Photo Gallery of Rhys Millen's New Pontiac Solstice!

[Boostedrex]

I am actually glad to see this car was built. I wanted someone to do this with a Solstice/Sky. They are pretty good looking cars and handle incredibly well in stock form. Congrats to the RMR team and best of luck this season. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this car performs. But I still want to see rotaries dominate the series. Guess I better keep dreaming.

[Pennyman]

I just read through this entire thread and I can't focus in on one specific topic, it's all disjointed, but I'll do my best...

Um...the car looks nice, looks well engineered. If anything about the car fails the rule book (which I doubt), I'm sure the engineers who built it will have the knowledge to recify the problem very quickly.

If the rules of FD are being bent to get better designs in, it wouldn't be the first time it's been done in a motorsport series. It's up to FD to catch the loopholes. If they don't, I'm sure eventually someone will complain, and they'll crack down.

I doubt us as fans will know the difference watching from the stands

[REVLIMIT]

I thought the WELD S14 can't compete because the front windshield has some hinge crap for show. Also doesn't the back open up also?

[zdss14]

the car has so many one off parts because there are none available! just do a search for solstice or sky parts, you might find a bumper bra , the turbos go on sell this fall as the gpx and redline.

[Double M Star]

You can order the EXACT same spec as the RMR Solstice.

You see, you call ROUSH Racing, ask for the RMR special and viola, you're on your way!

They're all attainable parts, use your head.

[my 1 88 u]

You can order the EXACT same spec as the RMR Solstice.

You see, you call ROUSH Racing, ask for the RMR special and viola, you're on your way!

They're all attainable parts, use your head.

same can be said for any race vehicle made by a commercial shop including the Weld car, doesn't make it legal though

[mctrlsys]

Thankfully Pontiac Didn't Ruin The Sport

After seeing the two american cars on the drift circuit I was beginning to lose faith. It seemed like this countries media culture would kill drifting but thankfully Rhys and Red Bull stopped the trend of making up for driving skill with engine displacement. Hopefully now theyll ban that damn Viper. The day that the JDM stops ruling the D1GP is the day drifting dies.

[s13vert]

uuummmm... WOW i really have to think most ppl will disagree with u on this one mctrlsys i think most people who follow drifting would realize that talent will never be replaced by displacement. Also considering that D1 is a japanese series i dont think it will ever suffer from an American car winning (Note JR's win last year) it actually helps the sport more when an American driver or car wins a D1 event because it is a person the US can connect with on more common ground than say Kumakubo. The only way drifting will "die" is if it becomes unpopular and the tuning culture moves on to another motorspots discipline (time attack). So plz leave ur domestic hating off these forums and respect these teams and drivers for what they have accomplished for their skill and preperation. Jsut in case u were wondering im not a redneck and im not a fan of domestics, I just have respect for these drivers because they have to be doing something right to be fighting for another FD championship.

[Toycoma]

thankfully Rhys and Red Bull stopped the trend of making up for driving skill with engine displacement.

WOW, I highly doubt the motor in the GTO makes up for Rhys' driving abilities. and If the new car is making the same amount of power, displacement isn't really a factor in drifting.

I actually have to Disagree with you guys on Pro drivers alldriving tube frame cars and shells and blah blah blah. I think in order for Pro Drifting to advance, we need to classes, Unlimited pro class and what we have now. I would love to see who was the best driver by putting them all into 400 hp small block v8 cars (Motors are factory built, who ever sponsors the series, that will be the manufactor of the motors supplied, Ford, Chevy, Lexus, Nissan, Dodge, who ever) with 105 inch wheels base, 55/45 weight distribution, 225/45/17 front 245/45/18 back tires all by one manufacturer, 5 or 6 speed manual gear boxes. no sequential bull crap. no wings, not front defusers, just a flat under tray. 3 inches of suspension travel, set spring rates, set sway bar sizes, so on and so on. this would show who is the best pro driver.

then have a pro class that is a true production car based class. only bolt ons for suspension parts. no suspension modifications.
Honda wants a S2000 to run in the series but they dont have enough steering angle even with tie rods from Tein or who ever, too bad. Make a model with a diffrent rack to make it legal for the class,and they have to make and sell 2000 minimum of that model (This will help the smaller teams out as well because they can buy a car with the same rack or any other "mod" straight from the dealer instead of having to mod it themselves). No swapping out racks, no modifying it, just bolt ons.
Weight reduction is limited to interior removal, no CF body panels, no widebody kits, no anything that cost "BIG" money.
I think FD needs to focus on making it easier to get more cars into events and figure out where else they can have events.


