Car of Tomorrow...(NASCAR)

[Shamrock]

Like it, or not?

[|MaguS|]

?

[zoomy942]

:wtf:

[Burner_Tbird2]

Seems to me the new cars are made to lessen the necessity for drafting in passes. Which is what they were trying to encourage a few years ago. Either way it makes for some pretty lame racing for anyone who knows anything about real road racing. More like formation driving for a few hundred laps then 20-30 laps of total carnage with the victor being determined mostly by blind luck rather than skill.

I say make them use STOCK frames and body work with some light regulations on what can be tweeked and tuned and let the consumer benefit from faster cars that can be bought on the show floor.

In anycase I'm looking forward to the new F1 season to start up in Australia to see some real racing by truely skilled drivers.

[Bman212121]

Seems to me the new cars are made to lessen the necessity for drafting in passes. Which is what they were trying to encourage a few years ago. Either way it makes for some pretty lame racing for anyone who knows anything about real road racing. More like formation driving for a few hundred laps then 20-30 laps of total carnage with the victor being determined mostly by blind luck rather than skill.

I say make them use STOCK frames and body work with some light regulations on what can be tweeked and tuned and let the consumer benefit from faster cars that can be bought on the show floor.

In anycase I'm looking forward to the new F1 season to start up in Australia to see some real racing by truely skilled drivers.

???? Maybe you don't know a lot about NASCAR, the cars they drive aren't even close to a road vehicle. It may have a name of a real vehicle, but there aren't any parts on the car that would be road legal. I don't see too many 500+ cu in production cars that take 110+ Octane leaded gas and have slicks all the way around. No headlights, no mirrors, no emissions controls, etc.

As of right now, most super speedways require the use of a restrictor plate to limit the amount of air to the engine, because otherwise they would generate far too much power and the cars would be racing at 220 - 230+ mph around the track. It can be very difficult to even make a pass unless you have help because the car is already maxed out on power.


@Shamrock: Could you provide a little more info, I haven't had time to keep track of the changes on the new car, so I don't know if I like the changes yet or not.

[Shamrock]

First, they have a front valence that is a minimum height of 4.5 inches, and a maximum of 5 inches. Then the bumper has to be so far from that valence. That causes a HUGE punch in air, you gotta look at it to see it. They made the ****pit bigger, to accomodate larger drivers. The readend is not lower to the ground, so that cars can't bump draft you, and get your rear wheels off the ground. Smaller fuel cell. Not necessarily goes by gallons. THey use dimensions now, I Think it's like 22x15 inches? (dunno how high) Reinforced driver side door. Now there is a requirement of 4 bars surrounding the driver. It now has a winged spoiler, instead of the old style vertical fin. It's more safety than looks...but it changes alot.

And you are somewhat correct about street legal. But there are 2 parts of the car that comes DIRECT from Manufacturer. The hood and rear decklid...not much I know. They also moved to unleaded gasoline, as of California. They had about 6 blown engines because of it. This car will debut in 3 weeks, at Bristol.

http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/large/99963_car_of_tomorrow.jpg

[Bman212121]

First, they have a front valence that is a minimum height of 4.5 inches, and a maximum of 5 inches. Then the bumper has to be so far from that valence. That causes a HUGE punch in air, you gotta look at it to see it. They made the ****pit bigger, to accomodate larger drivers. The readend is not lower to the ground, so that cars can't bump draft you, and get your rear wheels off the ground. Smaller fuel cell. Not necessarily goes by gallons. THey use dimensions now, I Think it's like 22x15 inches? (dunno how high) Reinforced driver side door. Now there is a requirement of 4 bars surrounding the driver. It now has a winged spoiler, instead of the old style vertical fin. It's more safety than looks...but it changes alot.

