ALFAGTV6.COM

[Greg Gordon]

I just got back from Texas Motor Speedway where I watched SCCA racing for the last couple days. The E Production GTV6 built by Vick Autosports and driven by an expert driver did very well. It was only the car's second outing so they are being carefull with it and even running a stock spec 2.5. The motor had nothing but Total Seal rings and Vick headers with open exhaust. They plan to build a hotter motor for it soon.

The car only weighs about 2400 pounds empty, has huge slicks, and fender flares. It's running 33mm solid torsion bars, special rear springs and heim joints everywhere. It's a cornering monster.

It finished about middle of the pack which I think is great for a second outing with a stock spec motor. It seemed to clobber all the other cars on the infield portion of the track which is quite twisty. However once on the big Oval where the cars can run flat out for about 1.5 miles it was loosing a lot of distance. The Alfa was stuck behind a BMW Z4 for quite a while. The Z4 would gain about 100-200 yards on it in through the high speed oval but the Alfa would get it all back in the infield section. The BMW driver would not let the Alfa pass and used some off course tactics to make sure to block the Alfa. This tactic involved running over a series of mini speedbumps at high speed. This led to the BMW's suspension falling apart. A front lower suspension arm broke off the BMW causing it to retire from the race. The Alfa ran over those same bumps at high speed with no problems.

The way I see it (and this is not my area of expertise) the rules are heavily weighted in this class to favor the Mazda RX7. The Alfa is only allowed 10:1 compression but required to run 114 octane fuel. The cam allowance is not to generous either. The RX7s folks can do a lot more with thier engines and with a lighter car. The Alfa needs to be allowed 12:1 and really wild cams to keep up. So right now I would not expect this car to take a first place anytime soon, or at least until some rules change. Still it's an awesome car.

As a side note, I was very happy to see a 2.0 Fiat 124 take first place ahead of all the RX7s in one race. It was partially due to RX7 mechanical failures but hey, there were only 4 Italian cars there so it was nice to see a win for our side. The 124 had its own failure and did not finish the weekend. There were also two X1/9s there, both of which were heavily outclassed by everything else on the track.

I should have pics of this on page 4 of my site very soon.

[Reale]

It was great to hear about the race!
Was Lisa driving?
I have been running my GTV6 in EP for a couple of years now, and it is painfully obvious to me that the engine preparation rules are too restrictive. As a "limited prep" car, the rules were kept this way to keep from accidentally moving a "class killer" over from ITS. However, the GTV6 was already hamstrung in ITS, so things did not get much better in EP. The nice thing about the Production category is that (unlike IT), you can write letters to the comp board, and ask for adjustments. The downside is that you have to basically PROVE you are slow-which means that you have to lose some races.
Originally, the rules were even worse. The first season we were limited to .370" lift (basically stock), and very heavy weight (2650?). The weight problem has slowly improved (1 May 2005 we got 2300lbs, I am usually about 2400 in impound), and we received improved cam lift to .450". I am going to go after the compression next.
When writing the comp board, I have included dyno sheets and comparative laptimes, to prove that we are not making the power at the rear wheels that the fast cars are.
In general, I find that the car does very well in the "technical" parts of the course. We lose major laptime in the straights.

-Al
www.realemotorsports.com

[Greg Gordon]

Hi Al, I had hoped you would be there. In any case it was Lisa driving. She was there with her husband, son, and most of the Vick people.

I think it will be hard to get the car down to 2300 pounds, and I still don't think you are allowed enough cam lift. The compression limit really cripples the GTV6 againt the RX7. However it was really nice to watch the GTV6 scream around the track. Lisa can drive very well, she is a former regional champion but is learing a new car. The GTV6 is quite a bit more car then the Fiat 124 she raced before. With about 250 horsepower and a little more time in the car she probably would have taken first.

[alfmanr]

Have you guys sorted the carbon fiber shaft as yet ???

It was great to hear about the race!
Was Lisa driving?
I have been running my GTV6 in EP for a couple of years now, and it is painfully obvious to me that the engine preparation rules are too restrictive. As a "limited prep" car, the rules were kept this way to keep from accidentally moving a "class killer" over from ITS. However, the GTV6 was already hamstrung in ITS, so things did not get much better in EP. The nice thing about the Production category is that (unlike IT), you can write letters to the comp board, and ask for adjustments. The downside is that you have to basically PROVE you are slow-which means that you have to lose some races.
Originally, the rules were even worse. The first season we were limited to .370" lift (basically stock), and very heavy weight (2650?). The weight problem has slowly improved (1 May 2005 we got 2300lbs, I am usually about 2400 in impound), and we received improved cam lift to .450". I am going to go after the compression next.
When writing the comp board, I have included dyno sheets and comparative laptimes, to prove that we are not making the power at the rear wheels that the fast cars are.
In general, I find that the car does very well in the "technical" parts of the course. We lose major laptime in the straights.

-Al
www.realemotorsports.com

[mikecudahy]

Ahhhhhhhh, good to see my peeps on this site sporting my body kit!

There are two other GTV-6's with the body kit running in EP up here in the Road America side of town. One's for sale.

Al, I just finished a new mold for the headlight covers and venturis. This is a high temp mold that can handle the temperatures necessary for post-curing prepreg carbon fiber. Your covers will be nicer than mine, and that just pisses me off cuz now I'll have to re-make mine!

[Reale]

Hello-
Thanks for the info, Mike!
The carbon fiber driveshaft has been performing well. I had a bad front donut, which was causing my vibration problem. Since its replacement, I have had no issues!

-Al

[Giulietta24vTT]

(Greg sorry for Hi-jacking ayour thread here)

Reale , can you please specify more about the Carbon fibre shaft ,what torque can it withstand and where can I aquire one???

[tomp]

Cant you get the rules boys to make allowances for 2v vs 4v engines?
I mean surely that should be a factor.
-Tom P.

[x-rad]

REALE: Where did you get the 'off the shelf ' aluminum radiator? Brand? Price?
Thanks

BTW: you have a great web site!

[Reale]

Hi-
Sorry for not checking the site sooner-
I used a radiator from Howe, number 34127F12. The dimensions are here: http://www.howeracing.com/Radiators/Ind ... -Table.htm

The folks at http://www.alumrad.com/index.html can make any changes to the inlet and outlet as you like. The radiator above has a built in oil cooler. If you look around at the Howe website, you can find a non-cooler one with similar dimensions. The folks at www.alumrad.com can move the lower outlet anywhere you like, since, as you know, the lower pipe on the GTV6 is up a bit from where you would expect it to be.

The CF driveshaft has performed flawlessly for a whole season!
It is rated for over 700ft/lbs of torque.

Finished up second in the championship in the SEDIV SARRC series, with continuous improvement over the season. Just going to keep plugging away!

-Allen