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 Gran Turismo By Numbers
 Gran Turismo Diaries
 Ever the optimist (Page 7)
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Littleg Officer of the Bridge Posts: 1051 |
posted 07-25-2005 04:05 PM
  
quote: I've not long since completed this series for the first time, and I found that too. Unfortunately, thinkin' ain't my strong point
quote: I remember that from my run through the Tuner's as well, how come a peaky, highly tuned 2-litre softop can waltz away from a monster turbo-charged killer b*****d Ruf? And I remember as well how I'd be comfortably out in the lead in my Z-tune Nismo and suddenly he'd be all over my arse from out of nowhere in the final few laps. I don't remember looking at his lap times though - that said I don't know how you access the AI's lap times. Is it a case of re-watching the replay? Or is it laid out clearly somewhere and I've just missed it because I've been playing the game with my eyes shut? That would certainly explain a lot... Anyways, that's enough of me clogging up your diary by agreeing with you violently. Come back soon! IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 07-27-2005 11:36 AM
This is Singapore calling the The Numbers – come in Numbers – Out! Well, with a couple of hours to kill before I had to depart for my flight, I loaded up the GT4 disc and decided to try to kill off one or two of my eight outstanding silver licenses. Most people would spend time with their spouses prior to an extended separation, but I have got my priorities straight Lo and behold – all of that driving with ballast and crappy tires certainly paid dividends and the seven outstanding S-licenses all fell with little duress, they being S1 (Civic Race Car at Motegi); S3 (Saleen at SSR5); S5 (Ford GT at Seattle); S7 (SLR McLaren at Trial Mountain); S8 (Takata NSX at Tokyo); S9 (Viper at El Capitan) and S12 (Pitiwork Z at Suzuka). The times will certainly not threaten the leaders on Eggie’s OLR (I must update my times) but they were comfortably below the gold standard required. The last license I had to convert was IA16 and I feared that this would prove to be my nemesis in the same way as S6 proved to be in GT3. I need not have worried as this too fell with relative ease – over 0.1s below the required time and using the auto-box. Fellow auto drivers – there’s hope for you yet So, that’s 80 golds in the bag LittleG: The AI lap times come from watching the replays - often more than once to get all of the data I want. This is Singapore signing off – Over and Out! IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 07-27-2005 12:44 PM
Wish you a good trip miko. We will be continuing attacks upon the 200 A-spec database in your absence. I have already added another 6 races to you total of races that can be complete at 200 A-spec points.  ------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-04-2005 10:24 AM
I’m back and have already reacquainted myself with the Dualshock… To warm up I converted the Hyundai Sport Festival races to 83 points each using a Tiburon GT ’01, straight out of the showroom, with a full load of rocks. The only way to increase this further is to mess with tires but I’m not up for this at the moment. The other manufacturer races I played with were the Volkswagen GTi Cup and these now sit at 80 points per race in a stock Lupo GTi. And now for something much more interesting… My points in the SC Hall were only 4,329 out of a possible 12,600. Following on from LDM’s success I analyzed the various 4WD cars in the game and, aside from the micro-cars, found a couple of Hondas that had reasonable hp and lots of weight. The Odyssey was a bit of a bus, but the Element was a surprisingly good ride. To cut a long story short the whole of SC Easy has been converted to 200 point races I think that the whole of the SC Hall could be completed using only 2 cars – one for the ‘easy’ and some of the ‘normal’ events, and one for the balance of the ‘normal’ and all of the ‘hard’ events. My choices would be the Honda Element and the Mitsubishi CZ-3 Tarmac but LDM has shown that other options exist as well. Resource table updated. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-08-2005 10:52 AM
I managed to find a little time over the weekend to run some short races between various honey-do’s. Many of these were merely minor improvements in the One-make races as follows: Audi TT: using a TT Coupe 1.8T Quattro ’03 to 127 points at El Capitan on N3 tires, with 200kg ballast and at an oil change power of 236hp (this was the original TT I had bought over 4 game years ago), 98 at Tokyo as I had to switch to S2 tires and 127 at Deep Forest with the same set-up as El Cap. BMW 1 Series: to 110 points in all three races in a 120i ’04 on N3 tires with 200kg ballast and at an oil change power of 159hp. Nissan Club ‘Z’: where the points for the five races are now 117 / 125 / 125 / 116 / 125 in a 240ZG (HS30) ’71 on S2 tires. Crossfire Trophy: to 112 points at Seattle and Trial Mountain in a new Crossfire with no oil change at 218hp, on N3 tires with 200kg ballast. The Super Speedway unfortunately sits at 60 points as I couldn’t keep up with AI while carrying ballast on road tires. Saleen S7 Club: all now at 108 points with S1 tires and 200kg ballast. For interest I found that points go to 134 on N3 tires but I couldn’t bring myself to drive this vehicle under these conditions. While playing around with the Delta HF Integrale in the La Festa Italiano I had a ‘slap-forehead’ moment when I found that the driving aids were still on and realized that I had driven the 4WD series in this condition Lastly I took my BMW 120i ’04 to the Europe Hot Hatch Championship. At an oil change power of 159hp, with full brake, transmission & suspension upgrades, on S2 tires carrying a full load of rocks, and with the auto gearing set to 2 (not a typo), 200 point wins were achieved in all races against a Ford Focus RS ’02; BMW M Coupe ’98; Mini Cooper-S ’02; Alfa Romeo 147 GTA ’02 and VW Golf IV R32 ’03. Results as follows: Race 1: Motegi East – 3 laps (showing MOV and FL) 1. BMW 120i ’04: Winner / 1’45.635 Race 2: Opera Paris – 4 laps 1. BMW 120i ’04: Winner / 1’41.142 Race 3: Trial Mountain Reverse: - 3 laps 1. BMW 120i ’04: Winner / 1’50.756 Race 4: Suzuka East – 5 laps 1. BMW 120i ’04: Winner / 1’02.089 Race 5: SSR5 Reverse – 3 laps 1. BMW 120i ’04: Winner / 1’47.294 SSR5 was the only ‘problem’ race and required some imaginative changes of line during the second half of the straight IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-09-2005 12:59 PM
This is going to be a bit of a strange update as I spent all evening scratching my head, testing, tuning and analyzing line-ups, and eventually only completed one 1-lap race. The Championship that is causing this is the Euro Classic Car where finding high point racing is proving to be extremely difficult. The following shows the NTSC line-ups I have been given (may be of interest to somebody) when entering an Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto ’66 at a base 110hp with all non-power / PWR modifiers. I don’t know if the game eventually changes line-ups according to the car entered, and I don’t know if the PAL version will be the same as this. In my search for high points I reject grids containing any Fiat 500’s or the VW Karmann Ghia (the Mini Marcos is somewhat borderline in this regard), and also grids containing the AC 427 or the Jaguar E-Type as these just smoke the Alfa. #1: Alfa Romeo GTA; 500F; Alfa Romeo Speciale; Elan S1; VW KG At this point I gave up finding the perfect field and went back to the saved #43 grid so against the Ginetta G4; Mercedes 300 SL; Alfa GTA; Mini Marcos and Alfa Speciale I started a different line of investigation. Against this field the point’s ratings for the 110hp Duetto are as follows: On S3 tires = 102 pts Getting 200 points in these races looks as though it could be a bit of a problem, and that’s putting it mildly. I figured that the 300 SL could be a bit of a handful at race 1, the Nürburgring (and this proved to be the case) so I entered on S3 tires, qualified on pole with a 9’13.xxx, and entered the race rated at 102 points. I recommend this race to anybody who wants close, rephrase, very close racing. Of course this became a battle between my Duetto and the 300 SL. Below are the checkpoint times for both vehicles (T12 is the finish line) and it’s easy to see where the 300 SL wound it up on the straights (note that none of the other vehicles registered a finishing time): Checkpoint / Duetto / 300 SL / Margin T1: 0’56.759 / 0’59.341 / +2.582 This is the longest and hardest 102 points I have gotten so far in the game. Next up is Fuji 80’s and the 300 SL is smoking me in qualifying. After all this I may have to re-think my strategy as I have no power modifiers in the trunk to enable me to start on pole. This is for another day however. For now… IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-10-2005 10:29 AM
