NASCAR Gen 7 do you need IRS and a 6 speed?

[powerabout]

Whats the the view on the gen 7 proposed updates....
The racing wil attract more viewers because its got a 6 speed and an irs?

[David - WI]

They could put rockets and battering rams on them... nobody I know is watching or going to the races any more.

[SCT]

I was flipping around the tv yesterday and stopped on what I first thought was the Formula 1 race. But no it was Formula E.....electric race cars. The car sound was weird.....

https://www.google.com/amp/s/electre...in-london/amp/

[LakeFever]

They killed Nascar when they went to the same profile and car. Leave room for the builders to really put on a show and people will watch. Turn it into a pack so more get put on camera? Whos watching the snore fest? More Smokey Yunick, Less Gary Betman ( Hockey clown who only cared about TV and not the game )

[David - WI]

Noose-car hoax ended it for me and a lot of people I know. Every garage door in the US that doesn't have an electric door opener has that same piece of clothesline with a loop on the end. Everybody in NASCAR knows that bu they called the FBI to get some headlines.

[LakeFever]

I forgot about that. I was long done by then. A lot of todays problem with traditional sports and entertainment is the market. Theres more footage loaded up to youtube daily than anyone could watch in their entire life. Theres so much other content out there vying for attention its turned into Jerry Springer, cancel culture, the noose drama etc. Anything for attention.

It all reeks of the death knell. It would be great to see sanctioning bodies let loose the rules, allow the genius builders and evil keneval types steal the show again and well, you know what goes along with that. But this modern day watered down for TV poop is just that. its been racing the rule book more and more ever since the 70's. Heck most of the old guard members here know all about it. Lars etc those guys were all developers of the boatin performance world we now get to enjoy. Thanks to all of them

This here is some damn fine racin

[rock]

That was back when F1 was cool. Now they sound pretty lame in comparison. Why do drag boats only run 1000' same as on asphalt. Technology made things too fast so the sanctioning bodies had no choice. People dying is bad for business. I have been a race fan since i was a kid and believe me that was a long time ago. Watched Bobby Allison go thru the fence at Talladega and amazingly nobody died. Watched my favorite F1 driver have what looked ,like a minor altercation throw a piece of his front suspension thru his head. Don't even want to talk about how many boat drag racers we lost.

Rock

[LakeFever]

Yep the rule book is written in blood. It is tragic and it is avoidable. Its also very unfortunate that back to the time of the gladiators, its the blood sports that bring out the big crowds. UFC today for instance

[CDave]

I like what I am seeing with the new car. But I believe it will be a 5 speed transaxle, plus much much more. This is A MAJOR overhaul of the car.
Now if they would get rid of the multi session races and playoff format. I would also like to see the Cup races shorten to 2hr. races.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a3...ext-gen-racer/
"With inspiration coming from Australian Supercar and GT3 racers, the Next Gen modernizes the Cup car, which has evolved at a snail's pace since the series formed in 1948."

"The Next Gen is an all-new platform aimed at reducing operating costs and making the race cars look more like the production cars they are based on.
With the Next Gen comes more modern technology such as independent rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, and aluminum wheels."


"The most obvious change to the Next Gen cars is visual. NASCAR has enabled the teams to shape the bodies to more closely resemble the production cars they are named after. No, the Toyota Camry will not have stickers to make it look like a four-door, but the overall profiles and noses will better represent the streetgoing versions of the 'Yota, Chevrolet Camaro, and Ford Mustang."

"The carcass of the Next Gen car will be assembled with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic panels. The carbon-fiber bodies are more flexible and durable, meaning an unpleasant interaction with another driver or an intimate encounter with the wall will have fewer consequences. They will also be cheaper for teams to repair by only requiring a panel to be replaced rather than an entire body side."

"Dimensionally, the body has shrunk. The 50.4-inch roofline sits roughly 1.5 inch lower than before, and shortening up the decklid has removed 6.0 inches from the overall length. At 78.6 inches, the body is 1.6 inch wider, and the wheelbase remains the same at 110.0 inches.


" the underside of the car features carbon-fiber undertrays to create a flat surface, removing the need to develop those parts, and to smooth out the air that will flow through rear diffuser..."

"Previously, raw steel tubing would enter a race shop at one end, and a tube frame would exit the other. That is no longer the case. Michigan based Technique Inc. will provide all the frames, which now consist of a common center cage with bolt-on front and rear substructures."

"The current car relies on a single-adjustment damper to absorb high-speed abnormalities on the race circuits. The race haulers are filled with dampers for engineers to choose from and then fine tune, while also choosing the correct spring rate. That will be no more. NASCAR has tapped Öhlins to provide a four-way-adjustable damper at all four corners. This will allow teams to tune a single unit for various tracks, with the potential for making adjustments on pit lane."

"Up front, billet aluminum control arms will locate the wheels, but in the rear is where a much-needed, long-awaited, and quite possibly the biggest change is occurring. Currently, the car rides on a live axle in the rear, located by two trailing arms. The Next Gen marks the change to an independent rear suspension. The multi-link configuration allows more adjustment and will pay dividends on road courses, which NASCAR continues to add to the schedule. The in-car driver adjustments to the track bar (the side-to-side movement of the rear axle) are removed, but the wedge (rear spring tension) will still be adjusted on pit lane by dropping a wrench through the rear window."

