posted 05-31-2005 02:24 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Lugnut:
I've gone from a residual sense of frustration with those races, to an understanding of exactly how I'll handle them when I go back to them.

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The cars to watch out for are the Pescarolos and the Peugeot 905 which seem to be able to run longer on R3's than all of the other Class C's, and often don't need to make a pit-stop at all. The real PITA though is, without a doubt, the Toyota 7. I encountered it twice through my various experiments. Firstly at Tsukuba where it appeared to navigate the course without braking and drove away from the field. Secondly at Sarthe I, where it slipstreamed my Mercedes CLK-GTR down the straight at 230mph, and then drove past me as I was braking for the first chicane, pushing the square button through the contoller to make the turn, and he didn't appear to brake until about two feet away from it. Additionally this sucker never, repeat never pits. If you see a grid with him in it I recommend a rapid reset to avoid much frustration and expletives.

posted 05-31-2005 03:23 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
The real PITA though is, without a doubt, the Toyota 7. I encountered it twice through my various experiments. Firstly at Tsukuba where it appeared to navigate the course without braking and drove away from the field. Secondly at Sarthe I, where it slipstreamed my Mercedes CLK-GTR down the straight at 230mph, and then drove past me as I was braking for the first chicane, pushing the square button through the contoller to make the turn, and he didn't appear to brake until about two feet away from it. Additionally this sucker never, repeat never pits. If you see a grid with him in it I recommend a rapid reset to avoid much frustration and expletives.
[This message has been edited by miko (edited 05-31-2005).]

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posted 05-31-2005 11:26 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
I’m pleased to say that I have gotten this far without driving or even owning the Dodge Hemi Truck, which I understand is the points maker in the Beginners Hall and the SC races. It seems too much like a cheap glitch to me.

My only minor concern at this point is that I should be at 99.4% with 4 races to go, which could indicate that I’ve skipped something somewhere. Is anybody able to confirm their percent completion with four races to go before I go on a hunt across the ‘manufacturers’ to see if I’ve missed anything? Aside from that I still have 8 licenses that I need to upgrade from silver to gold, and that I really feel that I should attempt to do to get full game completion.

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I've actually grown to enjoy the Dodge Ram Hemi truck in my travels, as it is my vehicle of choice for scouting the City Courses for landmarks, due to its high viewing position. Of course, these "scouting tours" almost always turn into hot lap sessions, as I inevitably begin to wonder just how fast I can get that hulking metallic beast around whichever track I'm "scouting." Last night it was Hong Kong, which I lapped in about 1'47 on Comfort Tires, if I remember correctly.

I wouldn't be too concerned about the discrepancy in completion percentage, as there's probably some inconsistency due to rounding or some such thing. Plus, I seem to remember that GT3's completion meter stopped dead at 99% and not increasing at all until you make the jump to 100% by finishing off the five (?) events you would have remaining at that point. Of course, I have yet to finish GT3 so my word is about as credible as a screen door is useful on a submarine in this matter.

posted 06-01-2005 05:17 AM         

quote:

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My only minor concern at this point is that I should be at 99.4% with 4 races to go, which could indicate that I’ve skipped something somewhere. Is anybody able to confirm their percent completion with four races to go before I go on a hunt across the ‘manufacturers’ to see if I’ve missed anything? [/B]

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posted 06-01-2005 10:40 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Smart:
I'm on 99.1% with 5 driving missions to go.

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That's cool

I too was at 99.1% with 5 races to go so we've either both screwed up or are both on track.

quote:

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Originally posted by Lugnut:
Do you keep all your trophy cars?

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posted 06-01-2005 10:47 AM         

As Fuji is a fast circuit with a long straight I entered the Mercedes CLK-GTR Race Car, only previously used for a couple of races at Sarthe. With an oil change power output of 837hp, on R1 tires, the A-Spec rating is 125 points against a top class grid comprising the Nissan R92CP and R89C, the Sauber Mercedes C9, a Nissan R390 GT1 and an also-ran Corvette C5R Race Car.

The race was pretty straightforward, moving into the lead on lap 4 once my tires had warmed up, and then adding a few tenths to my advantage each lap. This, combined with the fact that my pit-stop intervals were longer than the big three, allowed me to steadily increase the lead and win by 2 laps over the R92CP, passing him for the second time at the last turn of the 228 lap race.

