The Car Shopping Round (Round 64): Tears in Heaven

HighOctaneLove · 22 October 2016 02:01

Part 1 - Preamble and the first cars on the chopping block!

Before I begin I want to say that I received a lot of really good cars, so don’t be upset if your car isn’t crowned no.1 as by participating you’re already a winner!

The design brief for this competition was simple; a fun to drive, small and easy to manufacture small car that will allow young people to experience the thrill of driving. That’s what Toyota set out to do with the RL 86 and, IMO, they achieved everything they set out to do. The 86’s main flaws lie in it’s drivetrain as the boxer 4 isn’t as easy to mod and/or tune as Toyota was hoping and the styling wasn’t as stylish as it could have been.

So with that in mind, here is part 1 of the rebirth of the 86!

Good try but not good enough…

Three cars were knocked out early due to being either flawed in their setup or flawed in their execution. The end result was a poor showing on the Haruna Downhill. The cut-off was set at 5 minutes exactly and each car failed for different, yet similar, reasons.

ST-69 by @LordLetto: 5:01.11

Too much power and not enough grip. 224Kw trying to grasp the pavement through 75 series tyres does not a sporty drive make. Design language felt confused and was lacking direction and cohesion. Lower profile tyres would have helped a lot and discretion with your fixture choice and colour would have worked wonders.

Verdict: A good replacement for a Chinese copy of an 86!

GT-75 by @lordvader1: 5:26.46

Another design with too much power but this is caused by the terrible grip levels of the tyre compound choice. 70 series hard long life tyres have no tread or inherent grip levels so the car cannot use it’s chassis properly. This car was the slowest car in the group and the tyres are to blame! Another point against this car is that the redline equals the peak power of the engine, rendering the maximum power virtually unuseable.

Verdict: Another Chinese knock-off, at least this one looks good!

Six-Nine by @TheUltimateD00M: 5:08.72

When I loaded this car up I was expecting either a mid or rear drive car; brave but worth a shot, so long as you can fit 4 seats. But I was unpleasently surprised by the car having a FR layout, with the cab forward design lending an awkwardness to the car that wasn’t very flattering from any angle. But I’ll let the best car win, not just the best looking, so when the car proved unable to out-perform the competition, the poor body choice only hastened it’s demise…

Verdict: RWD Hyundai Veloster anyone? Competent design marred by a bad choice of canvas.

4LGE · 22 October 2016 02:14

May I still submit a post presenting my submission? I was still writing on it as you started the reviews already

I can already say, it is very likely worth it

HighOctaneLove · 22 October 2016 02:16

Absolutely! I’m totally fine with that Thanks for participating!

4LGE · 22 October 2016 02:18

Ohh I had a good crack on this. How fitting it is that the virtual car company I’m mostly using here, Tare (actually Ta-Re), is supposed to be an homage to particularly the Japanese car manufacturers.

So here’s what Tare would offer as a “brother”-car for Toyota’s AE86 Legacy; instead of the Subaru BRZ: The Tare RAX! Tried to lean more towards making a somewhat practical car than a pure performance coupé.

And no, it’s definitely not a Honda, and yes, it’ll fit.

It also features a standard issue Infotainment System. We have our own legacy to uphold, since our first rally car also featured at least a radio. But we’re going sentimental here. The Infotainment is also a good way to control, e.G. turn off our handful of driver assists, and, here’s the cherry, how our active automatic diff, AcDiff, behaves. It can loosely lock when it detects slip, guided by traction control. It can lock when the steering is pointed straight ahead, can go well together with launch control on the drag strip. And last but not least: It can be set to lock all the time! Have it “welded” and unwelded at a touch of a button! With that, you’re always ready for traction! Heh.
Ohh, you also notice the “7” on the stick? Turns out printing that number on the knob prevents any crashes, so the front and side airbags theoretically aren’t needed! Jokes aside, this is your lucky number for fuel economy. Cruises 120 kmph with barely over 2k RPM, the engine has enough bottom end torque to handle that easily. And if you really get into it, this could also be your lucky number for an even higher top speed if you ask the guys over at MOZI to install you a turbo! Heard they got up to 500 horses out of that engine even with stock internals still running 98! Anyways, this will already go to 269 in sixth gear. I think the gearbox alone is worth it. Nice short gearing, high speed capabilities, good quality, and not everyone has 7 gears! You could brag about this to your friends and feel like a car god with epic skills, …except your friends are truckers.
The engine, 2.4 liters, 255 horsepower, or 190 kilowatts. It’s an inline 4, sure, but it sounds jurassic between 6000 and 8000 RPM. Yes, it revs that high, and that’s also where its sweet spot lies! The lower revs are good and torquey for cruising, you won’t lug that engine very much. But go beyond 4000 RPM, and ACTEC comes into _ACT_ion! Heh…

It takes a minute and 24 seconds to go around a popular British airfield. Grippy sports tyres by standard!
All this for a raw price of 16800! And you can still deliver tofu with it, as it still has capacity left for non-sport activities!

