Wingless Dirt Sprint Car

JMJOhio · 13 Jun 2020, 17:12

This race car competes in USAC, (United States Auto Club) sanctioned events on half mile oval dirt tracks. The cars are constructed with a wheelbase between 84 and 90 inches and a minimum weight of 1,325 pounds, including driver. The engine design is based on the small block Chevrolet, but utilize special aluminum cylinder blocks and heads. Engine displacement is 410 cubic inches and develop over 900 horsepower running on methanol fuel. There is no flywheel, clutch, transmission or starter. A short drive shaft couples the engine to a quick change in and out differential. The driver controls differential engagement, (in or out) with a cockpit mounted lever and the car must be pushed to be started. The chassis suspension is called a "four bar" system. Each wheel is controlled by an independently adjusted torsion bar and shock absorber. There is a disc brake at the left front wheel and another on the left rear live axle. No brakes on the right side of the car. Tires are made specifically for these race cars, with the right rear having a larger circumference and wider tread than the left rear. Front tires are the same, right and left.
The common and fastest driving style is to drift the car around the turns. The driver taps the brakes as he enters the low side of the turn from the straightaway. This forces the car into a sideways attitude that is maintained using full throttle and due to the rear tire size stagger. Average speeds on a half mile track can exceed 135 miles an hour.

tuna1957 · 13 Jun 2020, 18:14

Bravo

JMJOhio · 13 Jun 2020, 18:37

Thanks Charles...
Some additional images. The cockpit is very small and busy. I did not include the padded knee support/guard that mounts to the vertical portion of the steering housing.

JMJOhio · 13 Jun 2020, 18:40

Forgot this one.

ntxdave · 13 Jun 2020, 20:08

Another excellent model!

Just curious, if you don't mind, where in Ohio. I grew up in Ohio.

JMJOhio · 13 Jun 2020, 20:21

Thanks Dave.

NW of Dayton near Brookville.

Bryan K · 13 Jun 2020, 23:27

Incredible.

How much time does it take for you make a model this detailed?

I can also tell you a model of this level of detail would break my PC.

JMJOhio · 14 Jun 2020, 01:38

Thanks Bryan...

It's hard to say in hours. I'll usually work on a model like this over a period of 4 or 5 months. When you consider the planning, research, more research, modeling, re-modeling, rendering preparation, rendering and any post work, it really adds up. I naturally think and work slowly. I also have overlaps in my work flow. Working on one model, doing some finish-up or fixes on another and planning the next project.
Yes, large complex models demand a clean and robust computing environment, particularly if you multi-task. (I'm rendering in the background while preparing this post)

Bryan K · 14 Jun 2020, 08:35

HornOxx · 14 Jun 2020, 08:36

really wunderbar!!! These things look so weird and so cool at the same time and (as far as I know) there is no such car class here in the EU.
Prima! - Not only cool but also an extremely accurate and extensive work and I would love to see also screenshots of the SkUp model...
(which renderer are you using)

JMJOhio · 14 Jun 2020, 16:11

Thank you HornOxx...

Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are the other countries where sprint car racing is popular and practiced.
I'm having a problem exporting a 2D image of the model, SU crashes each time I try. It's probably a mixture of file size, layers and scenes. Here is a shot that I grabbed with Windows Snipping Tool, (poor quality). I'll do some file clean-up and try the exporter again, it's working on other models.

I use Indigo for rendering, Gimp for most post processing and paint.NET for file size and format conversion.

JMJOhio · 14 Jun 2020, 22:59

I saved a copy of the model file and removed the scenes (9), section plane and a couple of large unused components. File size did not get much smaller, (189 MB to 187), but the exporter now works.

ntxdave · 15 Jun 2020, 00:16

JMJ, it is not fair to post snap shots.

Again, some excellent work!

Bryan K · 15 Jun 2020, 00:32

Stunning.

What render are you using?

JMJOhio · 15 Jun 2020, 00:42

Whats wrong with snap shots. My brain is the camera. Have to take alot of shots to get one good image.

I use Indigo for renders.

Box · 15 Jun 2020, 02:01

Jmj I think you'll find Ntx was saying your images are far too good to be renders or screenshots, they must be camera snapshots of reality.

I wouldn't mind posting some of these to my Facebook page with a link back here if you don't mind,or a link to another repository of your excellent images if you have one?

ntxdave · 15 Jun 2020, 02:33

@box said:

Jmj I think you'll find Ntx was saying your images are far too good to be renders or screenshots, they must be camera snapshots of reality

EXACTLY! The renders are really great and I was trying to compliment you.

JMJOhio · 15 Jun 2020, 03:25

Sorry for the misunderstanding Dave. I knew your comments were complimentary. My reply was an attempt at dry humor. My bad!
Your welcome to do the link Box, I'm flattered by your desire to do so. The posts here are the only current source for viewing.

Box · 15 Jun 2020, 09:17

I've posted it over here if you are interested.
https://www.facebook.com/BoxGifs/
Thanks, great work.

Mike Amos · 15 Jun 2020, 09:45

A great piece of model making art, classic.