My lap times were between 1’16 and 1’20 (excluding pit-stop laps) depending on the state of my tires, with total race duration being a little over 5 hours. Pit-stop intervals were between 17 and 19 laps, compared with the big three who pitted every 16 or so laps. This meant one stop less than the big guys which here equates to almost half a lap. The big disappointment was the Sauber who was nearly 4 laps adrift at the end, followed by the R89C at +5 laps, the R390 at +13 laps, and the Corvette at + a-whole-heck-of-a-lot. At about two-thirds distance I started to feel a noticeable increase in the amount of DS2 vibration, judder is a better term, especially on heavy braking. The Mercedes also became more ‘slippery’ when on cold tires and I had to be a little more cautious for the first few laps following a pit-stop. I wondered if this was the Class C ‘wear-and-tear’ I’d heard about and this was confirmed after the race when the option to apply a rigidity refresher was available – and duly applied. This was the first time I had encountered this and although it wasn’t particularly detrimental to car performance or lap times, it was certainly noticeable through the Dualshock.

Post race power had fallen to 796hp which went up to 836hp after an oil change. In my garage I looked at the R92CP’s stats compared with the R89C’s and saw a small, if not overly significant, difference. The stock (no oil change) power of the R92CP is 953hp with a PWR of 0.944. This compares to the R89C with 922hp and a PWR of 0.977. Sitting between the two is the Sauber C9 at 940hp and PWR of 0.950.

posted 06-01-2005 12:03 PM         

I’ve put my mind at rest regarding completion percentage. I have counted that there are 522 individual races, 34 Championships and 34 Missions, giving a total of 590 completion counting events (the Family Cup does not count in this regard). This equates to 0.16949% per event therefore the following completion status…

99.15% with 5 events to go
99.32% with 4
99.49% with 3
99.66% with 2
99.83% with 1
Quod erat demonstrandum

posted 06-02-2005 10:28 AM         

The first 4½ hours of racing have being very uneventful, the AI being particularly uninspiring. I realize quite quickly that I have brought much-to-much car to the race even though it’s rated over 100 points, but I’ve started so I’ll finish and at the 4½ hour mark I have just put a second lap on the Opera 350Z. The ease of my inevitable victory (touch wood) is made even easier by virtue of the fact that I have the longest pit cycle of all the cars, every 27/28 laps (about once an hour) for the Elise compared with 20 laps for the Opera, 22/23 for the Nismo and Spoon S2000, 12 for the Civic and 11 for the Integra. At my second pit-stop I switch the fronts from S1’s to S2’s and they are still green when I pit due to the orange nature of my left rear (just for clarification I’m talking about tires here). I have no idea why the Civic and Integra burn their tires so much more quickly than the rest of the field.

posted 06-03-2005 04:20 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
(just for clarification I’m talking about tires here)

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LOL

Quick question, Miko. Hope I don't break your flow (arriving mid-race as I am), but I don't suppose you'd be able to offer any guidance on suitable cars for the El Cap Enduro would you? I'm looking to complete the Pro Hall but don't really have anything in my garage that can run with the Group C/Prototype cars that race in the Pro World Championship, so I thought the El Cap race was the quickest way to get hold of something of the right calibre (well, it's either that or slog my way through the mission halls to get the Nissan ).

posted 06-03-2005 05:24 AM         

Apologies to Miko for stepping in here with irrelevant chuntering.

I did this enduro in a TVR T350 if I recall correctly. I half-and-halfed it with VBH (Aka B-Spec Bob); I'd put a couple of minutes lead up and them she'd fritter it away .

It wasn't exactly tight racing but I did have a bit of a battle with the Motorsport Elise at the start and through the first round of pit stops.

I'll check my notes and get back to you if there're no better suggestions proferred.

P.S. How's your Zonda-phobia coming along ? I believe that mine will be quiessent sometime after I reach 100% completion LOL.

posted 06-03-2005 09:55 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Littleg:
Quick question, Miko. Hope I don't break your flow (arriving mid-race as I am), but I don't suppose you'd be able to offer any guidance on suitable cars for the El Cap Enduro would you?

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No problem - interject anytime you want. I used the Acura HSC, won I think from the Type R meeting in the Honda Hall. I ran it stock, except for an oil change and S1 tires, and won a 200 point race against (from memory) a TVR 350C (which came second), a big Lotus, a couple of Mercedes, and a Shelby Series 1 Supercharged (which came last). It was a pretty close race and I didn't actually lap the TVR (I was about 50 yards from lapping him at the end). I would definitely recommend the HSC - looks good, handles well, and is a bit of a giant killer.

[Edit] P.S. By the way it's the Toyota Minolta you win at El Capitan.

posted 06-03-2005 10:44 AM         

On game day 1,028 I have reached 99.6% completion, with 50,233 A-Spec points, having driven 15,558 A-Spec miles. The bank account is at 2.3m and I have 232 cars in the garage, of which 170 of them are prize cars.

A-Spec point average is now at 80.1 – Lugs, I think you should reset the Mendoza Line at 80 – so I need to achieve 107 points from the last two races in France to stay above the 80 point average line.

