Here’s the scenario…
You’re a local race fan looking to dip your toes into the world of pavement short oval racing. The problem is, you don’t have the money to build anything really expensive; certainly nothing like a late model or a modified. No, you’re limited to the four-cylinder class at the bottom of the ticket. What do you build?
RULES OF COMPETITION
Your goal is to take one of your front-engine, front-wheel-drive, four-cylinder economy cars and build it into an inexpensive Saturday night short track oval racer. Starting from August 7th, 12pm US Central Time, you’ll have until August 28th, 12pm US Central Time to submit your entry. Cars will be judged based on the following: Freedom Factory laptime in BeamNG.drive (0-10 pts; only the top 10 cars by laptime will receive points, and each car will have five laps to set its best time; I will be running these laps myself), interior detail (10 pts), realism (as in, “would you see a car like this actually competing at a Saturday night short track?”) (10 pts), livery (5 pts), and exterior detail (5 pts). There is no upper fixture limit, so feel free to go crazy with the inside and the livery!
Note: Only the race car will be judged; the stock version is only there to check for rules compliance. You don’t have to put any effort into the stock version’s interior if you don’t want to, but I’d suggest trying to make the outside look as good as possible since there’s not much you can do to change the race car’s looks.
BUILD RULES
Stock version of the car
General
- No advanced trim settings are allowed aside from to hide the chassis, drivetrain, exhaust, and engine.
- Must be a front engine, front-wheel-drive, inline-four-cylinder sedan, coupe, or hatchback, model year 2010 or older, and with 2 to 5 seats. Left-hand drive and right-hand drive allowed
- No driver aids apart from optional ABS
- Techpool +5
- Maximum quality +2
- Minimum quality -5
- Minimum wheelbase 96.5 inches (2,451 mm)
- Maximum wheelbase 106 inches (2,692 mm)
- Maximum price $12,000 as seen in the “Approximate cost” section of the Statistics tab
Engine and drivetrain
- Maximum power 150 hp (112 kW; 152.1 ps)
- Max displacement 2.2L (2,200cc)
- No forced induction
- Up to 4 valves per cylinder
- Front-wheel-drive only
- Manual or automatic transmission, up to 5 gears
- Allowed differentials: Open differential or geared or clutched LSD
- Any type of fuel injection or carburetion is allowed
Tires and brakes
- Maximum tread width 215 mm (can be uneven front to rear)
- Medium compound radial tires
- Maximum rim size 15 inches (381 mm)
- Maximum brake size 10.6 inches (269.24 mm)
- Allowed brake types: Drum (SLS), Drum (2LS), 1 or 2-piston solid discs (both front and rear)
- Maximum pad type 50
Aero
- Maximum downforce 0 front/50 pounds (22.7 kg) rear
- No active aero
Suspension
- Allowed suspension types: MacPherson, double wishbone (front); solid axle coil or leaf, semi trailing arm, torsion beam, double wishbone (rear)
- Standard springs
- Twin-tube or gas mono-tube dampers
- Passive sway bars
Race version
General
- No advanced trim settings are allowed aside from to hide the chassis, drivetrain, exhaust, and engine.
- Minimum weight 2,400 pounds (1,088.62 kg)
- Any weight distribution is allowed (think of it as moving ballast around)
- No driver aids except ABS, but only if the stock version has ABS
- Techpool +5
- Maximum engine, tire, and suspension quality +5, everything else +2
- Minimum quality -5
- Maximum price $15,000 as seen in the “Approximate cost” section of the Statistics tab
- Interior settings: one seat, basic interior, no entertainment.
