COTF - who is running what?

[SJA]

A bit of a summary page is in order I think.

If the grid remains un-changed (for the most part), by my count we have:
1x TDR
3x BJR
4x DJR
2x GRM

Who are yet to announce who they will be receiving COTF chassis from AND in what skin they will be.

Triple 8 are supplying to: Themselves, Tekno and LDM. But does that necessarily mean that Tekno and LDM are running Holden skins?

We know only 5 teams have major manufacturer support. 3x Walkinshaw and 2x Triple 8 with Holden, 3x FPR and 3x SBR with Ford and 4x Kelly Racing with Nissan.

So how will the remaining teams choose to skin their cars? Will it be based on who their supplier is. Eg if TDR stay with FPR they'll skin their car a Ford, but if they go back to the Walkinshaw's they'll skin it a Holden.
or
Will it be more based on what kind of "parts" or "support" the teams can rustle up from any of the manufacturers? Eg, BJR might be sitting back thinking, "who ever offers the most support from Holden, Ford or Nissan will decide how we skin our cars? (Just thinking out loud).

Input, thoughts and facts from those in the know. Thanks.

[ForumNick]

DJR are getting their COTF chassis from Pace Innovations

as per the penultimate paragraph in this article

[St00ge]

Going to be very interesting next year; KR, SBR, WR, 888, and Pace so far are allowed to build the COTF base chassis, other have the fab shops setup to build the rest of the car from there (or pony up and become accredited to build the base chassis) so like nascar with their COTF we will see differences in how they end up getting built and still have different chassis that have their own nuances that set them apart. It will be great to see all the teams having new mouse traps and tyres to play with that throws all their data out the window to some degree.. Of cause the cream will always rise to the top, but in this category being so close now it doesn't take much to be put on the back foot when you roll out of the trailer on the friday.

888 plan to build for themselves LDM and Tekno, FPR are basically a four car team already (TDR and RNR) but may still have a customer, Kellys have their four car Jap team to worry about, SBR have been linked with some Korean manufacturer already (they have made a point not to sign back up with Ford for 2013 already this year), Walkingstick will have BJR or others to worry about, Pace have DJR on board but they will only mig their chassis and Garry Rogers wants to try lure someone else in (Chrysler seems to have too much debt still to even get serious about it) so may have to either get certified for COTF building or build his cars around a base chassis of someone elses...

[Umai Naa]

I believe FPR are also sourcing their cars from PACE.

[SJA]

Good feedback guys. Thank you.

Is there an article linking FPR to PACE by any chance?

[St00ge]

http://www.v8supercars.com.au/champi...2/default.aspx

While other teams – including Kelly Racing – have elected to build their own from the ground-up using the control chassis materials, FPR have elected to source a more-advanced build stage of chassis from Queensland-based Pace Innovations.

FPR Engineering Manager Matt Nilsson says this car is the first of four the team will build for itself (three race cars and one spare) and that doesn’t count any customer build deals the team may arrange in the future.

“Once this car comes off the jig, we’ll do as much as we can in the fabrication shop,” he says.

“It will be assembled and once our next chassis comes from Ceppy (Paul Ceprnich, head of Pace Innovations), we’ll just keeping building chassis to keep it moving.

“As we build the next one, the first chassis will be being built in the workshop, so no doubt we’ll find little bits and pieces to modify as we go.”

Nilsson said the team’s first COF chassis is currently on the jig and is best described as being the front to rear firewall section of the car – in essence, the main safety structure.

“It has the majority of the roll cage, other than a few bits and pieces like seat belt bars, steering column installation etc,” says Nilsson.

“There’s a bit of work to do to put in seat mounts and quite a bit of sheet metal for fuel tank position and all those bits and pieces. What we have at the moment is all pretty basic.

“Then we now go and built the front and rear structure ourselves for suspension points. We have saved all of the critical workload to do ourselves to do under the freedom of the regulations.

“We can make it all completely in-house. We have a build process mapped out, but we haven’t got too many set deadlines at this stage. We haven’t done much manufacturing as we’re waiting on some of the rules to be finalised by V8 Supercars, but we’ve done most of the design work.”

You are correct.

[GTRMagic]

Meantime... on the engine front... it has been reported in AA that the KR-Nissan-Nismo engine team have signed off on a powerplant... a 5.6L DOHC V8 engine as used in the Nissan GT-R GT1 project in Japan.

Presumably the engine will have to be sleeved and/or longer connecting rods/pistons to reduce the capacity to 5 Litres.

Of interest in the same article by the same publication, is a quote from Mr McNamara suggesting that the Holden choice is a Chevrolet 'crate engine' on the basis of cost!

There is unattributed discussion about Ford 'wanting' their Coyote powerplant in the COTF model going forward.

So we have the Japanese brand running high tech, with a pukka race motor, with twin cams, 4 valves per cylinder and lots of modern thinking... and the other two pondering perhaps an 'elcheapo' response.

I would have thought it to be nuts to change engines & chassis in the Holden & Ford scenarios in the same year... the development path & costs would be horrendous!

Time for Holden & Ford to supply engines from a single source each perhaps? they figure out what they want to do... or not...

[Umai Naa]

One would assume that it'd be wise to stay with something proven, engine-wise. Are there provisions in the rule to allow for a different engine to be homologated at a later stage?

[Trevor]

GRM - Chrysler (from a reliable source), deal not quite done yet

[SJA]

Originally Posted by Big_Trev

GRM - Chrysler (from a reliable source), deal not quite done yet

That still doesn't reveal who the chassis builder will be, only the skin the cars will appear in.

