straight-line speed are critical here. Being the last race, and with rain possible in the forecast, sparks could fly... Final Revision Status:  If you have participated, or are thinking about participating in the next Automation challenge, please fill out this survey if you have not already!
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Mar 20, 2017 04:25
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FLYING - FISH Regains Form, Automurdermotive Podiums At Laguna Seca MONTEREY - FISH regained some of their momentum in the SASC Championship today after a string of lackluster results, winning Group A at the 6 Hours of Laguna Seca this evening. As is usually the case in Group A, it was a tremendous battle for position, with Flamarbol and CMW hot on their heels all race long. The last ten minutes of the race was nothing short of spectacular, as Flamarbol and CMW battled wheel to wheel, swapping places several times as they fought desperately for every possible Constructor Point. Two laps from the finish, the race-leading #2 Aluvera pulled into the pits with an unspecified but very serious problem, but because the team kept the car running in the pit box, they finished the race on a technicality and were thus able to hold on for sixth place in class. As this drama was unfolding in the pits, fireworks were going off both on and off the track; the first through third place cars - FISH, CMW and Flamarbol, in order - were able to sneak past for one last lap before the race-leading #3 CMW Turbo 8 Prototype took the class and overall victory. Flamarbol, on fresher tires, was able to make a pass for second place on the CMW going through the Andretti hairpin, but because they crossed the safety line in doing so were forced to relinquish the position. Undeterred, the two cars continued their fight around the track, going side-by-side through the Corkscrew and down the hill through Turns 9 and 10. Around Turn 11, neither CMW nor Flamarbol were willing to give up their line on the exit, causing both cars to bump once, then bump hard again, sending them both careening off into the walls, wrecking hard. Both cars skidded across the finish line in pieces as the crowds, on their feet for this wild finish, gasped in horror as the two cars met their end on the start-finish straight. Neither driver was hurt in the incident, but after the race both were called into race control to review the incident. It was determined that neither driver had done anything against the rules, and the result, with the #21 Flamarbol in second and the #83 CMW in third, was allowed to stand. Not far behind, CMW and Flamarbol were fighting for position again, as the #84 CMW and the #20 Flamarbol diced and dueled for fourth place; this time, CMW was able to hold off the Flamarbol until the caution flags flew as two cars ahead wrecked. In Group B, Flamarbol took the win easily, and in spite of the #11 RIPA retiring after a big accident in the second hour, they stand poised to win the Group B Constructor Title at the next round in Bathurst. With a 631-point lead on second-place NEMW, only a double DNF would prevent Flamarbol winning the title at their home track in Australia. On the subject of NEMW, the team struggled here today, with the #53 Merrimack GT-R retiring with an engine failure, and the #52 struggling with tires all race, finishing behind the two Automurdermotives in fourth place. LATOY ran a tidy, clean race and was rewarded for it, finishing in fifth and sixth in class as news broke that the team was bringing sports TV network Eurosport in as the manfacturer's title sponsor in all motorsport activities for the next six years, thus giving the small Finnish team a big financial boost well into the 1990s. In Group C, CMW won another classic battle with the two VH Racing cars, the two V12 Specials sporting a special "Thank You America" paint job in recognition of the support their fans gave to the team all season long. NEMW was able to overcome some minor bumps on track to finish fourth and fifth in class, as the #61 CMW crashed hard on the first lap, the repairs needed to send that car back out on track putting it out of contention for the rest of the race. In the Prototype class, NEMW debuted a new engine, rumoured to be putting out well over a thousand horsepower, at the race this afternoon, and the times all weekend seemed to support that as well, with the two Neponsets taking out nearly all of the CMW's lap time advantage. Still, with new engines comes problems, as the #6 Nepsonset ground to a halt quite literally on the 200th lap, a horrible metal-on-metal noise coming from that car's engine for most of the lap prior to its expiry on the way up the hill. With this race now over, the SASC Championship bids farewell to the Americas, having enjoyed record crowds at all five North American races, and with ESPN signing a huge new TV deal to cover the SASC Championship for North America, the future of endurance racing in North America looks bright indeed. Prototype Winner: #3 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 (Overall Winner) Second Place: #4 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 Third Place: #5 CRT-NEMW Neponset Group C Winner: #62 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Second Place: #38 VH Racing V12 Special Third Place: #37 VH Racing V12 Special Group B Winner: #12 Flamarbol RIPA Second Place: #88 Automurdermotive Fiasco Furiouso Third Place: #89 Automurdermotive Fiasco Furiouso Group A Winner: #1 FISH Aluvera R0  Second Place: #21 Flamarbol IPA Third Place: #83 CMW 976 4.0R Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  If you have participated, or are thinking about participating in the next Automation challenge, please fill out this survey if you have not already!
MrChips fucked around with this message at 05:49 on Mar 21, 2017 |
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Mar 21, 2017 05:41
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Well if I couldn't get the desired 1-2 finish in Group A, at least both cars finished and a spectacular finish too! Sounds like my drivers have been taking instruction from my Gran Turismo driving style...
