Indy 500 Pace Car Has More HP Than The Race Cars
05-15-2012, 07:59 PM
#1
Late Porkchops
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Indy 500 Pace Car Has More HP Than The Race Cars
C'mon man - it cant be true can it?
I understand that the Corvette pace car for the 2012 Indy 500 has more horsepower than the racing cars on the grid. Something like a 100 horses more. Surely this has to be changed.
Is this continued changes out from Dans wreck and death last year ? I am sorry for his death, but this cant be racing at Indy .
I understand that the Corvette pace car for the 2012 Indy 500 has more horsepower than the racing cars on the grid. Something like a 100 horses more. Surely this has to be changed.
Is this continued changes out from Dans wreck and death last year ? I am sorry for his death, but this cant be racing at Indy .
05-15-2012, 08:14 PM
#2
the new Indycars have ~600 bhp, which I think is a bit down on the previous Honda V8s which had 650 or so. and this was in planning before Dan's death.
that said, I miss the cars from the late 90's/early 00's that were 1,000+ bhp on the speedways.
that said, I miss the cars from the late 90's/early 00's that were 1,000+ bhp on the speedways.
05-15-2012, 09:13 PM
#4
Late Porkchops
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Maybe.
But lack of horsepower is one of the things that may make poor racing.
This is 2012 and these are some advanced cars and some of the top drivers as well. This should not be reduced to a Spec racing series in my mind. If so then go back and get the IROC series going again.
It is not a wonder Indy Car Racing is not what it was. NASCAR has it problems too, but I am thinking the Indy Series needs to be re-thought some. Maybe the NASCAR combination would not be bad.
Lets go back to the 1000 Hp days soon. Less downforce. More engine manufacturers too. It is not a rant but many times when Honda has entered the series this is what happens. In one of the other threads there was talk about having Honda in F1. I said be careful what you wish for as this is not the Senna F1 car with 1200 Hp and Mr Honda making the calls.
But lack of horsepower is one of the things that may make poor racing.
This is 2012 and these are some advanced cars and some of the top drivers as well. This should not be reduced to a Spec racing series in my mind. If so then go back and get the IROC series going again.
It is not a wonder Indy Car Racing is not what it was. NASCAR has it problems too, but I am thinking the Indy Series needs to be re-thought some. Maybe the NASCAR combination would not be bad.
Lets go back to the 1000 Hp days soon. Less downforce. More engine manufacturers too. It is not a rant but many times when Honda has entered the series this is what happens. In one of the other threads there was talk about having Honda in F1. I said be careful what you wish for as this is not the Senna F1 car with 1200 Hp and Mr Honda making the calls.
05-15-2012, 09:21 PM
#5
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Meh. What do they weigh? Lb/Hp is pretty good for those cars IMO. 
05-15-2012, 09:41 PM
#6
The Penguin King
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Minimum weight is 1550lbs. Engine power is regulated by circuit type ranging from 550 to 700bhp. They are running at over 220mph at Indy right now, and it's early in practice. There are currently three engine manufacturers, Chevrolet, Honda, and Lotus. The Honda "dominance" in the past was because that was the spec engine. Based on the road coarse races so far, the series seems to have improved a fair amount with the new car. They have a hell of a lot more passing going on than F1.
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05-15-2012, 10:41 PM
#9
that said, I miss the cars from the late 90's/early 00's that were 1,000+ bhp on the speedways.
Colossal horsepower is what makes those types of cars so unique...its also makes them much more challenging to drive at the limit, hence the more talented drivers will usually end up in the front
Even though they only weigh 1500lbs, you can still go out and drop $60k on a new GT500 with more power than an indy car... That just isnt right
Downforce and aero are great and clearly make for a faster car, but when top tier single seat racers have less power than a street car, I think its pretty damn sad. .02
This goes for F1 as well..
/Rant
05-15-2012, 11:14 PM
#10
Pro
I think we need to reinvent Can-Am. Make it blatantly irresponsible. Unlimited budget, any weight / hp / engine config (ok no rocket or jet engines). As much aero as you want in any configuration. Rules would be that the car has to fit within a box of a certain size. Any fuel. Driving and spectating is at your own risk. Attract egomaniacal drivers and self-promoting millionaires and billionaires (there are a lot of them in motorsport already) and let them try to outspend each other to the checkered flag. Make it not so much about driving talent but about engineering with no budget limit. The racing would probably stink, but the cars would be amazing. I think you could get speed or velocity to televise at least a couple of rounds a year. Prize money would be based on setting the outright lap record at the track as well as finishing position.