Anyway, bags are packed for the trip across the Atlantic, and I should arrive this evening in time to get some practice laps in at the Circuit de la Sarthe before deciding on which car I’m going to use. My pre-test inclinations are to use the Mazda 787B for Sarthe I and the Courage C60 for Sarthe II. These races will be broken up because of the fact that, with a view to maintaining marital harmony, I’m taking a long weekend so that I can finally get the boat in the water this year, and take my good wife out on a few fishing trips – the sacrifices we guys have to make I guess that next I’ll have to take her to a ball game not that the Astros are worth a shit this year.

posted 06-03-2005 01:36 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
With that, and to quote Captain Lawrence Oates, “I am just going outside and may be some time”.

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posted 06-03-2005 02:24 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Lugnut:
I just a few months ago read Race to the Pole by Sir Ranulph Fiennes. If your erudite reference to these events indicates interest, I would give a hearty recomendation to this book.

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Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check it out - and you're absolutely right, I have significant interest in this type of thing - I recently saw a great documentary on (I think) the History Channel, about the search for, and finding of, George Mallory's remains on Mt. Everest. Romantically, I like to think he was the first to reach the top - on the other hand, technically, Scott screwed it up going to the South Pole.

posted 06-03-2005 05:25 PM         

I used the DeLorean, hotted up a bit in the hp dept., with green Honda NSX JGTC wheels, and a wing.

"not that the Astros are worth a shit this year." Ain't that the truth...

At least there's the Spurs!

posted 06-06-2005 02:56 PM         

Nissan R92CP ‘02
Nissan R89C ‘89
Mercedes Sauber C9 ‘89
Toyota GT-One ‘99
Mazda 787B ‘91

Starting at the rear of the grid, I squeeze into first on lap 2 and gradually increase the lead over the next few laps with times between 3’22 and 3’26. Pitting every 8 laps because of fuel (8/80), my rear tires are yellow but my fronts are still green so at my second pit-stop I fit R2 tires to the front and refill the gas to the 75L mark. The GT-One is lapped on lap 20 at 1:06’40. The lead over the R92CP at this point is around 1’20, with the C9 a close third, the R89C fourth and the 787B fifth. The R92CP and C9 are pitting every 7 laps, the R89C every 7 or 8 laps, and the 787B & GT-One every 8 laps. At this point it looks like this will be an easy victory – famous last words huh!

Between the 2 and 3 hour mark, I started pushing the C60 to see what it could do. Fastest lap during this period was 3’17.322, and I suspect that this will hold up until the end as I’m now in a groove running consistent 3’19 to 3’23 laps. Additionally the C60 is starting to judder on braking, likely due to the onset of frame distortion. The settings are completely stock, causing me to hit the rev limiter once per lap just before the first chicane on the straight. This probably only costs a few tenths per lap but does make drafting a pointless exercise. The auto-setting on the transmission should probably have been move out a point or two. Top speed is 213mph, which doesn’t seem too dissimilar to the R92CP. It appears that any car that can run consistently between 3’26 and 3’28 should be there-or-thereabouts against this field at Sarthe I.

At the 4 hour mark, one-sixth distance, I’m half way down the Mulsanne Straight on my 70th lap. The Sauber C9, who moved into second at about the 2½ hour mark, is nearing the end of the straight, but he’s only on his 68th lap. I expect him to go two laps down before lap 75. The R92CP went 2 laps down on lap 67, the Mazda on lap 60, and the R89C, who is putting in quite a disappointing performance in fifth place, on lap 53. Trailing at the rear of the field, and 3 laps down, is the Toyota GT-One.

At the 8 hour mark, nearing the end of lap 139, the frame distortion is becoming increasingly noticeable with the car becoming very loose at the slightest encouragement. Only about 1 in 5 laps now are sub 3’20. The Sauber, R92CP and 787B were lapped for the 3rd and 4th times on laps 109 & 138, 99 & 130 and 93 & 125 respectively. The R89C is down by 5 laps and the GT-One by 7 laps.

posted 06-06-2005 02:59 PM         

Handling is becoming quite problematic and I’ve had to adapt as the race has progressed to a changing car. Sub 3’20 times are all in the past with times now running between 3’23 and 3’27. ‘Kinks’ in the road that I was previously taking at full throttle now require lift-off, and some parts of the course, especially the Indianapolis section, need to be taken particularly cautiously. It also seems that hitting the rev limiter is in my past as power loss means that my gearing is now perfect.