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Mar 21, 2017 06:37
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I couldn't wrap my head around the formula for the longest time... I got it, just making a worthwhile engine was tough as hell. I ended up with a V12 TT that at a 10:1 makes some dang good HP and had reasonable reliability. At 11:1 I could get into crazy HP territory and still decent reliability for a racing seasies with the motor being illegal for Group C in terms of HP and still have around the same fuel consumption if not better than what it has now. If I recall correctly one of the figures I saw was 813HP. Chips you can throw all the details of my car out there too in one of your excellent write ups if you desire.
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Mar 21, 2017 14:10
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extreme_accordion posted:I couldn't wrap my head around the formula for the longest time... I got it, just making a worthwhile engine was tough as hell. I ended up with a V12 TT that at a 10:1 makes some dang good HP and had reasonable reliability. At 11:1 I could get into crazy HP territory and still decent reliability for a racing seasies with the motor being illegal for Group C in terms of HP and still have around the same fuel consumption if not better than what it has now. If I recall correctly one of the figures I saw was 813HP. Just hand out the stat-sheet for others and say your rationale for the design, preferably in character. Once you've done that, we'll write our own opinions of your vehicle.
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Mar 21, 2017 14:45
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For future iterations I think it could be fun to have teams do write-ups for their "home" tracks. By spreading the load around we could get some fun extra content without having to take up too much of everyone's time. I'll happily put together a little development story about my cars for SASC '89, I think it's only fair given how much excellent help I received that I share what I learned.
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Mar 22, 2017 02:04
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MOUNTAIN MASSACRE - Automurdermotive Wins, Flamarbol Clenches Group B As Heat Takes A Toll BATHURST - After coming close a few times, Automurdermotive's Group B team finally took the top step in the 24 Hours of Bathurst this afternoon, on a brutally hot and sunny day that played havoc with the entire field. Track temperatures hitting 51 degrees Celsius cooked tires, engines and drivers alike, with only twenty-three of the thirty cars finishing the race, and only ten cars running a clean race. Group B especially suffered, with only the two LATOYs and the race-winning Fiasco Furiouso running a clean race. Both NEMWs, the second Automurdermotive and the lead Flamarbol all succumbed to some variation of engine failure, and the #12 Flamarbol's race nearly ended in the eighteenth hour after a hair-raising accident through The Dipper. The team, desperate to clench the Group B Constructor title in front of the small Australian manufacturer's employees and the assembled crowd of hometown supporters, threw every resource they had at rebuilding the stricken RIPA, with all of the Group B mechanics as well as a few of the Group A mechanics scrambling to put the car back on track. With little more than an hour left in the race, the #12 car returned to the track, the fans and the team alike cheering on the patched-together car they lovingly called "Humpty Dumpty". Even though Humpty was almost a hundred laps down on the third-place LATOY, by finishing fourth they were able to secure enough points to clench the Group B Constructor title, to the wild adulation of nearly a quarter of a million spectators, waving Flamarbol banners and shouting their unofficial rally cry; "gently caress Ford, gently caress Holden...Flamarbol Forever!". The party carried on well after the celebratory burnouts, victory laps and podium ceremony, the team and the drivers partying with their fans even as the sun was coming up the next morning. CMW inched closer to the titles in Group C and the Prototype class, with victories for the team in both classes. CMW also won Group A today as well, but with the #84 976 retiring early with an engine failure, they lost a considerable amount of ground to both Flamarbol and to FISH, sliding back to second place in the Group A standings, with CMW's narrow lead coming into Bathurst now a 42-point deficit, with only three races left, proving once again that finishing the race is just as important, if not more, than winning. Flamarbol and FISH alike finished two for two, placing second and ninth and third and seventh respectively. NEMW and Automurdermotive had a tremendous race against one another, with their cars trading spots all race long, even after #54 Hoosic SE-R needed a lengthy repair to the car's limited slip mechanism in the differential. Group C was won, as mentioned above, by CMW, with the two 976 3.8 RSRs finishing well ahead of third and fourth-place VH Racing, after both those cars struggled with accidents and failures, the #38 V12 Special finishing the race in the pit box after suffering an unspecified failure. NEMW had an up and down race, with the #50 Hoosic GT-R finishing an uneventful fifth, while the #51 crashed on the second lap, having found a hidden patch of oil left behind by the crashed #3 CMW prototype, necessitating a lengthy repair. With three races left, the three remaining championship races remain hotly contested; with half of the points remaining to be issued in the finale at Fuji, it is almost certain that all three will go right to the very end. Prototype Winner: #4 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 (Overall Winner) Second Place: #6 CRT-NEMW Neponset Group C Winner: #62 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Second Place: #61 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Third Place: #37 VH Racing V12 Special Group B Winner: #88 Automurdermotive Fiasco Furiouso  Second Place: #16 LATOY RM2000 Third Place: #17 LATOY RM2000 Group A Winner: #83 CMW 976 4.0R  Second Place: #21 Flamarbol IPA Third Place: #2 FISH Aluvera R0 Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  If you have participated, or are thinking about participating in the next Automation challenge, please fill out this survey if you have not already!
