Man,

If the new GTO sounds half as good as those Holdens do, I'd lay money down right now.

I don't know how much work is done to the engines or what they have for blocks (Obviously a V8 with around 600HP). But, boy do they sound sweet. Not a sharp wide open sound like a stock car, but a deep and throaty sound that I've never heard from ANY car, racing or stock. Sounds aside, the racing is excellent.

I hope Holden/GM takes some of the V8 supercar expertise and builds it into the GTO. That exhaust note would sure be a great start (combined with 400+HP would be even better!).

 

i watched some of it it was funny when buddy hit the wall and broke the suspension in the rear and the axle would shift left to right.

 

I watched it...really good stuff! The cars appear to be actual production models modified for racing, which is what nascar should be. Yes, they do sound sweet when you crank up the surround sound on the stereo.. Maybe one of our Australian friends here can give us a link to more info on those cars.

 

any one have a video of the monaro (mpg or whatever)

 

You will find that the v8supercars are becoming more like nascar as next year as they will be basically the same car with just different engines (they do have some similar parts in them) and shell.

For more info on the v8 supercars go here.

And pulled from here is the times that they will be shown in the US.

 

thanks.

 

That's really a shame. A big part of the charm of V8 Supercars is the fact that they are production based. It reminded me of the old Trans Am series, were suped up "real" cars were interesting and fun to follow and watch.

Nascar for me is one long yawn....a high speed parade of silouette cars with interchangeable motors, (which BTW have nothing to do with production motors), going round and round in endless circles. V8 Supercars will be diminished when they begin to follow that formula.

 

I personally think NASCAR is nothing short of a joke. It's like watching a basketball game where the good players are forced to wear weights or combat boots on the court to "even out" the field so no one really has an advantage. I always admired Australia's V8 supercar series as what NASCAR used to be. Now, I guess I have to start watching Rally Racing for genuine production car based excitement.

 

Those rally drivers obviously have no fear of crashing...they are fun to watch! ("left 120...tight right 240".... )

 

I don't understand? All the cars in NASCAR weigh the same. The cars are supposed to be even as possible. That way the best team and driver win. I know that the teams with more money win more, but it's nothing like say F1 where only 1 or 2 teams really have a chance to win.

On another point, if there was an American series like the Australian V8 supercar series, you gotta figure that Vipers would walk away with it!

 

Only if there were a V10 Supercar series.

 

A generation that missed the excitement of REAL stock car racing!

If you go back to NASCAR pre-90s, you see cars that are at least identifiable as production cars. When Ford's Thunderbird was walking all over GM in the early 80s, or Dodge did well with Chargers, then Magnums in the 70s, or Luminas ruled the track in the late 80s, it was because of superior aerodynamics out of the factory. Now you have "NASCAR approved" profiles. I know NASCAR made some rules to keep speeds of some of the faster cars down back then, but now the cars running around the track have nothing to do with stock cars, yet it's called "stock car racing".

If NASCAR wanted to get back to it's roots, it would first at least require body panels either be stock or follow stock contours & dimensions. Next it would use V6 engines from the manufacturer. I don't see any logic whatsoever in having a built up V8, and then slapping on restrictor plates because it's too powerful or the car's too fast. If they want to use V8s, then have a displacement limit, and allow teams to get as much power as they wish within certain guidelines.

If a manufacturer wants to tout their Monte Carlo or their Ford Taurus, then at least they could do so plausibly. If Ford wanted to put a sedan against a coupe from another company, it should look like a sedan, not a coupe that the company don't have the backbone to build. Big mistake letting Ford run Tauruses. Now GM doesn't need to have Monte Carlo, they can run redesigned aerodynamic Impalas if someone at GM got the idea to can M/C from Chevy's lineup.

NASCAR also had the effect of improving cars from the factory. Many cars on the street today are the result of NASCAR of old. I'm not just talking Ford Talledegas, Chrysler's Superbirds, or the Monte Carlo & Grand Prix Fastbacks of the mid 80s. Lumina coupes were designed with NASCAR in mind. So were the Fox & MN12 based Thunderbirds. Dodge Magnums of the late 70s were too, as well as quite a few other cars. If a competitor's car seemed to have an unfair advantage to one company, it was up to them to design a sleeker body. Now everyone looks almost the same, only headlight stickers & grille openings distinguish one brand from the other.

When you watch Australia's V8 class, you are actually seeing a car you could actually buy, and when a Commodore or a Falcon crosses first, it's a victory for Ford or GM as much as it is for the driver's skill. Whereas NASCAR is no better than the IROC that has identical cars prepared in identical ways. At least it's honest, which NASCAR no longer is. That's why I'm warming up to rally racing as well as track racing that involves production cars.

Stock car racing no longer is. BTW, Vipers would be in a different class than NASCAR, the way Corvettes have always been.

Sorry for the rant.

 

At least if NASCAR mandated stock based engines (if nothing else), at least we might have something of interest to watch.

Chevy.....GEN III smallblock

Ford......Modular motor

DC........new HEMI

The cars themselves might still be a farce...but at least we'd get some engine developemnt out of it and the competition would again be interesting.

 

Now THAT would be interesting!

 

Here is my opinion on why all the cars look alike now. Winston Cup cars depend so much on aerodynamics that all the manufacturers have found out what the optimum shape to do this is. And now all they all use this same shape. Yeah the lights and grills look somewhat different, but the basic shape is the same.

Supposedly, NASCAR has looked at larger cars, which may help this problem. Have you seen a Winston Cup car in person, they are tiny! They aren't even close to the same size as the stock version of the car. They are like 7/8ths scale (Can someone say Smokey Yunick ) Of course, this help aerodynamics. I think if they went back to a car that is bigger, like in the late 80's, it would make for better racing. No more 'aero-push'! I hate that!

OK, now my rant is over too!