TCI Kicks Butt at Super Chevy Challenge

[ibuildm]

In the past I have posted here telling about the TCI 67-69 Camaro IFS subframe and have gotten blasted as it being a glorified street rod suspension. Recently TCI competed at the Super Chevy Magazine Suspension and Handling Challenge. Mary Pozzi drove all the cars in the autocross so it made the competition as fair as possible.
TCI's 68 Camaro had their Coilover IFS subframe under the front and their new Torque-arm rear suspension in the rear and included their subframe connectors to tie the front and rear together. The front and rear both had TCI's own billet double adjustable coilovers. They were running Michelin PS Sport II tires with a 200 tread wear rating. The size was 275/35R18 on the front and 315/30R18 on the rear. This all fits under the car with out major rear subframe modifications. They beat everyone in the autocross and came in 2nd in the slalom. Here is a link to TCI's website showing the 5 autocross runs the Mary made in the car.
http://www.totalcostinvolved.com/Test_Videos01.cfm
At the end it shows the times. Every run she picked up almost 1 second. The current Super Chevy issue shows 2 of the competitors and the next 4 issues will show the results of all 10 cars that competed.
TCI showed everyone that they have developed a great suspension system that works.

[BRIAN]

You would think more people would be interested???? Who were the other Co's involved? For years hasn't everyone been asking for a head to head comparison? Not ideal but close?

[70rs]

I think it's great that they have branched out into the PT market. But you can't blame some people for thinking they might not be up to speed in that market ONLY because they have been so involved with street rod items for so long. But now with this event and because of the results maybe more people will take the effort by TCI more seriously. They have quality products from what I have heard, but I have no personal experience with them as a company. The results speak for themselves.:cheers:

[Steve1968LS2]

PS2s are 220 treadwear.. just to be clear.

But, this wasn't a competition between all the cars there. Comparing them is like the old "apples and oranges" deal.

Some cars had just a few bolt on parts.. some had the full deal. Some were gigantic wagons while others had never been ran hard art all. Some were set to kill and others had more street friendly settings.

It should also be noted that cars that did great in the handling did scored lower in the street test (comfort) while ones that didn't set records in the handling department did better in the drivability test.

I will say though that the TCI Camaro did kill the autocross though. I think they owe Mary a car... lol

I think they issued a challenge to me.. something about betting a 12-pack or something. lol

[Steve1968LS2]

You would think more people would be interested???? Who were the other Co's involved? For years hasn't everyone been asking for a head to head comparison? Not ideal but close?

For the reasons stated above it really wasn't a "head to head".. all the cars were judged against a baseline car (2010 Camaro SS)

If a 69 Camaro beats a 57 Wagon in an autocross what does that prove? If they both beat a new Camaro that proves that old cars can be vastly improved with some new parts and a little tuning.

[70rs]

For the reasons stated above it really wasn't a "head to head".. all the cars were judged against a baseline car (2010 Camaro SS)

If a 69 Camaro beats a 57 Wagon in an autocross what does that prove? If they both beat a new Camaro that proves that old cars can be vastly improved with some new parts and a little tuning.

Steve,
Did you have a chance to drive the TCI car? I am wondering what your personal opinion is if you did drive it?

[BRIAN]

I thought they were all 1st gen Camaro's going head to head. Like all suspension kits they need a capable car to go on to complete the package and also a driver that like a car that handles the way it does. Remember Porsche 911's drive a lot different than say a Vette and both are competitive depending on the driver.

Maybe not all Street Rod based stuff should be considered junk.

[Steve1968LS2]

I thought they were all 1st gen Camaro's going head to head. Like all suspension kits they need a capable car to go on to complete the package and also a driver that like a car that handles the way it does. Remember Porsche 911's drive a lot different than say a Vette and both are competitive depending on the driver.

Maybe not all Street Rod based stuff should be considered junk.

No, the 10 companies could bring whatever cars they want.. they just couldn't bring what they brought last year.

Some brought There were two first gens, two wagons (Chevelle, 57) a corvette, a couple of Chevelles, it was a real mix.

Some were company cars that had been tested and tuned, some were customer cars that had never seen a cone before. One belonged to a customer that autocrossed his Nova.

It was a real sampling of the cars in the real world from six figure super high-dollar rides to ones that were on the rough side cosmetically. Some had a few bolt on parts, others had the full deal done to them. Heck, one had a big-block.

I didn't get to drive the TCI Camaro, but it really tore through the cones. I think this does show that their suspension package is capable of yielding high performance and isn't just "street rod parts repackaged". Personally I thought all the cars did well in thier own way.

Anohter great handling car was the Roadster Shop's Corvette. The only problem it had was egonomics since Mary could barely fit in it and the pedal placement was a bit odd. Those factors hurt its official autocross times, but the rules are the rules.

[novanutcase]

Chalk one up for 2nd gen Novas!! LOL!!!

Congrats Brian!!

John

[David Pozzi]

I drove the TCI Camaro and it handled great. Very easy to drive and very good feedback and manners, I think the tires helped them a lot. The car was very predictable and just plain fun to autox. The engine had lots of torque, I think it's a 383, brakes were good but the pedal was kinda high. Brakes were manual which was power assist before this test, but they remembered Mary said that on last years car the brakes were a bit over boosted so they pulled the booster and changed master cyls.
David