DP(Dayton Prototype) Corvettes......why? who builds them? ...........................
01-29-2012, 04:32 PM
#1
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DP(Daytona Prototype) Corvettes.....why? who builds them? ...........................
Who builds the DP Corvette's?? the bodies look almost the same as the BMW cars
Are they raced anywhere else?
I don't understand why the purpose vs. the GT cars(they look like Corvettes)
Thanks for the info
http://www.grand-am.com/grand-am101/index.cfm?cid=24613
who builds the sub 4.0L GM motor?
Are they raced anywhere else?
I don't understand why the purpose vs. the GT cars(they look like Corvettes)
Thanks for the info
http://www.grand-am.com/grand-am101/index.cfm?cid=24613
who builds the sub 4.0L GM motor?
Last edited by SteveDoten; 01-29-2012 at 09:06 PM.
01-29-2012, 04:44 PM
#2
Drifting
Design and engineering of the chassis and body (including aero) is done by Pratt and Miller, although press releases also said that Riley and Dallara worked on the project.
The GM DPs run a variant of the small block Chevy, a destroked LS9 at 5.0 liters, per press releases. Not sure if it's a GM Powertrain build or not.
I assume that SunTrust and Gainsco will run the entire Grand Am series with their cars.
The GM DPs run a variant of the small block Chevy, a destroked LS9 at 5.0 liters, per press releases. Not sure if it's a GM Powertrain build or not.
I assume that SunTrust and Gainsco will run the entire Grand Am series with their cars.
Last edited by acrace; 01-29-2012 at 04:54 PM.
01-29-2012, 05:49 PM
#3
Team Owner
They changes the rules this year to make cars look like something from the showroom to get crowd interest going. GA test all the aero to make sure they are all near the same.
01-29-2012, 06:13 PM
#4
Melting Slicks
NASCAR got away from Ford vs Chevy and they became the WWF of racing with the drivers being the stars of the show and they have good guys and bad guys, and now they have drivers crashing one another to "make a point".... Nobody cares about the cars anymore because they are all the same.
It's unfortunate that NASCAR doesn't understand that the sports car fans aren't interested in the drivers, they are interested in the cars, and making the cars all the same basically ruins the fan interest.
It's unfortunate that NASCAR doesn't understand that the sports car fans aren't interested in the drivers, they are interested in the cars, and making the cars all the same basically ruins the fan interest.
01-29-2012, 06:29 PM
#5
Drifting
I have paid zero attention to this year's Daytona race (for the above reasons) and when I tuned in this morning to see how things were going I was totally unable to tell by looking just what the first three DP cars actually were. They looked like the "Corvettes" I'd seen pictures of here but, in fact, were "Fords" (actually a "Riley" chassis with a Ford motor) and a "BMW" 
Z//
Z//
01-29-2012, 06:52 PM
#6
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Who funds these cars/teams? I don't see them getting any return as the coverage on this w/e's race was low
I watched the race on the JetBlue flight back from the Mecum/NCRS show I attended in Kissimmee
As Zoxxo stated, "they all look the same"
I can watch a NASA TT race and clearly see what the cars are, most drivers are the owner/tech/driver of the C5/C6.................I guess the progression stops there?
I watched the race on the JetBlue flight back from the Mecum/NCRS show I attended in Kissimmee
As Zoxxo stated, "they all look the same"
I can watch a NASA TT race and clearly see what the cars are, most drivers are the owner/tech/driver of the C5/C6.................I guess the progression stops there?
01-29-2012, 06:53 PM
#7
Safety Car
If you want to understand the Grand Am series you need to think NASCAR. The series is owned by NASCAR and uses the same philosophy. So (especially) for the DP cars think NASCAR's "car of tomorrow" - they go to great lengths to make sure the cars are as equalized as humanly possible.
One of the lessons learned in NASCAR was that policing aerodynamics was a never-ending, no-win proposition. So they came up with "all cars use the same body and you just paint on the differences." That's why the DP cars are all the same. There might be a few meaningless detail diffferences here and there but they are really all the same. Calling them "Corvettes" is a joke as the cars (all of them, not just the "Corvettes") are all spec cars with spec bodies and highly restricted and performance balanced motors.
I have paid zero attention to this year's Daytona race (for the above reasons) and when I tuned in this morning to see how things were going I was totally unable to tell by looking just what the first three DP cars actually were. They looked like the "Corvettes" I'd seen pictures of here but, in fact, were "Fords" (actually a "Riley" chassis with a Ford motor) and a "BMW"
The fact that one chassis is a Riley and another is a Pratt&Miller and another is a [fill_in_blank] is fairly meaningless since they are all built to a strict rule book that, again, is designed to make the cars as undifferentiated as possible.
Z//
One of the lessons learned in NASCAR was that policing aerodynamics was a never-ending, no-win proposition. So they came up with "all cars use the same body and you just paint on the differences." That's why the DP cars are all the same. There might be a few meaningless detail diffferences here and there but they are really all the same. Calling them "Corvettes" is a joke as the cars (all of them, not just the "Corvettes") are all spec cars with spec bodies and highly restricted and performance balanced motors.
