do wagons make good track cars?

[slystiguy]

I got a gf8 wagon was wondering how they go as track cars?

[funkytown]

Mine goes good

They go as good as hoe.much money you throw at them

[slystiguy]

im tempted to remove interior sound deadning ect but dont know if it would be a waste of time

[dubbedup]

every gram counts

[NotAWhiteGTB]

The only down side to wagons is that the rear struts arent directly linked in any structural way, which means to transfer forces from a rear strut to the other side of the car it has to transfer it through the roof via c-pillars and through the floor, which isnt that stiff and results in having less feel in the rear end.

But this is easily fixed with a rear strut brace or a roll cage.

Other than that there isnt any difference between a gf8 and a gc8, they have the same sub-frames, suspension setups, driveline, blah blah blah.

 dubbedup said:

every gram counts

true words!!!, it is alot more rewrding (and cheaper) making your car lighter than getting more power out of it, putting bigger brakes on it, and find a way to get more grip to haul the excess crap around

[T.Rev]

 slystiguy said:

I have a gf8 wagon... was wondering how they go as track cars?

Couple of observations from an owner..

they "Go Bang" ..not the cafe in Petone...like any other car

they are as fast as the driver can drive them...

strut brace, bigger rear sway bar, aftermarket shocks, and lowering help.

they go fast enough without big power gains money being chucked at them and can go faster with better driving skills..

T.Rev..driver skills still being acquired.

[Guest S T E Y E]

bro just watch videos of RITALN on youtube.....

[Guest]

 slystiguy said:

I got a gf8 wagon was wondering how they go as track cars?

Fine

Not as good as a sedan or coupe, but not much in it so unless your racing it doesn't matter

[funkytown]

 Qwerty']

[quote name='slystiguy said:

I got a gf8 wagon was wondering how they go as track cars?

/quote]

Fine

Not as good as a sedan or coupe, but not much in it so unless your racing it doesn't matter

even when caged? reasoning..

[Guest S T E Y E]

wouldnt a fully stripped wagon with the rear struts sussed being roll cage or strut brace be lighter than a gc8???

i think theres vids of RITALN doin lap times sum were but u should watch him do 11s with NOS on a standard engine !!! wat a launch!!!

[Guest]

 funkytown said:

even when caged? reasoning..

Weight - Wagon weighs a touch more - braking and cornering

Center of Gravity - its higher - cornering

Aerodynamic - CD is higher = lower top speed

I don't have the figures for the GC8 but for example the 07 WRX sedan has a CD of .33 vs .37 for the wagon

There is a reason most of all the time attack cars are sedans or coupes.

In the real world the time differences would be small.

[funkytown]

interesting, cheers

I had read some where that the wagon had good aerodynamics - will have to see if i could find that somewhere.

*note my own reasons for wagon are purely do with 'i like wagons' rather that scientific reasons.

CD is like drag coefficient or something right?

[Guest loren]

As T.Rex said, in our world, the driver is the most significant factor.

EDIT: "Our World" meaning novice drivers in capable cars.

[Joker]

good ol' wiki has very little on GF8's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Impreza_WRX

I did read somewhere that Legacy Wagon had a better CD than the sedan (specific to GenII's BD/BG)

bit of a tangent I know but that wagon as we all know has all sorts of flex issues

[Guest loren]

 funkytown said:

interesting, cheers

I had read some where that the wagon had good aerodynamics - will have to see if i could find that somewhere.

When the v11 came out in only wagon form, Subaru were talking a lot about how the top

WRC drivers preferred wagons because they were more stable on the edge... sounded

like a bit of propaganda to me, but maybe true.

[Guest]

 funkytown said:

interesting, cheers

I had read some where that the wagon had good aerodynamics - will have to see if i could find that somewhere.

*note my own reasons for wagon are purely do with 'i like wagons' rather that scientific reasons.

CD is like drag coefficient or something right?

Yes coefficient of drag.

Here's a blurb from Subaru on the new STi

"That wing on the 2011 Subaru Impreza WRX STI? It's tough to love. But there's some aerodynamic function behind it. It drops the STI sedan's coefficient of drag to 0.35 versus 0.37 on the hatchback. It does this by creating a more continuous steam of airflow, as air passes over the roof and straight over the large wing. In contrast, air hits the hatchback's roof-mounted wing and then drops off more abruptly. "

[funkytown]

 loren']

[quote name='funkytown said:

interesting, cheers

I had read some where that the wagon had good aerodynamics - will have to see if i could find that somewhere.

/quote]

When the v11 came out in only wagon form, Subaru were talking a lot about how the top

WRC drivers preferred wagons because they were more stable on the edge... sounded

like a bit of propaganda to me, but maybe true.

yer if you looked at WRC cars, alot in that era and currently are of the 'hatch' type.

[GC8E2DD]

I was of the understanding that moving to a hatch was to reduce overhangs rather than anything to do with aerodynamics specifically.

[Joker]

golf-ball aerodynamics...

air can help push it along too with the right turbulence (or am I way over thinking it)

[Scoobydoo]

Cover your car with little dents

[Guest loren]

 GC8E2DD said:

I was of the understanding that moving to a hatch was to reduce overhangs rather than anything to do with aerodynamics specifically.

I think the move to a hatch was to get more shopping in the back, and they just span it to

be better for rallying.

[GC8E2DD]

With regards to the dimpling on golf balls, this is a really good article that explains both why that works, and why you wouldn't bother putting dimples on something shaped like a car. It also briefly describes how vortex generators help to trip the boundary layer and delay flow separation from a surface.

http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/aerodynamics/q0215.shtml

Effectively you want the flow to follow the rear windscreen as far down (ideally all the way to the boot) as possible before separating from the body surface.

[Guest]

For a more scientific explaination

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVV_COOey0E

[Joker]

 Scoobydoo said:

Cover your car with little dents

speed holes!

edit : dammit qwerty wins

Back to cereal stuff I would imagine the angle of the back of the Sport Hatch is all wrong vs a GC or BG for CD

[Munkvy]

I remember reading that Petter Solberg liked a hatchback design due to its better aerodynamics for rallying. As Loren mentioned, supposed to be better to drive on the limit. However a GF8 isn't exactly a hatchback.

As for someone talking about RITALIN, well I wouldn't call a boyracer car a good example of a track car.

However, there has been one or two cars (from Rexnet) that were very rapid wagon track cars. Yet to see someone build the same out of a V7+ wagon however?