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Mar 22, 2017 02:16
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Triple A posted:Just hand out the stat-sheet for others and say your rationale for the design, preferably in character. Once you've done that, we'll write our own opinions of your vehicle. slothrop posted:For future iterations I think it could be fun to have teams do write-ups for their "home" tracks. By spreading the load around we could get some fun extra content without having to take up too much of everyone's time. These are all excellent ideas! For the next challenge, there might be a bit more of a roleplay aspect added to it, with each team choosing a home country (with the option of writing up a quick blurb on their history). I will be releasing all of my entries at the end of the competition (including both the initial and final versions of my Group A cars, as well as a partially-developed, untested Group B trim of my main entry), as well as both variations of my Prototypes. If anyone else wants me to release their designs, I might just throw together a .zip file with every car in the series, so you can have a look at what everyone else did with their designs.
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Mar 22, 2017 02:28
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I think it depends on what challenge you decide to do next. If it's SASC '90 I'd prefer to see just a simple stat sheet. We all know how secretive racing teams get about their little tweaks etc. I spent a lot of time optimising my engines. I'm more than happy to share general design details however if we're going into a very similar competition I'd be a bit miffed if someone could copy-paste some values and erode my competitive edge! If it helps to encourage new players I'd certainly be happy to provide specs on an older design as a 'stock' engine that can be tuned up. It'd be great to encourage more players to take part, I'm not sure how to go about this but if anyone has ideas I'm all ears. I have my own hosting and limited web design skills, if a basic Wordpress site would help encourage people to join or increase engagement I would be more than happy to set that up.
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Mar 22, 2017 02:54
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So far the survey results show there is an overwhelming level of support for an SASC-90. As much as it would be fun to do something different, a continuation series is actually pretty appealing to me as well! If it goes that route, there will be some tweaks to the rules. First, I want to make the Prototypes much, much faster than they are now - actually, I want all the classes to go faster overall - there is an easy way to do this so that's not a problem, just improve the tire specs and be done with. The standardised tire rule will remain, however, as changing the quality slider on tires is still hilariously broken in terms of cost vs benefit. Second, I am going to build a bit more difference in speed between the classes. With the Prototypes going faster, there is room for Group B and C to improve a bit; I am happy with A where it is right now, because oh wow it's going to be close when all is said and done. Third, and I hate to do this because it's gonna affect me more than anyone else, but, I am starting to think that the "I Can't Believe It's Not Porsche!" body might need to be balanced beyond where the rules are now, if not banned outright. The more I go through the LUA files for it, the more I think the guy who designed it in the first place did some funny business with the aero calculations. More investigation is necessary on this, though. Finally, I think I am going to revisit the revision system, both to make it a little more challenging, and also to include the possiblity (if it seems to be a popular idea in the end) of building and selling a customer engine, even if it's for a different class than what you are running. As for the website idea, it's a good one, and something I've considered, but don't really have the skills to do myself. Additionally, the simulation model, which runs in Excel, has basically reached the limit of its potential to do anything significantly more complicated. And beyond that, it's going to need some rework anyways as the switch to the Unreal Engine in a month also is going to include a move away from the LUA files they use now in the car designer.
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Mar 22, 2017 05:10
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despite having used the "Porch" to wrap up Group B I would be happy to see it go away. I had originally planned to run a rear engined ute body because 'Straya C**t but was giving up 2-3 seconds a lap and couldn't justify it I was going to use my day off to drive out to Mount Panorama and do a 'lap' of the circuit but seeing as I failed to win and the forecast is rubbish I'll give it a miss. slothrop fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Mar 22, 2017 |
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Mar 22, 2017 06:56
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slothrop posted:despite having used the "Porch" to wrap up Group B I would be happy to see it go away. I had originally planned to run a rear engined ute body because 'Straya C**t but was giving up 2-3 seconds a lap and couldn't justify it It's cool that you have access to Mt Panorama. I've got hours at Road America (sadly only as a passenger and pit gopher). This year or next that should change.
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Mar 22, 2017 15:20
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I'm pleased to see that my drivers have kept their cool, but then again they are used to running under unpredictable conditions.extreme_accordion posted:It's cool that you have access to Mt Panorama. I've got hours at Road America (sadly only as a passenger and pit gopher). Just make sure you have good tires and don't get overconfident.
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Mar 22, 2017 15:27
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extreme_accordion posted:It's cool that you have access to Mt Panorama. I've got hours at Road America (sadly only as a passenger and pit gopher). Access insofar as I understand some of it is a public road... I don't have any cool motorsport hookups or anything, I just know people have told me you can drive most of the circuit
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Mar 22, 2017 17:43
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slothrop posted:Access insofar as I understand some of it is a public road... Yep - still very cool in my opinion.