- Exceptions may be granted to quality and interior rules to meet minimum weight
Required and optional modifications
- Required interior elements: Six-point rollcage with three horizontal bars against the front doors, racing seat, steering wheel, pedals, dashboard. (Race display and/or working gauges are optional since these parts are often removed for weight savings in real life. Additionally, the dashboard doesn’t have to resemble the stock version and can be replaced with a lighter and more race-looking option)
- Required exterior mods: removal of headlights, indicators, side markers, and taillights (glass and light materials must be replaced with a solid material), removal of wipers if installed in the stock version, addition of large race numbers on the driver’s and passenger side front doors and on the roof
- Optional exterior mods: Rear lip spoiler, removal of stock rear spoiler (if applicable), removal of badges, removal of mirrors (may replace with small circular mirrors, and may choose to only run a driver’s side mirror), removal of side and rear glass (may replace rear side window glass with solid metal for style), side exit exhaust (must exit underneath the car anywhere between the front and back wheels; may not exit from the body), hood pins (any will do), rear bumper delete, and of course, sponsor/livery decals (as many as you want to make the car really pop!)
- Exterior mods not listed in either category above are not allowed
Engine and drivetrain
- Maximum power 180 hp (134 kW; 182.5 ps)
- Max. displacement 2.3L (2,300cc)
- Engine family must remain unchanged from stock version, but you are allowed to separate the race version into its own variant
- No forced induction
- No variable valve timing or variable valve lift allowed, even if on the stock version (this is to reflect that most short tracks require such systems to be disabled to be fair to engines without them)
- Catalytic converters and mufflers are optional
- No emissions standards; just as long as it doesn’t blow smoke going around the track after warming up (I’ll let you know if it does)
- No bypass valves
- All header, intake, and exhaust types are allowed
- May switch to manual transmission if stock is automatic
- Transmission gear ratios and number of gears must remain entirely stock
- May replace stock diff with open, geared, or clutched LSD
- Allowed fuel types: Unleaded ultimate 95 AKI (100 RON), ethanol blend 100 AKI (105 RON), ethanol blend 103 AKI (108 RON)
- All internals can be changed for forged or billet steel
- Injection or carburetion type must match stock engine
Tires and brakes
- Tires: 215-225 mm semi-slick radials with max. 50mm offset. The outer edges of the front and rear tires should be visually aligned with each other as closely as possible; tread width is allowed to be different between front and rear
- Exceptions to minimum tire size may be granted if the body can’t fit tires big enough to meet the minimum.
- Maximum tire diameter 590 mm
- Rims: 15 inch (381 mm) diameter max
- Rim material: Steel
- Brakes must remain stock aside from pads
- Maximum pad type 60
Aero
- Max downforce 0 front/70 pounds (32.8 kg) rear
- No active aero
- No cooling flaps
Suspension
- Springs, dampers, and sway bars must remain stock type, but you may lower and stiffen the car and change the alignment for performance
- Any alignment settings are allowed
ADDITIONAL MENTIONS
Although these may not influence the results, additional shoutouts will be awarded for best livery, best story/writeup, and best final submission post. So get creative, folks!
SUBMISSION
- All final submissions must be marked with [FINAL] (Car name) at the top of the post
- Posts must contain a description of the car and at least four images: one of the stock version’s exterior, one of the race car’s exterior, one of the stock version’s interior, and one of the race car’s interior, though additional beauty shots are 100% encouraged
- You must DM both the stock version’s and the race version’s Automation-exported .car files to me personally; I’ll then export the race version to BeamNG on my end for the track test. Although only the race car will be judged, the stock version’s .car is there to determine if the race car’s mods fall within the rules. Please do not submit already-exported BeamNG .zip files or .pc configuration files for Beam, as they will be ignored.
- Race version must include (4C4F) in the trim name and the .car file’s name
- You may submit your .car files to me up to two times prior to your final submission to check for rules compliance. However, you must submit a .car file to me after posting your final entry in this thread; this will be considered your entry and may not be changed again
- Noncompliant cars may be docked points if infractions are minor or disqualified entirely for major infractions
- This challenge takes place on the Al Rilma open alpha version of the game.
And now, some pics for inspiration!
