Hi everyone, thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to host my second challenge. Let’s make it a good one!
Previous QFC12 - Hot Hatch Time
Original QFC
For this round, we will be making factory sport trucks new for 2003. I was going to pick 1999 but there’s some good bodies that come up in '03 so we’ll go with that.
First thing - Personally, I think the “Tech Pool” system works poorly for competitions. Its basically like skipping ahead years, so it defeats the purpose of us picking a timeline. Therefore, I’d like to run this competition with Zero Tech Pool, across the board.
Set all Tech Pool to Zero:
Note: the Tech Pool is a bit bugged. Therefore, change the Tech Pool all to zero, and then exit the vehicle, and reload. That should make it behave.
Scenario and Buyer Details
It is the early 2000’s, Midwest America. Our buyer is 30 years old, has no kids and works out of his truck as a mobile detailer. He needs a truck but a small to mid-size model will do just fine. A full-size truck could be great as well, but he’s got 30k to spend so it all depends on what is possible at that budget. He’s selling his 95 Mustang GT, and he likes the idea of a sporty truck. His GT is a 5-speed manual, so shifting gears is fine but autos are OK too. He’s upgrading his business with a trailer to hold more equipment, and that’s why the Mustang is for sale, because the truck will need to tow a light load, and carry one too.
Naming Convention
– Model and Family QFC13-{username}
– Variant and Trim - open
Body styles restrictions:
- “Utility” bodies 1978 through to 2003
- Go for a body that is either a “Regular Cab”, or “Extended Cab” type.
- No Crew Cabs, no Ranchero or El Camino types of bodies (let’s save those for another challenge later!)
Panel restrictions:
- no carbon fiber or partial carbon fiber. Not practical for the time or the vehicle.
Chassis restrictions:
- stick with Ladder or Light Truck Monocoque chassis types.
Suspension restrictions
- front suspension anything (though most every truck runs a double wishbone type in front)
- rear suspension - anything with a solid axle.
Fuel:
- 95 Premium Octane (with Octane Margin set to 0.0)
Tyre Choice limitations:
- Because these are sport trucks and not off-road, use Hard-long, Medium Compound, or Sports Compound tires.
- I am a stickler for tire accuracy. I know it isn’t possible to easily look up common tire sizes for the 2000’s, so for simplicity just look for current tires today. Early 2000’s light trucks were not yet pushing the tire sizes beyond 20’s, with most trucks choosing 17’s or 18’s.
- Also, Be certain that the tire size you pick is actually a real tire size. These will be standard “P-metric” tires, ending in “5” (example 225/70-16)
Seating:
- For the sake of keeping things similar, let’s go with either 2-seater for Regular Cab, or 2+2 for Extended Cab variants.
Safety:
- Standard 90’s or better, minimum Quality zero.
Quality:
- “-2 / +2” max sliders
Towing:
I don’t think the towing parameters are quite correct, but I would like to have each truck be able to tow at least 1500 lbs.
Load Capacity:
This calculation seems a bit more realistic. Let’s use at least 1000 lbs as the minimum load capacity. Higher capacity will be a plus, as the “Priorities” go.
The obvious stuff:
- No race parts. These are factory up-rated passenger light trucks. No V12’s or V16’s. Must have 3-way catalytic converter (or high-flow)
Hard Figures
Trim “Approximate Cost” Max - $30,000
Engine ET Max - 140
Trim ET Max - 100
there is NO minimum fuel economy requirement. However, Fuel economy is a 1-star priority so it does matter. Trucks with 8-10MPG better be darn sure be magical at everything else. My testing found 13-18MPG to be reasonable.
Priorities
- Drivability - trucks are already a little ungainly for new drivers, so good driveability behavior is important.
- Reliability - despite being sporty vehicle, these trucks are built to last and need minimal repairs over the years.
- Styling - sometimes these trucks are more show than go, but they always look unique compared with their more utilitarian trims.
- Utility - its a truck, and so it needs to do truck things.
- Environmental Resistance - It is good for these trucks to last a while.
- Sportiness - Sport trucks are not race cars, but they should be interesting to drive.
- Performance stats - bragging rights are part of the joy of ownership, to a degree. It needs to go, turn, and stop better than average.
- Fuel Economy (1 star but still important enough to care about.)
- Safety
- Service Costs
- Cost - trucks of this era were very competitive price-wise. 30k is the max, but if a truck is 5k less but the job better, it would be more appealing to purchase.
- Comfort - Sport trucks are not known to be extremely comfortable, but they should have some basic comfort.
- Towing / Payload - it isn’t a competition to see how much one can haul or tow, but any truck should be able to do either. Automation treats this a little weird so just make sure your entry can do at least these minimums - 1000 lbs load capacity, and 1500 lbs tow capacity. Note: Edsel brought up some good points about towing vs. load capacity, so if these numbers cause issues for anyone, let me know and we can perhaps combine them.
Not so Important
- Offroad - these trucks will need to navigate a gravel or dirt road every once in a while, but this trim level isn’t expected to go trail riding or mudding.
Remember
We will run this competition with Tech Pool set full to Zero across. I understand the complaints back and forth on the topic, but to level the playing field, set all to zero and then build the truck.
Timeframe (updated 11/11/2022 8:00CST)
Updates came through, resub’s are allowed. Pushing deadline to November 15th, 12:00PM EST
Inspiration vehicles
Y’all nailed it, I’m reposting those pics because they were better than what I could find. I myself had a very not-sporty 1986 Mazda B2000 back then, but I lusted after trucks like these inspirations and modified my little B2000 to at least look the part.
Bigger beasts like the Ford Lightning, Ram SRT, Chevy SS are plausible as well. A shopper back then could easily go shopping for midsize or full size trucks interchangeably, as long as either met the needs and wants.
