ok, my daily is mind numbingly boring. so im taking some initiative to make it better, as i actually have learned to like the thing. as im doing repairs and maintenance, im doing simple, GRM style mods to make it stop, handle, look, and get better MPG. im not building to spec or to class rules. remember, this is just a daily, back and forth to work/daycare/jobsite/parts store car.
car is a 99 camry, 4 cyl, autotragic. currently getting 24mpg on my normal commute. ive already got my suspension mods planned out, amd working on the research for brake mods and mpg mods. have soem ideas to try out after more research.
in researching the looks, ive stumbled across some threads and pictures from across the pond about the BTCC. theyre taking normal 4 door sedans, and running them on road courses,. much like NASCAR here used to be, before it got crappy.
i want to channel some of the coolness for my street car. so im putting a thread out there ( seen here http://forums.speedarena.com/showthread.php?5225394-The-1990-s-Touring-Cars-Thread&s=836fe9fd75484a31d99ddffb6b598541) for those that dont know what im talking about.
what id like this discussion to center around is the elements that stand out to you other than the graphics, of what make these cars look so much better than their normal pedestrian counterparts. theres some qualities that i cant seem to put my finger on that make the look.
also, i cannot locate any of the camrys from the 99-02 vintage in BTCC pictures. maybe some of you all have some? or of a similar style?
and im not trying to go ricer on you guys. just trying to create something cool with what i already have, without spending a ton on it.
and when the camry finally dies, ill be building an accord type r clone. those things are GREAT!!
michael
mndsm
SuperDork
11/22/11 9:27 p.m.
Word of warning, the BTTC is what started the whole ricer trend around here. Those giant wings? They're Englands fault. Other than that- flash full dish OZ's, a nice stance, and some decent rubber is a good place to start. OR- some of those swanky Braids..... I'm officially enamored with those. Or team dynamics.
While I've often considered doing the same thing, I find your choice of a "tribute" to the BTCC...amusing. Camrys do not sell nearly as well in the U.K. as they do in the U.S. (not that your choice has to be a BTCC fav) because for the price of a Camry, you can buy several different models of BMWs. Heck, the V6 Camry sells in the DOZENS in the U.K. But I'm considering going this if I ever pull the trigger on a new Fiesta sedan...which isn't sold at all in the U.K. I've already started collecting photos of Fiestas and Focuses in rally colors.
eh. what can i say. ive got it, its paid for, and its dead nuts reliable. just slightly boring.
i honestly did not know that the camrys did ot sell that well over there. suprinsing, really.
michael
ST_ZX2
Reader
11/22/11 9:46 p.m.
http://www.nzracer.com/toyota-camry-btcc-comes-out-of-the-shed.html
Holy E36 M3... a berkeleying Dodge Stratus?!?!?!
Ranger50 wrote:
Holy E36 M3... a berkeleying Dodge Stratus?!?!?!
Yep. Factory-backed, even. Our friend David Donohue drove one.
That's it. Apparently there was about a zillion dollars in that program.
David S. Wallens wrote:
That's it. Apparently there was about a zillion dollars in that program.
They would have to..... Bone stock, a 70's era Caddy DeVille could outhandle it.... Not to mention barely enough power to pull a greasy string out a cat's butt with the cat running the other way.... 
Huh, they made 300hp from the 2.0L Stratus using the stock ignition and naturally aspirated.
They outhandled the Honda's as well thanks to the dual a-arm front suspension.
The pickup points were moved I believe, but that was a universal rule that everyone abided by.
Transaxle were sequential 6-speed units.
Maybe one day we'll have to do an article on the old Super Touring cars. Lots of our friends were involved in that series--Donohue, Randy Pobst, Peter Cunningham, TC Kline, Walt Puckett. I want to say the cars made 300 horsepower from 2.0 liter while on pump gas. (Someone may want to check me on the gas requirement.)
please do that article. with LOTS of pictures. or online content. lots of it.,
the more i google, the more i love what i see.
I love, love the way the BTTC cars looked.
For the OP, it seems like the look is pretty much defined by slightly comically big tires and wheels, bone stock body lines except for the wing and being really, really low.
ddavidv
SuperDork
11/23/11 5:13 a.m.
What looks good on the track may look ridiculous on the street. If I had a photo of the WRC-wannabe Impreza that runs around here, you'd know what I mean. You'll look like a poseur. Don't do it.
The British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) had some very interesting cars, the class almost went international, they ran in Oz for several years and at their peak ran Bathurst alongside the V8s then held their own Bathurst before fading out.
Check this one out
It did well in Europe then ran in Oz, the entended roof actually helped with downforce because of the raised level of the rear end.
Peugeot's were cool also
This is a Yota running, it's a Carina in England
In reply to turboswede:
The Honda's were Accords and had dual A-arm suspensions also.
mndsm wrote:
Word of warning, the BTTC is what started the whole ricer trend around here. Those giant wings? They're Englands fault. Other than that- flash full dish OZ's, a nice stance, and some decent rubber is a good place to start. OR- some of those swanky Braids..... I'm officially enamored with those. Or team dynamics.
I think it had more to do with the Super Touring Car series mentioned above. The whole thing took off just after that series came (and unfortunately went).
The reason the BTCC cars look like that is that they have a purposeful reason for the changes.
Are you sure you want your daily commuter autotragic Camry to break it's fake fiberglass front splitter on every driveway entrance? Are you sure you want to lower and stiffen it to the point that you can have kidney failure on buckboard roads? Do you really want to shell out for 35 profile tires and OZ wheels to have them bent on those same roads? It is fine if you do... but you will still have a 4cyl autotragic camry - it will just be a lot less useful as a car.
If you can scratch together a couple grand for suspension and wheels for that car - you have other options that don't involve that car.
I love touring cars! BTCC, JTCC, and the short lived NATCC with the stratus, accord and carina which i think they rebadged as a camry. I was gonna do the touring car look to my infiniti g20 and i even have a tamiya jtcc primera rc car but now the car is just my daily beater.
Duke
SuperDork
11/23/11 8:35 a.m.
David S. Wallens wrote:
I want to say the cars made 300 horsepower from 2.0 liter while on pump gas. (Someone may want to check me on the gas requirement.)
Yeah, that's about right. I knew club racer, Chrysler engineer, and all around cool guy Erich Heuschele back in my Neon days, when everybody in the Neon world lusted after those Stratii. He said the engines made great power, but were insanely peaky and idled at about 2,000.
