Maybe you can talk about this one with a line in the racing side of things. Why is the GK5 exploding in popularity? If I recall both the GD and GE it their entire life times got as big as the GK did in a matter of months. Im seeing race transmission swaps already. Turbo kits day 1.

To my knowledge other then the new I-DSI engine replacing the V-tec and I-Vtec, and a 6-speed.... its mostly the same. Same layout, few inch difference here and there, McPherson upfront, the unfortunate torsion beam in the back, rear drums... ( and I actually think the GK is ugly )


Those are some sweet pics, and an awesome build though

 

I'm certainly no Honda or Honda Fit expert. If I had to guess, it would be power/weight ratio and displacement restrictions for the region/series we typically race in. Before I started working on my own Fit, I did do some basic comparisons of some similar vehicles that are popular to do race car conversions. Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, Suzuki Swift, etc... Although the Earthdream engine isn't the most output per liter of displacement, it is still the best of the group with displacement in the 1.4-1.6L. Once you go force induction, it's another class and larger displacement 2.0L like the Honda K20 are putting out 200-210HP when compared to our 130-140HP.

Weight wise, the GK5 in the configuration we use for racing will get down to around 900KG +-50KG or 1950 lbs wet depending on how much weight reduction you do. Assuming power is 135HP, that's about 14.5LBS/HP. Some cars will change out the final ratio for shorter tracks, which makes for a pretty quick car.

The other major factor is running costs. The GK5 is easy and relatively inexpensive for aftermarket and OEM parts. I'll post some pics of the 6 hour endurance race we did this past weekend. Other than the standard tires, oil, fuel, matainence, etc., we'll have to replace several body panels and do some repairs. Oh, and a damaged wheel... So, running costs are important...

Just my $0.02...

 

6 hour endurance race... 5 GK5 Fits and 1 Suzuki Swift


First hit of the weekend - during practice


Second hit of the weekend - still during practice


3/5 Cars


Very hot weather...


Beautiful sunset on last day of practice...


Race Day!
#17


#27


30 car grid going into turn 1 off the start



During the race - one hour of major rain




Carnage by the end of the race:

#17




#27




Amazingly, the car ran 3 laps with one front wheel like this


#37


All worth it: 5 podiums and 1 Redbull best team of the race.

 

What brand of wheels do you guys use?

 

Advanti and SSR... These are not show wheels, get beat up on pretty good.

 

Stock is fine, even under the very hot weather. Ran about 160 laps this time, everything is fine. Engines are primarily stock, nothing fancy.

 

First awesome thread and build you have going. I saw you switched to Federal tires from Bridgestone. Is this mainly size (205/50R15 vs. 195/55R15) or tire type availability? In one picture you looked to be running something other then the 595 RS-R possibly an R-comp tire. I see on the cracked wheel you have RS-R's though.

Are you running the 195/55R15 for taller gearing? You mentioned clearance and that tire would be taller then the 205/50R15 but a little skinner. I know Bridgestone makes a 195/50R15 in the RE-71R but you will lose some gearing due to the 22.68" height compared to the 23.44" you are running on the 195 now. What are the limits for streets in your class, is it limited to street/treadwear rating?

 

First of all, glad you are enjoying the thread and thanks for the compliments. Quite honestly, I didn't pay too much attention to tire selection. I know that sounds really stupid because I should have been paying more attention but the team techs essentially will inform us when there's a change due to some reason. The rest is up to the drivers to get in the car and drive.

So there is some limit on tire choice for the race we ran. Federal was the tire sponsor so we are suppose to use all Federals I believe for some classes. The bridgestones were used by some of the other cars. We had 5 Fits, one suzuki swift and the swift ran a large tire up front than the back. So all sorts of tires sitting around for different reasons.

195/50-15 is what we are running but some of the cars do have a final drive ratio change so they might be running something different. Regarding tire type, so we had a big rainstorm that came in during the race. Cars all started the race with r-compound semi-slicks and changed to RS-R when the track got wet. Different cars were racing in different classes, some more time competitive. #27 was on a two tire change strategy so once it switched to rain tires it stayed that way. Took 1-1.5 seconds per lap off the pace but we were on track for a podium finish already so didn't go back to slicks.

The federal semi-slicks are good tires. Ran a new set during qualifying and set the fastest times of the weekend.

 

But I mean the GK vs the older GD and GEs specifically, not so much the Fit in general vs other cars.

You don't see many racing GEs or GDs, but that picture alone had 5+ GKs.

 

Not sure... GK5 is a competitive car in terms of power/weight for our class.

 

These cars are a "momentum" class in the us which means smooth driver is a big deal, but the extra couple HP the newer cars get is a big deal.

Same thing happened with spec miata.. the first gen cars are just not quite as fast as the later ones.. 400 cc's matter..

 

Every little bit matters... These cars run in the 1.6L NA class. GK5 is competitive in this class.

The last track was also one of the shorter tracks in the season, a little over 2 kms. Fastest times on a single lap TT run was set by a heavily modified M2 around 1:11s. GK5s over the course of a 6 hour endurance race will run 1:17s, maybe even 1:16s. Still very competitve.

 

Great thread and thanks for sharing.

What power modification are available in China?
Intake, exhaust, ecu modification, etc are what I'm talking about. Thanks in advance.

 

A lot... Seem to be more general GK5 stuff overseas than in the US.

 

Just finished running a race in the GK5 Challenge Series on the Shanghai F1 circuit. We ran the entire F1 track and the event was held along with the China GT Cup. Enjoy the photos.



New car going into the pits with exactly 1,000KMs








All GK5s













Driver's Meeting


Hankook was the tire sponsor. Ran full slicks


FT and RR after round 1




On Pole (Because I came in last round 1)




Only one accident




Good times


Sexy Cars...
















Gotta love the GT cars

 

Please keep the pictures coming. It's really cool to see these cars at the track!

 

Agree! I love seeing ideas for graphics. Do you do your graphics with different colors of wrap vinyl? How do you go about applying the vinyl in patterns that follow contour lines of the car? Is it precut, or trimmed in place?

 

Thanks, glad people are enjoying these and hopefully getting inspired on what the GK5 can do. For us, the GK5 is a very capable chassis. It's faster than the GE plateform hence why we race it.

 

People approach graphics differently. First of all these are race cars and not show cars so they get banged up. Exterior isn't our primary concern. People tend to take on the graphics differently. As you might have seen my car was white to start with and then as the sponsors come in, they apply their decals. They sponsor the series so we have to let them put on these decals. Without sponsors, racing would not be possible so it's all good.

As far as the car graphics, we use a designer to design our own since we have our own colors and etc. Some of the cars are independants but usually it's all teams since the teams provide the technical support and crew. Some of the drivers are renting cars, mostly are running our own or team cars.

In our particular instance, our graphics are custom done at a wrap shop after our designer did some general designs. This time it was very rushed and didn't turn out too well. Next time will look much different.

As far as off the shelf stuff, there's a lot available in Asia... A lot. You can buy them and they ship it to you in a roll. If you have the skills, you can apply yourself preferally with people to help...

 

Haven't posted for a while but here is the 12 hour endurance race we ran on New Years. Not the best of races but it was a good time.