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Mar 22, 2017 19:57
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TIGHT SPOT - CMW, Flamarbol Wins At Adelaide As Group C Gets Testy ADELAIDE - The racing at the 6 Hours of Adelaide was reminiscent of the stereotypical character of the city - rough, bordering on violent. Group C especially displayed this, as a very large first-lap incident between the #62 CMW and the #50 NEMW had tempers boiling over on the track. Mechanics from both teams left their pit boxes to confront one another, angry that the other team had taken out their driver, but to their credit, VH Racing stood their ground in the middle and prevented anything from actually happening. At the same time, the LATOY and Automurdermotive teams got tangled with one another at the next corner, with the #9 Fiasco dive-bombing the #19 TM2000 for position to rather predictable results. Those teams too, locked in a championship battle in the midfield, shot uncharacteristically angry glances down the pits to one another. Tensions were high as all four of the stricken cars made their way back to the garages, though after that it was business as usual, and the race continued with very few incidents. CMW ended up on the top of the podium in both Prototype and Group C, though with one car from each thoroughly out of contention it did little to help either team clench their respective Constructor titles. VH Racing capitalised on this by taking second and third, closing the gap to CMW in the standings with only two races left. NEMW ran well in the Prototypes but struggled in Group C, with both Hoosic GT-Rs involved in accidents that severely curtailed their competitiveness. Flamarbol continued their stellar season in Group B, taking the top two spots in class handily even as the #11 car needed an alternator replacement part way through the race. Automudermotive posted a surprisingly good result as well, with the #88 Fiasco Furiouso finishing third over the two NEMW Merrimacks to secure the team's eighth podium finish of the season. The team is, however, a little disappointed that the #89 struggled with speed all day long, finishing well back of the two LATOYs in eighth place. Group A once again proved to be exciting and full of drama, with one CMW on the top step of the podium and the other finishing the race well out of contention after the car overheated early in the race. Flamarbol too was an exercise in contrast - the #21 IPA finished second, while the #20 crashed out spectacularly on the twentieth lap, forcing that team to run a more conservative race to preserve as many points as they could. FISH, on the other hand, ran a clean and careful race, finishing third and fourth and gaining a considerable amount of ground in the Constructor standings on their rivals. With two races to go, only 63 points separates first-place Flamarbol from third-place FISH, and a mere 10 points separates Flamarbol from CMW. From here, every last point is critical to each team, and a single retirement could end their contention for the championship - high drama indeed as the series shifts its sights to Japan for the last two rounds of the SASC Championship. Prototype Winner: #4 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 (Overall Winner) Second Place: #5 CRT-NEMW Neponset Third Place: #6 CRT-NEMW Neponset Group C Winner: #61 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Second Place: #37 VH Racing V12 Special Third Place: #38 VH Racing V12 Special Group B Winner: #12 Flamarbol RIPA Second Place: #11 Flamarbol RIPA Third Place: #88 Automurdermotive Fiasco Furiouso Group A Winner: #83 CMW 976 4.0R Second Place: #21 Flamarbol IPA Third Place: #1 FISH Aluvera R0 Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  If you have participated, or are thinking about participating in the next Automation challenge, please fill out this survey if you have not already!
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Mar 22, 2017 22:17
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TWO DOWN, ONE TO GO - CMW Clenches Prototype and Group C At Sodden Suzuka SUZUKA - The rain and dark clouds did little to dampen CMW's spirit this afternoon, as the team celebrated a double Constructor Championship win, with the CRT-CMW Turbo 8 taking a 1-2 finish to seal the deal in the Prototype class, and a first- and third-place for the two 976 3.8 RSRs to clench the Group C title, in what proved to be a thrilling race against VH Racing, with all four CMWs and V12 Specials finishing within thirty seconds of one another. The weather was not cooperative right from the get-go; the rain started as the grid was forming pre-race, and continued to fall heavily as the green flag dropped, and continued all race long, only easing up briefly at around the halfway mark. In spite of the challenging conditions, the race was relatively cleanly run, with only a couple accidents over the race. One of those accidents, however, was a big one; on the eighty-seventh lap, the #84 CMW Group A car collided with the #21 Flamarbol IPA through the Esses, with both cars needing extensive repairs in the garage. This complicated both team's championship bids, as they are locked in a dogfight for the championship, and with FISH's 3-4 finish today, puts them squarely back in the picture for the finale at Fuji Speedway, only 64 points back in third place. Flamarbol continued their stellar season in Group B; clenching the title in Australia seems not to have dented their will to win, as they ran away with the Group B race for their nineteenth win of the season. NEMW was able to salvage a favourable result after the #53 Merrimack crashed out of the race, with their sole remaining car finishing in second, just ahead of the two Automurdermotives and the two LATOYs. NEMW also had a reasonably good finish in Group A, with the two Hoosic SE-Rs finishing fourth and fifth place, holding off both the stricken CMW as well as both Automurdermotives; it would seem that the heavy rain took a toll on both the Automurdermotive teams, as one car from each of Group A and B had to stop for battery changes. The team didn't comment directly as to the cause, but their casual attitude about it would suggest it was a very minor defect. Prototype Winner: #4 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 (Overall Winner) Second Place: #3 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 Third Place: #6 CRT-NEMW Neponset Group C Winner: #62 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Second Place: #38 VH Racing V12 Special Third Place: #61 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Group B Winner: #12 Flamarbol RIPA Second Place: #53 NEMW Merrimack GT-R Third Place: #88 Automurdermotive Fiasco Furiouso Group A Winner: #21 Flamarbol IPA Second Place: #83 CMW 976 4.0R Third Place: #2 FISH Aluvera R0 Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  If you have participated, or are thinking about participating in the next Automation challenge, please fill out this survey if you have not already!
