Honda HSV-010 GT

[carreragt10]

HONDA HSV-010 GT TEST Part3

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXnpRSNuedc[/ame]

[RacingManiac]

The cars of the Super GT GT500 and GT300 are not required to use the chassis of the road car, so we find many prototypes GT bodywork; The chassis is a tubular structure of chrome molybdenum steel alloy of high technology used today in almost all categories of motorsport, in the carrier find a crib in carbon fiber safety for the pilot q serves as reinforcement of the same chassis.

Pretty sure you are wrong on that....the unibody in the middle I believe are still "production based" But liberal use of bracing plus completely custom made front and rear sub-frames turn the car into a prototype...

[carreragt10]

Inside Super GT, GT500 and GT300 the most amazing road derived racers ever

Japan is geographically and culturally divorced from the rest of the established motorsport world, and is unique in the fact that its premier series is one for GT cars and not single seaters or even stock cars. Super GT actively wants to become the worlds premier closed wheel racing series.
At a time when the expensive ACO/FIA GT1 category is struggling for works teams Racecar takes a look at what may be the future of GT racing.
The Japanese Grand Touring Championship (JGTC) had entertained the enthusiastic and large Japanese crowds for twelve years when at the end of 2004 it morphed into an new series, Super GT.

Super GT continues the theme of JGTC in that it is a race series that is genuinely entertaining to both trackside fans and television viewers, whilst remaining a technical challenge, which as Formula 1 demonstrates every other weekend is a very hard balance to achieve.

Much emphasis is put on keeping the paying punters happy, with driver appearances, promotional events and the ever popular ‘race queens’. The PR presentation claims “an original race and entertainment experience is what Super GT is all about.” It does seem that the so called J3 fims, namely Nissan, Honda and Toyota, subscribe to this as they all run high profile works teams, and some say effectively run the championship, certainly without them it wouldn’t work.

But it’s the fans really are key to Super GT, it has proven to actually establish brand loyalty amongst spectators, who come with huge flags to wave at the cars of their chosen marque. Crowds of up to 100,000 near fanatical fans attend on race day and the number is constantly increasing. The series is starting to attract more international fans too, it has experimented with races outside of Japan though to date these have not been a success. However the ever important youth market is very keen on S-GT the cars gaining awareness thought the hugely popular Sony Playstation game series Gran Tourismo, which is now on its fourth variant (and fifth no doubt on the way). The game has a simple format, you buy a road car, race it, earn money and improve it. Eventually you can get your hands on some serious cars, but often the cars to have are real cars from Super GT. Because of the huge worldwide popularity of this game its likely that in the EU more under twenties have heard of a Takata Dome than a Pescarolo LMP1, a car which incidentally also features in the same game. A strange example of a series gaining popularity and awareness via a computer game rather than the computer game selling on the strength of the series.

Something about the heavily modified road car look of S-GT really appeals to the younger demographic, more serious than the fast and the furious set, but they certainly appreciate the look of the S-GT machinery. In fact a quick look through a car styling catalogue and you will notice that it is full of Super GT inspired items. Image it seems could be everything, GT1 seems to be a bit aloof and tame, after all not many people can realistically aspire to owning a Lamborghini or Ferrari but a Nissan Fairlady Z is within a lot of peoples price range.

All the, aftermarket, pre race and trackside razzmatazz does not take away from the unique engineering challenges provided by the championship. The best-designed and fastest car does not always have an advantage; an interesting handicap weight equalisation formula is used that ensures no one design can dominate. It also means that a wide range of cars can compete. However development is not stopped, in fact the top cars are without doubt the most advanced GT racecars in the world.

Super GT races are run to a two-driver endurance format with race distances ranging from 300km to 1000km. Cars are slotted into two classes, GT500 and GT300, with a fairly complex but effective system of weight and capacity, as well as level of modification, a bit like GT1 on steroids.