Fortunately, despite handling difficulties and power loss, I think I’m still the fastest car on the course, although the differential is a lot less than before. If the car continues to deteriorate through the next 12 hours then this race will become a real pain. We’ll see…

The 16 hour mark, two-thirds distance, sees me at the end of the Mulsanne Straight on lap 277, having just passed the Sauber for the 7th time and the R92CP for the 8th time. The Mazda is also 8 laps down in fourth, following by the R89C at 9 laps down, and the GT-One who is trailing by over 15 laps. The good news at this point is that I have figured out the handling problem – more importantly the solution.

The problem is massive high speed, over 175mph, over-steer, which any attempt to correct merely leads to massive de-stabilization of the car. The solution is to dab the brakes prior to any high speed kink, which completely removes the problem. There are three parts of the course where I find this to be critical:

1. The high speed right just after the pit exit
2. The two kinks on the Indianapolis section of the course
3. The second kink on the ‘straight’ after Arnage.

In applying this, my lap times are back in the 3’22 to 3’25 range, and the last 8 hours should be a relative breeze.

The magical 20 hour arrives just as I’m exiting Arnage on lap 345. The Sauber C9 is 7 laps down but as I can see him I expect that to be 8 in the near future. In 3rd is the R92CP at +9 laps, 4th is the Mazda 787B at +10 laps, 5th the R89C at +11 laps and trailing last the GT-One at +17 laps. I’ve told my pit crew to put the champagne on ice and to make room in the garage for an Audi R8. Barring mechanical problems the money is as good as in the bank.

High 5’s – the 24 hour mark finally arrived after 414 laps, with a 9 lap lead over the Sauber C9, 10 over the Nissan R92CP, 11 over the Mazda 787B, 13 over the Nissan R89C and 20 over the Toyota GT-One. The oil light came on before the end of the race but I didn’t note exactly when. Race mileage was 3,121 (may be the oil light came on at the 3,000 mile mark ). Real time elapsed for this 24 hour race was 53 hours.

Fastest laps and highest speeds (when not drafting) are shown below. Note that all data for the AI is based on the first 1½ hours of the race which is when the replay recording ended.

Pescarolo Courage C60: 3’17.322 / 213mph
Mercedes Sauber C9: 3’26.469 / 218mph
Nissan R92CP: 3’26.454 / 218mph
Mazda 787B: 3’28.389 / 215mph
Nissan R89C: 3’27.962 / 213mph
Toyota GT-One: 3’32.985 / 214mph

The Audi R8 is now parked in my garage and I’m 1.2m credits better off, minus 50k credits for a rigidity refresher for the C60, and 50 credits for an oil change. Power had dropped to 779hp which went up to 823hp after the oil change – this is more than I started with as this is the first oil change that the Pescarolo has had.

posted 06-09-2005 07:07 AM         

I was wondering if you could recommend a good car to tackle the Schwarzwald Liga B in the European Hall. I have both a BMW M3 '04 which is relatively stock (racing brakes, lightweight 1, and a nitrous kit; 344hp I think) and a BMW M3 GTR that is stock (375hp I believe). I wanted to pick your brain and see if either of these cars would be good for the Schwarzwald Liga B. Thanks much.

- James // Santiago22

posted 06-09-2005 10:11 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Santiago22:
I was wondering if you could recommend a good car to tackle the Schwarzwald Liga B in the European Hall.

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posted 06-09-2005 10:55 AM         

With such an easy victory at Sarthe I, I wanted to do a little testing to get more competitive racing at Sarthe II. Cars in my garage that fit (or potentially fit) the bill are as follows:

Car	Power (hp)	PWR
Toyota Minolta 88C-V	965 *	0.881
Jaguar XJR-9	974 *	0.918
Nissan R92CP	953	0.944
Mercedes Sauber C9	940	0.950
Nissan R89C	922	0.977
Mazda 787B	803	1.034
Pescarolo Courage C60	823 *	1.093
Audi R8	795	1.133
Mercedes CLK-GTR	836 *	1.196
BMW McLaren F1	642 * (800 with NA3)	1.479 (1.188 with NA3)
Pagani Zonda LM	694 * (831 with T3)	1.657 (1.384 with T3)
Ford GT LM ‘04	646 *	1.749
Jaguar XJ220 LM	578 * (773 with T3)	2.042 (1.527 with T3)

Note: * = after oil change

With the previous easy win in the Courage C60, I ruled out everything on the list with lower PWR and also ruled out the CLK-GTR as I’d used this in the Fuji 1000km. I was looking for times around 3’10 in practice, give or take a couple of seconds. The Ford and the Jaguar (even with a stage 3 turbo fitted) did not match up to the requirements, so they were crossed off the list, as was the Zonda as I’ve already played with this a lot. This left the Audi R8 and the BMW McLaren. I was able to run 3’10s in the Beemer with the NA stage 3 fitted, but this gave a PWR about the same as the R8 so this was also ruled out. This leaves the Audi R8 – but nah! It’s just too obvious so off I go to the showrooms again.