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Mar 24, 2017 02:32
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Group A decision day! Who's excited? It's right down to the wire…
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Mar 25, 2017 01:48
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SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE... - FISH Clenches Group A As Chaos Reigns at Fuji OYAMA - After twenty-four rounds of the SASC Championship filled with drama, action and heartbreak, the 12 Hours of Fuji had a pretty tall order to try and beat what has come thus far...and it exceeded expectations in every possible way, as FISH managed to outlast their opponents not only to sweep the top two spots in Group A, but also come from a seemingly impossible position in the Constructor Standings to win the Group A title. Both CMW and Flamarbol, well ahead of FISH coming into this race, suffered cruelty after cruelty right from the start of the race; on the first lap, a massive incident involving a Group A and a Group B Automurdermotive took out the #21 Flamarbol IPA as well, sending that car to the garage for over an hour's worth of repairs. Knowing that every last point would be critical in this final race, the team threw every resource they had at getting the stricken car out on track again. With really no hope of finishing anything other than dead last, having lost 45 laps even before their race began, the car was sent out on track again and was driven absolutely flat-out, in the hopes that if CMW or FISH had trouble, they might be able to gain a spot back. A glimmer of hope arose in the Flamarbol garage as the class-leading #83 CMW 976 overheated and returned to the garage to be cooled down, in spite of the chilly, almost winter-like conditions here today. With the #83 now out of the picture, the #20 Flamarbol was now leading the class, with the #21 still making up ground at the rear. Sadly, not long after the CMW returned to the track in eighth place, the lead Flamarbol began stumbling and misfiring, a problem that was quickly diagnosed as a failing fuel pump. With FISH, who had run cleanly so far, now breathing down the necks of CMW and Flamarbol, their despair at running in fifth and sixth gradually grew into a giddy excitement, as their competition fell one by one to failures. The team cheered deliriously as the #83 CMW, handily leading the class by several laps, ground to a halt just after Suntory, trailing smoke as the engine failed; the iconic image of the despondent CMW driver, sitting on the track wall beside his stricken car as the #2 Aluvera passed the scene symbolically will be one that will be remembered for a long time to come. With barely more than three hours to go, FISH instructed their drivers to back off the pace considerably, as to maximise their points situation while they carefully monitored how both the remaining CMW and the two Flamarbols were doing. It wasn't until the last dozen laps or so, after the last pit cycle ended, that FISH realised that not only had they won the race, but they had pulled off the impossible and won the Constructor title. The scene was one of madness as the #2 Aluvera crossed the finish line at 8 PM this evening, with banners streaming and green fireworks lighting up the sky in celebration of the Hispano-Italian team's seemingly impossible victory in an already unbelievable season. As if to make the final result even less believable, for the first time in recent memory a Group C car, the #37 VH Racing V12 Special, took the overall victory of the race, as all four prototypes suffered failures that retired them. A surprised and excited team principal hoisted the trophy for the overall victory, a result that will almost certainly become legend in the long and proud history of Victorian Hooray Motors. An additional reward was also given to the Flamarbol Group B team, whose twentieth victory of the season made them by far and away the most dominant team in any class, and set a record that will likely stand for many, many years to come. Also celebrating was both LATOY and NEMW, as the Group B LATOYs notched their sixth podium finish of the season, and the Group A NEMWs rose above the chaos and notched up that team's second podium finish of the year, a truly remarkable achievement by both teams. With this, the book of the 1989 SASC Championship now ends on a surprising and joyous note, with some of the most exciting and tumultuous racing that has ever been seen in sports car racing, a fitting metaphor for a year that has seen so much upheaval and tumult the world over off the track if there ever was one. Prototype Winner: #3 CRT-CMW/Nfz Turbo 8 Group C Winner: #37 VH Racing V12 Special (Overall Winner)  Second Place: #61 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Third Place: #62 CMW 976 3.8 RSR Group B Winner: #11 Flamarbol RIPA Second Place: #12 Flamarbol RIPA Third Place: #16 LATOY RM2000 Group A Winner: #2 FISH Aluvera R0 Second Place: #1 FISH Aluvera R0 Third Place: #55 NEMW Hoosic SE-R Race Results:  Constructor Standings (click for big):  If you have participated, or are thinking about participating in the next Automation challenge, please fill out this survey if you have not already!
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Mar 25, 2017 02:42
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Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha No. Way! FISH press release soon, thanks again Chips for running it simplefish fucked around with this message at 02:52 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 02:50
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simplefish posted:Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha When the sim returned these results, I was just as blown away as you were! And with the racing now over, I just want to take a moment to thank all of our participants, Boksi, extreme_accordion, Kilonum, simplefish, slothrop and Triple A, for joining in on this event, and I want to say I sincerely hope they will all return when SASC-90 returns in a few short months!
