Was blind but now I see

[Henry]

Hey guys,
Like many other people I am migrating this way from the FFR forums in light of what appears to be a better car in the SLC. All the guys over on the other forums have been great and I don’t see anything wrong with FFR products (considering the entry price and support) but after reading and asking questions over the last year I have noticed that the GTM wont accomplish what I want without a lot of custom work and a price tag close to the SLC. I have been digging around this forum for a few weeks looking at the build threads and I can’t help but notice the huge difference in build issues or lack there of. I want to build my own car not fabricate the whole thing. Anyways, the final straw was some of the GTM's getting light in the front at 170+ which doesn’t sound all that "supper" out of a car that is supposed to fit in with Lamborghinis and such. I can’t say enough about Fran even though I have never met or spoken to him. I have never seen an owner put as much time and dedication into individual customer support like I have seen in these threads, awesome. Another reason why I will most likely be doing business here. It gives me peace of mind and confidence in the product when I see such customer relations. Here is a big question. I am a contractor and I am going to Afghanistan for about a year. I will be in Oceanside (SoCal) area NOV.6-10 and was looking to maybe get a look at an SLC completed or not. If there is anyone willing to let me take a look I would appreciate it. I have more questions but I will let this post develop first.

Henry

 

[Jack]

Welcome aboard Henry. You won't be disappointed with the SL-C. Some building required, however, the car basically builds itself. It is the "personalization" that may eat you up. A straight forward build may be accomplished rather easily. Have fun!
Be safe in the "Graveyard of Empires".

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Hi Henry
Thanks for the compliments....all of us here at RCR try to be as available as we can be..
You will find that the FFR guys are as passionate about their cars as we are about ours....and rightly so....they are in the dream fulfilment business too.

Dont hesitate to jump in and ask questions or give us a call at the shop anytime.

 

[Will Campbell]

Hey guys,
Like many other people I am migrating this way from the FFR forums in light of what appears to be a better car in the SLC. All the guys over on the other forums have been great and I don’t see anything wrong with FFR products (considering the entry price and support) but after reading and asking questions over the last year I have noticed that the GTM wont accomplish what I want without a lot of custom work and a price tag close to the SLC. I have been digging around this forum for a few weeks looking at the build threads and I can’t help but notice the huge difference in build issues or lack there of. I want to build my own car not fabricate the whole thing. Anyways, the final straw was some of the GTM's getting light in the front at 170+ which doesn’t sound all that "supper" out of a car that is supposed to fit in with Lamborghinis and such. I can’t say enough about Fran even though I have never met or spoken to him. I have never seen an owner put as much time and dedication into individual customer support like I have seen in these threads, awesome. Another reason why I will most likely be doing business here. It gives me peace of mind and confidence in the product when I see such customer relations. Here is a big question. I am a contractor and I am going to Afghanistan for about a year. I will be in Oceanside (SoCal) area NOV.6-10 and was looking to maybe get a look at an SLC completed or not. If there is anyone willing to let me take a look I would appreciate it. I have more questions but I will let this post develop first.

Henry

Welcome Henry!

Re the 170 MPH issue, the 01 car sees that speed or more at the end of the straight at VIR, with no apparent issues. For a little over 13 hours, anyway!

And John Salmon's Yellow track SLC has recorded 165 at the end of that straight as well, again without problems. I think he has about 2000 miles on the car at that track...

So I think there is some reason to think that the SLC is inherently pretty stable at higher speeds.

It's hard to know what the GTM owner did or didn't do to the car, but I personally find it interesting that he said he was revising the suspension to add more caster.

Virtually every car can use more front downforce at speed, and happily there is a set of parts that SLC owners have available to them, right from the factory. The race splitter, fender vents and simple canards are all the 01 car has. I think the Yellow track car began without any of those (though it has some of them on it now, IIRC). You can get all the downforce in the rear you want with just a simple wing adjustment. The CF wing has a well-developed profile, and is relatively wide, so it generates a lot of downforce- much more than the "tuner" wings on some other cars.

I think you'll find that the SLC is a great foundation to build a car, and much faster, easier- and yes, cheaper- to build to a high standard.

We are a friendly bunch- welcome aboard!

 

[Ricardo Montalvo]

Welcome Henry,

There are many things to consider when choosing a kit. I recommend you speak to as many builders as you can, and as you are trying to do, see the car(s) in person.

There are few guys from Cali on this forum (I'm jealous of all of them), but I think they are in the Northern area.

Fran may know of someone in SoCal area he could link you up with.

Be safe in Afghanistan...

 

[Doc Kaler]

Welcome to the SLC World! Great group of guys/gals, always ready to help.

 

[Henry]

Thanks for the input thus far. I always do my research long before ever buying so I do things right the first go around. Probably why I dont have a GTM right now. I actualy prioatize things different than most. #1 for me is the chasis and safety followed by the look. Under the skin of any suppercar is a superior chasis and cage. until I found FFR most of the kit cars I have seen looked dangerous. How restrictive does the race cage upgrade make the cabin for street use? I would hope most of it is coverable with interior pannels. I know the new Mendeola transaxels are shipping for the GTM's. Is there any reason these wont work on the SLC? I know the Ricardo is the choise in most builds I have read but they are crazy expensive with starter and clutch etc.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

The Mendeola box would fit...

I have two Mendeola castings in house for mock up....

 

[Jack]

Henry, you'll be away for awhile so I would suggest waiting until Fran has the Griffin transaxle completed. It's available for several HP/torque numbers and much less dear than the Ricardo.

 

[Henry]

Sounds good to me. Do you guys know if these will be geared to support 200+ mph? How much HP does the SLC need to overcome the drag to get to the 200 MPH mark? I am looking at the LS 376/480 but I dont know if it will be enough to push it that far.

 

[40 Bud]

Henry, you mentioned wanting a rollcage in your street car. Think long and hard about that! Cages are great on the race track, where you wear a crash helmet. In a street car (where you are not wearing a helmet) it is just something very hard and close to your head. Not something you want to hit in a collision!

 

[Henry]

yah, I just want to know if the unthinkable happens and I get T-boned or roll that the cockpit will be intact. and not just be a mess of splinered fiberglass and bodyparts. are the side bars only offered on the race cage or were they standard?

 

[Eric Baker]

Hey Henry,

You seem to be a lot like myself. I'm really looking forward to Fran's answers to your questions. Best of luck in your research for the build!

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

The SLC has a six point cage as standard and its hidden underneath the interior panels and completely concealed...if interior is fitted, there are no issues with head impact, as the cage is well out of harms way.

We have removable door bars, as an option, that do not interfere with ingress or egress at all...they can be used for trackdays with no effect on the everyday use of the car.

The main chassis rails are actually at hip height when seated

The Griffin boxes have gearing for over 200 mph....no problem....drag/hp...well a lot depends upon where you ahve your rear wing set, will you run canards , race splitter etc etc ....650hp should get the job done ...more power will get you there faster

 

[Henry]

Thanks for the information Fran. I think I will start off N/A with the LS376 and use forced induction when the time comes. Most of the time I will be lapping Portland International Raceway like I have been doing with my Mustangs but I want the 200 mph capability for the Silver State Classic someday. If anyone has any pictures of the different cages without the body mounted I would appreciate it. I have to look into the rules for the SSC to check on what type of roll protection is needed for the unlimited class. That woulod be a shame to get down there and not pass tech inspection.

 

[Erik]

If I am not mistaken I thank fran said the race cage meets at lest scca and nasa rules. I think I even meets FIA rules. Since most racing organizers follow the FIA you should be fine.

 

[Henry]

I noticed that on the site but It is a fine ballance. I want to be able to compete in said events and be as safe as possible but I also dont want a ton of uncovered bars. I am going to do a little research here in a min. I wonder if the 6 point with removable side bars would meet most of the standards???? This is great though. Thamks for helping me plan.

 

[Randy V]

Welcome to GT40's Henry...

RE: GTMs getting light in the front end at 170...

In all fairness, I belive the car you are talking about hit the dip at the end of the Texas Mile event and then lost control. The other cars were not running splitters or canards. You would be hard pressed to find a GT40 that felt "planted" at 170 unless it had aero helpers.. The SL-C is designed using a lot of cues from the current cars racing Lemans and other venues today.
Lots of things to take into consideration if you are truly planning on trips to the 200 MPH mark.. I wouldn't even consider it without a full on competition cage and all the safety gear, suit, helmet, HANS device, firebottles, etc..

Good luck with your project!!

 

[Henry]

Yes, that was the last one I heard about but there have been others voicing concerns about stability at speed. I am not knocking the GTM because I wanted one for a long time. The SLC looks like it is more up to the goals I have set. I have pushed my mustang to mid 160's and is was actualy verry firm. It also weighs 3,500lbs though. I looked over the rules for the SSCC and they mention the suit, helmet, HANS device, firebottles, and such for the unlimited class.

 

[Henry]

I noticed that the SLC uses QA1 shocks and struts............ From my experiance with mustangs they tend to be bottom of the barrel. Why not use Tokico, bilstein, KW, or Koni?