I never could achieve pole at Fuji so I started at #2. On S3 tires at 110hp (rated 102 pts) and with the auto-box set to 3, I managed to stay close enough to the 300 SL while he warmed his tires and passed him at turn 4. As if by magic the Alfa suddenly became 16ft wide  Duetto: Winner / 1’45.339 Paris was as easy as I expected from pole position, even though I had switched to N3 tires and added 200kg of ballast for a 161 point win. The auto-box was turned down to 2. Duetto: Winner / 1’52.699 Suzuka proved a little more difficult as the 300 SL kills me off the line on standing starts, even on S3 tires, with the auto-box still set at 2. Race was rated 102 points. Duetto: Winner / 2’49.390 Deep Forest was again an easy win and with hindsight I could have given myself more handicaps. Nevertheless, on S2 tires I’ll take the 110 point win. Duetto: Winner / 1’42.618 The whole series is now worth 577 points which is a far cry from the 20 points total that I previously had. The 300 SL drove almost flawlessly throughout the series but the Ginetta was just horrible and this leads me to wonder whether-or-not the AC 427 might also be beatable at places like Suzuka due to its inability to stay on the tarmac. For now that’s another very useful Benz Patent Motor Wagon in the garage The next logical stop is the World Classic Car Championship in the Professional Hall, where previously I had managed only 7 points a race (I think in the Chevelle but I’m not sure). On the way I called in to the Alfa tuning shop to pick up some power upgrades in order that qualifying is simplified. So, off to the Classic Car races via Monaco in La Festa (I’ll sneak this in and see if Lugs notices) and took the 200 point win against the first grid headed by the Fiat Turbo, using NA2 tuning, a racing exhaust and S3 tires with a power of 154hp. For interest adding the chip as well reduces the points to 195. That’s La Festa at maximum points. Based on this I suspect that all of these races could be completed in the little Alfa. The World Classic Car is every bit as enigmatic as the Euro series and can have grids containing cars as diverse as the 2CV and the AC 427 or Buick Special. I’ve glanced through 60 or so line-ups and will run this series tonight. The only other big block V8 I have seen is the Cougar (I don’t think the C2 qualifies in this regard) and I now have a feel for the cars I want to see on the grid (for decent points ratings) and those I don’t, either because there’re point’s killers, or because there’re rockets. Unfortunately race 1 is at Fuji 80’s which really negates any handling or driving advantage I have over more powerful cars. The rest of the series though at El Cap, Nurby, Monaco and Laguna Seca, should play right into my hands. We’ll see. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lugnut 1st Lieutenant Posts: 484 |
posted 08-10-2005 09:55 PM
Of course I noticed. Looks like I'll have to head back to La Festa. Isn't the Duetto the one that Suke was playing with here, too? I have to be honest and say I don't care for it's handling, but it looks like I'll have to give it another shot. I bought that big, ugly '62 Skyline Coupe for the Classics races--the one that costs 350K. It's heavy, making it a likely suspect for points. The 200 point boys at GT Planet use nitrous on all their cars in this series, so they're not a very helpful resource here. Still, they point to the Karmann Ghia as the points car. It would take a lot of new parts to make it competitive, but it might be interesting to fiddle with. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sukerkin Officer of the Bridge Posts: 2029 |
posted 08-11-2005 10:43 AM
quote: It is indeed the car of choice for me in the Euro Classic (as there isn't a British one that'll do the job with decent points without much fettling) It would seem that the Duetto is a good example of just how different driving styles can be between individuals, as I think it handles like a dream on utterly stock suspension. It's steady and predictable and goes where I want it to (showing very little attraction for the grass at the side of the road). ------------------ IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-11-2005 12:54 PM
Lugs: Yes! Sukie was the inspiration for the use of the Duetto. Lugs: I looked at the old Skyline but felt the price tag was a little steep. I’ll be very interested in how you get on. Lugs: The Karmann Ghia? I spent all evening messing with the World Classic Car Championship and have still not made triple digit points in all five races. The AI certainly seems to drive better in the Pro Hall than in the Euro Hall, even the G4 stays on the track. Staying with the Duetto, the line up I chose was #5 (or may be #6?) and comprised a Ginetta G4 ’64; Chevy Corvette Coupe (C2) ’63; Toyota 2000GT ’67; another Duetto and Lug’s Nissan Skyline Sport Coupe (BLRA-3) ’62. I felt that the C2 would be no more difficult to beat than the 300 SL – boy was I wrong – the C2 is in a different class. Anyway, the races (and I qualified on pole in all)… Race 1. Fuji Speedway ‘80’s – 2 laps It soon became apparent that with no power modifiers, at 110hp, the Duetto couldn’t keep up with the C2 so I had to resort to adding NA1 tuning. At 132hp, on S2 tires the race was rated 75 points. 1. Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto ’66: Winner / 1’45.195 Race 2. El Capitan Reverse – 2 laps With added chip and racing exhaust but no NA tuning, at 120hp on S2 tires, rating is 101 points. 1. Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto ’66: Winner / 2’15.415 Race 3. Nürburgring – 1 lap I used all of my power modifiers for qualifying so with NA2 tuning, chip and racing exhaust, at 160hp on S3 tires, I ran an 8’38.259 lap and qualified over 29s up on the C2 (that’s 2 laps of Nurby). This should be easy so from pole I stripped off all of the power mods and at 110hp on S3 tires was rated 117 points. I promptly got smoked by the C2 on the back straight and lost by 20s. Reset, add all power mods – again, and qualify – again, this time 32s up on the C2 (that’s 4 laps of Nurby). This time I strip the NA2 but keep the chip and exhaust and at 120hp on S2 tires get a 101 point rating. Get smoked by the C2 again. Reset, add all power mods – again again, and qualify – again again, this time with a 8’33.878 and over 33s up on the C2 (that’s 6 laps of Nurby). I replace the NA2 with the NA1, strip the chip and exhaust, and switch to S2 tires – 132hp and 75 points. For me this was the formula and led to a tremendous race (that’s 7 laps of Nurby). 1. Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto ’66: Winner / 8’54.315 For interest I compared the times of the Duetto from the Euro race against the 300 SL, to see the difference that an NA1 and 22hp made, and also the C2 times with the 300 SL.