05-15-2012, 11:56 PM
#11
Late Porkchops
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^^^
Thank you Gold and Uber.
Indy used to have 50-60 cars or more trying to make that grid. Indy was The Race you wanted to get in and to win. What was it ," The Biggest Spectacle in Auto Racing" or something like that. Guys like AJ and Mario - these guys were racers. They raced in Indy cars, sprint cars, 24 Hours cars, F1 cars. Hell these guys would race tractors with you at the farm if there was money there to be made. But Indy drew them all in. They wanted to be there and run Indy.
Now you might not have a full grid for the start of Indy.
F1 and Moto GP - heck man dont get me started. You have to have fuel mileage. WTH is that. Make up your equipment and bring it and race it. It will even out in the end. Just a few rules on size, weight, etc.
I know already what they say. It is too hard, the ones with the money , blah, blah, blah. This type racing might take off again and out strip them all.
Bring back the Can AM and GTP cars. Please .
Raptor knows that is not what we are talking about. It is mechanical wizardry. Driver talent. Innovation. That is part of what you are going to see - someting you cant have. Unobtanium as we used to refer to it as. It is not just about power to weight ratio. Heck a funny car has what 8000 hp and weighs 2000 lbs. And the old GP bikes had 250 hp and weighed 300 lbs sans rider.
And Globe - yeah it is not all Honda all the time . But what is the Lotus doing? I havent yet watched it to see. I know they have to start somewhere but I am thinking the Hondas pour by the Lotus cars.
While I am at it they are going to have to get Chevy, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, most or many American maker in to Indy cars to make it Go again and with some American drivers.
Thank you Gold and Uber.
Indy used to have 50-60 cars or more trying to make that grid. Indy was The Race you wanted to get in and to win. What was it ," The Biggest Spectacle in Auto Racing" or something like that. Guys like AJ and Mario - these guys were racers. They raced in Indy cars, sprint cars, 24 Hours cars, F1 cars. Hell these guys would race tractors with you at the farm if there was money there to be made. But Indy drew them all in. They wanted to be there and run Indy.
Now you might not have a full grid for the start of Indy.
F1 and Moto GP - heck man dont get me started. You have to have fuel mileage. WTH is that. Make up your equipment and bring it and race it. It will even out in the end. Just a few rules on size, weight, etc.
I know already what they say. It is too hard, the ones with the money , blah, blah, blah. This type racing might take off again and out strip them all.
Bring back the Can AM and GTP cars. Please .
Raptor knows that is not what we are talking about. It is mechanical wizardry. Driver talent. Innovation. That is part of what you are going to see - someting you cant have. Unobtanium as we used to refer to it as. It is not just about power to weight ratio. Heck a funny car has what 8000 hp and weighs 2000 lbs. And the old GP bikes had 250 hp and weighed 300 lbs sans rider.
And Globe - yeah it is not all Honda all the time . But what is the Lotus doing? I havent yet watched it to see. I know they have to start somewhere but I am thinking the Hondas pour by the Lotus cars.
While I am at it they are going to have to get Chevy, Ford, Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai, most or many American maker in to Indy cars to make it Go again and with some American drivers.
Last edited by TexasRider; 05-16-2012 at 12:16 AM.
05-16-2012, 12:44 AM
#12
Drifting
The only 1000 hp indy cars were the one year Penske had a IImore build a "stock block" motor to exploit a loop hole in rules, the typical motor back then made about 850 hp. The loop hole was closed following year. I'll agree race is no longer what it used, there used to be a lot of innovation that went into those cars and qualifying and bump day was always exciting, no longer.
Phil
Phil
05-16-2012, 08:51 AM
#13
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Think a return of Can-Am is what we need?
Just a counterpoint - the SCCA class I race in is very nearly as fast as the old Can-Am cars - with around 220hp from a 1000cc bike motor. No, I'm not that fast, but the fast guys are - they've cracked the 2min pace at Road America, for example.
Just a counterpoint - the SCCA class I race in is very nearly as fast as the old Can-Am cars - with around 220hp from a 1000cc bike motor. No, I'm not that fast, but the fast guys are - they've cracked the 2min pace at Road America, for example.
