NickHolt Posted January 13, 2003 Report Share Posted January 13, 2003 Received this email from ROMCO: ++++++++++++++++ TERRY (Barden, ROMCO Series Manager and Race Director) HAS BEEN RECEIVING SOME CALLS REGARDING THE NEW 5 STAR BODY "DOWN FORCE". """THIS IS NOT A LEGAL BODY FOR ROMCO RACING SERIES""" IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTION, CONTACT TERRY BARDEN. (terlinbarden@yahoo.com) THANK YOU, LINDA BARDEN ROMCO RACING +++++++++++++++++ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh42 Posted January 13, 2003 Report Share Posted January 13, 2003 Does anyone have a picture of this body I have yet to see what it looks like???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ups88john Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 looks pretty slick, too bad no one can use it lol. Big John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp17 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 TSRS has made it illegal as well. Must be one heck of a body for everyone to outlaw it before you can even buy one! JP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 I think about the only place you can run it will be at the snowball and other special events... Will the Southern Allstars allow it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RandyBorlace Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 that thing looks like a UDTRA Dirt car body compare to the pic above, look at the hood and how it goes down ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Jason- The Southern All Stars series said no to the downforce body back in December. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SASPEEDRACER24 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Here is a simple question. Besides TMS where would this body be that signifigant of an advantage and why? If any one knows please explain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted January 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Speed, Just stick your hand out the window going down the freeway @ 60 mph. Quite a lot of pressure builds up, eh? Likewise, downforce comes into play at just about every track where speeds reach 60 mph, or above, to some extent or another. Of course, the slower the speeds the less downforce plays a role. Conversely, the higher the speeds, the more downforce plays a role. And that role is the ability to stick to the track during cornering. The more the downforce being generated, the better the car will stick to the track. At SAS downforce is more important than at THR or CC or HMS, but no matter where you race, you always want as much downforce as you can get. If two cars were exactly equal in all respects except downforce, the car with the more downforce would have an advantage at each of the tracts mentioned above. Hope this helps. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Nick is absolutely right about downforce on a short track. Last fall at the Bigshot, the Romco car I help out got tagged by another driver on the first lap, and it knocked the rear spoiler down. Only losing the spoiler killed the forward bite, and the car was bad loose until the pit stop when we repaired it. That is at Kyle, a 3/8th mile. Imagine how bad it would be at San Antonio. A body like the one in question would be a tremendous advantage in the hands of a racer who knows how to use the air. I wish I had a dollar for every square foot of aluminum and lexan we used trying to get downforce over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ups88john Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 From what I have heard the only reason the body is not allowed is because of avaliability. Not enough to go around to everyone, probally be legal next year everywhere. Mike Garvey had a insane body on his car at the snowball. Big John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtom Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Just talked to a friend who said it probably won't be available until March in any quantities. He was going to get one until ROMCO and the Southern All Stars outlawed it. Garvey's Snowball car kinda looked like this body with the nose dropped and the rear quarter panels kicked up a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted January 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Tom, Several of the bodies I observed at the 2002 Big Shot looked very similar to the picture of the 5-Star "downforce" body posted earlier in this thread -- dropped noses and raised rear quarter panels. I'd say significant aero work takes place in some race teams' shops between the time the body is purchased from a vendor like 5-Star and the time the car hits the track. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted January 15, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Nick is absolutely right about downforce on a short track. Last fall at the Bigshot, the Romco car I help out got tagged by another driver on the first lap, and it knocked the rear spoiler down. Only losing the spoiler killed the forward bite, and the car was bad loose until the pit stop when we repaired it. Tom, Wasn't the traction control device working properly? LOL Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
97car Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Let them rum the dirt bodies,they are a lot cheaper anyway,and if you look at a lot of the new bodies they are a lot like a dirt body of the past anyway except the bodies are more rounded. the five star bodies diagram shows 48 inches fwd. of the spindle anyway and that is what the dirt bodies were anyway,note except for the wedge cars. Take a look at the Main Event late model series up north,they run on asphalt,the web page is on the late model digest site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jont66 Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 THIS BODY WOULD NOT BE AN ADVANTAGE AT TMS RIGHT? Don't want downforce there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 17, 2003 Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 I was thinking the same thing.... Extra downforce would actually slow you down Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted January 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2003 Jon At TMS you want to poke a small hole in the air, reduce turbulance and drag to a minimum and keep as much air from going under the car as possible. The nose on the 5 Star "downforce" Monte Carlo would produce too much turbulance (drag) at the place where the nose bends down so radically and too much turbulance (drag) at the rear since the body and rear spoiler stick up into the air so far. However, you always need a certain amount of downforce on a superspeedway car or else it will take off like an airplane since the air has to travel further (and faster) over the top of the car than under the car producing lift much like an aircraft wing. Thus the slope of the nose, the rake of the windscreen and the use of a rear spoiler on SSpedeway cars. Smokey Yunick figured it out and built a shrunken race cars for the long tracks just so his cars wouldn't have to move so much air out of the way. Nick Holt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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