LordLetto · 22 October 2016 03:14

I’ll take that as being better than

So, Am I Improving?

phale · 22 October 2016 03:35

Oops.

I had this done last night but I was planning on writing a big presentation to go with it… Oh well, here it is then

Thanks to rk38 for letting me use his open-source design for inspiration

HighOctaneLove · 22 October 2016 03:43

Part II - Toyota excludes designs that will prove problematic to sell worldwide

This category includes cars that have used exotic materials, exotic techniques or unviable drivetrain choices to achieve their goals. All these cars are great and only failed to take Toyota as a global entity into account!

Smooth VG-12 by @AirJordan: 4:36.02

There’s always one in the crowd who has to be the clown. When everyone else said “why?” to a V12, AirJordan said “why not?”. An artifact of my, in hindsight, overly generous budget and cryptic design brief, the Smooth VG-12 is fast, frugal and oh so smooth… But it would bankrupt anyone who wanted to own one with high registration costs, expensive maintenance and intense insurance premiums! Oh, and the 3dr upright hatch shape didn’t do this submission any favours either, IMO.

Verdict: Maybe take it to Auto Salon but thumbs down from the VP’s of Production and Marketing!

Trueno by @Denta: 4:43.79

This is a really nice car let down solely by the use of titanium rods. The 86 is mass produced and titanium is expensive and mainly comes from Russia, so this precludes effective production schedules. The design is really nice and the car is well thought out so this choice was an unfortunate oversight. Good car!

Verdict: It could’a been a contender but it’s conrods took a dive!

Osprey Turbo by @DoctorNarfy: 4:42.79

Another contender that was let down by the use of exotic materials plus exotic building techniques! As well as a magnesium block, the Osprey has a glued aluminium chassis with FRP panels! Cutting edge, certainly, but this design isn’t mass produceable and won’t be able to supply the volumes required for worldwide consumption.

Verdict: A fresh design for Lotus to build a next-gen Elise upon.

Ramia-AE by @koolkei: 4:39.86

Oh this choice hurt, it really did. The inclusion of a magnesium block killed this car. The car is punchy, fuel efficient and I personally love the look but the VP of production was adamant: Exotic equals expensive and there’s no way around it. An excellent entry cut down before it’s time…

Verdict: A really nice coupe; would make a great Nissan competitor once the Mag block was changed.

DSD-Tidal by @Darkshine5: 4:46.32

If koolkei’s exclusion hurt then this exclusion was agony! This crazy little coupe charmed me the moment I saw it and the combination of I3 power, AWD and smart choices made for a very cool concept. Yes, the design is a little OTT but it isn’t ugly and is a trademark of DSD design. Titanium rods and the fact that the engine was on it’s limits is what killed this design; there was no engineering headroom for turbocharging in the aftermarket and the fuel economy wasn’t great for the engine size chosen. Ironically the quirky I3, which drew me to the design, was the cause of it’s failure as an I4 or V6 would have been less stressed and wouldn’t have needed the titanium!

Verdict: Would make a great Citroen to be a left-field choice against the 86.

Marauder GT by @nialloftara: 4:39.43

The perfect example of lore getting in the way of victory! No direct injection means that Toyota is not interested in your entry, despite it’s exceptional nature, plus the V8 makes it impossible for young drivers to register or insure in markets other than the USA. This car looks excellent, was well thought out and I love that it’s lore-friendly but, since Toyota used the 86 to showcase their DI prowess, the lack of DI killed it. Maybe you could have contacted one of the DI savvy companies to make some lore to justify it’s use for this competition but as it stand; Toyota says no…

Verdict: Lore 1: Competition 0 (And that isn’t a bad thing IMO)

HighOctaneLove · 22 October 2016 03:46

You’ve gone from one extreme to the other!

My advice? Look at RL cars and attempt to re-create their look in Automation. Once you get a feel for how RL companies do it, make your own designs with RL in mind and you’ll be winning fashion contests in no time!

Darkshine5 · 22 October 2016 04:22

argh I knew I should have gone with a modern 4agze bugga but good for company lore

HighOctaneLove · 22 October 2016 04:37

Part III - But what about the Supra???

Toyota is bringing back the Supra and there needs to be room to allow for it. An OP Hachiroku will only make it harder to make a Supra that lives up to it’s legacy. It is indeed possible that history could be repeated with Supra becoming a nameplate within a lesser car’s model range but this competition wasn’t mean’t to reflect that. So, for the first time in CSR history… The cars that were too powerful to compete!