[Mixer]

Surely the NZ COTF experience is that you can source similar noise and performance for much less dollars, and if you provide appropriate restrictions you're engineering more reliability into them as well as parity. How can that be bad?

[GTRMagic]

Can we look forward to a GRM Chrysler complete with an engine out of a Ferrari 458?

Its a crate engine... The spares come in a box...

Imagine the sssooooouuuuunnnndddddd

[St00ge]

Originally Posted by SJA

That still doesn't reveal who the chassis builder will be, only the skin the cars will appear in.

why is that a big deal? They can buy the base chassis from Pace which others are already planning on doing and then to build their car off that.. under the Chrysler skin the chassis is going to be the same..

[SJA]

Originally Posted by St00ge

why is that a big deal? They can buy the base chassis from Pace which others are already planning on doing and then to build their car off that.. under the Chrysler skin the chassis is going to be the same..

I think it's a pretty big deal.

It's been like this for a while, but next year it is very much going to be a battle of chassis builders. Holden vs Ford left the building a while ago for anyone who's been paying attention. There haven't really been Holdens or Fords on VESCA grids for some time, WP, FPR, SBR, KR, 888, GRM have been the manufacturers and next year the build race will seriously intensify!

[Techo]

COTF would of been a good idea pre-GFC... Back to the future...

[St00ge]

Originally Posted by SJA

I think it's a pretty big deal.

It's been like this for a while, but next year it is very much going to be a battle of chassis builders. Holden vs Ford left the building a while ago for anyone who's been paying attention. There haven't really been Holdens or Fords on VESCA grids for some time, WP, FPR, SBR, KR, 888, GRM have been the manufacturers and next year the build race will seriously intensify!

yeah I know all this, but still GRM can buy a base chassis form PACE which FPR and DJR seems to say they are doing and from their GRM can build the rest of the chassis. They have the fab shop to do this as this is what they pretty much currently do with a walkinstick chassis at the moment..

[SJA]

Originally Posted by St00ge

yeah I know all this, but still GRM can buy a base chassis form PACE which FPR and DJR seems to say they are doing and from their GRM can build the rest of the chassis. They have the fab shop to do this as this is what they pretty much currently do with a walkinstick chassis at the moment..

Cool. Yeah, I would assume they probably will go PACE at this late stage too.

...In relation to your second comment - I was under the impression GRM have always built their own chassis from the ground up (apart from the very early days where their first couple of chassis were ex Gibson or HRT or something?).

GRM build their own cars, but use Walky donks, I think you'll find. (Happy to be corrected).

BJR on the other hand, I believe operate more along the line of what you suggested. Walky "kit cars" that are built/assembled and skinned at BJR and installed with their chosen componentry (which may or may not be the same to the componentry used at HRT/WR). BJR however use NRE donks. (Once again, happy to be corrected).

[TWRv12]

Originally Posted by SJA

BJR however use NRE donks. (Once again, happy to be corrected).

NRE = ?

[St00ge]

Originally Posted by SJA

Cool. Yeah, I would assume they probably will go PACE at this late stage too.

...In relation to your second comment - I was under the impression GRM have always built their own chassis from the ground up (apart from the very early days where their first couple of chassis were ex Gibson or HRT or something?).

GRM build their own cars, but use Walky donks, I think you'll find. (Happy to be corrected).

BJR on the other hand, I believe operate more along the line of what you suggested. Walky "kit cars" that are built/assembled and skinned at BJR and installed with their chosen componentry (which may or may not be the same to the componentry used at HRT/WR). BJR however use NRE donks. (Once again, happy to be corrected).

Hey I'm happy to be corrected too, I thought GRM built from a walkingshaw kit like BJR as I thought I remember hearing that during a workshop tour I saw somewhere (maybe jewtube) a while back. Anyone able to confirm either way?

[Umai Naa]

Originally Posted by TWRv12

NRE = ?

Noonan Race Engines.

[Denosaur]

Originally Posted by St00ge

Anyone able to confirm either way?

GRM, apart from the very early days, have always built there own.

After they moved from Glen Waverley to Dandenong, Garry decided it would be cheaper for the team to lease engines from WP rather than keep that part of the shop going.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Can we look forward to a GRM Chrysler complete with an engine out of a Ferrari 458?

Its a crate engine... The spares come in a box...

Imagine the sssooooouuuuunnnndddddd

Espically at full blast going up Mountian straight and Conrod Straight at Bathurst, the thing popping, fizzing and screaming at full rpm. I feel all excited now.

[St00ge]

Originally Posted by Denosaur

GRM, apart from the very early days, have always built there own.

After they moved from Glen Waverley to Dandenong, Garry decided it would be cheaper for the team to lease engines from WP rather than keep that part of the shop going.

No worries must of got mixed up with the engines.. It was a few years ago I saw the video

[Speedwayracer44]

Word I'm hearing is the v8 cof is looking increasingly in doubt. Seems a few owners aren't happy about
a single chassis and single suspension supplier so it's going to be open slather but alarm bells are ringing not only with team owners but drivers.What a waste of all the testing they have done. could this be the end for archer capital and v8sc?

[ForumNick]

Originally Posted by Speedwayracer44

Word I'm hearing is the v8 cof is looking increasingly in doubt. Seems a few owners aren't happy about
a single chassis and single suspension supplier so it's going to be open slather but alarm bells are ringing not only with team owners but drivers.What a waste of all the testing they have done. could this be the end for archer capital and v8sc?

Where did this come from..??????