G-Force Challenge

What happens when you bring five magazines together with their best drivers and cars in a definitive test of suspension and handling? We decided to find out by creating the G-Force Challenge.

The rules for the BFGoodrich G-Force Challenge were simple: Sport Compact Car, Turbo, Import Tuner, VW Trends and european car, could bring two of their best handling performance cars-shod with a set of BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD tires-to the Streets of Willow, where we would subject them to a full-day of handling evaluation on a skidpad, through the slalom and around a grueling racecourse.

The one caveat? All the cars had to be street registered. Other than that...may the best team win. At the end of the day, the scores would be tallied and a winner would be crowned.

Men and MachinesBefore the event could get underway, each magazine had to select their entries and name their drivers. Here's a short rundown of their choices:

Sport Compact CarOne of its entries came from Mazda specialist Tri-Point Engineering in Canoga Park, Calif., who recruited the RX-7 of owner Wolfgang Hoeck for the task at hand.

Choosing a front driver wouldn't be as easy, but SCC did finally stumble onto Frank Lin's Honda del Sol. Lin's car seemed to have enough suspension goodies to get the job done and was outfitted with a drivetrain to match. SCC knew that Rhys Millen can drive anything fast, and so Rhys would burn up road course for the SCC team.

European car's editorial staff came to play in a fully modified right-hand drive Ford Escort Cosworth and a well-balanced Porsche 914-6. Both of cars were primed for exactly these kinds of tests, sporting trick suspension components and lots of horsepower. To seal the deal, they brought in veteran racing instructor Danny McKeever of Fast Lane Racing School to wring 'em out.

VW Trends brought two early air-cooled Beetles, which were very impressive upon our initial inspection. The Purple '71 Super Beetle was an extremely clean car. But Jack Van Wettering's '69 Bug, gave the other magazine editors the chills. Its tube frame, full coil-over front suspension and claimed 250 horsepower could spell trouble for them all. Both owners were set to drive their own cars on the track.

Import Tuner We were eager to see what the g-string loving, lifestyle crew would bring to a handling test. To everyone's surprise, they showed up with a tricked-out Integra Type R and a Subaru WRX-both capable cars. Stephan Papadakis would pilot the WRX, while the Integra's owner, Robbie Montinola would prove why the Type R is so damn popular.

Turbo & Hi-Tech PerformanceBig horsepower was the name of the game in the Turbo magazine camp. Two 1994 Supra Turbos owned by Nils Neufven and Ken Henderson and each boasting more than 500 horsepower showed up to take a trophy or two. Chris James, a Busch Series Craftsman Truck prospect, drove both.

Road CourseThe Streets of Willow Springs is a challenging, 11-turn, 1.0-mile course designed to wring the begeesus out of a street car with off camber bends and lots of elevation changes. And in the dead of summer, when the ambient air temperature reaches 118 degrees, The Streets are brutal to car and driver. The car and driver were given two chances (five laps each) to produce their best lap times. We scored the quickest lap each car produced.

Road Course Results

Position Car Time
10) '69 VW Beetle 1:17.30 sec.
9) Subaru WRX 1:10.50 sec.
8) Porsche 914-6 1:10.40 sec.
7) Acura Type R 1:08.70 sec.
6) Toyota Supra (silver)1:08.30 sec.
5) '71 VW Beetle 1:08.20 sec.
4) Honda del Sol 1:08.10 sec.
3) Ford Escort 1:07.40 sec.
2) Toyota Supra (black)1:07.10 sec.
1) Mazda RX-7 1:05.10 sec.

Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!