I have paid zero attention to this year's Daytona race (for the above reasons) and when I tuned in this morning to see how things were going I was totally unable to tell by looking just what the first three DP cars actually were. They looked like the "Corvettes" I'd seen pictures of here but, in fact, were "Fords" (actually a "Riley" chassis with a Ford motor) and a "BMW"
The fact that one chassis is a Riley and another is a Pratt&Miller and another is a [fill_in_blank] is fairly meaningless since they are all built to a strict rule book that, again, is designed to make the cars as undifferentiated as possible.
Z//
If you can't tell the difference between a Riley
a Dallara,
and a Corvette DP,
Then you need glasses...it was fairly easy to tell them apart.
The Corvettes also had 4 tail lamps...pulled from a GM parts bin for a C6.
01-29-2012, 06:56 PM
#8
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Joe, I agree with Zoxxo, they all the look close when in movement
is that the 3 flavors for DP?
are there only 3 frames to pick from?
is that the 3 flavors for DP?
are there only 3 frames to pick from?
01-29-2012, 06:58 PM
#9
Pratt & Miller helped Coyote develop their chassis, and P&M did the design for the Corvette body, assisted by GM. You can put this "Corvette" body on any of the chassis's in the series, Riley, Coyote, Dallara, or Lola.
Riley also developed their own 3rd gen body, without manufacturer input, aka a generic Riley body. If BMW or Ford want to pay for a body design, that body would have to fit any of the available chassis's. Riley's input to the Corvette body, was just in making it fit their chassis, which is what the Gainsco car is, Corvette body over Riley. Dallara did the same, to fit the Corvette body on the Suntrust team's Dallara body.
Having worked for both a NASCAR cup team, and Riley Technologies, I can say that Grand Am gives more flexibility in the rule book, but they have been making the box smaller. If anyone thinks the chassis under the body doesn't matter, then why are they so many more Riley's? Factory support from GM is the big attraction to using a "Corvette" body.
Riley also developed their own 3rd gen body, without manufacturer input, aka a generic Riley body. If BMW or Ford want to pay for a body design, that body would have to fit any of the available chassis's. Riley's input to the Corvette body, was just in making it fit their chassis, which is what the Gainsco car is, Corvette body over Riley. Dallara did the same, to fit the Corvette body on the Suntrust team's Dallara body.
Having worked for both a NASCAR cup team, and Riley Technologies, I can say that Grand Am gives more flexibility in the rule book, but they have been making the box smaller. If anyone thinks the chassis under the body doesn't matter, then why are they so many more Riley's? Factory support from GM is the big attraction to using a "Corvette" body.
01-29-2012, 07:01 PM
#10
01-29-2012, 07:02 PM
#11
01-29-2012, 07:05 PM
#12
01-29-2012, 07:27 PM
#13
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nothing wrong with that, if someone is making 5M/year, why not have a racing team?
I like it, why would they choose a DP car over GT?
01-29-2012, 07:32 PM
#14
Melting Slicks
DPs; the most race car for the money there is. Much faster than ALMS GT2 cars and as fast as the now extinct GT1 cars at half the price, key word extinct.
By the way, in any Prototype class the cars all look pretty much the same.
By the way, in any Prototype class the cars all look pretty much the same.
01-29-2012, 07:55 PM
#15
I like it, why would they choose a DP car over GT?
01-29-2012, 07:57 PM
#16
Safety Car
01-29-2012, 07:57 PM
#17
I never said that it doesn't matter. One builder will always build a better quality product than another. My point was that the sanctioning body leaves precious little room (any?) for innovative thinking. There's a difference between "they win all the time because the regularly come up with better ideas" and "they will all the time but we don't know why."
Z//
Z//
01-29-2012, 07:57 PM
#18
01-29-2012, 08:23 PM
#19
Safety Car
We have to take a look back at IMSA. IMSA was a series for rich guys. You could buy a Porsche 962 and you might even win. At least it was possible.
Then along came the ALMS. The ALMS was for the factory teams. No matter how rich you might be it's tough to compete with Audi, GM and BMW.
Grand Am was created to let the rich guys have a playground. It works. The Rolex had a tremendous car count. The ALMS has to bring a a bunch of field fillers just to make it look presentable at Sebring, Elkhart Lake and Road Atlanta.
Also keep in mind that in endurance racing the car wins - not the driver. That's a huge difference from NASCAR.
btw - Name a race series today that isn't a spec series. Ok, maybe the ALMS. But they simply follow the AOC. That's why we're going to have electric Porsches at LeMans. That's a whole 'nother discussion.
Richard Newton
Newton's Laws
Then along came the ALMS. The ALMS was for the factory teams. No matter how rich you might be it's tough to compete with Audi, GM and BMW.
Grand Am was created to let the rich guys have a playground. It works. The Rolex had a tremendous car count. The ALMS has to bring a a bunch of field fillers just to make it look presentable at Sebring, Elkhart Lake and Road Atlanta.
Also keep in mind that in endurance racing the car wins - not the driver. That's a huge difference from NASCAR.
btw - Name a race series today that isn't a spec series. Ok, maybe the ALMS. But they simply follow the AOC. That's why we're going to have electric Porsches at LeMans. That's a whole 'nother discussion.
Richard Newton
Newton's Laws
