(I'm pleased to announce a partnership with the great people at SVT Performance. About once a month, we'll be bringing you some of their best Ford-related content. We're reaching out to other brand-specific blogs as well, hoping to bring the Best&Brightest the cream at the top of the brand-forum scene. Our debut piece includes a detailed dissection of Burgerkingring times and a great, thoroughly informative statement from SVT's Jamaal Hamedi! — JB)
Ever stumble across something that you're not sure you're supposed to have? Well that's the situation I recently found myself in. A few weeks ago I sent a request to Ford for some footage of the 2013-14 (we're not sure which, not that it makes a difference) SVT Shelby GT500 testing at various tracks. I had planned on putting together a little montage video of the baddest Mustang produced to date. SVT and Ford has always been very accommodating with our media and information requests, and this was no different. However, once the thumb-drive arrived things got really interesting.
Mixed in with the various clips from the various tracks was one that stood out; a full all-out test lap from The Nürburgring. As far as I know, Ford has not released any official 'Ring lap times or footage for the GT500. I have a feeling that this video file may have been included erroneously, but Ford did say I could use everything on the drive. So that leads us to the video above.
I trimmed a little off each end of the file and added a timer. I based the starting and ending points from conversations I've had with various "'Ring-Run Experts". It appears that most timed laps begin at the exit of pit row and ends at the first white stripe after the gantry. That description may sound a bit vague, but it'll all become clear once you watch the video.
By my rough calculations, which are no replacement for proper vBox data, the 2013-14 GT500 ran its 'Ring lap in a bit less than 7:40. Not only is that very impressive; but it also bests the SVT's chief rival, the Chevy Camaro ZL1′s 7:41. In fact; it's just a few tics behind GM's purpose-built stripped-out track-car , the Camaro Z/28 and its 7:37.5. However, this is where things get very interesting. While there's really no such thing as an "official" lap time at The Nürburgring, if GM was trying to use the same starting and ending points as most it appears that Chevy may have fudged their numbers ever-so-slightly.
In doing my research on the timing points I took a frame by frame look at GM's Camaro videos. I noticed that with the ZL1 they appeared to start the clock ~6 frames late, but with the Z/28 they stopped the clock ~11 frames early. Both of these instances shaved less than 0.5 seconds off the lap time. Still, I thought it was worth noting. However; as I stated before; producing manufacturer backed 'Ring times is not an exact science, nor are my video based calculations:
However, the "official" ending point is the white line that can be seen in the smaller video at the lower right.
The Z/28 actually crosses the line ~11 frames later, which is nearly 4/10ths of a second later than Chevy's "official" time would indicate.
For the Camaro ZL1 Chevy appears to have started the timer a bit late. I would have started it at this point, just as the car passed the guardrail on the right.
However, as you can see here the car has passed the rail and the clock has not yet started.
The ZL1′s lap timer doesn't actually start until ~6 frames after the front of the car passes the rail. That would equate to about 2/10ths of a second.
Granted, none of those observations entirely conclusive. Still, they are interesting. Just for fun though, I decided to produce these two videos as well (both Chevy videos start and end at their respective "official" times):
The second video is the Shelby running split-screen with the 2014 Camaro Z/28.
When SVT Performance reached out to Jamal Hameedi, the big cheese at SVT, to get his opinion on the videos, he sent back a brilliant and thoroughly considered response:
Ring times! Oh man don't even get me started on this topic. Our (my) view is that there is no such thing as an official manufacturer Ring time. The times being posted by many manufacturers are in my humble opinion akin to qualifying times being set at a race with no pre/post inspection (ie it would never happen). In the racing world – inspection/verification is a key part of the sport. In order for us to set an "official" time corner weights would have to be taken, calibration checksums need to be verified, engine power verified via chassis rolls, a hoist inspection, and probably a fuel sample taken by an independent 3rd party like a governing/sanctioning body. I would love to see this since everyone seems to be infatuated with Ring times. Having said that, I think it's really important that performance cars be judged against one another on the track – but the comparisons really need to be on the same day by a professional driver (just track condition from day to day puts another huge variable in comparisons). We have seen lap time spreads of over 3 sec with same car same driver different day at VIR. Now extrapolate that to a track with a 7 min lap time. Motor Trend collects cars on the same day and puts a professional driver behind the wheel – not journalists whose driving ability puts yet another huge variable in lap times – and compares vehicles same driver same day. I think they do it correctly. So does Auto Motor und Sport in Germany.
The reason we test at the Ring is because it is a fantastic venue for doing vehicle dynamics work. You get so much different content in terms of turns, elevation, etc that you would need to visit 5 different tracks to duplicate it. It's also a chance for our North American vehicle dynamics guys to cross pollinate with our Team RS guys since we are all one group now. Team RS gets a chance to offer feedback on the RWD cars and the SVT guys offer perspective on the FWD cars. That's really powerful and worth spending the money to send cars and engineers over there. Renting the Ring exclusively ($$$$$!) to make a video – not so much. I'd rather put that money into the car.
I know this isn't what the internet bench racers want to hear. As soon as there is a standard for measuring lap times – our performance vehicles will be the first in line to get tested. Until then – it's just marketing and a total free for all. They are very cool to watch though. Lol. The 2013/2014 GT500 sold just fine without a published Ring time (who could have imagined!). Actually we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make more GT500s due to high demand. I've seen other performance cars with published Ring times being offered with incentives and cash on the hood (again – who could have imagined!). So I sleep pretty well at night. And spend my days (and nights) working on the next slayer vs. worrying about Ring times.
Well said!
from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com
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