Season 3 Trans Am Car Builds

As noted elsewhere, there are only 2 builds per car. One is a "Factory Build" and the other is a "Privateer Build."  Factory builds are just as they are in real life with slightly better component parts and slightly more hp in general. Unlike real life, the best drivers don't get a factory ride, however.  Instead, anyone with an IFCA rating of 1949.999 or less gets a factory ride. Drivers 1950.000 and above are in the "Privateer Build."  If you don't yet have a rating, you will be in the Privateer Build, to begin with.

There are only 9 cars you have to pick from for Season 3 Trans Am.  The idea is that we will add more cars if the season proves successful and we decide to go with a T/A Season 4.  

Season 3 will be 6 races.

Team limit is 12. Only 12 fastest teams will be allowed into the season.  To get in you and your teammate will have to qualify at Daytona.


Tracks
1. Daytona
2. Homestead Road Circuit
3. Watkins Glen International
4. Lime Rock
5. Road America
6. Laguna Seca

Cars
1.1965 Mustang GT Coupe  --great acceleration, poor top speed, poor handling
2.1969 Mustang Boss 302  --smooth, fast, not easy to drive, lap record holder
3.1970 Mercury Cougar  --great top speed, poor acceleration 
4.1971 AMC Javelin AMX  --light, agile, great brakes, easy to drive
5.1969 Firebird Trans Am  --fast, average handling, good acceleration, top heavy
6.1970 Camaro Z/28  --very balanced, good top end, strange braking
7.1969 Camaro SS  --big speed, strong acceleration, difficult handling at times
8.1970 Dodge Challenger 426 Hemi  --big block Hemi acceleration, settled chassis, easy to drive
9.1971 Plymouth Cuda  -- great all-around performer, fun to drive even at the limit

Race length
We will go to a longer format with the mandatory pit on lap 21 and then 8 laps to the finish on lap 29.  This should give everyone the kind of longer stints they have wanted.  Averaging a full 7 laps per stint per driver.


Trans Am Car Builds




Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 
431hp/382tq/3166lbs A615
--smooth, fast, not easy to drive, lap record holder at Daytona and Laguna Seca

Race air filter
Race intake
Race carburetor
Race ignition
Race exhaust
Race cams
Race valves
Race engine block
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/45R15 - 245/55R15
COMPOMOTIVE ML wheels


Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or less)
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 
459hp/459tq/3192lbs A630

Race air filter
Race ignition
Race exhaust
Race valves
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race Supercharger
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/45R15 - 245/55R15
Lightest wheels



Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Super Sport 
513hp/483tq/3250lbs A608
--big speed, strong acceleration, difficult handling at times

6.2L V8 upgrade
Race air filter
Race intake
Race exhaust
Street cams
Race valves
Race pistons
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 245/60R14 - 245/60R14
COMPOMOTIVE ML wheels
Remove rear bumper


Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or less)
1969 Chevrolet Camaro Super Sport 
517hp/488tq/3235lbs A625

6.2L V8 upgrade
Race air filter
Race intake
Street fuel system
Race exhaust
Street cams
Race valves
Race pistons
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 315/50R14 - 245/60R14
Lightest wheels
Remove rear bumper




Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1971 Plymouth Cuda 
448hp/448tq/3185lbs A607
 -- great all-around performer, fun to drive even at the limit

6.2L V8 upgrade
Sport air filter
Race exhaust
Race valves
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Sport weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 255/55R15 - 245/55R15
COMPOMOTIVE ML wheels


Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or less)
1971 Plymouth Cuda 
465hp/465tq/3132lbs A621

6.2L V8 upgrade
Race air filter
Race intake
Race exhaust
Race valves
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Sport weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 255/55R15 - 245/55R15
Lightest wheels



Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
443hp/575tq/3451lbs A625
 --great top speed, poor acceleration, lap record holder at Daytona

Race air filter
Race Carburetor
Race ignition
Race exhaust
Race valves
Race pistons
Street positive displacement supercharger
Sport intercooler
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/50R14 - 245/60R14
COMPOMOTIVE ML wheels


Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or less)
1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
452hp/586tq/3420lbs A633

Race air filter
Race Carburetor
Race ignition
Race exhaust
Race valves
Sport engine block
Race pistons
Street positive displacement supercharger
Sport intercooler
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/50R14 - 245/60R14
Lightest wheels







Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1971 AMC Javelin AMX
420hp/420tq/3172lbs A610
--light, agile, great brakes, easy to drive

6.2L V8 upgrade
Street air filter
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 265/55R14 - 245/60R14
COMPOMOTIVE ML wheels

Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or less)
1971 AMC Javelin AMX
438hp/438tq/3138lbs A624

6.2L V8 upgrade
Race air filter
Sport intake
Street valves
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension
Race anti-roll bars
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 265/55R14 - 245/60R14
Lightest wheels



Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1970 Camaro Z/28
432hp/426tq/3231lbs A609
--very balanced, good top end, strange braking, lap record holder at Daytona

Race intake
Race exhaust
Sport cams
Sport valves
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Sport weight reduction 
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 245/55R15 - 255/50R15
Wheels Compomotive ML

Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or lower)
1970 Camaro Z/28
450hp/444tq/3188lbs A623

Race air filter
Race intake
Sport carburetor
Race exhaust
Sport cams
Race valves
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Sport weight reduction 
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 245/55R15 - 255/50R15
Lightest wheels




Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
454hp/454tq/3076lbs A615
--fast, average handling, good acceleration, top heavy, lap record holder at Road America

6.2L V8 swap
Race air filter
Race exhaust
Race pistons
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/50R14 - 245/60R14
Wheels Compomotive ML


Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or lower)
1969 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
469hp/469tq/3034lbs A628

6.2L V8 swap
Race air filter
Race intake
Race exhaust
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Street weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/50R14 - 245/60R14
Lightest wheels 




Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1965 Ford Mustang GT
381hp/381tq/2444lbs A619
--great acceleration, poor top speed, poor handling, lap record holder at Laguna and Homestead

Sport air filter
Sport intake
Sport carburetor
Street ignition
Race exhaust
Race cams
Race valves
Sport engine block
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Stock weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 255/55R14 - 245/55R14
Wheels Compomotive ML
Remove front bumper
Remove rear bumper



Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or lower)
1965 Ford Mustang GT
386hp/386tq/2413lbs A626

Race air filter
Sport intake
Sport carburetor
Sport ignition
Race exhaust
Race cams
Race valves
Sport engine block
Race pistons
Street oil cooler
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Stock weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 255/55R14 - 245/55R14
Lightest Wheels
Remove front bumper
Remove rear bumper




Privateer Build (driver rating 1950.000 or higher)
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi
502hp/540tq/3428lbs A619
--big block Hemi acceleration, settled chassis, easy to drive, lap record holder at Homestead and Daytona

Race intake (manifold)
Race carburetor
Race ignition
Race exhaust
Sport cams
Race valves
Race pistons
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Stock suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Sport weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/45R15 - 245/55R15
Wheels Compomotive ML


Factory Build (driver rating 1949.999 or lower)
1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 426 Hemi
514hp/553tq/3384lbs A629

Race air filter
Race intake
Race carburetor
Race ignition
Race exhaust
Sport cams
Race valves
Sport engine block
Race pistons
Race flywheel
Race brakes
Street suspension 
Race anti-roll bars front and rear
Race roll cage
Sport weight reduction
Race clutch
Sport transmission 
Race driveline
Race diff
Race tires 295/45R15 - 245/55R15
Lightest Wheels 

I know everyone or most everyone is excited about Trans Am and especially this version and format.  Trans Am has been done countless times by dozens of leagues including the IFCA, and yet the success of the series has been marginal at best.  Seems to defy logic that when you have popular cars that are fun to drive your success ratio takes a dive.  Why is this?  It's all in the details.  

Too often race organizers try to duplicate the real T/A cars strictly by the numbers, or they allow an open build that produces an unrealistic car.  In both cases, you get a car that doesn't really behave very much like a Trans Am car from back in the day.  

