T-Rex

PaulProe

PaulProe

TREASURER & Web Administrator, Member # 019
GCC Member
Location
Manchester
First Name
Paul
Last Name
Proefrock
anyone seen one of these?

http://www.campagnamotors.com/index.html

01.jpg


Watched an article on them on Speed and apparently they are the hottest thing going on the tracks. Agility of a motorcycle but pulling more lateral G's than a bike. Might give Steve a run for his money

Paul
 
They claim 1.3 lateral G's...

144 mph top speed

1040 lbs dry weight

0-60 in 3.92 with the Kawasaki 197 hp in-line four.

I have ridden a Kawasaki Concourse 1400 with the same engine and it is the most impressive naturally aspirated motorcycle engine I have ever been on.

Kerry
 
Last edited:
I have to wonder - if your are driving it on the bleeding edge like a road race, is there an advantage to the 3 wheeled set-up vs. 4 wheels, and what happens when you get over the edge? A car you can save most times. When this thing get loose - I wonder how it reacts.
 
On the autocross course I run neck and neck with a well driven Exige on slicks. Last event he was on street tires and I was a bit faster. He said he would not make that mistake again. Point is that there is a reason all race cars have 4 tires.

Take a look at this car and tell me what you think will happen when the T-rex pulls hard out of the corners. Under a hard braking turn I could see the 1.3 G's but the design would limit your exit speed. Put another tire in the rear and it would give a KTM crossbow a good run.

Rick_3_alt.png
 
If you go by that logic, Mark and Mike, how come a car can't keep up with a 2 wheel motorcycle in the turns. By your logic, two more tires is more grip.? :confused: This thing is actually 8" wider than the Factory Five Roadster - overall width and weighs 1700 lbs less at around 1100 lbs. So, would it make sense that less weight, and a wider track equals better traction?
 
I agree with Mike here. In braking this three wheel configuration would likely perform OK but under power in a straight line or corner it will be both unstable and very limited by insufficient rear tire contact patch. I suspect once the rear gets loose, it would be near impossible to regain control....especially by trying to add power.

Three wheelers have never been know for stability.

Where this vehicle may have an advantage is in fuel economy in a street driven scenario for two passengers...Reduced overall weight, potentially good aerodynamics from the teardrop shape combined with a relatively low frontal area, and reduced rolling resistance. However for maximum fuel economy the seating should be tandem, not side by side with fully enclosed body to reduce aerodynamic drag further. But a three wheeler generally should be more fuel efficient than four wheels.

I was very surprised in the Motor Trend article as to how high the lateral G numbers were for all cars tested. Those numbers are dramatically higher than what I have seen for the same vehicles in previous tests measured on conventional skid pads.
 
Purple Venom said:
If you go by that logic, Mark and Mike, how come a car can't keep up with a 2 wheel motorcycle in the turns. By your logic, two more tires is more grip.? :confused: ?
Click to expand...

Your injecting way too many variables in favor of the motorcycle to be a fair comparison.

A car can't lean...a motorcycle can...allowing for higher cornering speeds.

A motorcycle is lighter... allowing braking harder and later into a turn and the light weight then allows application of power sooner with faster acceleration out of the turn due to improved power to weight ratio compared with most cars.

The combination of larger diameter wheels with a wide rounded tire profile on a motorcycle allows less tire distortion when layed into a turn with often an actual GAIN in contact patch as the bike is layed over. A car may have a wide static contact patch but in a tight turn a reduced portion of that patch is making contact with the pavement due to sidewall and tread flex / distortion.

A motorcycle CG will shift into the turn and become lower when layed over, helping to improve tire loading. A car CG will remain high in a turn and shift weigh to the outside tires with a reduction in inside tire loading.

There are numerous reasons why a motorcycle has the capability to outrun most cars on twisty roads...
 
Tim a bike could never hang with a car on a road course. Take a look at Nürburgring: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nürburgring_lap_times

The Honda RC30 holds the track record for motorcycles on the full course (20,832m) at 7:49. There are many high performance production cars that have beaten that record.

Fastest ever on a bike was 7:17 on the 19,000m course. The Porsche 956 did it over 1 minute faster at 6:11 on the 20,832m course.

So on the 20,832m course a car is 1:38 faster than any bike around the track.

Maybe a street car against a fast bike? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WShY1ObPvhQ&feature=related

How about race bike against a race car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK1vzco1cxU

If you still had any doubt note the cornering difference here. The car looks like it is twice as fast through the corner: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMSegwn7I7c
 
I was wondering really - what happens when things go wrong. A car spins out. A motorcycle lays down or get a tank slapper. I wonder what happens when this 3 wheeled set-up gets out of control.
 
Mike,

My impression was that Tim's comment involved street vehicles on street tires...not state of the art racing vehicles on 20,000m+ long race tracks. Thats why my comment referenced twisty roads....not race tracks.

Obviously an F1 car with four times the HP and dramatically better high speed aerodynamics will out run a relatively HP limited GP motorcycle at very high speeds. The longer/straighter the track with fast sweeping turns...the more pronounced the advantage to the race car.

But on tight twisty roads with street legal vehicles on DOT legal tires where top speeds will not exceed 100 MPH...my money is on a well ridden motorcycle.

There may be a few exceptions out there...and if so...I would like to watch....:eek:
 
I took it as a 2 wheel vs 4 wheel comparison. With that in mind I compared 1. High end - F1 to GP 2. Moderate - Veryon to R1 3. Low end - Viper/Z06 to RC30/GSXR

In every case the car beats the bike. ZR-1 to R1, Exige to CBR 250, Honda minivan to Harley fatboy....any apples to apples comparison with similar power to weight ratios the car will beat the bike. The same people that brag that their R1 that revs to 15,000 rpm beat a under powered mustang will be the first to scream how unfair the same comparison is to a Veryon or ZR-1.

The truth is that a Veryon and the R1 are nearly identical in HP/WT ratios and the Veyron will smoke the R-1 down the canyon road or on the track. Compare the ZR-1 to an R6 and the result is the same. If the fight is fair the car will win.

My money is on the well driven car!

Here is one showing the bike is great on the straights, but not so good in the corners. Might not be fair though as the bike has to race a honda civic!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAvxBOXrVQY

here is a good one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpBySq_PwN8

My coupe has a HP/WT of around 8. So find me a so so driver with a 75hp CBR 250 (same pwr/wt and same skill) and lets find out. Heck bring me some competition on a Harley fat boy and I will use the wifes minivan to spank him.
 
Last edited:
Not fair Keith! I said find me a so so rider. Someone of your caliber could smoke me on a scooter.

Thats why I feel the other comparisons are very relevant as a top GP driver and a top F1 driver are even in skill. You on a bike and me in a car...not so much.

Watching a stock Civic pull right up on the rear tire of a superbike in the turns says it all.
 
Dang, I was hoping you could up with one,woulda been a treat.:D
That was a stock 1000 cc honda, far from a super bike and he wasn't pushing it at all.There wouldn't have been much of a TV show if he was on it the whole time.
Still don't think I would have been riding in front of any car at those speeds on the track.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top