AEC Round 3
The year is 1994 and international motorsport is in a bad place. With the cancellation of the IMSA GT series, Group C prototypes and Group A touring, viewership is nearly halved. Many large manufacturers have dropped or curtailed their programs and sponsors are pulling out faster than a nervous prom date. Something needs to be done promptly or there will be a whole ‘lost generation’ for drivers and fans.
To build up a feeder league that provides new teams and new faces a financially-viable portal to higher level competition, the AEC proposes to fill in the gap left for traditional door-to-door circuit driving. As an incentive for privateers looking to curb spiraling development costs and limit boring blow-out events, Key Engines provided a batch of 4 liter power-plants focused on durability and efficiency. They’re enough to keep the racing spirited but not so much as to overwhelm rookie operators.
With the hopes of attracting skeptical advertisers, the AEC heads set up a publicized demonstration at the famous Laguna Seca track. If this first showcase goes well, the goal is to expand to a full season and build up links to the top tiers of the sport. Organizers are expecting a large field with fast laps, and are depending on this event to establish a positive reputation for the fledgling series.
So what are we actually making here?
According to Appendix J, Article 251, Section IV, ‘car’. It really takes them that long to describe what a car is for car racing.
There’s a lot of fiddly stuff that’s outside what Automation covers. For this challenge, here is what you will need to know:
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Trim year is 1994.
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Minimum weight is 900 kilograms.
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Chassis is capped at 100 Engineering and 100 Production.
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Chassis material and engine placement are free.
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Any 2 driven wheels, front or rear.
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Tires are semi-slicks, with a maximum width of 305mm and no quality sliders. Wheel diameter and material are free.
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Suspension configuration is free.
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Gearbox and differential are free.
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Brake material, pad type, and composition are free (edited).
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Minimum cooling is 330 kilojoules. Maximum is unrestricted. Please do not recreate Peugeot’s convection-welding experiment.
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One aerodynamic lip. Placement is free.
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Any undertray is permissible. In all instances downforce must be set to 0.
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Minimum of 2 seats, standard interior. This is to simulate the presence of on-board race equipment not provisioned in the game.
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Traction control is prohibited. All other driver assists are free.
The important stuff
Minimum drivability is 30. Your clean driver underpants supply is minimum of 1.
Minimum safety is 30. Just look at how much insurance for these events costs.
The total cap on slider use is 15. This includes both positive and negative increments. The maximum alteration to any one feature, positive or negative, is 5.
The engine is a sealed specified unit here AEC Round 3 Engine.zip (10.8 KB). It is the product of 15 minutes years of racing pedigree.
The course is the most recent revision to Laguna Seca (courtesy of CobaltGirl). The direct link is https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B53Wp7zr_9DJdlNpQVF0W
The forum link is Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (flying lap). Make sure you get the updated version.
That is a lot to read! Note that all the general contest rules in the first post still apply. Once you have read the brief, please put any questions you have prior to entering as replies to this post. The deadline for entries is Midnight US PDT, August 27.