THE DIASIO D962R CONCEPT
Understanding the concept of the D962R is almost as important
as driving one, and certainly paramount when comparing our car
to the other options on the market. Piece-by-piece, this is why
the elements of the D962R combine to be a superior track car.
THE DESIGN
When my father, Richard L. Diasio and
I sat down and designed the concept of the original D962R, we
wanted to make a fast, safe, durable track car that was unique
in design, and fairly inexpensive to operate. Having loved the
days of IMSA and the GTP prototype race cars from Porsche, Toyota,
Nissan, Jaguar, and Mazda, we thought that a closed-cockpit, classicly
designed car was the way to go, especially when everything else
out there is either open-wheel, or open-cockpit. Next, we went
to Dave Klym of Fabcar, who has designed many winning race cars,
from tube framed Daytona-winning Porsches, to the Grand-Am Daytona
Prototype race cars. Fabcar actually built the last 19 Porsche
962s for the factory, so the experience and reputation was welcome!
Dave helped us make the concept a reality, and engineered the
car around our specifications and requirements.
We wanted the car to be safe- first
and foremost, but fast, well-handling, with large brakes, and
with parts designed to last a long time. Every bit of the material
in our car is going to safety, durability, speed, braking and
handling. Is the D962R heavier than the competition's cars? A
little- but there is good reason for it. Weight is a function
of material. Why is their car lighter? You probably don't want
to see the answer. Everything on the D962R is more substantial
than the other cars; the chassis is more stout, the brakes are
larger, the suspension parts are built to last longer. Where does
one take weight out of the car? Out of the chassis, out of the
parts, and out of your wallet. Cars that are built to the minimum
weight possible, do so by sacrificing strength and durability
of the parts, and increase the frequency of required replacement.
Could we make the D962R lighter? Yes. Would we? Never!
THE CHASSIS
The chassis is absolutely the most important
part of the D962R. It provides stiffness, durability, and driver
protection. It is the skeleton of the race car. We show many photos
of the chassis, side and front crash structures, and the quality
of design and build is evident. You will not find many photos
on the other web sites of the competitions' chassis. Why not?
Because safety and protection are not the strong suits of their
cars. They try to get you with the Wow! factor, while shielding
you from the Oh My God! factor when one sees just how little there
is protecting the driver from front, side, and top intrusion and
crush.
We build the chassis out of mild steel,
as opposed to 4130 steel, otherwise known as chromoly, or even
carbon fibre. Why? Because, during an accident, mild steel bends
instead of breaking. This allows the chassis to absorb more of
the impact. In addition, it is much easier to repair than chromoly
or carbon fibre. In a chromoly chassis, you are much more likely
to break several welds throughout the chassis, not just at the
site of impact. Carbon fibre, while seemingly the 'technological'
way to go, does not age very well. There is little record as to
how long carbon will last as the main structure of the chassis.
NASCAR and Grand-Am both specify that their chassis are made from
mild steel for the same reasons. Chromoly may be more expensive,
but only a few hundred dollars per chassis, which is not a consideration
when talking about a $75k car, is it? Therefore, the choice of
mild steel was purely for safety and repairability.
ROLL CAGE
Our chassis is superior in so many ways
to others in the range. The first, and most obvious, is the dual
roll hoop structure connected by the halo. Two 1.5" x .120"
roll hoops, front and rear, protect the driver. This portion of
the chassis is built to specs of a car over 2500 lbs. Is it heavier?
Yes. Will it improve your ability to survive a roll-over better
than an open-cockpit, single roll hoop race car? Absolutely!
FRONT PROTECTION
Next, the foot box. Compare the structure
of the front protection of the D962R to any sports racer- provided
you can find a photo on their web site. There is substantial metal
tubing in front and to the sides of your feet in the D962R. In
addition, the front suspension does not enter the foot box, nor
can it in an impact due to the welded sheet metal protecting your
feet and legs. Think about travelling at 160+ mph- what would
you want protecting your feet at the end of the straight?
SIDE PROTECTION
Side impact protection. In other cars-
the impact protection IS your body. The D962R incorporates an
outer structural crush box AND another set of tubing forms the
cockpit. The inner structure alone is more substantial than the
others, and then we added the outer welded box. Since the D962R
was designed and built to be on track with other, heavier street-based
track cars, we believe you should be protected from them as well.
Having built 35 of the standard D962s
over the last 4 years, we have seen everything happen to them,
from rolling over several times, to head on impacts with guardrail,
to impacts with other cars. All of the D962s sold are still operating
and in the field. Not a single customer has been injured in an
incident. Just ask some of the customers who have seen and been
involved in accidents with the D962. There is no comparison.
THE ENGINE
254hp- from a factory-new stock engine.
178 lb/ft of torque-50 more than the competition! This is not
a major race-prepped engine built to the standards of a grenade.
There is no $15k replacement cost. The Mazda Renesis twin rotary
engine that we chose as standard for the D962R is perfect for
the track day driver, weekend racer, and endurance racer alike.
It is not a high-strung race-built engine, and being a
rotary, it only has a few parts- no valves, pistons, rods, timing
chains, etc. to break. Rotary engines do not fail like motorcycle
engines. When a motorcycle engine develops a problem, it usually
happens in a hurry, and involves many parts and a usually an expensive,
complete rework. The average life of the 250 hp engine option
from the competition is less than 20 hours. The span between rebuilds
for the rotary engine is well above 100 hours- and often many
more hours. If you were to take a sledgehammer to the Renesis
engine, a completely new, factory crate engine is only $6,200.00,
not $15,000. The average rebuild is around $1,200.00, and you
can go SEASONS between rebuilds. In addition, as the engine in
the D962R is stock, there is quite a bit of room to increase the
horsepower. There is everything from porting to a bolt-on supercharger
to give you more horsepower when you are ready.
THE TRANSAXLE
What is the Hewland FTR transaxle? It
is a 6-speed sequential gearbox with reverse gear. It was not
made especially for the D962R, but rather is used worldwide from
F3 in Europe (the stepping stone to Formula One) to Formula BMW-
the factory spec series designed to give upcoming open-wheel racers
a chance to shine. This is a proven gearbox, with many gear options
and spares available. You do not even have to buy gearsets or
spares from us (unlike the other 'developed' gearboxes from the
competition), as there are many Hewland parts suppliers around
the world. However, we will carry a full compliment of spares
priced below that of the dealers', as a convenience feature.
SUMMARY
The D962R was designed to be a traditional,
solid-built track day car that doesn't require constant attention
in the garage between sessions. Your family will feel better knowing
you chose a physically safer car, and you will be more confident
as well, knowing that a mistake will probably be more forgiving
on your body and wallet than otherwise. Personal attention is
something that we are proud of at Diasio Car Company. When you
call the office, you speak to me, Chris Diasio, not someone with
limited knowledge and only a sale in mind. I know this car is
not for everybody, but it IS the best choice if you have the same
goals in mind for a track day car!
BACK TO THE
D962R PAGE