Looking for something different I finally find and test successfully a car that I guess few would use for this race. It’s a conventional front-engine, rear wheel drive configuration (none of this MR stuff) and is normally aspirated. Its identity will remain anonymous for the time being, as will the nature of any power upgrades (or not) but I will tell you that my set-up comprises R2 tires on the front and R1’s on the rear, brakes set at 6/1 and auto transmission set at 22. Down-force is set to maximum (it’s set to minimum when you buy the car) but this is still less than half that of the Class C cars above. The car’s identity will be revealed in the following posts (but feel free to have a guess).

posted 06-09-2005 11:22 AM         

I bought mine last week, but have yet to drive it seriously...

posted 06-09-2005 11:51 AM         

The first AI field comprises the cream of the AI crop – that’ll do nicely. In a race rated 123 A-Spec points (I could have got it into the 140’s by starting with R1/R1 instead of R2/R1 tires, but what the hell) the AI comprises the following:

Nissan R89C
Mercedes Sauber C9
Mazda 787B
Jaguar XJR-9
Toyota Minolta 88C-V

Running with less than half the down-force of the AI, I loose between 1 and 2 seconds on the section from Arnage to the start-finish line, however, I’m pulling 240mph on the straight and hit 255mph when drafting past the AI on lap 1. The Minolta pressured me quite relentlessly for the first two hours of the race but at the 2hr mark was 25s behind, with the Sauber in 3rd, the Mazda 787B in 4th, the Nissan R89C in 5th, and the Jaguar a long way adrift in last place.

All cars except the Mazda started pitting on an 8 lap cycle, the 787B every 9 laps. My first two pit-stops however, showed the tires in relatively good condition and 9L of fuel remaining. This meant I was using around 9L per lap so I took a calculated risk and tried to run 9 laps before my third pit-stop. When I pitted I had 1L of fuel remaining and therefore switched at this point to a 9 lap cycle. This could pay very big dividends as the race progresses, equating to around 40s every 64 laps, or 4 minutes over the course of the whole race.

I lapped the Jaguar for the first time on lap 42, followed by the Nissan on lap 55 and the Mazda on lap 65. At the 4hr mark, just starting lap 74, my lead over the Minolta is just over 1½ minutes, although this normalized somewhat when I made my pit-stop on lap 79. Even at this point of the race, it looks as though I have the upper hand – but only just. Fastest lap to date is 3’09.465 and I’m running consistent laps in the 3’10 to 3’13 range. At the 4hr mark I have not started to notice the frame distortion that dogged me for so long in the Pescarolo.

The XJR-9 was passed for a 2nd time on lap 83, the R89C for a 2nd time on lap 99, the Sauber C9 for the first time on lap 114, the Jaguar for a 3rd time on lap 116 and the 787B for a 2nd time on lap 120.

The Minolta exited the pits to start his 121st lap right in front of me as I was starting my 122nd lap. I lapped him at the start of the straight and then proceeded to record a new fastest lap of 3’09.362. When I pitted on lap 124 the Minolta duly unlapped himself but it looks as though it’s only a matter of time before he’s lapped permanently. This whole process repeated itself over the next series of pit-stops except I was a little bit closer to lapping the Minolta once-and-for-all. I set another fastest lap of 3’09.110 on lap 139 and finally emerged from a pit-stop just in front of the Minolta on lap 143. He was close enough however that he got a tow on the straight and passed me just after Arnage courtesy of my cold tires and a smack in the rear-end on braking. Unperturbed I return the favor and get a tow down the straight on the next lap to 253mph, and in the process set another fastest lap of 3’08.746 on lap 145. It’s taken nearly 8 hours to lap the Minolta which I consider to be pretty close racing.

At the 8hr mark, lap 147, and bearing down on the Nissan and Jaguar on the Mulsanne Straight, I’m 1 lap up on the Minolta and Sauber, 2 up on the Mazda and Nissan and 3 up on the Jaguar. I passed both the Nissan and Jaguar on lap 148 putting them down by 3 and 4 laps respectively and in the process set yet another fastest lap of 3’08.310, this time aided by a draft from the XJR-9. Surprisingly, over 8 hours and 1,200 miles into the race, I am not noticing any handling problems caused by a loss of rigidity. Lon may this continue.

The Mazda gets lapped for a 3rd time on lap 174, the Jaguar for a 5th time on lap 182, the Nissan for a 4th time on lap 190, and the Jaguar for a 6th time on lap 212. Finally, after about 30 laps of cat-and-mouse, I lap the Sauber for a 2nd time on lap 219. At the 12 hour mark, lap 220, and after 1,850 miles, I’m still only 1 lap up on the Minolta and I’m just starting to notice the rear-end of the car becoming a little loose. It’s nothing significant at this time and to be honest, I’m not sure if it’s car deterioration or my own lack of concentration.

posted 06-09-2005 05:20 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Littleg:
Hijack!

