Guran's NA6 "Little Reddy"

[Guran]

Ouch! Found this photo of Paul's XR4.

[PaulF]

Ouch indeed. Looks like the crumple zone did its job though.

[Guran]

Third lap of my first run on Sunday ended in a 1:59.9550 and I was just a bit happy about it. New PB and Class 1A Supersprint record.


Final run of the day and I found myself with clear track and a faster MR2 to chase. End result was a 1:59.8127, improving my PB and Class 1A record.


Great day! I even managed to beat my old PB on 6 of the 18 laps.

[Guran]

Eastern Creek photos courtesy of DGB Photography

Turn 2


Turn 5


Turn 9

[Guran]

Since I now hold the Class 1A Supersprint records at both Wakefield Park (1:15.851) and Eastern Creek (1:59.813), it got me thinking about what other car models might be competitive in this class. The old 1A records were set in 2006 by Kenny Tan, driving a Honda Civic: 1:17.29 at Wakefield Park and 2:00.61 at Eastern Creek. It's probably safe to assume he was driving a VTi-R VTEC (1995-2000) which from the factory put out 118kW, weighed 1131kg, for a total of 104kW/t. In comparison, I've only got 85kW and 955kg for 89kg/kW. Based on Wakefield Park laptimes published in Motor magazine, each 10kW/t is worth about a second per lap. Therefore, the VTI-R is potentially around 1.5s per lap quicker than an NA6 MX-5.

OK, so what other under 1600cc cars might be potential threats?

From the 1980s and 1990s ...
Honda CRX Targa (1992-1998) 1590cc, 118kW, 1115kg, 106kW/t
Honda CRX (1987-1992) 1590cc, 94kW, 960kg, 98kW/t
Toyota Corolla SX Hatch (1989-1991) 1587cc, 100kW, 985kg, 102kW/t
Toyota Corolla SX Seca (1989-1992) 1587cc, 100kW, 1065kg, 94kW/t
Suzuki Swift GTi (1986-1988) 1298cc, 74kW, 750kg, 99kW/t
Suzuki Swift GTi (1989-1999) 1298cc, 74kW, 835kg, 89kW/t
Holden Barina GSi (1994-1999) 1598cc, 80kW, 945kg, 85kW/t
Toyota MR2 (1987-1989) 1587cc, 88kW, 1050kg, 84kW/t ... the lone RWD challenger

Unlikely to see these at Supersprints, especially in standard form, but these would make interesting competition ...
Lotus Elan (1962-1973) 1558cc, 78kW, 708kg, 110kW/t
Lotus Cortina Mk 1 (1963-1966) 1558cc, 78kW, 749kg, 104kW/t
Ford Escort twin cam GT Mk 1 (1970-1972) 1558cc, 86kW, 826kg, 104kW/t
Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTV (1966-1968) 1570cc, 93kW, 965kg, 96kW/t
Alfa Romeo 1600 GT Junior (1972-1974) 1570cc, 93kW, 1020kg, 91kW/t

Of the recent model cars, I think the only likely threat is from the Suzuki Swift Sport (2006-2010) 1586cc, 92kW, 1090kg, 84kW/t. Motor did a 1:17.29 in this model (Sep 2007), which is close to my 1:17.00 PB on street tyres. The next Sport/GTi due later this year might be even closer.

But most of all, I won't have a hope if the new 1.6L Lotus Elise shows up at the Supersprints (1598cc, 100kW, 876kg, 114kW/t). Fresh out of the box and fitted with R-specs to replace the Neovas, I suspect that thing would be capable of 1:13s!

[Jeo]

Are imports that were never sold here allowed to run in the supersprints? An EF SiR CRX was fitted with the same 116kw B16A engine as the later Del Sol/VTiR Civic, but weighed ~950kg.

[Black_Penguin]

They can but I think they have to run in Type SV.

[Guran]

The vehicle must be a "Production Car" to be eligible for Type 1 (stock turbo AWDs are also excluded from Type 1).

Production Car means an a mass-produced automobile, the model of which
is or has been commercially available to the general public in Australia as a new
car, capable of Road Registration, through a manufacturer’s dealer network, and
(a) at least 200 examples of such model must have been Road Registered, and
(b) at least 200 examples of such model must have been produced in a 12
consecutive month period.

That would mean the imported EF SiR CRX is ineligible and I'd expect it unlikely that the 1.6L Elise would ever sell enough to qualify.

[manga_blue]

I'm trying to think of a Euro alternative. Fiat 500 and Punto, Merc A160 , VW Polo, Mini, .... Have I missed any? Unfortunately all the sports versions are turbo or supercharged, with the modifier factor taking them over 1600, and all the non-sports ones are gutless. Pug 205GTIs are all too big, aren't they?

I reckon I can beat 1:20 in Di's A160 but 1:15 is going too far.

[bensale]

The 205 si is a 1600.... The gti versions were all 1900cc in Australia although they had a 1.6 in Europe. A gti would give an mx-5 a very hard time, not sure about the si though...

A couple of euros like the 106gti/rallye would give you a run but not available here...

The Corolla with with 4AGE or the Swift gti ran quite competitively in group E back in the early 90s, would be interesting to know what times they did... I would imagine the Civic vti-R would be very competitive but I'd image the MX-5 would have the edge around corners.

[Guran]

I struggled to think of a Euro alternative too. Engine capacity too big (Clio and Fiesta are 2L), turbo multiplier means capacity must be less than 941cc, or they're just too heavy.

Fiat 500 has 1368cc, 74kW, 930kg, 79kW/t ... too slow
Fiat Punto Sport is a turbo diesel, while the petrol model is too weedy and heavy
Abarth versions of 500 and Punto are both fitted with turbos
VW Polo models are all turbo or twincharged, except for the entry level 1.4L with 63kW and 1033kg, 61kW/t
MINI Cooper (R50 and R56) is gutless without the boosted engine
A160 75kW, 1115kg, 67kW/kg, no chance!
Pug 205 GTI was available as a 1.6L but apparently not in Australia - I think they were all 1.9L models here

There's really nothing Euro to pick from until you journey back into the 60s and 70s.

[Hellmun]

An old Type R Civic shouldn't have an issue at all. Type R's got a lot more mods than most people realize..... I have an old best motoring special called "Type R legend" which details it all quite well. Stuff like the hand-ported engine, spring rates, weight reduction, LSD, close ratio gearbox etc.

[Guran]

Type Rs weren't sold in Australia until 2007 (3rd gen Type R), and they have a 2L engine - OK for Class 1B. The 1st gen Type R had a 136kW 1.6L engine and it would be a nice thing for the track, but wouldn't qualify as a production car eligible for Class 1A.

[Guran]

FYI, some laptimes from Motor magazine for "Class 1A" eligible cars:

Suzuki Swift Sport (Sep 2007) 1:17.29
Mazda 2 Genki (Sep 2008) 1:19.20
Suzuki Ignis Sport (Sep 2004) 1:19.25
Ford Fiesta Zetec (Sep 2004) 1:20.25
Suzuki Swift S (Sep 2005) 1:20.80
Toyota Echo Sportivo (Oct 2003) 1:20.84
Smart Roadster (Sep 2004) 1:21.53
Suzuki Alto (Sep 2010) 1:24.50

[PaulF]

I just read through this thread from start to finish; great read. I have a lot of respect for your approach of "modifying the driver before modifying the car", if you know what I mean.

Also:

Good cars are like good albums. They stand the test of time, and you can keep rediscovering and revealing them for years to come.

That's signature-worthy, that is.