As you can see the NA1 (or 22hp) equated to about 18s at Nurby for the Duetto, and the C2 is likewise about 18s faster than the 300 SL. Without running the 300 SL in this series I don’t how much is due to car difference and how much is down to the improved AI ability in the Pro Hall. What I do know is this series is a lot more difficult than the corresponding Euro event. This single 1 lap race took over 1¼ hours and 90 miles to win. Race 4. Cote d’Azur – 2 laps As expected this was a relatively straightforward win from pole position with no power mods, S2 tires, 110hp, and rated 125 points. At least the Skyline finally registered a finishing time (just!). 1. Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto ’66: Winner / 2’07.335 Race 5. Laguna Seca – 2 laps This proved much more difficult than I had expected and I again had to resort to NA1 tuning on S2 tires for only 75 points. 1. Alfa Romeo Spider 1600 Duetto ’66: Winner / 1’52.948 That’s 100k for the series and another 1886 passion wagon – could at least give me a different color. More importantly points for this series have gone from a total of 35 to 451. This was hard work and I’ve not even got a 100 point average for the series With hindsight the presence of a ‘high points’ car such as the C2 is probably a point’s disadvantage because of the need, at least my need, to add power modifiers to compete and this differentiates you further from the rest of the field. A field without such a car could actually yield higher points as the races could likely be won on poorer tires and with ballast. Oh well! Lugs: you say above that others use nitrous for this series. I can certainly see the advantage that this would give in keeping up with such cars as the C2 or 300 SL on fast courses with a low power car, and the use of this would probably increase my points here by at least 50%. I just can’t do it though – I’d rather have 100 points without it than 200 points using it. Personal preference I guess. For the record my points are now 79,180. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lugnut 1st Lieutenant Posts: 484 |
posted 08-11-2005 01:44 PM
Another data-rich post, brought to you by the good folks at Miko's Obsession. Just a couple of quick replies: I wasn't advocating using nitrous. Quite the opposite. Might just as well start running the Dodge RAM in everything if you do that. The reference to nitrous was meant as a caveat of my reporting that group's endorsement of the KG. Not sure if the KG works without the nitrous. Thought I'd give it at least a look, though. IIRC, however, that car is going to need a lot of work. Since the game seems to give huge points the older a car gets, I wonder what the max HP tune is for one of those original Beetles from the '40s? [Is that thinking outside the box or outside the atmosphere? LOL!] IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-11-2005 01:57 PM
quote: Been there, done that, got the t-shirt IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-11-2005 02:16 PM
quote: I never for one moment thought you were advocating the use of nitrous - I know you better than that I have no problem with PD including nitrous in the game as I guess that there's a market for it somewhere, and after all they're running a business and trying to maximize sales. What I do have a problem with is that it appears that there is no penalty for using it with regard to A-Spec points. It's a shame that PD didn't build in an automatic 100-point deduction for its use. That would separate the men from the boys. LOL! IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-11-2005 02:44 PM
Following on from Lugs reference above I stuck my head in at GTPlanet and found, once I'd got through the pop-ups and advertisements  , the post he was referring to. Just scanning through it (contains a lot of spam) quickly showed the 'ethical' issues that had previously been discussed. The use of nitrous, the Dodge RAM, wallriding, grass-cutting etc. seem to be accepted as legitimate means of getting high points. There's also another thread that shows that a number (5 or so I think) people have gotten 100,000 points. While this is very laudable it has been achieved using all of the above methods. I may or may not (probably the latter) get to 100,000 points, but if I do it will be in the knowledge that none of the above tactics were employed. It may be that 100,000 points is not possible without using these methods - if that's the case for me, so be it. If I can't do it, I can think of a few people at The Numbers who could. I'll finish this post by balancing the argument as I don't want to offend anybody. Very simply - to each their own. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GT3mich Officer of the Bridge Posts: 6378 |
posted 08-11-2005 07:51 PM
GTplanet is well..... GTPlanet. I know a few very good and honest drivers from there but I mostly stay here at GTBN. If you notice, the 25 lap series was started by a core bunch from GTPlanet. They came here to get away from the spamming. There are just too many posters over there. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-12-2005 11:01 AM
A very interesting session started by adding a few points in the British Lightweight Series using the Elise Type ’72. These are now all at 114 points. Then the fun started, although I have to confess that at the start of the next exercise I thought it was going to be more toil than fun. My points in the Alpine manufacturers’ series were not exactly earth-shattering at 38 per race, and I remember disliking the vehicle intensely first time round due to its massive RR oversteer. I decided to do some testing and tuning to see if I could make it more manageable and after about an hour or so got to a point where not only was the oversteer issue dealt with, but the car became fun and very competitive. In order to do this I, of course, had to apply various suspension, transmission and brake modifications to the Alpine A310 1600VE ’73 that I was using, as this is the lower powered of the two Alpines coming in at a stock 125hp. Tuning out the oversteer (well not quite all of it as a small amount is both fun and actually useful in getting out of turns faster) was accomplished with only a few quite minor adjustments. Firstly, the rear springs were stiffened and the rear ride height lowered but only by small amounts from the default setting. Brake balance was shifted to the front and the rear stabilizers were increased. The key factors however in making this a fun car were 1) adding 200kg of ballast, that I wanted for the points, and shifting it towards the front by -30 on the slider, 2) putting S1 tires on the front, again for points, but S3 tires on the rear, and 3) keeping the ASM oversteer at 10 but reducing the ASM understeer and TCS to 0. Whoa! This now handles great My original plan was to run through other French Manufacturer races but this now changed as I wanted to see how the Alpine stacked up in the Tous France Championat in the Euro Hall. Lined up against a Peugeot 206 S16 ’99; Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 ’85; Renault Megane 2.0 IDE Coupe ’00; Renault Megane 2.0 16V ’03 and Citroen Xantia 3.0i V6 ’00. To cut a long story short, using the set-up described above at 125hp, all of these races are now at 174 points and all were extremely easy victories. Sarthe should have been a problem but the AI wiped out all over the place which led to a 9s win. The closest race was GV Rev which was only won by 3s, but this was because I put the controller down after lap 2, thinking I had won the race easily and waiting for the results screen, before I realized that it was a 3 lap race If, like me, you hated the Alpine before, try this. The car handles great, has good power and is lots and lots of fun. Going to sell the 2CV prize car (I have enough of these already End of session points are 80,081 – another milestone – still no reward – but still optimistic IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 08-14-2005 11:06 AM
