The Ultimate Street Car Challenge
Quite possibly the most important and memorable test to have ever come out of Sport Compact Car. Each year, 10 street cars are brought together and then subjected to 15 rigorous tests to see which one is the best of the best: the fastest, most powerful, comfortable, bang for the buck and reliable machine to hit the street and track. GT-Rs have rubbed metaphorical fenders with Civics in this challenge and the winner is never a sure shot in any year. USCC continues in 2008 with cars lining up to enter and no foreseeable end in sight for this test.
g Masters - August 2006
The premise was simple, the execution wasn't. The concept was to find, test, and rank a wide assortment of machinery in lateral-g numbers, both on the skidpad and on the racetrack. Willow Springs International Raceway, the self-titled 'fastest track in the west', was chosen as home for the test. The course's long straights and wide turns would be necessary to hold the likes of a Formula One car, a 250cc Superkart, a Pro Formula Mazda, the C-West carbon-fiber S2000, the Works time attack Lancer Evolution, a Lotus Exige S, a Hasport Integra, an RX-8, an S13 coupe, a Civic Si, an R32 GT-R, a Noble M12, a Porsche 911 Turbo, and a tiny Toyota Yaris. With the sheer number of machines running on track at the same time, managing the photography and chaos was just as nerve-wracking as managing the data acquisition system. The F1 car's 1.38 lateral-g figure on the skidpad still stands near the top of our testing data.
Project GS-R vs. Acura's Type-R - May 1997
By today's standards, this test wouldn't incite a single bench-racing-infused argument on the internet. Taking a bolt-on-equipped, street-tire-shod, DC2-chassis Integra GS-R and shooting it out against a stock DC2 Type-R, SCC ran dyno numbers and drove both cars back to back at the track with a pro test driver at the wheel. But in early 1997, this was uncharted territory for an aftermarket tuning magazine. As one of the very first data-based performance comparisons to show up in Sport Compact Car, this Integra shootout heralded a new direction for the magazine. The customization Mini-Truckin' days were left behind for good and from here on out, performance in front of the numbers was the name of the game. And yes, the Type-R destroyed our project car.
The Ultimate Suspension Test - June 2008
As our readership begins to become more and more comfortable with reading charts, curves, graphs and numbers, we at SCC are always striving to think of new ways to test and present data. Suspension, one of the black arts of the tuning world, was tackled in our June 2008 issue, using the Honda S2000 as the base platform. With Continental Tires providing a spec tire to level the playing field, eight suspension manufacturers brought out an S2000 equipped with their vision of a street-tuned machine. Each Honda went on to the scales, track, streets, chassis dyno, and shock dyno for testing. What we were left with was the most comprehensive breakdown to date of the suspension manufacturers' modification philosophies.
Stupid Fast - May 2001
The issue that changed the reputations of the Lancer Evolution and Skyline GT-R platforms in the US-for good. Meeting at Buttonwillow Raceway for acceleration, braking, grip, slalom and lap time numbers, out came an R32 Skyline GT-R, an R33 Skyline GT-R, the infamous 'Blackbird' R34 Skyline GT-R, and the Bozz Speed Lancer Evolution VI. The GT-R and the EVO were known names in America, thanks to appearances in Gran Turismo, but up to this point, no one had tested all these machines together. After the R34 blasted its way to a quarter-mile time of 12.3 seconds at 112mph and the Bozz Speed EVO laid down 12.4 at 120.3mph (with 0.99 g on the skidpad), it was over. America knew these cars were the real deal and eagerly awaiting the day when both nameplates would be on sale in the U.S., a milestone which will just have taken place by the time you read this.
Time Attack Challenge -August 2004
With import drag racing fading from the media spotlight and drifting still climbing in popularity, the search began for the next big thing. Teaming up with NASA Pro Racing, SCC brought out 38 of the fastest track cars to Buttonwillow Raceway's #13 clockwise configuration and set up the first US version of a Japanese phenomenon known as time attack. The ranks were filled with familiar names such as Axis, Road/Race, Hasport, Skunk2, Hotchkis, Sparco, and JIC, with the overall win eventually going to the Signal Auto R34 Skyline GT-R. Time attack would fade from the pages of SCC for a while as the event was taken and rebranded as the Super Street time attack series, but we have since rejoined with the Source Interlink Media company-wide Super Lap Battle series, which continues to this day as one of the largest Time Attack series in the U.S.