GT500 is effectivley the preserve of the works teams from the J3, “these cars are not really GT’s anymore they are prototypes and as quick in places as LMP’s” claimed a GT500 team source “and it costs crazy money to compete, but the manufacturers are willing to spend it”. Europe’s fastest GT, the Maserati MC12, failed to cut it in GT500 when 2004 Le Mans winners Team Goh attempted to run one in the series, it simply wasn’t fast enough. Only the very heart of the steel chassis is carried over from the road car on a GT500 car, the rest is pretty much purpose built by firms like Dome, Japanese fans clearly demand genuinely fast racecars. Whilt the formula is meant to make sure that the racing is exciting and the cars equal, there is still a huge amount of development work going into these machines. Budgets are high but the manufacturers are happy with the status quo. None of the three show any sign of dissatisfaction.

The smaller and slower GT300 cars are also very highly developed in comparison to European GT’s, closer in pace to GT1 than GT2. Lower costs and very close racing indeed ensures that the ‘300 field is larger and more varied, with a number of teams using European and North American GT derived chassis. Ford, Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini are all represented taking on the domestic brands, just how close GT300 is to GT1 in pace was demonstrated when Super GT team JLOC entered a car into this years Le Mans 24 Hours and were on the pace (see V16N8).

The budgets for theses cars are significantly lower than in the top class – some say lower than for GT1 too. Masao Ono the boss of Tokyo R&D revealed the costs of a Vemac GT300 car “It is about £500,000 to buy a fully running and developed car, and then about £250,000 to run it for the season, to do GT500 you really need to be a manufacturer as the budgets are much bigger”.

The rules allow a lot of flexibility bout what cars are acceptable, meaning some interesting machinery occasionally appears such as the GT300 Mooncraft Shiden, which is in fact a modified and rebranded Riley Technologies Daytona Prototype, quite how it can be classed as a GT is hard to understand even for those in the series “we can’t see how it is a GT – there is no road version but it is not winning so we don’t mind, yet.” Explained a source at a rival team. It does however show the pace of the GT300 field the Daytona Prototype having no real advantage over the modified road cars.

All super GT’s run on a weight / air restrictor handicap system, unless it is a triple rotary engine running in the GT300 class. This system is designed to give a wide variety of cars the opportunity to be competitive. However should any car be too fast it will be hit with a success ballast penalty, the amount of ballast is decided by the race organisers and can be quite draconian. Sometime running as much as 80 or 90kg in ballast. This success ballast is adjusted throughout the season to keep the playing field as level as possible.

Engine regulations like the chassis rules are fairly liberal as long as the base unit is derived from a production engine within that firms range, supercharging is allowed even if the original engine was not blown. So in theory if you wanted to enter a Honda Civic you could fit it with the V6 engine from the NSX.

There are some gentle material restrictions but the harsh success ballast system prevents teams going too crazy with budgets as if the developed too quickly the organisers would simply slow them down. However engines usually have to last two meetings unless it’s a 1000km event where it only has to last one. As in Formula One if an engine is changed between meetings then the car will lose ten places on the starting grid. Though this is less of a penalty in a 300km race.

Aerodynamics however are an area where engineers can really get stuck into, front at rear ‘aerodynamic devices’ can be fitted along with sides skirts and diffuser, a flat bottom is mandatory. There are a wealth of other complex detail regulations that effect aerodynamic design, the full regs can be foud on the Super GT website.

The result of this is the unique look of S-GT cars that seems to appeal so much, vents, flick ups, winglets, flares everywhere make the cars look the part.