Great work miko! I unfortunately cannot keep up with you and lugs in the amount of racing I can so I am just moseying along slowly. I picked up the SC Hall Easy races with your great find in the Element but have not had much time for anything else. I have now reached about 17% completion in my new game which is causing a problem of its own, I am losing track of what I have accomplished in the various races. So I was wondering if I may make use of your wonderful chart to keep track of my progress? Oh yeah, initial testing shows that the Element is also a good choice for the 4WD races. ------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-15-2005 10:12 AM
LDM: No problem. If you give me your e-mail address I'll send it to you in MS Word format. Then you can adapt it to suit your own needs. Regards IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-15-2005 12:25 PM
This weekend saw a pot-pourri of racing, at the end of which I had gained another 4000+ points and 22 additional 200 point races. All Cathedral Rocks races in the SC Normal Hall were converted to 200 points in the Element but that was all I had the stomach for here. I have neither Lugnut’s patience nor ability to grind out the SC races any further so, for interest, I took the Element to the PD Cup and added triple digit scores in the first 5 races against the second field containing the S2000. When I got to the 19 lap race at the Beginner’s Course I’d had enough of that as well so half of the PD Cup is now listed in the Element and the other half in the Lotus Type 72. The majority of my remaining ‘low-fruit’ sits in the manufacturers’ races so this became my primary focus. In a recent post I’d detailed races in the Alpine and my intentions at that time to tackle the rest of the French Manufacturers races, so that’s exactly what I did. The three remaining series were the 206 Cup, the Clio trophy and the Megane Cup and these were a mix of pain, ease and fun (but still easy). The pain was running the Megane races in a new 2.0 16v ’03, at 138hp with 200kg ballast on N2 tires for low triple digit scores. The easy part was converting the Peugeot 206 races to 200 points each in the 206 Rally Car on S2 tires and again carrying 200kg of ballast. The fun part was the Clio Series which have also been converted to 200 point races across the board in a used Clio Sport 24v ’00, running on black oil at 228hp. The key here is tire selection. That concludes activity in the French Manufacturer races which now average over 150 points. In the UK races I ran the almost ubiquitous Type 72 in the Elise Trophy and achieved 141 point races on S2 tires with 200kg ballast at Autumn Ring Rev, SSR5 Rev and Hong Kong. Tokyo and Apricot Hill, as always proved more difficult and I had to dump the ballast for 103 point races. Staying with Lotus, the Classic Car Cup were also tackled in the Elan S1 ’62, on N2 tires and with junk in the trunk, for 140 point races. The only difficult race was again Apricot Hill where I had three Europas gang up on me, clearly pissed at being trounced so easily at the previous 4 venues. Lastly I took a Mini One ’02 to the Mini Mini Meeting and at 99hp with a chip and racing exhaust on S2 tires took a hard fought 139 point victory at Paris. I couldn’t get near to the Cooper-S’s at the remaining 4 tracks as they have straights longer than a cricket pitch and the Coopers just drive away from me. I need to have a re-think here, so in the meantime these races remain in single digits. Honda was next up and the Civic Races were converted to triple digits in an old, black oil, Civic 1500 3dr 25i ’83. This car was also good for increasing my points in a couple of the FF races in the Beginner’s Hall (there’s that scab again) although not to the lofty heights that Lugs achieved in the PT Cruiser. The Type R Meeting proved a lot of fun and these too are all at 200 points in a used Civic Type R ’98. Autumn Ring and Motorland were the only courses where I could beat the NSX’s, and as this was such fun I’ll give some additional detail… Race 1: Motegi Road – 4 laps Against an Integra Type R (DC2) ’95; Accord Euro-R ’00; Integra Type R (DC2) ’98; Integra Type R (DC5) ’03 and Integra Type R (DC2) ’99, my Civic was at an oil change power of 182hp, with full suspension, transmission and brake upgrades, and 175kg ballast (for the 200 point rating) on, this is the important part, R2 tires. It took until the middle of lap 2 to move into second place, by then over 7s behind the Integra ’95. He was caught in the last third of the final lap with the MOV ending up at +1.406s. Fastest laps for the Civic and Integra ’95 were 2’21.966 and 2’24.716 respectively. The rest of the field was over 12s adrift although the Integra ’03 did do a fastest lap of 2’23.524. Race 2: Autumn Ring – 5 laps This time against the Accord Euro-R ’00; NSX Type R ’02; Civic Type R (EP) ’04; NSX Type R ’92 and Integra Type R (DC2) ’99, with my Civic carrying 155kg ballast, this was an easy 200 point win despite being spun by the Euro-R. Fastest lap was 1’32.139 with the NSX ’92 second at +5.972 and a F/L of 1’31.072 and the NSX ’02 third at +8.726 and a F/L of 1’31.320. The rest of the field was over 20s behind. Race 3: Suzuka – 4 laps I couldn’t handle the NSX’s here so against the same field as Motegi I got a very easy win by over 15s from the Integra ’03. F/L was 2’31.935. Race 4: Motorland Reverse – 10 laps Tedium! Against the 2-NSX-grid the win is by over 3s from the NSX ’02 with the NSX ’92 in third. Both the Civic ’04 and the Integra made ‘unscheduled’ pit stops – LOL! – and were both lapped. Fastest laps for the lead three cars were 0’47.108, 0’46.522 and 0’47.313 respectively. Race 5: Tsukuba – 10 laps Again avoid the NSX’s as they build an unassailable lead while you fight your way through the rest of the field. This is a similar story to Motegi against the same field where the first 5 laps were spent catching and passing the Integra ’95, only to dive away after that and win by over 9s. F/L was 1’07.772 compared with 1’09.161 for the Integra ’95 and 1’08.568 for the third placed Integra ’03. That was fun. Last on the completed list was a re-run of the Schwarwald Liga B in an old Mercedes SL500 (R129) ’98 that I picked up from the used car lots. At only 276hp on black oil this car gets rated 200 points against the first two grids that show up on S3 tires and with no ballast. I could beat the SL55 AMG in field #1 at HSR but nowhere else. The main opponent in field #2 is the BMW M3 and I could beat this at Nurby and Suzuka. For Tokyo and Fuji I used the weaker field #3 which also meant I had to switch to S2 tires and carry 175kg of ballast. The ‘Ring was a great race and I had to hold off the M3 right to the line. Half way down the straight I was making the Merc as wide as possible but couldn’t stop the M3. As he’s passing me and I’m getting ready to drop into his slipstream at 140mph I get slammed right up the wazzooo by a charging Audi and Newton’s laws took effect catapulting me to 155mph and a 5 car length lead. I carried this speed to the end of the straight and won by just over a second. The AI actually helped me win this race. Anyway that’s all of Liga B at 200 points. I have some nice photographs of the Lotus Classic and Liga B races but left my USB memory device at home so these will have to wait until tomorrow. For now my points total has reached 84,366 and my 200 point tally is at 210. This equates to an average of just over 145 points per race (normalizing for missions). I will try for the 150 mark, that’s 86,950 points, but feel that my limited abilities may prevent me going much further than this. 90,000 points seems a long way off, and 100,000 points looks to be at the edge of the Galaxy. For now… IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lugnut 1st Lieutenant Posts: 484 |
posted 08-15-2005 02:43 PM
quote: Y'know, you keep saying stuff like this, then turning around after a weekend and informing us that you've put up another 4000 points on the board. We've been reading about the imminent demise of your chase for a month now, how gullible do you think we are? IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Santiago22 Officer of the Bridge Posts: 2683 |
posted 08-15-2005 04:14 PM
quote: This man gets it. ------------------ IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-15-2005 04:33 PM
To Lugs:  To Santi: IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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GT3mich Officer of the Bridge Posts: 6378 |
posted 08-15-2005 05:48 PM
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 08-17-2005 05:51 PM