Part of the problem is that vintage Forza muscle cars are still street cars no matter how many parts you put on them.  A true Trans-Am car was heavily reinforced for the rigors of racing and was unlike the street car you could buy from a dealer.  Even so, by today's modern race car standards technology and chassis geometry Trans Am cars are old school.  They tend to bob and weave and roll and depend on the driver to maintain car control more than the suspension.  Stiffer and more suitable for the track than their production counterparts the Trans-Am cars were still brutish, heavy, and steered with your foot as much as the steering wheel.  A Trans-Am driver was very busy in the cockpit with counter-steer, and tap dancing on the pedals.  Tires weren't that great, and brake technology was basic.

The best way to bring to life the feel and control of the Trans-Am cars, is by feel.  Forget the numbers and just try to get the feel of the car to be correct first.  

For those of you like me who have been lucky enough to have driven bone stock muscle cars, you know what we are looking for.  Knowing what a stocker feels like gives you a kind of base line reference.  From there you start to add various required parts to make the car not only better but more fun to drive.  But you must guard against over building the cars.  You don't want to lose the character of the car to modern technology by giving it the best suspension and tires.  And it doesn't take much to do this, to overbuild the car.

Once you are at the exact point between beefed up street car and over built race car, you are at the approximate sweet spot for a replicated Trans-Am feel.  Then you have to start the rather simple task of BoP testing to get the cars to equality with each other.

To do this properly for a series it is best to start with just a few cars as we have, and then add more cars later.  The 3 cars we have act as a template for any additional cars.  What you end up with are cars that retain their individual character without being spec-clones of each other.  They are supremely equal, but vastly different in the way they go about their business.  

The Mustang with its lighter small block 302 and overall lighter weight is the best handling of the 3.  The Camaro with its larger 6.2L V8 has almost 100hp more and has more top end punch though it weighs 266lbs more than the Ford. And the Cuda has more mid-range as it is 65lbs lighter than the Camaro but with 65 fewer ponies.

The big change for this season will be in favor of your lower rated driver.  The Factory builds average 4hp and 4lb-ft of torque more along with better suspension and lighter wheels over the Privateer builds.  It's nearly a 7 P.I. increase on average.  It's not huge but it is significant because it means the Factory cars are going to be slightly quicker, faster, and better handling.  It means the fast guys are going to have to out drive the slower guys because in a straight line the Factory cars will have the advantage.  But it balances out since the fast guys are better at braking and getting in and out of corners.

So if you are below the magic 1950.000 rating this is a real chance for you to battle for a podium, which is why we do it this way.  We want to see the slower guys have a chance, and we want to put some pressure on the faster guys.  Too often in a T/A series you have to have insider tuning knowledge.  You have to know the right build, and tune, and you better hope you picked the right car to begin with.  Not here.  Here the builds are fixed and equalized.  Then, at the half way point you can change out your car if it doesn't work for you.  Just as before you can use any car to qualy with too.

Hopefully this explains the behind the scenes activity for you guys and you can see that a lot of effort goes into it.  Season 3 will likely begin April 13th @ Daytona.  Until then get some practice in.  The car builds are up and shared, so have fun.

Did some practice with ChevyPower, Percy, and Yankee, that was really fun, at Road America in the T/A cars.  The cars are very comparable but at the same time very different.  All 3 cars were able to run in the 2:25s.  The Mustang did it with sweet handling, the Camaro did it with sheer speed, and the Cuda did it with mid-range grunt. This is going to be good boys!

IS there a Livery requirement?

UPDATE:

Be advised that after consulting with several of our local fast guys it was determined that the Mustang was able to overcome its lack of hp with its lighter weight, and was determined to be too fast for the Camaro and Cuda on most of the tracks. Because of this, we have had to go with a heavier build that offers more hp/tq for the Mustang.  It's handling superiority isn't entirely lost but it is closer to the other two at present.

These are minor changes because most drivers would not have been able to notice a difference.  Faster drivers would have been able to take advantage however.

So please re-download the new Mustang build or rebuild it accordingly.  The new builds are shared and posted.