For what it's worth, [b]Santi, I've just finished the B set of races in a stock M3 GTR so that's definitely do-able. It took me two runs at the Nurburgring to get a win there but otherwise it should be pretty plain sailing, particularly for a gentleman racer of your virtue.[/B]

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quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
Santi, the 'underdog' I would recommend for all of the races against the high powered Euro cars is the BMW M3 CSL. You'll get very competitive racing, especially if the AI SLR McLaren shows up. I've said it before but I'll say it again, the CSL is hands down better than the M3 GTR.

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Just a follow-up on the Schwarzwald B series.

I wasn't too enthused about the prospect of buying a car for this series since I'd theorized that the GTR would be good enough for it, so I ran my new M3 GTR instead of buying the CSL. I never saw the SLR McLaren but I did have to face off against a good number of AMG SL55s and 65s in this series, which threw the competition all out of whack as they were always far and away the fastest cars in a straight line and I never had any chance of keeping up with them in stock tune, so I added NA Stage 2 for the races where I figured I'd have problems, for A-spec points (before Miko asks ) of 41 at Tokyo to 69 at Nürburgring (due to there being 2 AMG SLs and an SL600 in the field). In the races where I could win stock, points ranged from 83 to (I think) 111. You guys must have been flying to win this series stock. I seriously doubt I'd ever be able to beat an AMG SL in all the races of this series running in stock trim.

posted 06-09-2005 05:36 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Santiago22:
You guys must have been flying to win this series stock. I seriously doubt I'd ever be able to beat an AMG SL in all the races of this series running in stock trim.

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Well, quit being so stubborn and use the CSL instead of the GTR and you beat those guys stock! Seriously, I thought Miko had gone goofy when he instisted the CSL was better than the GTR--I mean look at the specs, right? But the CSL has it all over the GTR and it isn't even close. Compared to the GTR, the CSL flies.

Anyone who sees my times in the Banjo OLRs can see I'm no flier, but I used the CSL stock to do the job in all these races. The sole exception was that I wasn't able to take on the McLaren in Nurby, but that says more about me and Nurby than it does about the CSL.

posted 06-10-2005 08:30 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by Santiago22:
You guys must have been flying to win this series stock.

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I probably got lucky with the AI I was put up against, that sounds more likely. Or, even more likely, I've just recalled wrong what I was driving. When I said 'just completed' what I really meant was 'before I went away on holiday last week, I completed, but that was the last time I've been on the PS2 apart from the current FF spot race' so there could be some memory issues in there. I may have run it in my fairly tuned M Coupe which, in the words of Dickie Meaden, fires itself down the road like an unusually shaped artillery shell.

posted 06-10-2005 10:39 AM         

On with the Sarthe II enduro…

Having passed the Sauber on lap 219 for the second time he then hounded me for about 15 laps with respite only occurring due to pit-stop differentials. I was pleased to eventually get the 40s advantage from pit strategy. The Mazda was lapped for a 4th time on lap 230 and I gained ground surprisingly quickly on the Minolta who was passed for the 2nd time on lap 244, but he did pit right behind me on lap 250 (his lap 248).

There is no doubt that handling is getting worse, it just took longer to manifest itself than in the Pescarolo. I am now having to ‘lift off’ at the ‘kink’ on the straight and through Indianapolis, and even need a double-brake at the end of Indianapolis, once to stabilize the car and once to slow the car. Additionally small bumps on the Mulsanne Straight now seem like ski jumps and I have to drive the first half of the straight to the right of the center line to avoid these. Lap times are now in the 3’12 to 3’15 range with the odd 3’11 thrown in. This has also had the effect that I'm using less gas and now have 2 or 3 litres left when I pit, and am wearing my tires less, they being capable of another lap if I had the fuel. The good news is that it looks like the Minolta may also be having some problems. I may be imagining things but I’m sure the fastest AI at the moment is the Sauber and I believe he is making very small inroads into the 50s or so advantage that the Minolta has on him. It will be interesting to watch this unfold, if indeed it is the case, as the race progresses.

The Nissan R89C was passed for a 5th time on lap 245 and the Jaguar XJR-9 for a 7th time on lap 247. After that I didn’t see another car for more than 30 laps and it was nice to drive unmolested for a while.