Thanks miko, My email is my handle minus the Caps at yahoo.com. LDM ------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-19-2005 10:39 AM
LDM: Documents sent - I hope there're of use. For the last 22 game days I’ve been partaking in Eggie’s S-license OLR so there has been no progress here. However, with the weekend approaching, I need to get back to the point’s hunt otherwise Lugs will think I’ve given up – and after all, a weekend means 4,000 points, doesn’t it? I mentioned a few posts ago that I would put in some photos of the Lotus Classic Car race at Apricot Hill, and the Liga B race at the Nürburgring – so here goes… Lotus Classic Car – Apricot Hill – being victimized by three Europas Liga B – Nürburgring – SL500 ’98 vs. BMW M3 vs. Audi Through Kesselchen and the Karussell… Trying to hold off the M3 who eventually finds a gap on my nearside… Rapid acceleration courtesy of the Audi and driving away for the win… Have a good weekend everybody IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 08-22-2005 11:46 AM
Well, no 4,000 points this weekend, only a mere 2,500ish and another 14 races at 200 points. The bulk of my time was spent on the Japanese Manufacturers races as I had a number of double-digit scores that I felt could be improved. This was duly achieved in the Isuzu Sports Classics in the Bellet 1600 GT-R ’65; the Toyota Altezza Races in the Lexus IS200 ’98; the Toyota Vitz Races in the Vitz RS 1.5 ’00 (best points when there are two ‘Turbos’ in the field); the Suzuki K-Car Cup in the MR Wagon Sport ’04 on N3 tires with 200kg ballast (not Motorland!!!); and in the Nissan Silvia Sisters in a Silvia Varietta (S15) ’00, and which were, unlike the previous races, very enjoyable.Additionally I took on the Suzuki Concepts races which had proved so difficult for me earlier in the game. These three races are also now in triple digits, although only just at 103, 103 and 102 points, and by two very different methods. Using the Concept S2 ’03, the first two races (Motegi West and Seattle) were won at 189hp on S3 tires against a field that included four of the GSR/4’s. With three of these in the field the points went down to 86 and with two down to 69. I didn’t come across a field that had five of these in it but concluded that it made no difference whether there was one or five in the field as these were the only cars to worry about. At Tsukuba I had to employ a different strategy as the GSR/4’s would run away from me when I was on S3’s. The solution was to use R3 tires and add 200kg of ballast for the 102pt win, again against four GSR/4’s. The other manufacturer’s races completed were the Alfa Romeo GTA Cup which now sit at 104, 118 and 104 points in the Giulia Sprint GTA 1600 ’65, and a quick run of El Capitan in the Mercedes Benz SL Challenge which was the first of my 200 point wins in the old SL500 (R129) ’98. I couldn’t repeat this at Apricot Hill or Fuji. I have to say that I find a lot of the One Make Races somewhat tedious, especially the excessive number of races that have to run in micro cars. I wish the game designers had included more races in the ‘Halls’ and less in the ‘Manufacturers’ – just my opinion. Moving on the more enjoyable racing I finally got around to converting the DTM Championship to 200 points each using the Mercedes 190 Evo Touring Car ’92, although this was only a 35 point increase in total. Previously I had gotten 193 points per race on R3 tires with 200kg of ballast and rather than switching to R2 tires I reduced the downforce to 35/45 for very easy (>10s per race) wins. Remember that the key to high points here is the grid which contains the ‘big 5’ i.e. the Astra; Alfa; CLK; and both Audi Touring Cars. The presence of the Calibra or another 190 reduces points significantly. I was especially pleased with my Nurby run under this set up at 7’01.476, which was undoubtedly achieved because of a whole week of racing in Eggie’s S-License OLR. These really do help a lot With this win I bought the remaining Touring Cars and took the Audi Abt TT-R Touring Car ’02 to the Dream Car Championship in the Extreme Hall. These too are now all at 200 points in this great little car that is a pleasure to drive. The hardest grid (highest points) that I could find comprised the Nissan GT-R Concept; both Ford GTs; the Camaro and the Jaguar and gave 200 points at 470hp, on R3 tires, with 115kg ballast. Paris was actually run with 200kg and Tokyo with 175kg as I was finding the correct 200 point quantity. The only troublesome race was La Sarthe II where I had to qualify on pole using power boosters and then block and draft my way through the race with these removed. With a lot the above races, especially with FF and 4WD cars, I have taken to shifting the weight balance towards the rear by between 10 and 25 points, especially when carrying ballast. This has the effect of removing understeer and even inducing some very controllable, and in some races, advantageous oversteer. With that I noticed that I had completed 1,199 races and had taken my A-Spec points to 86,855. For my 1,200th race I jumped back into one of my favorite cars in the game – the Mitsu CZ-3 Tarmac and headed to the Italian Hills in the SC Hard Hall. Previously I had gotten 42 points here in the Subaru Rally Car, but now, at 300hp (with Stage 1 turbo, chip, racing exhaust and intercooler) and on R3 tires, against the Renault Maxi Super Rally Car, the race was rated 137 points. Perfect – a 95 point injection taking me to 86,950 points and an average of exactly 150 points per race. With this I declare my point’s hunt temporarily suspended. I may return in the future, especially when Lugs passes my total, but for now I intend a self-enforced exile from this endeavor to return to other aspects of my life that have been neglected since February when this game was released. My last action in this regard is to update the Resource Guide which now serves as one potential route for averaging 150 points per race. I wish you all well in your own point’s journeys. Bon voyage IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-12-2005 11:17 AM
It’s been nearly three weeks since I touched GT4, during which time I completed Doom 3 (linear and boring) and started Shadow of Rome and the new MGS (neither of which I could get into, and both of which are back on the shelf ). So it’s back to GT for a while, especially as there are still a few milestones that I aspire to reach. I hope that nobody minds if I rekindle this diary, although posts will not be as frequent as in the past.I added a couple of thousand points in the SC Hall and now have 53 of the 63 races at 200 points. Those that still elude me are GC Normal and Hard; Whistler Hard and in the Normal Reverse direction; Chamonix Normal Reverse and Tahiti Maze Normal. Strangely I found Tahiti Maze much easier in Hard than in Normal I also played around a bit more with the ’54 ‘Vette and converted the two outstanding Beginner Hall Spider & Roadster races to 200 points (hardly original I know), added more points in the Clubman Cup, and increased the NY Vette! Vette! Vette! Race to 187 points. Lastly in the re-acquainting process, I went back to the FF Races and converted HK and GVE to 200 point wins in the Lupo GTi ’01. This was at 116hp, on S2 tires and with 65kg of ballast. HK was easy, but GVE was only won courtesy of the Megane IDE beaching it at the last turn and giving me a clear run to the line. Midfield and Motegi East are too ‘fast’ for the Lupo so I am still searching for the right car here (I may even have to revert to Lug’s PT Cruiser – but not just yet). Points have now increased to 89,177 and 200 point wins to 246. LDM has provided some excellent data recently on the shorter Enduro Races and these will hopefully give me another point’s injection in the future. P.S. The Resource Section table has been updated. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Littleg Officer of the Bridge Posts: 1051 |
posted 09-12-2005 04:29 PM
quote: Ditto on the game and the failure to get into it, luckily I didn't waste too much cash on it, but it's frustrating none the less. I guess I'm still very much enamoured with GT4, so as Snakeeater is a bit of a slow burner it was all too easy to just say "I'll go back to GT for a while"...