We will continue to test up and until March 16th.  If any of you find a car to be too fast or too slow just let me know and we will have a look at your data.

Special thanks goes out to ChevyPower, and Skitchin for spotting this well before the season begins.

Several drivers have complained that the "Factory" build Camaro and Mustang seemed unequal, having the same speed but not quite the same handling ability.  Again, the Mustang being the better handling car.  But they also accused me of favoritism with the Cuda because it was superior to the Chevy and the Ford. (As you all know I'm a MOPAR guy)  

They suggested we give the Factory Camaro slightly better handling to match the Mustang, but they went further and suggested that the Camaro and Mustang need to be upgraded to have the intended effect for the, "velocity challenged" as we say.  Their point was that there needs to be a larger performance gap between the Factory build and the Privateer and that 0.1sec per lap was not really enough.

All points well taken, so, we have re-worked the Mustang and Camaro with this is mind.  We gave the Mustang more power, and we gave the Camaro better handling, and we left the Cuda as is.  Now all 3 cars will best their Privateer counterpart by at least 0.35sec per lap, if you have the driving skill to do it.

The Factory cars are significantly faster and more equal now thanks to those slower drivers who will remain nameless.  This will put the fast guys on notice for sure.

The revised Factory builds have been shared and posted.

UPDATE #3:  Several drivers have expressed a desire that there should be at least one more car if not two more added to the list for season 3. 

Rumor has it that additional cars are being worked on and will be released just prior to qualifying. 

I can neither deny nor confirm these allegations.  

Official Daytona 24hr qualifying begins Saturday, March 16th.  Race 1 at Daytona is Saturday, April 13th 6:00 EST.

A few Ford fans were telling me that while the Mustang was more in-line with the Camaro and Cuda, it was harder to drive.  In its initial build it was too easy to drive, so we added some weight and hp.  This resulted in a high RPM power band and less torque with a heavier car.  Not the easiest to get the most out of was the problem.  It would run the same lap times but required expert driving skills to do it.  So, I have worked at getting the handling to a more manageable state by adding a tire width to the rear and a street oil cooler.  This gives the Mustang greater control and stability especially under acceleration which was its weakness.

The new build is shared and posted, or if you have the Mustang just add the street oil cooler and 295/45R15 to the rear tires.

The following are 29 cars of interest, or cars being considered for inclusion:


1967 Corvette 427
1966 Corvette FF
1970 Corvette ZR-1
1965 Mustang GT Coupe
1969 Mustang Boss 302
1971 Mustang Mach 1
1970 Mercury Cougar
1973 Porsche 911 
1971 AMC Javelin AMX
1977 Firebird Trans Am
1973 Firebird Trans Am SD 455
1969 Firebird Trans Am
1970 Camaro Z/28
1969 Camaro SS
1979 Camaro Z/28
1969 Chevy Nova SS 396
1966 Chevy Nova SS 327
1970 Dodge Challenger 426 Hemi
1971 Plymouth Cuda
1970 Plymouth Hemi Cuda Convertable
1968 Ferrari 365 GTB/4
1967 Lamborghini Miura P400
1977 Holden Torana A9X
1968 Holden Monaro GTS 327
1973 Holden HQ Monaro GTS 350
1973 Ford XB Falcon GT
1972 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E49
1961 Jaguar E-Type
1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ2




Check back to see updates to this list.  For now, not all of these cars have been tested or will make the final list is the prediction.

As speculated we have added a couple of cars and may yet add another.  It was felt that we might as well have the most well-known Trans-Am cars to round out the field.  The new arrivals from Mercury and AMC are the Cougar and Javelin bringing the total official car list to 5.  

Again, you can run any of the official cars listed here with a build sheet to attempt to qualify at Daytona 24hr, and then you can use any car to compete in the season once your team makes it in.  At the halfway point of the season, you are allowed to change cars too.  

You and your teammate must use the same car and livery for the season.  *You don't have to use the same cars for getting into the series.

Qualifying begins mid-March.  Seasons starts Saturday, April 13th.

Stay tuned, and good luck!