PS: I think the car looks great and I wish I had that kind of steering angle in my car or truck and I also wish it was brought out to the Wall event but I did love checking out that Crazy wing set up on the GTO.

[Tsunami]

It's an age-old battle: man wants to go faster, so he finds ways to do it. However sometimes he goes too fast and gets killed, so rules have to be made to prevent it. As the cars are slowed they get more and more alike . Thus, you get high speeds but everybody drives the same car (Nascar, DTM, Aussie V8 Supercars, etc.) Even the grand old spectacle of F1 is not immune to it, and the cars are becoming more and more alike all the time. (no variable engine devices, common tires, all teams have same type engine, it's heading there.).

The trouble is how can you keep the cars new and exciting while ensuring they don't get out of control?

Well you limit a few things, as Malcom has pointed out here:

Like I said before..... the biggest rule that is needed is the following:

-all suspension mounting points MUST remain in the stock locations.

(therefore you can't bring a tubeframe car to a drift event because the suspension isn't in a stock location.)

also, here are some others I have thought of....

-must use production lower a-arms on the front suspension

-curb weight of the car must be greater than 85% of the original, production model's curb weight.

(therefore even if the car is a semi-tubeframe, it will have no weight advantages)

If all these rules were brought into place, then costs would plumet. It would make it a lot easier for a smaller team to put together a winning car.

What I am trying to say is that this has to be avoided in drifting. Factories can be allowed in drifting, but we NEED rules in place to keep them in check with reality.

We can't let them build 1000 bhp, 1700 lb, tubeframe cars with tires that are 425 mm wide. The factories will do this. They don't care about ruining series. Wanna know how many racing series that Porsche has killed? More than I can count... They go in, find all the loop-holes in the rules, and build a dominant car. With drifting, it will be difficult to do that, but they will eventually. We just need rules in place to prevent them from ruining major-league drifting. .

Minimum weights for each car--keeps the power/weight ratios in check and limits cornering ability, therefore keeping speeds down.

Tire limits--Make as much power with all the trick suspesnion you but you've gotta put it down on a street-legal tire. So 1000hp and all the aero in the world won't matter if you cant' make it hook. The American V8 Supercar series uses just such a rule. Also serves as a speed limiter: you can only go as fast or turn as hard as your tires will allow.

Firewall must stay in stock location--limits engine setback so you don't get stuff like a Caddy CTSV with 45/55 weight distribution.

Unibody--factory unibody must remain in tact. No tubular structure other than bracing, rollgace, and suspension components. Limited use of carbon body panels allowed, and all such must be available to public for purchase. Keep the doors steel for safety puproses. Makes sure you don't have a bunch of tube-frame or carbon-fiber monocoque rigs running around disguiesd as street cars.

Suspension--No modification of factory mounting points or suspension type. UNLESS it's a bolt-in replacement widely-available to the public. This exception HAS to be made for older musclecars, which cannot be competitive with the 30 year-old stock geometry. Ex's of this include: Tubular K-members for musclecars, torque-arm suspensions and Cobra IRS conversions for Mustangs, etc.

Engine--Must be production based and all pieces available for public purchase.

Traction Control and Stabilty control--NOT ALLOWED. 'Nuff said.

It's either that or split the class into pro and street classes, where pro cars are run-what-ya-brung, and street class limits you to bolt-on stuff.

P.S. Stop ******** about the Viper. It's a mildly modified production car with a very good driver. If you cant' beat it go build a better mousetrap. Like Signal did.

[HoosierDrifter]

so... we have footage of sam's charger....






where's some footage of the solstice?

[Da Meanace]

Tsunami: u will kill cars like AE86's and with no technology like traction control the sport will be as technologically advanced as NASCAR boring!