quote: Mind? Why on Earth would we mind??!!?? Good to have you back, if only in periodically. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 09-13-2005 01:35 AM
Welcome back Miko. I was wondering how long you would stay away? I have made a bit of progress since you left but still have a loooooong way to go to catch you and Lugs. One nice stat is that I am at 26.3% Game Completion but I have 29,448 A-spec points.  Oh yeah, I also found the SC Normal race harder to get at 200 than the Hard ones, so you are not the only one. ------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-16-2005 01:56 PM
Thanks ´G and LDM. Points are getting somewhat hard to find and progress on this front has now slowed to a crawl. I guess that this is inevitable at this stage of the ‘100,000’ chase. Anyway, I added a massive 6 points in the All Stars Championship by taking the Test Course race from 194 to 200 in an unusual car. The car I used was fitted with a stage 3 turbo, putting out just over 800hp, on S1 tires (not a typo) with minimum downforce, and was against a field headed by the Nissan R92CP, Audi R8 and big Jaguar. Starting from #6 on the grid, I was down by over 8s at the first checkpoint courtesy of my 0-60mph time being nearly 10s (again not a typo). Gradually winding up the speed to 255mph, I caught the leaders at the start of lap 2 and drafted past at 278mph, and then added nearly 10s per lap so that nobody else actually recorded a finishing time. The photos below reveal the car… Aside from the manufacturers’ races, my big point’s hole is the Formula GT Championship and I have been putting off revisiting this for too long. I figure that it’s time to do 1 or 2 of these per night and get this behind me. Entering as single races, and therefore starting at #6 on the grid, I have now completed 5 of these for 200 points Motegi Speedway – 127 laps (the pictures show the start, and passing the AI as they made their first pit stop). The 787B was at a stock 803hp and on R2 tires was rated 200 points (on R3 tires it was 189 points). I couldn’t switch the fronts to R3’s at the first pit stop as it these that actually determined the pit cycle, so the whole race was run on R2’s. Fastest lap was 0’28.223, with laps run consistently in the mid 0’28s. This compared to mid 0’26s for the AI so this race was won solely because of my 3 stops compared to the AI’s 9. The MOV was a little over 20s. High Speed Ring – 77 laps Again on R2 tires leading to 4 pit stops vs. the AI’s 6, a fastest lap of 0’54.489, and a comfortable win by nearly 2 laps. Lap times for the Mazda and the AI were about the same. Nürburgring – 15 laps Slightly different approach… starting on R2 tires for two reasons – it gave me the 200 points and also meant that I could run the first three laps before pitting which over the course of the race meant 1 pit stop fewer than the AI. On R2’s I was running about 6s slower than the AI and as Nurby has a short pit lane, with pit stops only taking around 20s, this would have meant a very close race. At the first stop I switched to R4’s on the front and R3’s on the rear which just about lasted 2 laps (being bright orange when I pitted). This now made me 5-10s faster than the AI per lap, and put me on the same 2 lap pit cycle, which led to an easy win by over 1½ minutes. Fastest lap was 5’40.497. Sarthe I – 23 laps Another easy win by over 1½ minutes by starting on R2 tires (pit lap 7), switching to R3/R2 tires (pitting on laps 14 and 21) and R4/R3 tires for the last two laps. Fastest lap was 3’09.963 with the Mazda taking 4 pit stops compared to the AI’s 5. With R3’s on the front the Mazda became the fastest car on the track. The second picture above shows the 787B moving into the lead at the start of lap 5 while the AI utilized the track’s drive-thru services. Laguna Seca – 85 laps Starting on R2 tires and switching the R3/R2 at the first stop, this was a very easy win by over 3 laps, in part because the Mazda was the fastest car on the circuit with a fastest lap of 1’09.939, and also because the AI is just terrible here. After the 5 races I applied a rigidity refresher to the Mazda and also noted that the power had dropped to 801hp. I’m hoping that the power will drop sufficiently for me to start some of the harder races on R3/R2 tires. On the other hand I may also seek out alternative cars for these events. Points are now 89,681 and the 200 point tally is at 252. As I said earlier, adding points is now a very slow process. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Lugnut 1st Lieutenant Posts: 484 |
posted 09-16-2005 03:39 PM
I’m still lurking, and still interested in this topic, even if I’m not actively pursuing it. I reviewed your points table, compared it to my own records, and came up with what I figure are 5000 “easy” points. That is to say, there is no doubt that they are within your reach, using abilities/efforts you’ve already demonstrated you can attain and sustain. I'm not saying you'll pick them all up this weekend. Here’s my breakdown: You’ve got 878 possible points left in the F1 series. It will be time consuming, but I’ve no doubt you can pick them all up. You’ve got 1,361 points available in the special conditions hall. I’ve run the table on this hall and I’m the lesser among us in both patience and talent. OTOH, I’ll match anyone in the room in the category of ‘stubborn’. LOL. Next biggest tranche of points is in short enduros. There are 200 A-Spec scores up for grabs in every single one of the enduros under 4 hours, plus the 4 hour Nurby race. I’m figuring only about 100 for the Motegi Speedway (which I have a hard time figuring what the 200 point formula might be), which puts the ‘easy’ points total here at about 550 for you. [I bet you could do a 200 point 24h race sweep, but I’ll not include those 398 points in this calculation, LOL.] You found a winning formula in the PD Cup, but abandoned it about halfway through, leaving what I guestimate to be about 450 points on the table. You have about 330 points on the table in the 1000 miles series, using a winning formula you already discovered in other races involving these cars. I’m looking at the GT All Stars and Premium Sports races and seeing unfinished business/ 200 points sweeps awaiting completion. That’s about 350 points. The following manufacturer races appear to have yet to get the ‘second tier’ treatment: A3, Lupo, Copen, MG, Mini, Spitfire. I guestimate 1000 points (quite probably more) in these manufacturers’ events. Euro Hall, British Lightweight, I have 143 per race from a ballasted S1/S3 Elan. That’s 87 points. You also get 74 points from finishing the FF Challenge. That’s 5000 more points and nothing there that’s beyond anything you’ve already done. OTOH, you’ll still be over 5000 points short of 100k and getting there without violating your ‘house rules’ is gonna be hard, hard, hard my friend. It’s going to be interesting to see where you seek them. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-16-2005 04:15 PM
quote: I’m absolutely delighted to hear from you I’m awaiting your return eagerly as I think I’m going to need your imaginative approach and analysis to garner those last five or six thousand points that you so rightly point out will be “Hard, hard, hard”. I feel that I’ve become a little paradigmatic and will need some out-of-box strategies to make it to 100k. Thanks once again. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 09-17-2005 01:45 AM