I had a short pause on lap 255 for Alanis Morissette as she gave a great rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at the start of the NBA final. Then another pause on lap 256, this time in complete bemusement at Will Smith – what was that? I thought he was an actor not some amateur rap artiste. Go the Spurs, hey, it’s only 200 miles West of Houston

Anyway, eventually, on lap 281, I caught and passed the Jaguar for the 8th time, on lap 285 the Mazda for the 5th time, and on lap 288 the Nissan for the 6th time. Once again I’ve got a clear track in front of me as the Sauber is at least half a lap distant. I think the race with the Minolta and Sauber has reached pretty much a status quo as I’m not making noticeable gains on them and there’re not pulling back on me at all. I also still have the pit-stop advantage up my sleeve.

At session end I’m just starting lap 314 in the pit lane. Elapsed time is 17:09’47 and I have driven 2,643 miles. With less than 7 hours to go a Lugnut sleep deprivation session could see me complete this race in one more hit, alternately, two more leisurely sessions. We’ll see how I feel when the early hours of Saturday morning break over my strained eyes, flagging concentration and aching thumbs.

posted 06-10-2005 11:13 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
This has also had the effect that I'm using less gas and now have 2 or 3 litres left when I pit, and am wearing my tires less, they being capable of another lap if I had the fuel.

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This is an extremely interesting observation.The modeling of fuel/tire consumption is beyond a matter of academic curiosity. This observation provides a plausible explanation of why the AI always seems to get better tire wear results than human drivers. Since the AI is almost invariably driving more slowly than the human driver, and especially in the area of braking for turns/curves that human drivers take at speed, there is actually room to believe that the AI gets the tire wear advantage as a natural byproduct of its driving style, as opposed to it being a straight out cheat for the AI.

I'm also fascinated by the concept that frame/rigidity wear is a variable among different cars, and not a constant. I have to admit, though, that as a hidden and largely unmeasurable variable, I find it annying to contemplate. What kind of stratum of game players was this supposed to challenge? What percentage of GT4 players out there will A-Spec so many repetitions of the 24 hour races that this becomes an issue to them?

quote:

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Then another pause on lap 256, this time in complete bemusement at Will Smith – what was that? I though he was an actor not some amateur rap artiste.

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posted 06-11-2005 01:33 PM         

As I start lap 350, with no further positional changes, I’m going to have a moan. The onset and worsening of frame distortion, rigidity loss, or whatever you want to call it, since before the mid-point of this race, is making the second half of the race a real chore. When that race is a 24hr race that becomes a 12hr chore, which in my books is a pain-in-the-butt. I’m all for the introduction of supposed realism, but this is first and foremost a game, and when realism is at the expense of fun, then it’s time for game designers to revisit their priorities. The challenge of driving a 24hr race should be that alone – having the stamina or will to drive a 24hr race. The additional ‘feature’ of having to drive half that race in an almost unmanageable car is, at least for this humble gamer, unnecessary, and will in all likelihood dissuade me from revisiting this portion of the game. Moan over, and apologies to fellow optimists for the out-of-character negative thoughts.

Previous comments notwithstanding, I have completely adapted to the new handling characteristics of the car and am now running consistent 3’11 to 3’13 laps. I’m also putting time on the AI again, all of them, and lapped the Nissan R89C for the 7th time on lap 360, the Mazda 787B for the 6th time on lap 369 and the Jaguar for the 10th time on lap 371 (as he extracted himself from a sand trap!).

On lap 374 I caught up with the Sauber and there began another game of cat-and-mouse that lasted for a couple of pit cycles. Then Sauber was lapped, then un-lapped, re-lapped and re-un-lapped, and then re-re-lapped as we alternated pit-stops until on lap 395 I put him behind me for good at 3 laps down. The Jaguar and Nissan were lapped for the 11th and 8th times respectively on lap 409 and I then picked up a 252mph slingshot to pass the Minolta for the 3rd time on lap 410.

The oil light came on during lap 411 after 3,470 miles. With hindsight I must have mis-read the mileage from the Pescarolo after the Sarthe I enduro.

Only about 1½ hours to go and it’s becoming quite a test of will power to keep picking up the DS2 after each pit-stop interval that I take to imbibe, ingest, or inhale. The Mazda was lapped for the 7th time on lap 424 and with a clear circuit in front of me the only car I see now is the occasional view of the Minolta’s headlights in my rear-view mirror. At my last pit-stop, lap 431, with 23 minutes to go, I switched to R3 tires on the front and R2’s on the back. This improved things no end (predictably I guess) and, despite the handling issues, actually led to my fastest lap of the race of 3’07.958. The last lap was a cruise and I finished the 24hr race having completed 437 laps and driven 3,691 miles. This means that handling issues caused me to drive three fewer laps in the second half of the race.

The purse was 1m credits, the prize was a Bentley Speed 8 Race Car for winning the enduro, that I’ll definitely play with, and additionally a black F1 for 100% game completion, that I expect I’ll never use.