MrChips fucked around with this message at 02:55 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 02:52
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How else will I defend my last place in every class 
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Mar 25, 2017 04:01
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Well done Fish on locking down Group A. It's been a lot of fun! Thanks again to MrChips for running the whole event. If I get some time over the next couple of days I'll try to do a bit of a write up
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Mar 25, 2017 04:17
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Thank you for all the kind word, guys, I really appreciate it. This was a ton of fun to put together, even if it was a lot of work over a very long time. So as I mentioned in my previous post, the next challenge will be SASC-90, and I've already got what I think will be a workable revision to the rules we already have. Here's a summary of what I've come up with: -The Porsche body will remain legal, however it will have a seven kilogram penalty to the 1989 fuel capacity formula, regardless of class. With the increased number of fuel stops, this will slow down a Group A car based on this body by the equivalent of about a second per lap on average over the 1989 rules, and a Group C car by about six-tenths of a second. -On the topic of bodies, i have removed the requirement for metal bodies in Groups A and B. Carbon chassis are still banned in Groups A and B. -Engine rules see only minor changes; the noise restriction will disappear in Group A, and 100RON (95AKI) Ultimate unleaded fuel will be the only fuel permitted. I mean it's 1990, we can't have leaded fuel allowed in any class after all! -Tire rules will be changing some; I haven't fully evaluated what I have planned yet (looking having a maximum permitted tire section width as well as a combined front + rear maximum to allow for more aggressive staggering - yes this will benefit the Porsche body, but it will also maybe, possibly introduce a loophole that could make a FWD car competitive too...), but one thing that will change for sure is that the standard tire will increase to +5 Quality Points from 0. -Power steering will be allowed in all classes, and with that the minimum weight in Groups A and B will increase to 920 kilograms (2028 pounds). Also since this and the tires will increase the number of chassis Production Units needed, they will all increase by 10 (to 100, 130 and 160 respectively for Groups A, B and C). The driver aids quality slider will also be locked to non-negative values only. -There will be an all-new CRT-90 Prototype chassis, but a revised CRT-89B will be allowed to compete as well, with some benefits for using the older design. Hopefully someone else will design a rival Prototype body to go along with these two... Back to this challenge, I will be posting the basic stats of each entry, along with a quick write-up of the interesting technical details for each (without revealing all their secrets) and stats from the challenge, as well as a more detailed write-up of my own entries over the next week or so. MrChips fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Mar 25, 2017 |
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Mar 25, 2017 20:47
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Thanks again Chips - as always its a lot of fun. When we say produce a new prototype body/chassis what exactly are we talking about? An overall chassis (ala gotta build one somehow) or just a design theme on an existing chassis of the era?
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Mar 26, 2017 05:52
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I've been trying to go over my design philosophy and to be honest, it involved a lot of guesswork. I initially designed based on a RR ute body - I'd have liked to use an MR layout but this was banned in one or both of the classes I was competing in. When I did an A:B comparison between the ute body/chassis and the NotPorsche (930 from here out for brevity) I suffered a couple of seconds a lap. Now my understanding of suspension setup at this point was extremely rudimentary and in terms of weight the cars were very likely not identical. Bearing that in mind it may be possible to dial out the discrepancy with proper set-up, I guess the 930 was more set up/faster out of the box. As an aside here, perhaps as a way to make the learning curve easier and get more people playing would be to offer an unrestricted 930 to first time players, or require those who have used it before to move onto a different chassis? Just throwing the idea out there. MrChips certainly provided some excellent advice on basic things that helped immensely - I was running a mechanical locking diff because ??. Seeing as it is an off-road item it was providing me no benefit. Initially I had my cars rev limited too low and this was affecting performance (in the simulation IIRC?) Increasing the rev limit did affect reliability but was well worth it from a performance standpoint. My initial engine designs were somewhere in the 70's reliability wise I think, all green components. I think towards the end of the season I went too far in the other direction, hitting low 30's. The majority of my DNF's occurred in the second half of the season and to be honest, consistently finishing with two cars was all that kept me in touch in the earlier half. With all due respect to the other Group A competitors I think if I had started the season with the engine I debuted towards the end, I could have won. This brings me to engine design which think this was my strong point. Actually my strong point was having a lot of free time during the initial testing stages. This allowed me to spend time iterating again and again to find the most power for the given fuel consumption. MrChips posting a guide to high and low numbers in each class was a real eye opener. When he did so I was solidly in the middle of the pack and I simply sat down and fiddled until I was within 10% of the class lead. I don't think I can really add anything to what MrChips has already said in his very good guides other than this: go big, early. The limiting factor on my Group A engine was that when I began the design the maximum displacement was set rather low, this left me no room to "grow" the design. In Group B where I was using the same engine family I could used forced induction however the engine unit allowance seemed too tight for me in Group A to run a turbo. (Love to see myself proved wrong here) This is how I ended up with two different families in my Group A & B cars at the end of the season. I made a larger displacement block for Group A to run naturally aspirated. It was as big as I could fit in the car. At the end of the season it did need some further tweaking to improve reliability but it was a massive power increase over what I began with. I didn't have the time to tweak the new block to work with turbocharging for Group B, although when I did some early testing with the new engine family it was a couple of seconds a lap faster than my existing entry. I didn't see the need at that point to debut a possibly unreliable engine when I was running strongly in that class. Aside from that I tried to keep my entries as light as possible. Something that really can't be done if you are short of time. I spent hours tweaking brakes size and config, wheel size and all the interior options. Sometimes getting the brakes right would cause something downstream to stuff up. The best scenario is when you knock a second off your lap time and realise you've increased your weight in the process, allowing you to make up further time by switching from a 4 seat to 2 seat config. That's only one specific example but I think it illustrates how much fluffing around can be done on the "production units" side of things. Anywho, that's a lot of potentially boring text and I need to go get gas for my BBQ