It is probably only a matter of time before Super GT comes to Europe, and it has already been to the USA (though got a poor spectator turn out). But European and North American GT racing is all focussed on just one event Le Mans, could cars from Super GT be seen on the Mulsanne in the near future?
Dome’s Hiroshi Yuchi claims “I don’t think a Super GT car could currently last a 24 hour race like Le Mans, the longest race we do is 1000km but if the entry was there I’m sure we could adapt the car to do it”. It seems logical that as there are only two manufacturers actively involved GT1 (Aston Martin and Corvette) the solution to increasing manufacturer participation at Le Mans is by opening up the GT regulations to allow in the GT500 cars, or possibly by adopting the Super GT regulation in their entirety. Problem is it might give the Japanese a bit of an advantage, when Racecar asked Dome’s Hiroshi Yuchi whether the Dome-Honda NSX GT500 cars could lap faster than an Aston Martin DBR9 or a Corvetter C6-R his response was simple “easy”.

Super GT explained | All Articles | Racecar Engineering

Excellent article to understand better the Super GT cars

[RacingManiac]

Note in your own article, the heart of the steel chassis of the road car is carried over.....which incidentally, is what I said.....

"Engine regulations like the chassis rules are fairly liberal as long as the base unit is derived from a production engine within that firms range, supercharging is allowed even if the original engine was not blown. So in theory if you wanted to enter a Honda Civic you could fit it with the V6 engine from the NSX."

That btw is another rule thats quite not being enforced for this car....since Honda makes no 3.4 liter V8, unless you count Indy car, or LMP2 cars.....

I have that issue btw....

[carreragt10]

Note in your own article, the heart of the steel chassis of the road car is carried over.....which incidentally, is what I said.....

"Engine regulations like the chassis rules are fairly liberal as long as the base unit is derived from a production engine within that firms range, supercharging is allowed even if the original engine was not blown. So in theory if you wanted to enter a Honda Civic you could fit it with the V6 engine from the NSX."

That btw is another rule thats quite not being enforced for this car....since Honda makes no 3.4 liter V8, unless you count Indy car, or LMP2 cars.....

I have that issue btw....

But using the Formula Nippon engine as the Lexus used last season

Q is used the steel chassis but that does not mean q is the chassis model number as this may be of tubular chrome-molybdenum steel alloy chassis most used today, but as always the Japanese secret in their racing cars.

[RacingManiac]

I guess the series changed its rule...as the initial SC430 car(as well as the last Supra) was using the UZ line of production based V8. Makes sense though since both Honda and Toyota supplies quite a lot of Formula Nippon engine....

The chassis has to start from the production one. In FIA GT kind of GT, that means the roof and the central unit body is from the road car. Once you start adding cage and bracing to it, how much of that unit body is load bearing becomes the question. And in the case of the Lexus, since the production car is a open top convertable, not much is there to start with. BUT you have to start there. Super GT differs in that they share no suspension design with road car. and aside from that basic unibody nothing is from the road car.

[Dino Scuderia]

They can also shorten the wheelbase from stock.

[carreragt10]

I guess the series changed its rule...as the initial SC430 car(as well as the last Supra) was using the UZ line of production based V8. Makes sense though since both Honda and Toyota supplies quite a lot of Formula Nippon engine....

The chassis has to start from the production one. In FIA GT kind of GT, that means the roof and the central unit body is from the road car. Once you start adding cage and bracing to it, how much of that unit body is load bearing becomes the question. And in the case of the Lexus, since the production car is a open top convertable, not much is there to start with. BUT you have to start there. Super GT differs in that they share no suspension design with road car. and aside from that basic unibody nothing is from the road car.

I think like you, this car is very, very modified starting from the base to the point of being true racing prototype

[carreragt10]

They can also shorten the wheelbase from stock.

The dimensions of the wheelbase if I could not tell

[kingofthering]

"Engine regulations like the chassis rules are fairly liberal as long as the base unit is derived from a production engine within that firms range, supercharging is allowed even if the original engine was not blown. So in theory if you wanted to enter a Honda Civic you could fit it with the V6 engine from the NSX."

The funny thing is that that already happened. Someone crammed a massive engine into a Corolla sedan and raced it.

[carreragt10]

HONDA HSV-010GT TEST in OKAYAMA

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otNcoxFB8FA]YouTube - (HQ ver)HONDA HSV-010GT TEST in OKAYAMA[/ame]