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View Full Version : Ok, somebody is going to have to explain this Grand Am thing to me.



L1P1
01-28-06, 10:35 PM
HTF can a Pontiac GTO be leading a Ferrrari at any point during any race?

Sean O'Gorman
01-28-06, 10:56 PM
Bourdais in a Reynard would be faster than Cheever in a Lola, no?

DjDrOmusic
01-28-06, 11:20 PM
A kid on a trike is faster than Cheever in a Lola!

Fio1
01-28-06, 11:34 PM
The Ferrari is a Ferrari Challenge car which is not as well developed as the GTO. If it were a 575 from the FIA GT then the Ferrari would be a lot faster, But Grand-Am has these rules to insure that real GT cars don't compete because it was enbarasing as heck when the Porsche RS beat the DP. Therefore, they limit the GT cars, like having Porsche Super Cup Cars, not propper RSR's or RS's like Le Mans, etc. It's confusing as heck, but so are any Nascar based rules.

Besides, Pontiac spends a fortune advertising Grand-Am, so they need to make sure that they do well. For example, Grand-Am changed the rules mid-season to allow TRG win the 'team' title, even if they changed the manufacture of cars. They started the year with Porsche.

extramundane
01-29-06, 12:06 AM
The Ferrari is a Ferrari Challenge car which is not as well developed as the GTO. If it were a 575 from the FIA GT then the Ferrari would be a lot faster, But Grand-Am has these rules to insure that real GT cars don't compete because it was enbarasing as heck when the Porsche RS beat the DP. Therefore, they limit the GT cars, like having Porsche Super Cup Cars, not propper RSR's or RS's like Le Mans, etc. It's confusing as heck, but so are any Nascar based rules.

It has nothing to do with the 360 not being well-developed and everything to do with the dumbing-down of the class. The GTO is not a production-based car, but a tube-frame silhouette car; this is the direction in which GARRA seems determined to take the class and that's quite unfortunate. I'm sure if the 997 Cup turns out to be a GTO-beater, it'll have to run pulling a trailer and/or on 3 wheels.

Fio1
01-29-06, 01:18 AM
The 360 is developed to race against other 360 Modenas. It is under-developed for this class.

Rocketdoc
01-29-06, 01:22 AM
HTF can a Pontiac GTO be leading a Ferrrari at any point during any race?

The Ferrari at 3.6 liter, giving maybe 480 HP, against a GTO with a race Corvette engine giving maybe 580-600 HP, with a better power to weight ratio would do it.

I'm only making a point, not giving the exact HP or weight numbers.

Nameplates give way to physics.

Rocketdoc
01-29-06, 01:25 AM
It has nothing to do with the 360 not being well-developed and everything to do with the dumbing-down of the class. The GTO is not a production-based car, but a tube-frame silhouette car; this is the direction in which GARRA seems determined to take the class and that's quite unfortunate. I'm sure if the 997 Cup turns out to be a GTO-beater, it'll have to run pulling a trailer and/or on 3 wheels.

I'm not sure that the GTO is a tube framed chassis other than having the roll cage acting to stiffen the chassis.

I thought that GT cars need to run basically, the chassis structure that they are sold with.

I not sure of this however.

Sean O'Gorman
01-29-06, 01:37 AM
The GTO, the RX-8, and some (all?) of the Corvettes in Grand-Am GT are Prep 2 cars, which means that they are tube frame chassis with the bodywork from the production car. The 911 Cup, M3, and 360 are all Prep 1.

Rocketdoc
01-29-06, 02:35 AM
The GTO, the RX-8, and some (all?) of the Corvettes in Grand-Am GT are Prep 2 cars, which means that they are tube frame chassis with the bodywork from the production car. The 911 Cup, M3, and 360 are all Prep 1.

Got it.

NismoZ
01-29-06, 09:56 AM
Just call 'em NASCAB-S (for sport) That should help you visualize it. That $280,000 RX-8...does that make it more expensive than Tony's 'Cup car?

oddlycalm
01-29-06, 03:43 PM
Just say no; a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

oc