IMSA DPi Discussion

[Bcarr6]

In credit to them, we all thought they would be the laziest with changes, but this is a big departure from the stock ligier


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bentley speed 8]

I can't say I see anything "Nissan" on it (maybe it's because the logo isn't there). Looks good though

[Matt]

Originally Posted by bentley speed 8

I can't say I see anything "Nissan" on it. Looks good though

The way the nose is is shaped like the Nissan grille thing.

[Bcarr6]

Yeh that grille is signature Nissan, look to the LMP1 too


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[HORNDAWG]

Originally Posted by Matt

The way the nose is is shaped like the Nissan grille thing.

That is not only on the GTR.





L.P.

[Matt]

Standard Ligier for comparison.

[Damian Baldi]

It is ugly but I like it. At least they have been aggressive with the front and the air intakes for the engine.

[Akrapovic]

That's absolutely hideous, but that's fine because it's different and we need ugly ducklings too.

So is that the IMSA lineup complete? Loving it!

[Akrapovic]

On closer inspection, it's less of a change than it appears. That's basically just a wing element across the old Ligier nose. It isn't actually that big a change, so that'll be why the original proposal was rejected.

It reminds me of the Picchio.

[TF110]

In the looks department, this is a step back from the Ligier, while the Mazda is a step forward from the Riley and the Cadillac is about even with the Dallara imo.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

In credit to them, we all thought they would be the laziest with changes, but this is a big departure from the stock ligier

A big departure? Don't make me laugh. It's a piece of carbon fiber laid over the stock Ligier nose plus a couple changes to the rear aero that's so minute it's barely visible. IT's EXTREMELY lazy - even the small changes made to the Dallara for the Cadillac are more substantial just thanks to the number of them.

And they only did that much because IMSA rejected their initial design.

In other news, still shaking my head at how many people around the internet honestly thought every DPi would feature road car styling cues.

[bentley speed 8]

Originally Posted by Matt

The way the nose is is shaped like the Nissan grille thing.

I forgot about the new GT-R. I still had the image of the old one in my head.

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

A big departure? Don't make me laugh. It's a piece of carbon fiber laid over the stock Ligier nose plus a couple changes to the rear aero that's so minute it's barely visible. IT's EXTREMELY lazy - even the small changes made to the Dallara for the Cadillac are more substantial just thanks to the number of them.

And they only did that much because IMSA rejected their initial design.

In other news, still shaking my head at how many people around the internet honestly thought every DPi would feature road car styling cues.

I don't know, I get your point for sure, but I think there is a decent amount visually different on a top level.

How much are we really hoping for here?

Mazda is beautiful, an a mile above what I personally expected to see.

The Cadillac is fairly lightly tweaked I'd say,

This Nissan job, I think the nose looks pretty different from the stock ligier, they've also seemingly done some big work on the side ducks.

It's not exactly pretty, but I think it's as much as I was expecting. I'm also impressed at what they've done considering Nissan don't seem to have given much input to the car. As far as I've read, this is mainly Patron funded

Isn't the whole point of this category to put branded panels over a stock chassis?

I get your point totally so don't assume a big fight with me, I just think this one is good enough by the standards I expected.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

Isn't the whole point of this category to put branded panels over a stock chassis?

That's what IMSA wanted, but it was never going to happen on the scale they'd hoped for.

Ultimately, this car isn't branding. It looks KINDA like the front of a GT-R if you squint at a low-res image that's at an angle, but it's ultimately just an extra piece of carbon over the nose and a couple other minor tweaks. We know that Onroak submitted a design that was rejected for not having substantial enough changes, and seeing how little(yet much) of the Dallara changed for the Cadillac that speaks volumes about how little they must have changed. This means they were not concerned with the branding(unsurprising given what we know about the program).

I'd be willing to bet that the nose piece was crafted solely to make IMSA happy without having a severe negative impact on the overall aero.

I get your point totally so don't assume a big fight with me, I just think this one is good enough by the standards I expected.

It fits in with the rules... But it's not the branding exercise IMSA and far too many fans expected EVERY DPi to be. The Mazda is the only one of the three that's really bothered to do any serious branding effort with their design.

Frankly, the GM put more effort into the Cadillac than Onroak did here. The individual changes on the Caddy may be small, but there's so many of them that I spot a new one every time I look to compare pictures of it and the Dallara.