For the record, the cut-off was 220Kw as I took into account that Supra might potentially go head to head with GT-R and the upscaled Hachiroku being left fighting the 370Z.

Storm Knight by @Madrias: 4:37.67

The only sedan in the competition, I had a soft spot for the Knight as it nicely sums up what I’d like to do to my IS200; stick a 3L turbo in it! But, with 261Kw, the Knight was too powerful, forcing Supra to be 300Kw plus which wouldn’t be too bad except it makes the Knight too powerful for young guns and limits the market. Being a sedan is a huge plus but the extra weight would have been felt if the engine was less powerful. In the end, there were too many coupes who did more with less for the Knight to win and being too powerful sealed it’s fate. Oh, the hood scoops, IMO, look naff so put in some vents next time!

Verdict: Altezza Touring V anyone?

AVD Shrike by @abg7: 4:37.06

The first cheeky bugger who tried to use Bogliq Blue to (presumably) win points and it, unfortunately, didn’t work! 242Kw is 22Kw too many (220Kw was the absolute ceiling) kilowatts in this competition. I loved the inclusion of an inline six (my personal favourite engine design, lol) and the car was no slouch performance wise but too much power is just simply too much when younger drivers are concerned. Oh, the car is waayyy to chrome encrusted for a youth orientated sports coupe!

Verdict: It’d make a great 2-Series coupe; not edgy enough for today’s millenials!

GT88 TRD by @thecarlover: 4:43.06

OMG!!! A replica of the RA28!!! Only my most favourite car ever!!! If I could have chosen based on my personal nostalgic feelings, this car would have won! Unfortunately I’m roleplaying the CEO of the largest (I know, I know, you could argue either way ) car company in the world so I have to have SOME rationality, lol. 227Kw, yup, 7Kw derailed this car and saw this challenge falter. I’m sorry, I loved this car and I had no choice…

Verdict: A worthy successor to the RA28’s of yore, Toyota will be keeping your submission because the CEO has stolen it!

Madrias · 22 October 2016 04:41

Ah, no big deal. I wasn’t aiming to win. Plus, Storm Design Philosophy is that having extra power teaches extra responsibility, extra quickly. And I know for a fact that the AluStar V6, if you’re willing to sacrifice reliability, can make some stupid amounts of power.

Or, the ‘Supra’ version would have had the AluStar III V8. And somewhere north of 700 horsepower. Factory stock.

strop · 22 October 2016 04:49

A Life lesson learnt at the cost of the car, and on occasion, of the life of the driver in GG’s case

Madrias · 22 October 2016 04:53

The Storm Duke is somewhat an example of that. I think I left that in the “Everybody’s a Reviewer” thread, but no one’s thought to review a 1980’s AWD 750+ horsepower twin-turbocharged station wagon.

strop · 22 October 2016 04:56

I think it’s time to go back and look at that thread.

when I get home

Also holy crap that power cutoff, so basically no more than 293.6bhp allowed. I was pushing 279, so didn’t have a lot of room there!

koolkei · 22 October 2016 04:58

wha-wha-wha???
just 1 click killed my car…

also was mag block really an exotic material then?

strop · 22 October 2016 05:02

In a way it still kind of is now. Manufacturing process for mag is still specialised due to its flammability, so pretty much the only major manufacturer (AFAIK) that uses it a lot is BMW, especially in 2012.

I mean other companies have flirted with magnesium block but they tended to combust… I mean the first thing that comes up if one googles “magnesium block” is either a) actual combustible aids b) reports of Mg engines catching fire.

Madrias · 22 October 2016 05:05

Exactly. The only reason Storm dabbles in magnesium is because Luke’s comfortable working with the stuff, and even he doesn’t take it lightly. Specialty engines may end up with it, but for the most part, Luke sticks to aluminum alloys.

koolkei · 22 October 2016 05:09

but much of it that’s older VW mag-block engines. like wouldn’t modern metallurgy make an alloy that would make it more resistant to igniting?

abg7 · 22 October 2016 05:12

OK, so if I had instead capped the output at around 280 SAE bhp and used color-coded front air intakes, then the Shrike might have been cut in the next round at least instead of this one. For the sake of company lore, it would have left more room for a faster, more expensive car higher up the AVD range.

strop · 22 October 2016 05:17

I do know there’s a paper from like 2008 proclaiming the arrival of this alloy, yes. Somebody who’s more familiar with this should probably say something, but again AFAIK that mitigates the risk of the engine igniting during use, but still doesn’t address the fact that generating the alloy and working with it is still complicated (and very temperature sensitive).