ZR8ED Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 WTF?? Just read it in a GM Propaganda newsletter. John Heinricy drove a GM performance division and Powell Motorsports prepared Chevy Cobalt SS at Buttonwillow Raceway Park, and bested the Legendary Skyline, and A nitrous charged Volkswagen jetta by more than 7 seconds Speed channel's street tuner challenge was the host. ???????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Uh, I think the skyline beat the cobalt by 7 seconds. Skyline was 800hp at the wheels... cobalt was 300hp IIRC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest HBZ81 Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 I watched that series. The skyline driver never drove a RHD car before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PROJECTRB240SX Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Yeah The Cobalt Won Because The Skylines Diff Locked Up And The Volkswagen Blew Up..... Ohh And Gm Had A Professional Race Driver While The Skyline Was Piloted By A Guy At Xs Who Never Drove A Rhd Car Before And The Vw By One Of The Mechanics That Built It. Yeah Gm Wins By Default Awesome Victory Gm!!!!! WINNINGS WINNING, BY CHEATING OR DEFAULT WINNING IS WINNING! GM Has An Awesome Attitude About Everything. Whats Funny Is The Skyline Was Leading (by A Few Seconds Mind You) With The Crappy Driving That Was Going On Until It Spun Into The Dirt And Locked Up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid240z Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 I only saw part of the final episode in the series when they ran the cars. I am watching one of the episodes right now when they were still modifying them. From what I remember the Skyline was the fastest but I think they were basing the win on who had the best improvement over stock. The Skyline crew didn't do as well over their stock run because they were having braking issues and didn't have enough time to complete the tuning process so it also wasn't running at its best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Battle Pope Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 the skyline got disqualified from the "best improvement over stock" points because the moron driver blew it up in the qualifying. I'm sure GM had some backdoor funding in this show, how else would a Cobalt beat an 800hp skyline? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 how else would a Cobalt beat an 800hp skyline? Same way a 190hp ITS 240Z beats a 450hp V8 240Z around a race track. Excellent handliing and outstanding driving. Horsepower is not the game in road racing, handling and driving is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators SuperDan Posted October 13, 2005 Administrators Share Posted October 13, 2005 Same way a 190hp ITS 240Z beats a 450hp V8 240Z around a race track. Excellent handliing and outstanding driving. Horsepower is not the game in road racing, handling and driving is. And apparently, reliability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Meh, second hand information on my part. I heard the story differently... and incorrectly apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 That's fine. It'll just be that much MORE fun to blow the doors off of an unsuspecting Cobalt at the track... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonsZ Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 http://www.cobaltss.net/forums//showthread.php?t=6367 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 I think I have to retract my statement! That Cobalt is F'in fast! It says in that article it was doing config 13. Doesn't say CW or CCW, but if it is CCW (the faster direction) then it is only 3 seconds slower than John Coffey's ROD. If it is CW then it would presumably be FASTER than the ROD, as I believe John has said that in the ROD going the other direction adds about 5 seconds. Both the ROD and the Cobalt would kick the crap out of my car in its old state of tune, and presumably still be quite a bit faster than my car will be when it's driving again. That's impressive as hell... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 According to the track guy at Buttonwillow it was 13CCW. A 1:58 is a quick time for that configuration. According to the specs the Cobalt SS made 265hp, 270ft. lbs., and weighed 2,300 lbs. It also had Ohlins multi-adjustable shocks and ran on 245/40-17 Hoosier R3S05s. But, by far its biggest advantage was Heinricy driving the car. Those other guys didn't stand a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Battle Pope Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 Especially since the skyline's driver had never driven a RHD car before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted October 13, 2005 Share Posted October 13, 2005 I love it... Everyone in shock is in shock because it was a Chevy Cobalt... Not because of the reasons listed in the article or John C.'s explanation. Go to a track day event guys and get a lesson. I know guys making seriously HUGE hp (700+HP) in supra turbos who detune their cars so they can drive them at the track and NOT be embarrased! Simply put, LARGE hp numbers only complicate the mix. Most GOOD drivers can take a 300HP car and LAP guys in much higher HP cars (who apparently have lesser driving skills )! If the Skyline team chose a driver who wasn't familiar with a RHD car, then they lost before they built the car. Who'se fault is that? GM? PuHleaze... And don't give GM that much credit... These are the tools who are diggin' themselves out of yet another fine financial mess! No, the Cobalt SS team won fair and square... Anyone who thinks HP is king and overlooks the complexities of the total package (Including the DRIVER) in any build will lose a humiliating loss and learn a valiable lesson on how not to engineer a project. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 " Especially since the skyline's driver had never driven a RHD car before. :P" It can be a bit different. I never had any real adjustment period, I was used to it in about 15 minutes after I drove it for the first time - but then again, I wasnt on a race track in a 700hp car. Stock Fairlady puttering around town for the win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 I didnt watch the show but i thought it was supposed to be a street tune. Granted 800hp isn't street neither is a stripped out SS with all that body **** and only 2300 lbs. The skyline probably weighed in at around 3000 and with a guy who never drove RHD and a failing (bearing i believe they said) what do you expect. But the main point is that GM got a pro driver, XS should of done the same if they could. If i remember correctly kojima was the one who refused to take out his 300zx tt for the SCC project car tests because of a little water on the ground. Also, I don't think XS has any racing credentials at all, arn't they simply a tuner brand? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EZ-E Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 Hah or dont you all remember about John Coffeys 240Z blasting by many a vette across the tracks, also having a best time at some tracks in his 240Z. Or do you recall how John Morton racing the Datsun 510 after starting two races down against the big dog Triumph in the day. Running a smaller displacement motor and down like they were to win the Trans Am event and take the title from Triumph. Remember when Mini came out onto the racing world and blew away all the larger competition that laughed at them. Never judge a book by its cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 With that said if someone builds a 800hp AWD race car to a level of track tune approaching what a 270hp FWD race car is, and they pit them against each other with drivers of similar (and appropriate!) skill levels, I'm going to put my money on the higher HP car on most tracks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 'MOST' tracks? I'd put my money on it with ANY track. It it was a 300hp FR car it would be a different story. A FF is gonna understeer, period, by comparison. The skyline has very little understeer for a AWD car. There's no reason a skyline couldn't be setup for a track specifically. I see no curcumstance that the FF car should win. It just doesn't compute. (granted, this is all if the drivers are of equal level) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.