[Juntos]

Originally Posted by FormulaFox

Frankly, the GM put more effort into the Cadillac than Onroak did here. The individual changes on the Caddy may be small, but there's so many of them that I spot a new one every time I look to compare pictures of it and the Dallara.

It’s like choosing between eclairs and Napoleons. They’re both delicious.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Juntos

It’s like choosing between eclairs and Napoleons. They’re both delicious.

Oh, to be clear I'm not saying I don't like any of this. I'm happy IMSA has 7 different cars to WEC/ELMS' 4, and I like all three DPi designs, I'm just being realistic about the design details here.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by Matt

The way the nose is is shaped like the Nissan grille thing.

Oh yeah, I kind of see that now. It will be nice when they get a livery on it so we can see the differences in the sidepods.

[carbsmith]

That is one new car that truly deserves the name "Daytona Prototype".

You'll notice if you look close that the front grille isn't even a real duct, it vents right back out over the top of the nose 6" back. The only other change is the addition of turbo intakes to the rear fenders, something you can find on pretty much every car to have multiple engine options including a turbo in the last 20 years. They might have opened up the side duct in the sidepod a bit more.

[Damian Baldi]

"Pretty cars, are those who win" (Juan Manuel Fangio)

There is one thing I can't understand. Why Nissan was forced to make more changes and create this bodywork, while the Cadillac is 99.5% a Dallara?

I like the Nissan anyway, it's a race car. The front could look better if the original nose could been hidden better.

[Akrapovic]

The reason the air vents out a few inches later us because this is just a cover over the original Ligier nose. Without more changes you can't do anything else. The fact the nose kinda maybe sorta has a Nissan style to it is coincidental, as that is the original Ligier nose creating that look.

All this is is a wing laid over the old bodywork. The caddy sharpened off all the round edges on the Dallara dotted about. This one didn't bother with that.

It's fine tbh. But it's obvious why imsa sent them back to change more. They've done the minimum they had to do to be allowed to stick a Nissan engine in it and drop the Gibson. A cynic would say that because they'll be the only Nissan DPI, they'll get a favourable BOP as there will be no other Nissan cars outperforming them which would be the benchmark. Had they ran a Gibson then they'd have to be the fastest Gibson engined car to get any advantage out of the BoP.

[Damian Baldi]

The P2 cars will be allowed to make some changes. After the tests, IMSA will allow P2 cars to change engine mapping, TC and gear ratios, because those items are fixed on the ACO championships. They said that the ACO P2 configuration couldn't be competitive at IMSA tracks.

About the Nissan, we have to remember that the team is supposed to be paying for the bodywork, because it is not a Nissan factory effort. So, I can understand why they took the short route.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

"Pretty cars, are those who win" (Juan Manuel Fangio)

There is one thing I can't understand. Why Nissan was forced to make more changes and create this bodywork, while the Cadillac is 99.5% a Dallara?

I like the Nissan anyway, it's a race car. The front could look better if the original nose could been hidden better.

The Cadillac is a lot different to the standard Dallara if you look at the both side by side

[AoB Special Stage]

'Nissan' you say.

[FormulaFox]

Originally Posted by Damian Baldi

"Pretty cars, are those who win" (Juan Manuel Fangio)

And he was wrong.

There is one thing I can't understand. Why Nissan was forced to make more changes and create this bodywork, while the Cadillac is 99.5% a Dallara?

Because it's not. While each individual change is small, if you really look you can see that every single body panel that can be changed has had at least one -but often several- visible alteration made to it.

At most, the Cadillac is 85% Dallara. While nowhere near as significant as the Mazda, I'd say that if your goal is being visually distinctive, a 15% difference is sufficient.

If you look at the Nissan, you'll notice that aside from the strip over the nose, the only stand out modification is to the leading edge of the rear fenders - and it looks like it may have been more for extra cooling flow to the engine than a stylistic alteration(judging by the openings). If that's all the was changed under the initial submission, it would be nowhere NEAR as much as GM changed on the Dallara.

The nosepiece may be hiding some other small alterations as well, but for nothing to be jumping out I have to assume that they were woefully insufficient in the absence of the nosepiece as well - assuming such alterations are there.

[FormulaFox]

Any bets on ESM regularly having that additional piece of nose bodywork fly off during races by "accident?"