Sorry to just butt in but..... (Pun intended.) What about the Tokyo Enduro? Car ideas please.------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-20-2005 11:36 AM
Continuing with the Formula GT in order of completion… Grand Valley – 62 laps As you can see I’ve changed cars, not because the 787B is inadequate, but because I wanted to try something else, and Lugs had already shown that the R8 is a capable contender in these races. On R2 tires and at 795hp, the race is rated a natural 200 points. At the first pit stop, lap 10, I switched to R3/R2 tires which lasted for 8 laps (18/26/34/42/50/58) and then changed to R4/R3 tires for the last 4 laps. The AI also pitted 7 times so this race was won on the road and not in the pits. F/L was 1’31.338, total race time was 1:41’46.375 and the MOV was 16s. Infineon Raceway – 76 laps Again starting on R2 tires (14 laps) and then switching the R3/R2 (24/34/44/54/65), the R8 needed 6 stops compared to 7 for the AI. This led to an easy win by over 1 minute with 3 of the AI being lapped, a race time of 1:40’13.068 and an F/L of 1’15.245. Fuji 2005 – 67 laps I couldn’t win this on the road so had to resort to pit strategy. On R2/R1 tires only 3 pit stops were needed (17/34/51) compared to 6 for the AI. This led to an MOV again of more than 1 minute with 2 of the AI being lapped. Race time was 1:38’17.693 and F/L was 1’24.xxx. El Capitan – 64 laps On R2 tires all around and pitting on laps 11/22/33/44/54 this was a relatively easy 40s+ win, mainly because the AI took 7 pit stops compared to my 5. Race time was 1:34’35.242 with an F/L of 1’24.088. Post race power had fallen to 794hp. New York – 74 laps As you can see I went back to the Mazda for this race (I actually prefer it to the R8 – personal preference I guess) and on R2 tires (lap 15) and switching to R3/R2 (laps 27/39/51/63) the MOV was over 25s due the AI taking 6 stops compared to my 5. The lead wasn’t taken for good until lap 68 of 74 when the AI made their last stop. Race time was 1:41’34.997 with a fastest lap of 1’18.350. That’s now 10 of the Formula GT races complete [This message has been edited by miko (edited 09-20-2005).] IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-20-2005 12:17 PM
In reference to Lugnut’s earlier post, I don’t share his confidence in my abilities to max out the SC Halls, so this leaves me additional points to find in the manufacturer’s races. Fortunately I have a plan – well part of a plan – and believe that both the Mitsubishi and Nissan races can yield a few additional points. Starting with the Mitsu Evo Meeting, in an Evo VII GT-A ’02, with black oil and 200kg ballast, on S2/S3 tires and with the yaw turned way up, SSR5 Clubman and Fuji were converted to 200 point races with relative ease. Tokyo also eventually fell at 200 points but this took at least 5 attempts. One of the keys here is to draw a grid that doesn’t have the T.M.E. starting on the front row. The Mirage Cup was much easier in a Mirage 1400 GLX ’78, with NA1 tuning and a racing exhaust, putting out 104hp, on S2 tires, and qualifying on pole for each race, this is a very easy series to max out. The Nissan Race of the Red Emblem proved more difficult but in a Skyline GTS-t Type M (R33) ’91, again with black oil and at 195hp, Trail Mountain, Fuji and Suzuka were all added to the 200 point tally. The key here was using R3 tires. Motegi and New York proved more problematic due the huge disadvantage of the rolling starts and Motegi was only rated 179 points on R2 tires (it’s a 10 lap race and R3’s wouldn’t go the distance) with a stage 1 turbo fitted putting out 234hp. New York also required the turbo and on R3 tires was rated 156 points. So, Mitsubishi and Nissan provided a point’s injection of 844 that hadn’t previously been accounted for in the ‘100k strategy’ Moving on to the GT All Stars, Suzuka was increased from 187 to 190 (3 big points here!!!) in the BMW F1, Infineon from 150 to 200, again in the Beemer, and Sarthe I from 69 to 127 in the Mercedes CLK-GTR. Sarthe is tough from the back of the grid as the AI gets a huge opening margin from the rolling start. The remaining 13 points at Fuji and 10 points from Suzuka should not prove too hard, but picking up the balance from Sarthe could prove difficult. This just leaves the Nürburgring which is languishing at 50 points… …but have I got a Nurby race for you… …next post… IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-20-2005 01:34 PM
OK then… Gran Turismo All Stars – Nürburgring – 2 laps First off I need to tell you that I didn’t succeed in this race the first time, nor the second, nor the third, in fact I must have reset the PS2 a dozen times before I finally nailed this one. The first grid after a reset when running as a single race is headed by the Nissan R92CP, followed by the Bentley Speed 8, Ford LM Spec II, Toyota 7 and then the Mazda 787B. In the BMW McLaren F1 Race Car ’97, on R3 tires at 642hp, this race is naturally rated 200 points without the need for ballast. Unfortunately R3 tires on the rear wouldn’t last the whole two laps so I had to use an R3/R2 set-up. The last four cars on the grid are initially held up by the Ford which allows the Nissan and Bentley to open a 5s+ gap. The two ‘class’ cars are the R92CP and the 787B, the others acting as obstacles, sometimes infuriating obstacles, on the circuit. If you thought Mission 34 was easy So, on with the race, and I’ll describe it pictorially… It’s very important to pass the AI as soon as possible to prevent the Nissan getting an unassailable lead. As you can see the Ford causes the last four cars to bunch up at the start of the race but I was able to pass the Mazda and the Ford before the Quiddelbacher Hohe, and the Toyota 7 (devil car) at the Arembergkurve as he went too wide. Exiting Adenauer Forst, you get your first glimpse of the Nissan in the distance approaching Metzgesfeld. The Bentley was caught at Wehrseifen and passed on the run down to Breidscheid. Running through Eschbach you see the Speed 8 is losing touch but more importantly that the 787B has moved into 4th place and is closing on the Bentley. Halfway down the Dottinger Hohe you can see the Nissan in the distance with a lead of around 9s. The Mazda passes the Bentley before the end of the straight and begins hunting me down in the same way that I begin hunting the Nissan. By staying clean and fast through the second lap I was able to chip into the Nissan’s lead and caught a break when his tires started to go off in the last quarter of the lap. By the time we reached Wippermann his lead was down to 3s and as we approached the last turn I was climbing all over his rear end. I’m convinced that the harder you push the AI, the harder they try, and the more likely they are to make mistakes. As we entered the last turn the Nissan hit the gas too hard too fast and was suddenly facing the wrong way. This left me and the Mazda to fight it out to the line. The winning margin was 0.066s and my fastest lap was 6’10.917. The R92CP had the fastest first lap, and the 787B had the fastest second lap. My average was just that bit quicker though by a massive 0.033s per lap As a footnote the Nissan struggled so much to get it back straight that he actually conceded third place to the Bentley at +10.680s, finally finishing fourth at +14.034s. After all of that excitement my points total is now 91,184 and my 200 point tally has reached 270 which is particularly pleasing as this means that over half of the races in the game are at max points. That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed… IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 09-20-2005 04:25 PM