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Mar 26, 2017 09:07
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I'll start my presentation of the Group A effort of mine so you can see what the second worst effort in this competition looks and is like.  IMO it is a fairly standard sports sedan with an NA engine making quite a sound and being fairly light without sacrificing much practicality.  As you can see, it's become quite a hit amongst privateers and others who need a reasonably priced touring car.  And here's a big dump of stats and a track time for the inevitable Top Gear retrospective towards LATOY 20 years later. Feel free to criticize it as you please. Pretend that you are an automotive journalist that has had an opportunity to do a story about it. Triple A fucked around with this message at 19:01 on Mar 26, 2017 |
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Mar 26, 2017 18:57
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I'm trying something out here for the final writeups that might be cool... MrChips fucked around with this message at 23:48 on Mar 28, 2017 |
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Mar 27, 2017 23:40
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I just want to say that I avoided the NotPorsche for 2 reasons. Firstly, I was pretty sure it was janky overpowered. People have linked to challenges on the official forum and while I've never entered, I do remember seeing it banned as a body, singled out. Secondly it's R/R and gently caress that noise I should be clear that I don't begrudge anyone who used it, it was legal after all and perhaps people didn't know about its jankyness. Also, with the time and effort I was able to put in I was happy with 3rd, the win was a complete surprise and I admittedly lucked into it at the end - as compared to my entry in the last contest where I put way more time in up front and then even managed to release a revision where I felt I'd earned the win legitimately. The lucky win wouldn't have been possible without the good early season showing though. I think my engine was my strong point for this. I never touched pit strategy. I wouldn't mind if we had a 'slacker' strategy option that adapted somewhat to the tracks automatically but I know that's the opposite direction to where Chips wants to take the competition. Same with suspension setup - I didn't do any. With those two things I think I could have been a much stronger contender. Next time I might do a customer engine, if that's a thing. I don't know how Chips wants to run that but I would suggest something like getting only limited information as a customer (maybe Chips holds the engine and releases size and high-level stats, reporting back testing to the car maker?) to encourage people to make their own. Otherwise I can see many teams just going for the best customer engine and doing only minor tweaks, if any, which would take something away I feel. Not having complete access to things we can't include with Automation, like in F1 how the works teams had access to exact lubricant etc formulations that customers didn't, could be simulated in this way. But it might be too much work. Chips already invests far more time into this than I could as a competitor. In any case, if engine makers are also competitors, there needs to be some limiting factor, I think. What benefit would they have for sharing their engine? Would engine only producers be free to supply the whole field, or limited to number of teams they can supply by rules or production points? How would they choose which teams to supply? Maybe customer engines arent viable as a mechanic. Or maybe I'm limited in imagination. Perhaps a middle ground is collab teams - I'd be happy to design an engine if someone else gets more fun from car and strategy setup. On a strictly exclusive basis to sidestep some possible pitfalls mentioned abobe. I'm spitballing here. Chips has said the next one might be a continuation series, I need to read in more detail what that means and whether I could just change my suspension for the next round and run pretty much the same thing again. As I said in the other thread, I'm all for incremental change like this because it makes creating an entry, and the time to do it, far more manageable. simplefish fucked around with this message at 07:45 on Mar 28, 2017 |
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Mar 28, 2017 07:13
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I think the fuel capacity penalty will basically negate any perception of an unfair advantage the 930 body has - like I said, it will be a second a lap slower effectively than it was in this challenge. It will also hurt more in lower classes than the higher ones, where the natural limitations of the body start to come into play. As slothrop will attest, it is effectively impossible to put an engine larger than 4 litres into that body, even if you opt for a front-end one layout. Even then, it's only possible if you opt for a V6 engine, as none of the other engines will allow anything near that much displacement. To compete in Group B or higher it needs to be turbocharged, which adds a whole new level of complexity to any design. Also on balancing the 930 body, adding power steering will be a big boost to the front-engine cars; currently, their sportiness values are competitive with the rear-engine cars as a whole, but their tameness (driveability) values are much lower. Adding power steering will boost everyone's tameness values, but it will boost the front-engine cars far more than the rear-engine cars. As for the pit strategy, I deliberately set it up so that if you didn't want to mess with that aspect, you'd still do just fine, as your entry proved! Going forward, even if that aspect of the challenge becomes more complicated, the default setting will still be competitive, you have my word. And as for customer engines, a lot of that is still up in the air, but there will be limitations in place to prevent everyone from buying one competitor's engine. Plus, there's nothing stopping someone an engine supplier from pulling a Ferrari and selling a deliberately detuned engine... slothrop posted:As an aside here, perhaps as a way to make the learning curve easier and get more people playing would be to offer an unrestricted 930 to first time players, or require those who have used it before to move onto a different chassis? Just throwing the idea out there. Having made that mistake more times than I care to admit (in basically every challenge I've run so far, one way or another) I really don't want to restrict what is available to anyone; part of the fun (at least for me) is the sheer diversity of the entries that are competing. MrChips fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Mar 29, 2017 |
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Mar 29, 2017 00:46
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New thread for a new series! also I will actually enter with a car this next go around.