In the T/A video at the top of this thread, you can get a sense for the amount of bobbing, leaning, and slide these cars were doing. The suspension bobs up and down quite a bit, but everything is fairly predictable.

I think I learned something about how to take turn #4 and the next 3 turns.

Thanks to everyone who stuck around for the test practice race it really helped to see where we are at with the T/A cars.

I'm happy to report that the Factory builds when driven by an under 1950 driver, as intended, are equal to the Privateer builds being driven by the over 1950 guys. When I say "equal" I'm talking lap times only. A race is more than a single good lap as we all know.

Incognito gave us the best example as he is one of the faster under 1950 guys. He was able to dip deep into the 1:59s in the revised Factory build as expected. And though he was not all that consistent every lap he was able to match my times in the Privateer build to within 0.2sec which is great.

Because I do a lot of testing at Daytona it's hard to use me as a fair comparison. I run every Privateer car into the 1:58s, and can run every Factory car into the 1:57s. There is about a 0.7sec difference in favor of the Factory cars now just for everyone's information. This is huge for our more velocity challenged friends! They absolutely will be bringing a .44 mag to this knife fight I assure you. So watch out fast guys!

It is expected that the under 1950 crowd should be able to get into the 1:59s where the over 1950 crowd is. We saw this in relative terms during testing. In fact ChevyPower was having a hard time getting into the 1:59s with the 1965 Mustang due to its 160mph top speed the slowest in the field. This bodes well for the under 1950 group, although he is unlikely to use the 65 Mustang for Daytona. lol Truth is, in spite of its short legs the 65 Mustang can run with the big dogs even at Daytona. I ran a clean 1:59.012 with it during the test race.

Now the rest is up to you. I will be adding 1 last car to the group that I forgot. The 69 Firebird Trans Am.

*Because the IFCA website is broken at the editor level at the moment I won't be able to update certain things that are formatted, like the rankings and ratings. Hopefully my Web guy can fix the problems soon.

Where is the supposed Cuda build that is higher than the A613 that is here on the list. I can not find ANY OTHER build reference anywhere. How do I HAVE THE WRONG BUILD if it is listed here in the formal car list and builds? Don't tell me to download it from someone, I want full control over what I build and race, cannot make changes to a fixed build. So what's up with that??? Where is it?????????

Midnite Rider wrote:Where is the supposed Cuda build that is higher than the A613 that is here on the list. I can not find ANY OTHER build reference anywhere. How do I HAVE THE WRONG BUILD if it is listed here in the formal car list and builds? Don't tell me to download it from someone, I want full control over what I build and race, cannot make changes to a fixed build. So what's up with that??? Where is it?????????

Let me check...

The build is shared as 1949. The build has not been published for two reasons. 1. It takes time and 2.The IFCA site isn't working properly as mentioned in the post race review and elsewhere. 

I have someone who is going to try to fix the problem this week. I will try to get all the revised Factory build posted soon.

Cuda Factory build is now updated

I did some extensive test sessions yesterday with yankee, chevypower, and some new guys. The verdict is we seem to have achieved our goal. Slower drivers are with some effort matching the lap times of the faster drivers. Our Factory builds appear to have the appropriate amount of extra performance to give our under 1950.000 rated drivers equality in lap times.

For perhaps the first time ever slower drivers are going to be a legitimate threat to compete for poles and podiums!  You owe it to all the slower drivers you know to drag them in here where they have the best chance anywhere to actually win races.

All car builds are now posted and shared.  Time to practice!

Thanks Don!

The posted (PI618) Car build for the 1971 AMC Javelin is not the same as your Shared (PI624) Tune.


My best laps in the PI618 build is 2:01's and the PI624 Tune is 1:59's.


Which is the correct build for Season 3?

EZT TomCat7 wrote:The posted (PI618) Car build for the 1971 AMC Javelin is not the same as your Shared (PI624) Tune.


My best laps in the PI618 build is 2:01's and the PI624 Tune is 1:59's.


Which is the correct build for Season 3?

Okay Tom, yep, the build sheet wasn't updated for the Factory Jav.  Please double check it to make sure you have the right parts.

Thanks
Don