"Thankfully, NASCAR has made no changes to the heart of these cars. Under the hood, the pushrod V-8 engines from Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota will still be limited to 358 cubic inches and capped at 550 horsepower for restrictor plate racing and 670 hp for all other tracks. Whereas the current car features a crossover pipe so that all eight cylinders bark their glorious tone at the fans, the new undertray required a change to how the exhaust is routed. The exhaust will now exit from the left and right of the car"

"In transmission news, the four-speed gearbox is replaced by an X-Trac–supplied five-speed transaxle. Part of NASCAR's mission was to develop a platform that can be adapted over time, and the transaxle supports that strategy, as it will enable–gasp–eventual hybridization to the powertrain."


"The old 15-inch wagon wheels will be sent to pasture with the introduction of the Next Gen and be replaced by a BBS supplied 18-inch forged aluminum wheel. The change to a center-lock wheel met the most pushback from teams, but it was required because of the destruction the 10,000-rpm air gun would cause each time is was slammed against the aluminum wheel. " The new wheels will be single lug like Indy car, F1 and WEC/IMSA prototypes.

"With the larger wheels comes a new tire. The Goodyear Eagle race rubber gets wider, growing from a 305-section width to a 365, and has a shorter sidewall. The 18-inch wheel also opens the door for bigger brakes, measuring 15.0 inches in the front and 14.0 inches in the rear[, up from current 12.7-inch rotors at the front and rear."

[powerabout]

i dont get how changing the rear axle and gearbox makes it cheaper?

When the car goes past you can tell where the gearbox is.

They are falling into the same trap the organisers did in OZ, they thought relevance would make a difference.
It just made the cars more expensive, then they got carried away with aero and you cant pass ( DOH F1 did the same thing)
They allowed live telemetry on cars, that just added 4 more crew to every race meeting, everyone does it net gain zero, budget increased.
They have got over the win on Sunday sell on Monday as Ford and GM closed production in OZ.

What they need to get their head around is people go to watch racing.
How to explain drag racing, great spectator sport with a few rules, zero relevance
They might drive to the track in a pickup but to watch whatever races.



After all we do still have horse racing and we stopped using them for transport years ago..

Nascar and OZ V8 Supercars need Bernie to make the rules.


PS After having watched a couple of Tri hull races in TX they are spectacular, I noticed the whole pits stopped and walked over to watch.
Relevance zero, spectator appeal 100%

[CDave]

It doesn't make it cheaper initially but in the article they hint to it allowing for the easy adaptation of a hybrid power system in the future.
This isn't just about making it cheaper now but to making the car cheaper to implement changes in the future. So the car can have a longer lifespan before needing another complete re-design.

Us old guys are getting older and passing on so NASCAR is looking at who will be the new crop of fans and what they will want to see a Cup car be. We have to face it, as we get older we aren't the key demographic anymore.


EDIT:
I found a link to the new shocks the 2022 Cup car will use.
https://www.facebook.com/ohlinsusa/p...48078095249774

[powerabout]

It doesn't make it cheaper initially but in the article they hint to it allowing for the easy adaptation of a hybrid power system in the future.
This isn't just about making it cheaper now but to making the car cheaper to implement changes in the future. So the car can have a longer lifespan before needing another complete re-design.

Us old guys are getting older and passing on so NASCAR is looking at who will be the new crop of fans and what they will want to see a Cup car be. We have to face it, as we get older we aren't the key demographic anymore.


EDIT:
I found a link to the new shocks the 2022 Cup car will use.
https://www.facebook.com/ohlinsusa/p...48078095249774

Can you imagine in a few years with kids that grow up with EV only, they will be in awe of a smallblock at 9500rpm at the track not wishing it looked and sounded like a prius...

Out in OZ and NZ the F5000 grids are getting bigger and the old touring car races getting more spectators.
http://www.f5000.co.nz/
https://touringcarmasters.com.au/

Relevance and racing is from the same people that bought you pet rocks.

[CDave]

I've watched a few of the Formula E races the last few years and just can't get excited about it. The drivers having to stop halfway through the race to switch to another car because the battery has no more juice killed it for me.
I don't mind hybrid power as long as the engines sound good. Honestly I'd enjoy F1 more with hybrid naturally aspirated 2.5-3.0L V6 or V8 engines limited to where they could only make 700hp total after the manufacturers had put all the tech they could in the engines over a hybrid turbo 1.0L 4 banger that has a total of 1000hp.

I'm hopeful the changes in the cars, in F1 and NASCAR, will make the racing enjoyable again. I haven't been watching much of either series the last several seasons because I don't enjoy watching the races.
I know part of the reason is I'm getting older and my heroes don't race anymore. But the biggest reason is the racing isn't exciting and there are too many races in the season.
When F1 had around 18, or fewer, races I was hungry for more. Now I am burnt out before the season is over.

[CDave]

I've been thinking about what the IRS and 4 way adjustable shocks will mean for the racing. Other than what they said in the video I posted where they said, the first season will be rough while the teams learn the new car. I'm hoping the cars will be easier to control in a pack. So I hope that means less wrecks. There are way too many wrecks with the current car, IMO.

I remember the first time I drove a 3rd gen RX7 turbo, I was amazed how well it handled. I was especially impressed at how the car handled on a rough road compared to my 89 Mustang GT; which has a live rear axle.

[Lake X Kid]

NASCAR still puts on more competitive races, than F1.

If independent rear suspension is more beneficial for road courses and Rovals, then add some more of those courses to the circuit. If they cut back on the 1.5 mile cookie cutter course races, I will not shed a tear.
Super speedways and road courses, are two of my favorite NASCAR venue race sites to watch.