Through a combination of notes taken and the post race replay, the following gives an overview of results, fastest times (first 1½ hours for the AI), and fastest non-drafting speeds on the straight.

Car	Laps	Top speed	F/L
Miko	437	240mph	3’08.310*
Minolta 88C-V	434	218mph	3'12.215
Mercedes Sauber C9	434	221mph	3'11.884
Mazda 787B	430	216mph	3'14.751
Nissan R89C	429	216mph	3'13.986
Jaguar XJR-9	426	223mph	3'15.117

Note: * in race trim. A faster lap was completed at the end of the race on softer tires.

The power on my car had dropped to 870hp from an initial 901hp. This went up to 926hp after a post-race oil change, in addition to a car wash and rigidity refresher. The car? Oh yes – well, Froggy hit the nail on the head – see snapshots below…

The Gillet Vertigo was run completely stock, with no oil change, and settings as described a couple of posts ago. It beat what are arguably the two fastest cars in the game in the Minolta and the Sauber. It’s strange as to why the AI makes such a hash of driving this phenomenal car – the only thing I think of being the relatively low down-force that’s available.

posted 06-11-2005 01:39 PM         

…and rather than give written data, here’s my feeble attempt at digital photography…

Ignore the winning percent – it merely further demonstrates my OCD and the fact that I use a second game save for a lot of the trials and tests I perform.

Although 100% game completion has been achieved, the game of course is only just starting. I’m looking forward to testing and driving many different vehicles, may be participating in a little OLR, and especially looking forward to the challenge presented by Lugnut in his quest for high A-Spec points. I have to say that, in this regard, the drive for high points has been made all the more fun by Lugnut’s very sporting participation. A-Spec points may have no in-game meaning, but they are far from worthless, and have indeed opened a new aspect of, in Lugnut’s words, “Driving Solitaire”.

At the start of this thread I set myself a number of goals and I’m pleased to say that I completed, even surpassed them. The ultimate congratulations however should go to my good wife, who has endured significant neglect through my obsessive quest for completion. I have to say that I’m a very, very lucky man.

Last comment – don’t think for one moment that this is the end of this diary. I’ll be back, and I would like to think that I still have a positive contribution to make to this site as a whole. For now I would like to extend a hearty thanks to GTBN for hosting this diary and to the wonderful members who have given support (and even pep talks) through this endeavor. I tip my hat and raise my glass to you all.

posted 06-11-2005 06:25 PM         

You need upgrading from 1st Lieutenant to Admiral of the Fleet!!

Though I doubt any of your drives felt like a Boat! Then again with all the ballast you and Lugnut use I have my doubts!

Are you going to try again and complete in under 1000 days?

posted 06-11-2005 06:42 PM         

You're welcome, miko. I personally am honored that you continue to grace the members of this site with your presense.

Now go back and gold those last 8 licenses.

Lastly, for Ryk -

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
Ignore the winning percent – it merely further demonstrates my OCD and the fact that I use a second game save for a lot of the trials and tests I perform.

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Thanks once again, Mr. Vice President.

posted 06-12-2005 06:42 PM         

Momentous congratulations on your completion with zero B-Spec contribution. I doubt I'll ever do that and am very impressed that you stuck it through all the different types of racing to succeed.

I also second Santi's comment that we are very glad to have a member of your calibre over at the Numbers. You and Lugs sustained my hopes for the 'new blood' when we endured our 'RacerX' period .

Of course, we now also have other quality members like Niels and LC but you pair stand out because of the excellent additions to the forums Diaries and Resource Guide.

Well done :applause:.

posted 06-13-2005 09:48 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
I have to say that, in this regard, the drive for high points has been made all the more fun by Lugnut’s very sporting participation. A-Spec points may have no in-game meaning, but they are far from worthless, and have indeed opened a new aspect of, in Lugnut’s words, “Driving Solitaire”.

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I'd probably be completed, myself, by now if I hadn't been drawn into your game of driving for A-Spec points. Not that that's a bad thing at all. Quite the contrary. I was reflecting to myself while doing all those F1 races this weekend that these races would be horribly boring if I was just driving the car stock and winning them all by gobs of laps. Trying to max out the A-Spec points at least presents some form of driving interest and challenge in this series, which desparately needed it.

Although I have to say that I occasionally find myself thinking 'remind me again why killing this car's handling is fun?' I'm sure I was thinking that around the third time I was pulling it out of a sandtrap at Sarthe, LOL. It didn't help when, after the race was over, I turned on some regular TV and saw the fuel additive commercial where poorly maintained cars are depicted as dragging anchors behind them. "I can relate", was what I was thinking.