Yesterday we looked at World Racing's preparation for the 2010 season, and now it's time to catch up with another Scion race car – the Papadakis/Rockstar tC drift car driven by Tanner Foust.
This rear-drive, NASCAR-powered tC debuted last year in Formula D with
a number of podium finishes, and is undergoing a few changes
for 2010. Last week I caught up with Stephan Papadakis and crew at a
small shop in Upland to have a look at the car's progress.
Overall, the tC will be largely the same as the '09 version, with the exception of the rear suspension.
Due to a change in the rules, the car's old Supra rear suspension is being replaced with stock tC components modified to fit with the Supra differential and axles.
Here Stephan shows the changes.
The stock tC uprights modded to house the Supra axles.
I was wondering if the new rear suspension will change the car's handling much, but Stephan says it shouldn't make a difference.
As you can see the engine bay is empty at the moment. A new NASCAR-spec V8 will be dropped in, while last year's motor will be rebuilt and used as a spare.
Besides the rear suspension and engine replacement, the car will also have a bit more steering angle added to the mix.
Work on the car should be wrapping up just about as you read this, and it will be ready to go in Long Beach in a few weeks.
Tanner of course will be looking to drive the tC to his third Formula Drift Championship in 2010.
-Mike Garrett
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
whats the story on that sweet stang in the background?
Nascar powered eh?
I hoped to never hear or read nascar ANYTHING with speedhunters. But Papadakis knows better then I do when it comes to the ideal setup-good luck this season fellas
haha i new that car wasnt completely FD legal...dont want to hate but i honestly dont know how that car ever made through FD tech in the first place but what ever...you guys got anything on ken gushis scion tc?
Hooray for carburettors
if you look at the official points standings from last year - http://www.formulad.com/standings/2009.php , Tanner didn't earn any qualifying points for rounds 5/6/7. That's because the Supra suspension was deemed illegal under the '09 rules, and he was deducted all qualifying points because of it in a similar way that Takatori's skyline was deemed illegal and deducted points in the '08 season. It wasn't a rule change at all....
NASCAR engine = big time power with equal amounts of reliability. 2 hours + at 7000RPM+ = win!
Tengen,
The 'Stang didn't have anything do to with the Scion. Was just sharing space at the shop they were using.
If a Scion tC is converted to rear-wheel drive and has a NASCAR V8 under the hood, is it still a tC?
next time just take pictures of the kb cobra
Carburator?
i thought it was fuel injected?
am i wrong??
@ Vandal - like NASCAR or not, but you gotta give the garages credit. They can tune a v8 better than damn near anyone and I KNOW you ain't gonna pass up one if offered to you to race with.
Its the same game played by all the garages in every motorsport..."what's in the rules and what ISN'T in the rules?" Look at Group B Rally, or any F1 year, etc. Pushing the boundaries is how rules are set.
@ beto - it was legal last year
More angle? WTF Tanner need more angle? lol maybe humility instead
This car is fantastic...seeing it sideways around irwindale was awesome.
the wave rotors look sick btw
What's up with these rules (requiring OEM suspension parts, but allowing RWD conversion, and V8 power in a FF compact?!?)
Wait... Stock TC components? Hope they'll hold. I bet that somewhere in Japan they're shaking after seeing this build again. As for the mustang in the back It's like the old Skyline sitting in the back of Sumo Power. It's got our attention, now hopefully we'll see something about it.
Mike can you ask papadakis if one can use the supra subframe.in the tc with out using over fenders??? The anybody know is this posible to convert to rwd and keep stock body lines???
@D1RGE.EXE-i know that if it even got to compete it must have been "legal" but no one said anything till he won the Seattle event....what im wondering is how did he first go through tech and no one said anything,then Foust wins Seattle and he gets fined with not receiving any qualifying points for rounds 5,6,7?seem like the rules were changed half way through the season.....not defending Foust of the team but thats what i think,
@ balls - what kb Cobra? It's a GT with a Cobra bumper...
Isn't Joe Gibbs behind this as well?
Forsberg won Seatle
the rules for d1 here are a joke that car should outright be illegal the car takes away the essence of drag racing and yes how is putting the stock rear suspension but still being abe to modify it to rear wheel drive legal? look at the car the whole thing should be banned awesome fab work awesome car but i dont like it in d1....cause soon more guys will start building tube chassis cars and in a sense that is what that is...just my opinion though..i hope a s13 wins this year just because.....
now THAT's the way to do a tC! V8 + RWD = WIN
For a car to be eligible to compete in Formula D it must either be RWD or AWD in stock form. You can convert an AWD car to RWD ( Kumakubo and Verdier's WRX STIs). Over in Japan the tC is available in AWD form. Foust, and Gushi both run JDM tCs converted from AWD to RWD.
^^^^ but shouldn't they be using Japanese chassis TC's? If they only available in AWD form in japan then they should use RHD chassis.
supra rear end nascar spec engine,semi tube chassis ,and i am sure the parts are not all stock and the locating points for the suspension are completly rearranged,i think the car rides a fine line on the rules but hey more power to them i guess with the competion going the way it is we will see a rwd focus with a nascar ford engine....i dont know about any of you but when i go to a drift event after seeing that car i dont go out and wanna buy a scion!? i think to myself there is some money spent to drift. o well enough still a cool car i dont want the guys that work on that team to think i hate them i just dont like the idea...
uhh SlideWayZ the tC isn't available in Japan, it's only built there. nor is it available with AWD. so i don't know where you got that info from.
Ahh, Just hurry up and get him an LFA. or the aeah thing...
These are the cars that piss me off.
Somewhere theres a kid that thinks he can build a scion with a rwd nascar motor in it...
and thats why commercialism can kill motorsport
[IMG]http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o138/fkn_fst/01-2008-scion-tc1.gif/IMG] + [IMG]http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o138/fkn_fst/Nascar_Toyo_Motor2.jpg/IMG]
really?
I must say the tubular chassis sucks... Not in the spirit of drift, this is moving the sport beyond that of the average drivers budget. Ok professionalism will enhance the sport and help bring in sponsors and move forward but it should be done with the next generation in mind.
On a side not i would not like that front end hitting my door at speed should there be an accident, we have all seen what can happen....... Put the rules in place now BEFORE a serious accident happens... No more tube chassis please.... This isn't NASCAR