Japan Grand Touring

Every now and then you can catch an All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC) race on the Speed channel, but nothing beats watching the JGTC in person. What gets us is the sound of a well-tuned race engine turning high rpms. It's not until a few minutes after hearing this music to our ears that we say to ourselves: "Damn, these race cars are running the same type of motor that's in my car" From 3SGTE, EJ20 and high-pitched VQ35 engines, this racing series hit our magazine right in its belly. Most people in this industry already know what the JGTC is, and most know that the racing series has one exhibition stop lined up State side. but For those that don't know what it is, the best comparison I can come up with is the Grand-Am racing series. Now, with most of our readers being as young as they are, they are probably saying: "what is the Grand Am series?" To best explain both series let me put it this way: imagine two different classes of racing on the same field. That's the JGTC. It is equivalent to combining major league baseball and minor league baseball on the same field, but they don't play against each other; rather they're racing for two separate championships. It's as if they are sharing the same field but fighting for two different world series rings.

Things to keep in mind when watching JGTCFor the most part I see our industry watching JGTC and asking: "How come that MR-S is running a Supra? That can't be real!" The two classes of the jgtc are known as the GT300 and GT500 divisions. Both classes represent horsepower; hence, the 300 class is a 300 hp car and the 500 should technically be a 500 hp car. This is all controlled by an FIA standard air restrictor based not on the size of the engine, but also on the total weight of the vehicle and factors like the powerplant being a rotary or turbocharged. For example: If a GT500 team decided to run a 2000cc engine in turbocharged trim, the vehicle weight must not exceed 2425 lb and needs to run one 42.1mm or two 30mm restrictor plates. Now a car competing against this type of vehicle could run an engine displacement of 4000cc in turbocharged trim but would have to run either one 40.1 mm or two 28.6mm restrictors at the same vehicle weight of 2425 lb. The different size restrictors "attempt" to keep the cars at a competitive level.

One of the more noticeable elements of JGTC cars is body styling. Believe it or not, rather than subscribing to the tenent of form over function, JGTC race cars are designed specifically to give maximum results within the limit of the rules for aerodynamics. It just so happens that the body styling they incorporate looks cool, even though the only real concerns on their minds are aerodynamics and fitting the correct wheel and tire combination. The body styling and aerodynamics are different when comparing the GT300 cars with GT500 cars. The basic rule states that the fenders and quarter panels can be extended by two inches in width. the factory bulkhead section must remain intact, but must not differ from the original vehicle specifications. Have you ever wondered why most of the aggressive body styling from Japan has wide fenders and quarter panels? Well now you know; it trickles down from JGTC racing into your streetcar. They make the car's wide body to compensate for larger wheels, tires and brakes. We do the same on the street but 80 percent is for looks and 20 percent is for function.