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Mar 29, 2017 01:22
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SASC-89 Group A Entry Gallery Sixth Place - NEMW Hoosic SE-R (Kilonum) http://i.imgur.com/KaYylRF.gifv NEMW's Group A entry had (and going forward, still has) abundant potential. The only entry in the entire series to use an inline-4, this 20-valve, naturally-aspirated 2481cc engine combined light weight (it was the lightest engine in the entire field) with reasonably good horsepower, even if the engine was worked very hard to get there. This helped the car to come in just a hair above the minimum weight limit for the challenge, something only a tiny minority of the entries could claim. The car ran lots of downforce and very large brake cooling ducts, which might have contributed to it's lower than average top speed and acceleration, and while the suspension tuning was a solid, if safe effort, it was very conservative in a lot of ways. Either way, with some tweaks to the suspension and drivetrain and a little more engine power, this could easily be one of the star entries in SASC-90. Fifth Place - LATOY TM2000 (Triple A) http://i.imgur.com/AdEQl6q.gifv Hailing from Finland, the LATOY TM2000 chose strength, durability and economy as their plan of attack. While the car lacked the straight-line speed and handling of their competitors, there were many instances, especially in the critical 12- and 24-hour races, where they kept going long after their competitors' races ended in flames. In fact there was no team in the entire series that posted a reliability record than the TM2000s, who managed to finish 47 out of possible 50 times. Incidentally, the only other team to approach that was LATOY's Group B entry, who also finished 47 of 50. Where the TM2000 was let down was in weight; this was on the heavier side of the Group A entries, and combined with the rather modest output of its 2693cc inline-6, it struggled to keep pace with their faster rivals at every track. If LATOY can combine their legendary reliability with more speed, they could be truly formidable. On a personal level, the TM2000, with its no-nonsense, straight-out-of-the-WRC looks, was honestly one of my favourite entries in terms of style. Plus, I'm a sucker for an inline-6 engine any day... Fourth Place - Automurdermotive Fiasco Basic (Boksi) http://i.imgur.com/AGiIiRv.gifv For SASC-89, there was no more unorthodox car than this one; it was as if this car was designed to be a deliberate thumbing of the nose, as it were, to the conventional. A race car should be rear-engine drive, right? No, we're going front-wheel drive. This challenge favours big displacement engines? No, we're going with a turbocharged, 1999cc V12. But at least it's going to have a five-speed, right? No, that's too expensive, so we've put a four-speed in instead. In spite of the sheer audacity of the design...It worked. Being the only turbocharged engine in all of Group A, this car rode it's wave of torque effectively, and with its highly unorthodox engine placement - entirely behind the front axle in a front-longitudinal configuration, effectively making it mid-engined after a fashion - was able to negate some of the serious weight distribution penalty usually associated with front-wheel drive. Really, the only thing this car needs to be seriously competitive is more power - it was by far the least powerful entry in the class. Third Place - CMW 976 4.0R (MrChips) http://i.imgur.com/789THpq.gifv This car was probably, all things considered, purely the fastest car in the entire field...but a lack of reliability and just straight-up bad luck meant that it was relegated to third place. Four DNFs in the 24-hour races, along with a decidedly lackluster first leg of the championship, ultimately proved to be the downfall of the 976 in Group A. Still, I am happy with the result, and I have to hand it to my competitors, they had it where it counted more than I did. (I will be doing a more detailed write up on my entries later). Second Place - Flamarbol IPA (slothrop) http://i.imgur.com/mqK68Hy.gifv The first of two Flamarbol entries on a common chassis, this car had not only the reliability that was missing from the CMWs, but also the speed to match and even exceed it. This is partly down to the extreme light weight of the IPA, combined with the 3955cc V6 putting out nearly 350 horsepower. Being almost 50 kilograms lighter than the CMW was the equivalent of having a 20-horsepower advantage on them, which helped the team consistently finish higher and lap faster than their silver rivals. Even if left unchanged, this car will be tough to beat in 1990, even with the new rules coming into force. First Place - FISH Aluvera R0 (simplefish) http://i.imgur.com/FL6tUSX.gifv The Group A-winning entry, the Aluvera is an example of how a car should be built for one of these challenges. The car had the biggest (4986cc V6), most efficient and by far the most powerful engine in the entire class...So powerful, in fact, I actually didn't think anyone would be able to make this kind of power when I designed the rules; I kind of assumed that 350-360 horsepower was the realistic limit of what was possible, and I was proven wrong. There is only one area of deficiency in the Aluvera...It is too heavy! By my best estimate, one kilogram is worth roughly a hundredth of a second around the Automation test track for a Group A car, so shedding even 50 kilograms would have had a pretty profound effect on the outcome of the championship... MrChips fucked around with this message at 03:05 on Mar 29, 2017 |
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Mar 29, 2017 02:30
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For Group C, will you be doing both of my bodies?
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Mar 29, 2017 02:40
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