163 replies to this topic

[Howie Ursaner]

BATMOBILE

[TSR]

Absolutely, especially in that color scheme!

You got to see that thing going, its is truly impressive.

[Tex]

So far it has not been an issue in traffic, with all the drivers saying that there was no problem.

Maybe not with the drivers of the DeltaWing, but what about the OTHER drivers? Could the Le Mans incident have been partially due to what Tony described, except that the driver of the OTHER car didn't really "see" the DW due to the lesser visible frontal area?

[TSR]

Richard, the Japanese Toyota driver ran into the BACK of the car, because he was too much in a hurry to bother checking for other vehicles on track.

Not a single driver complained about ANYTHING during practice or the running of the race regarding any traffic issues with the Deltawing.

There is no lesser visible frontal area on the Deltawing. In your mirrors when it passes you if you are either in a GT or an LMP2 car, it looks just the same as a conventional car.

[Tex]

Duh! Yeah, I guess just because the front is "less" than a conventional LMP/2, the rear is still the same width; hence, no lesser visibility.

[MG Brown]

Big congrats to the Deltawing team for their 6th place overall finish at Petit LeMans. I guess they were first in class too since they were running in a class by themselves!

[TSR]

They ARE in a class by themselves:

1/ They have only 300 HP to play with, VS a minimum of 500 HP for ANY other car on the track. They also use 1/2 the fuel and 1/4 of the tires compared to ANY other car on track.

2/ They have proven to the world that at this time, the Deltawing concept is superior in its efficiency over conventional "2-axle" cars in racing conditions. Boost the power to 400 to 450 and they will clean everyone's clock, with no other changes on the car, that is currently grossly underpowered. Easy to do on that Nissan engine: turn the wick. Will the rule makers let them?

3/ They have confounded the naysayers.

Congratulations indeed, they deserve it.

[MSwiss]

I bet a 300hp F1 car would do pretty well,also.

[tonyp]

Clap, clap, clap. Job well done.

[Tex]

Nobody ran into it? HOORAY!

Well done!

Can't wait to see the slot car version!

[Zippity]

It is Fugly and will never race against real cars

[MSwiss]

Can't wait to see the slot car version!

Maybe that's why I'm not crazy excited about the car.
I don't see how a slot car version would ever work very well.
I made a scratchbuilt anglelwinder, C12 powered, Indy bodied car when I first opened the raceway in 2005.
I let the front wheels float up and down, real freely.
Without any skids or definitively mounted front wheels to keep the front of the car from rocking, it was probably the worse handling slot car I ever driven,
setting distance records launching from the bank to my overhead door.

[Phil Hackett]

It is Fugly and will never race against real cars

They said the same things about the Can-Am Chaparral's and rear engine Indy cars.

[Zippity]

They said the same things about the Can-Am Chaparral's and rear engine Indy cars.

Wait and see.

Wanna take a bet with me?

[MG Brown]

In this case Panoz is interested in making customer Deltawings, and "The Don" is of course one of the founders of the ALMS and wields considerable influence in that sanctioning body. Panoz also owns Sebring and Road Atlanta which are two important tracks key to the success of the upcoming ALMS and Grand Am merger.

Radical race cars such as the Chaparrals and the Indy turbine cars were built, entered and raced by "outsiders" not necessarily in the good graces of the SCCA and USAC respectively. The Deltawing, at least for the moment, seems to have the blessing of a member of the North American racing establishment.

If pressed for a guess- I would not be surprised to see the Deltawing become the spec car for the ALMS/GA version of the present day ALMS Prototype Challenge (PC) class.

[Tex]

I was kidding about the slot car version, Mike; I can easily envision exactly what you say as the reason(s) not to pursue that avenue.

[MG Brown]

Another "How it works" explanation.

[TSR]

A triangle will always work better than a square. It's that simple.

[MG Brown]

I'm sure you knew this was coming.



I am trying to find out more details about the car, who built it, and how it runs. Stay tuned.

[Phil Hackett]

Modern slot cars are a triangle.... no squares. The guide flag **are ** the front wheels....

BTW: that's a nice job on that slot car.

[Duffy]

Still can't run in Retro. Misses the cutoff date by a mile, dude. Sorry. Just, y'know, FYI.

[TSR]

A slot car is a different animal as its steering is not induced by the driver. So it cannot be compared.

The Deltawing works because of the simple physical reasoning behind it, that applies its down force at a given point.

Two-axle cars need two points of application of down force, that effectively fight each other.

The Deltawing only needs one, allowing it to be much lighter and use its much lower power and narrower tires more effectively.

[MG Brown]

Still can't run in Retro. Misses the cutoff date by a mile, dude. Sorry. Just, y'know, FYI.

So much for my turbine powered F1 DeltaWing idea.

Some information on the slot car is coming in bits and pieces. The body is from Pattos Place in Australia. The motor is a Trinity Evil 9.

Apparently the slot car works much the same as its 1:1 counterpart. Surprisingly stable in the turns and blisteringly fast in a straight line.

[GotToRace]

I have GOT to have some of those slot car bodies. This thing reminds me of my favorite slot car from the 60's, the Classic ASP. COOL stuff.

[MG Brown]

That's what I thought- the design is very ASP-esque. IIRC Pattos has the ASP body repops also.