And you are somewhat correct about street legal. But there are 2 parts of the car that comes DIRECT from Manufacturer. The hood and rear decklid...not much I know. They also moved to unleaded gasoline, as of California. They had about 6 blown engines because of it. This car will debut in 3 weeks, at Bristol.

http://www.speedtv.com/_assets/library/img/large/99963_car_of_tomorrow.jpg

Thanks for the info man. :) I didn't know the hood came from the manufacturer, but those are definitely factory mounts. :rolleyes: I do remember them saying they switched gases now that you mention it. I probably should have said that a decent amount of the parts aren't street legal, as it would be kind of hard for a bunch of the metal pieces to not be legal. Actually, that makes me think of another thing, what types of things are needed on the instrument panel to be considered street legal? Do you really need a speedometer or no?

I'm not sure that I like the wing, but the other changes sound good. Anything to make your drive safer when your doing 180+ is always a good thing. I do remember the comments about the ****pit now too, they made the window bigger as well so it is easier to climb out of the car with the Hans device on.

[Shamrock]

I like the wing. NASCAR was the only series that didn't use a "wing" type spoiler. It provides much more downforce than the fin. What I don't like is that butt ugly frontend. It doesn't even resemble the manufactured car. Take the stickers off, and you can't tell if it's Toyota, Dodge, Chevy, or Ford. I think K Harvick said it best. "It's like driving an 18 wheeler"

[Bman212121]

I like the wing. NASCAR was the only series that didn't use a "wing" type spoiler. It provides much more downforce than the fin. What I don't like is that butt ugly frontend. It doesn't even resemble the manufactured car. Take the stickers off, and you can't tell if it's Toyota, Dodge, Chevy, or Ford. I think K Harvick said it best. "It's like driving an 18 wheeler"

Yea, I'm not crazy about the front either, but I think it would be hard to tell even now which cars the fronts resemble. I haven't seen too many road cars with flared fenderwells, and a full valence that almost (and can) touch the ground. There are some parts that look distinct, but I'm sure I would have a hard time recognizing them without the decals.

I think for me the fin resembled something unique about NASCAR. Like you said, it is the only sport that used it, so it is something that no one else had. The wing will definitely help keep the car stay planted, and hopefully help with grip on the rear end.

[CaptNKILL]

Didn't they also move the driver closer to the center of the car to protect from driver-side impacts?

[Shamrock]

No, all they did was reinforce the driver's door, with 4 bars, under the skin, of course.

[CaptNKILL]

Unless something has changed:


The Car of Tomorrow began as a design five years ago, progressing through simulation, laboratory and wind-tunnel tests. Of primary significance are the safety innovations -- the Car of Tomorrow is four inches wider and two inches taller than current NASCAR race cars. The driver compartment, or "roll cage," has been shifted three inches to the rear. The driver's seat has been shifted four inches to the right, allowing more protection from a driver's side impact. More "crush-ability" is built into the car on both sides, ensuring even more protection.
http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/cup/01/23/car.of.tomorrow.begins.2007/index.html

I remember hearing about this all the time on the car of tomorrow coverage a few months back.

[Shamrock]

Oh, yeah...that...LOL, I thought you meant they drastically moved it, like in the middle of the car :P

You are correct :D

[JayK]

I'm waiting until Bristol (or more to the point, until I see it in action) to make my decision. If it noticably improves the racing then great. If not well then that sucks. Aesthetically I neither like it or dislike it. :o

[Bman212121]

I'm waiting until Bristol (or more to the point, until I see it in action) to make my decision. If it noticably improves the racing then great. If not well then that sucks. Aesthetically I neither like it or dislike it. :o

I don't you can really judge it's success after Bristol, it would be best to wait unti the end of the season to really see what it did. There are so many difference between tracks that some tracks will show a huge difference, and other probably won't. (Like martinsville)

[Tyr-Sog]

Looks like a ricer.:thumbdwn:

[Bman212121]

Looks like a ricer.:thumbdwn:

I'm on the fence right now. I still liked the old spolier over the wing, but the wing isn't too bad. It may look like a ricer in a pic, but if you rolled that car up next to one, it would become apparent really damn quick which car has 850HP and which one doesn't. :captnkill: