[rFactor2] - Gasoline Alley 1960 Roadsters

[Alessandro Pollini]

File Name: Gasoline Alley 1960 Roadsters

File Submitter: Alessandro Pollini

File Submitted: 11 May 2016

File Category: Open Wheel Mod

rF2 Gasoline Alley mod by Gilles Benoit, Bill Guillaume and Michael Borda

 

This project is dedicated to the late Indy driver Len Sutton and to racing historian Gordon Eliot White who both helped us.

 

« Do this 800 times during a 500 mile race and you will have gotten everything out of your race car that is possible. I don't care what your name is. The one exception may be Herk or Parnelli. While I could never got away with letting the back end out, I believe those two could.-Have fun you guys.»-Len Sutton

 

« A roadster’s Meyer-Drake transmission was a glorified Model A Ford. Prone to overheating, it might cause all sorts of grief by locking in gear during pit stops. And chiefs and crews listened in horror whenever their driver slipped, abused and fried the fragile clutch. But even when a pit stop went well, getting a lumbering, hyperventilating roadster and it’s tall gear ratio underway again was a backbreaker, requiring the pushing of several straining mechanics. »-Joe Scalzo

 

Goals :
• To do a tribute to the courageaous drivers and their cars
• To reproduce the way the teams were managing the Indy 500 at that time
• To offer a level playing field that would reward driver strategy/intelligence/technique not infinite setup tweaking and aerodynamics
• To stress the simracer with tire wear, damage effects, brake deficiencies, two-speed transmission....

 

Main features :

 

• 1960 Indianapolis 500 full field (33 cars) researched by Bill Guillaume
• Complete overhaul of the original rF1 one !
• Watson, Kurtis and open nose type cars
• “Historic” option for all upgrades options (helmet, face, seatbelts, rollbar, exhaust, oil tank, car type, dash color, etc.)
• Real 1960 driver faces (take a look at #10 Jimmy Brian!) and associated “talent” file
• 1ko painting feature to change rims, dash, bandanas, goggles, seatbelts, frame, etc. colors for painters
• All new sounds

 

The AI should be set to be raced at 90% (more than this and they crash in pack), aggression and limiter set at 0%.

 

Watch you rear toe on straight stability and look at your caster settings to stabilize the car down the straights too.

 

Many thanks to everyone that helped and tested at ISI.

 

We also want to thank all the people that were involved in the first rF1 Gasoline Alley project.

 

Hope you like it!
Bill, Gilles and Michael

 

Car description :

 

• Speed : top 186 mph Texas (1963), end of Indy straights : 170 mph, Indy turns : +-140 mph
• Weight without driver and fuel : +-1600 lbs, 60% to the left (ref1 p.114)
• Methanol, 60 us gal. « spiked » whith nitromethane
• Engine : 256 cu. In., 4 cyl. Offy, +-500 lbs, 2 speed, estimated +-400hp, running at 6000 rpm (ref1 p.84), fuel consumption 1 us gal/3.0 mile, exterior oil tank +-15 quarts
• Rigid front/rear axles with torsion bars
• Wheelbase : modeled at 96 in.
• Tires : Bias ply Firestones, front 7.60x16 (nominal), rear 8x18 (nominal), 50 psi, threads were showing after 51-52 laps at Indy, wear pattern on all four tires = inside of corner, described as noisy (ref1 p.113)
• Pit stops : All four tires, 40 to 60 us gal. in 20 sec., every 51-52 laps
• Car review on WATSON ROADSTER
• Indy racing is part of the US culture, and in the early 1960s A.J. Watson dominated the manufacturing of the cars, at a time when Formula One machines were just starting to influence design. Watson's history goes back to 1950 when, as a mechanic, he built his own car for the Indy 500 which Dick Rathmann drove. In 1954 Watson got his break with the John Zink Jnr team, and a year later his modified version of the Frank Kurtis-built roadster won the Indy 500. This 1960 example is typical of his racers, with a basic chassis with front/rear solid axles but torsion bar suspension that could be tweaked by the driver while going along. The Offenhauser Sprint and Champ car engine was offset to the left to make the car turn naturally in that direction, and gearbox only needed two speeds due to the massive torque available low down, plus the car's light weight.
• Ref1 : Indianapolis Roadsters 1952-1964 by Joe Scalzo ISBN 0-7603-0634-6
• Ref2 : Kurtis-Kraft, Masterworks of speed and style by Gordon Eliot White ISBN 0-7603-0910-

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