Your “turbo falcon six is quicker” in a straigh line or around corners? Please re-read the second paragraph

Regarding the comment “And if your 4wd wind up toys are so good, why did they get beeten in the WET! By a big old 300kw hsv at bathurst production a few years ago?”.
“4wd wind up toys” were banned from the ATCC because they were too fast, is that not right?

Finally, regarding the comment “Sit back down children, or be smacked down!” WTF are you on about? I don’t understand this comment (I’m not a bogan).
I guess you are telling everybody to shut up (in a blog where readers are invited to post comments). And if they don’t you will metaphorically beat them with your own comment.

This post is about the FUTURE…not the past. The old school brigade that the XR6T belongs to simply uses the incomplete formula of “more power = more straight line speed (and makes nice sounds while doing so)”.

A 2-tonne tin-top- like the XR6T is a relic of the past, and is unfortunately heading the way of the dodo. This upsets me too sometimes…I love the sound of a V8 or a boosted large capacity 6 as much as anyone…but we have to accept the realities of physics (lower weigth+lower COG+better weight distribution+better aero = better all-round performance). Performance cars of the future will encompass all of these things, as you will note if you take the time to read the other posts.

When you guys relize that little cars can’t suport a real mans lifestyle , or a big guy ( I’m a 135kg power lifter) in any comfort. So if your 5ft5″ with a girls body you’ll be quite happy in a cramped little import, but if your a big Aussie man it has to be a performance falcon or commodore , particularly if you like a big family speedboat. Oh, my xr6t does 0-100 in 5.1 sec and at this stage its unmodified, it handles , brakes and drives great, a bump does not effect it mid corner like a small car gets thrown of line because it’s to light ( it’s safer to, has a 5 star safty rating, unlike your imported tin foil cans).

I just want to say, when you guys buy a house, have a family, and truley start living a real life, your thinking will change in what a great road really is , it has to be a real GT,

And if your 4wd wind up toys are so good, why did they get beeten in the WET! By a big old 300kw hsv at bathurst production a few years ago? That’s a tight harsh track that’ll test any car to destruction, why in the pooring rain did the hsv kick the ass of all your import rubbish? Why? … Ah.. Silence is bliss! Sit back down children, or be smacked down!

Thinking about the datalogging, why not have the memory as a bluetooth storage device? So that downloading the data becomes as simple as removing a little box (with no cables) and putting a blank one in the same spot.

• Definitely less than 1000kg
• Ultra-light unsprung weight (magnesium alloy A-arms, wheel nuts and rims)
• Active electromagnetically controlled dampers (driver definable of course!)
• Driver selectable ground-effects undertray (skirts and tray drop/extend upon press of button)
• Driver selectable ride-height (to compliment effectiveness of ground-effects)
• Driver selectable torque split active AWD, so I can choose to hang the tail out in the dry today, or drive flat out in the wet tomorrow
• Complete downloadable telemetry data storage onboard with bluetooth data transfer to my PC for analysis
• Live data dispays for brake temp, oil temp, tyre pressure.
• Quick-release seats, stereo etc for further instant weight reduction on track days
• Small capacity direct injection, supercharged/turbocharged engine similar to Nissan Micra/Golf GTI engine OR for non-boosted a 2.5 litre V6 with VVT and VVL. Both engine options to have user definable exhaust options to allow switch to track-day emission spec…engine map selection to suit fuel quality (including option of running elf TurboMax etc!)

Wishful thinking I know!

What most pushers of the big brake upgrade fail to detail the impact of these upgrades on the ECU that controls the ABS etc.

The only way you can see the full benefits in terms of maximum negative g’s of a massive brake upgrade (e.g. shocking SS commodore calipres upgraded to Brembos) is to actually remove the ABS fuse.

Why? The g-sensor/pressure sensor etc from the ABS thinks that the car should have lost traction at massive deceleration and kicks in, so you never reach the new system’s potential anyway. This has been tested and proven extensively elsewhere. Problem is, you then lose the safety benefits of ABS in the first place.

Much better idea to try to maximise the factory setup with pads, lines, booster brace, fluid etc. If this fails, then sure – go shopping.

BTW – I take the ABS fuse out whenever I go for a hard drive with my upgraded standard braking system, as ABS does not allow the 5 – 10% slip that your tyres actually require in order to reach maximum traction under braking. (the tyres need to be turning 5-10% slower then the car is moving without locking)

For a car to get anywhere near 1g deceleration, every tyre must be at its limit of traction. That means, brake balance must be tuned for the vehicle’s weight distribution, suspension configuration, and even tyre choice. If any wheel is under-braked, the deceleration potential of the car will not be realised.

Of course, a good ABS and electronic proportioning system will help with this, but it must be considered that ABS (and to a greater degree, stability control) is tuned to the car’s OE configuration. The ABS of an OE brake system knows pretty well what pressure, and what application rate will pull you up in the shortest distance, whereas on a modified system it will need to “hunt” for the correct fluid pressure. Performance will be compromised.

The recent trend of adding monster brakes to the front axle, and not bothering about the rears “because the fronts do all the work” goes completely against the principles of brake balance. Sure, the car may get better deceleration for a given pedal effort, and the front brakes may stay cooler with bigger rotors to dissipate heat. Both of these factors may make the car feel like it has more powerful, and more fade-resistant brakes. But unless the brake balance is maintained the rear wheels may be under-braked: the rear tyres will have traction to spare when the fronts lock up. Limit-of-traction braking performance will be inferior to the OE braking setup.

Any change to the braking system, which includes the pads, calipers, rotors, suspension, wheels and tyres has the potential to improve or degrade different aspects of the car’s brake performance. As with every other modification, measurements before and after are key.

tim

Movies like “The Fast & the Furious”, “2 Fast 2 Furious” & “The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift” glorify illegal street racing at its worst. The US import scene aka SEMA is a huge marketing scam pushing out all sorts of performance equipment mostly overpriced, unproven & unsafe products to the masses. They encourage car enthusiasts to spend huge amounts of money aka “Pimpin’ My Ride” on their cars – on AV, car graphics, tuning & Big wheels. Only in the US market you’d find a turbocharged or supercharged Honda VTEC. Honda’s VTEC engine is strictly designed for NA purpose – for high rev & high lift cam effect. The con-rods are thin width design in order to rev higher while the block is an open deck format. This engine was never design for forced induction! In Japan, renowned tuners like Mugen, Spoon & J’s Racing enhanced the VTEC engine in NA form, never by forced induction. Jap performance houses eg. Trust/GReddy, HKS sell Honda Turbo kits in the US but never in Japan. Why?

Most modified performance hero cars featured in Magazines like “Fast Fours” & “Hot 4s” are often contradictions – body kits which are an aero-drag; big, heavy bling-bling wheels which affect acceleration; power graph like Mt. Everest; ultra low stance which prohibits going over humps & car graphics that shout out like a McDonald’s big Yella “M” sign. I always have a good chuckle seeing these hero cars at my news agent magazine counter – nice to see but definitely not worth to buy the mag.

These days due to environmental concerns, global warming & rising fuel prices – performance should have a re-look – “Think outside the box”. Instead of a V8 monster weighing 1.8 tonnes, why not a Smart ForTwo with a Hayabusa engine or the Subaru STi quadbike for club events. For Pt A to Pt B, a petrol-hybrid, a turbo-diesel-hybrid or even a human-propel recumbent trike would be ideal. Cheers!