quote: Thanks for the reply. I have tried several of them so far with no luck at 200. I have not completed the Enduro yet but look to achieve around a 180 so far. The ones(JGTC300) that I have tried so far can't quite do it stock and of course go way off the scale if modded up. The race is deceptive as I thought I had it once. I led for the first half the race only to have an NSX run me down by about 3/4 of the way through. I am at the point of looking at some of the Touring cars etc as I have tried the Asparadrink RX-7, the Arta Garaiya, the Wedsport Celica, Cuzco Subaru, and Altezza Touring Car so far. But maybe also have not found the right field/car combo so I will keep you posted. ------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-21-2005 11:53 AM
My curiosity was stirred by LDM regarding the Tokyo 300km Enduro, and I felt it only right to validate my recommendation of a JGTC300 car for the race. Trying the first few fields quickly showed that it was necessary to avoid fields containing the Nissan Motul Pitiwork Z and the RX7 or RX8 LM cars. Everything else seems to be fair game and field 7 (or it may have been 8) lined up as follows: 1. Honda Mobil 1 NSX (JGTC) ‘01 On R1/R1 tires with no power boosters my JGTC300 was rated 200 points. The AI takes a long time to warm their tires and really get moving – use this opportunity!!! The downside is that their tires seem to last forever. Anyway, the lights turn green and we’re off for the 60 lap race… At the end of lap 1 I was in 4th place, 1.761s behind the Mobil 1 NSX. At the end of lap 2 I’d moved into 1st place, a massive 0.062s ahead of the same NSX. This lead was gradually increased until it peaked on lap 8 at 5.640s at which time the AI started clawing back fractions of a second per lap. At the start of lap 20 my lead was down to 0.392s over the Mobil 1 NSX, with the Pennzoil Zexel GT-R in 3rd at +0.448s and the Cerumo Supra in 4th at +0.495s. There was never more than a second between these three cars for the duration of the race and they exchanged positions based on who got the best draft down the straight. Regardless, to have four cars within ½s of each other after 33 minutes of racing is nothing less than damn, I say damn, close racing. At my first pit stop at the end of lap 20 my lead was less than ¼s and I exit the pits in last place, 32.389s behind the Mobil 1 NSX. Every lap I expected to see the AI pit but they kept going, and going, and going, and going – WTF! Finally they all pitted on lap 27 (I’m not sure if this was due to tires or fuel as their lap times had not deteriorated) and as they exit the pits I find myself in 4th place, 2.512s behind the Pennzoil Zexel GT-R. It didn’t take long to regain the lead as the AI warmed their tires and this time, by pushing harder and harder, I extended it to 12.695s on lap 33, before the AI again started slowly closing. When I pitted on lap 40 the lead was over 9s and when I resumed in 6th place my deficit was 24.408s behind the Cerumo Supra. My objective now was to minimize the AI’s lead before their next stop which I assumed would be on lap 54. This was indeed the case and as they pitted I was 32s behind. This was plenty close enough and as the AI finished their pit stops I had a lead of 8s. The result was now not in doubt and I drove away from the field for the last 6 laps to win by over 16s from the Mobil 1 NSX. Finishing positions and fastest laps 1. Miko: 1’42.416 My total time for the race was 1:44’41.540 and the prize was a white no. 3 Mitsubishi FTO Super Touring Car to go with green no. 1 that I already owned. More importantly, I picked up another 174 points The car I used was the RE Amemiya Asparadrink RX-7 (JGTC) ’04. The Weddsport Celica also seemed capable of winning this race but the points rating was lower and I didn’t want to have to carry ballast as tire wear is so critical here. My front tires were turning orange after 20 laps as it was and if I’d needed to adopt a three-stop strategy I would have been dead in the water. Anyway, the use of a JGTC300 car for this race at 200 points is now confirmed (LDM - I hope this helps). IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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LaughteranDMirth 1st Lieutenant Posts: 1607 |
posted 09-21-2005 01:06 PM
Nice job miko. That was the car that I wanted to use for the race but I seemed too slow in it, I guess I need some practice. And when I was testing fields that had the Xanavi GT-R in them, it seemed much faster than what you have shown but I would have to go back and check my notes. I remember it running away from the field like the other cars you mentioned so I never tried it out. Thanks! When I get done with my 24hr race I will probably give it a try. ------------------ GT4 Diaries IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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miko 1st Lieutenant Posts: 509 |
posted 09-26-2005 11:15 AM
This is Miko reporting back for duty… Well, Houston dodged the proverbial bullet as I’m sure you are all aware. We rode out the storm at home as by the time we would have evacuated the state of the roads made it impossible to do so. Luckily for us, unluckily for others, the storm veered 70 miles to the east on Friday. Friday night was still somewhat nerve-racking with reported winds of 50 to 70mph, lights flickering on-and-off like some horror movie, tree limbs snapping and pounding the roof like a major hail storm, transformers popping from time to time, and large pines arching at 30 degree angles over the house. When you’re outside checking trees in 50mph, 60mph or even 70mph winds, I can tell you that they feel like a lot more. I can’t imagine what it must be like to actually be outside in a 100mph wind. The town of Lumberton, north of Beaumont, is a similar community to The Woodlands, and the footage of downed trees slicing through homes like a cheese-cutter is frightening. Anyway, I’m OK, my wife is OK, and my property escaped any major damage. Two days to clean up the debris but I’ll take that when seeing the carnage caused at the TX/LA state line. I feel very lucky on the one hand, and somewhat guilty on the other, that I’m thankful for losing nothing and yet others have lost everything. There by the grace of God. Rita did have a sting in her tail however, and as she burned out and headed north, damage was noted on the Livingston Lake dam. This is where my wife and I fish – 90,000 acres sitting at nearly 150ft above sea-level. Apparently all of the granite facing on the earthen dam had been swept away during the storm and there were fears about the integrity of the dam – so much so that all of the sluices have been opened to reduce the water level by about 25ft. Last reports were that 8,000,000 cubic feet of water was being released per second (can you even imagine that?) and everybody living in the Trinity River Valley should expect major flooding. I live in the San Jacinto River Valley headed by Lake Conroe and it just rams home how vulnerable we all are. Returning now to normalcy, although struggling to find gasoline, it strikes me that we still have over two months of the hurricane season left – and October is generally the ‘busy’ month. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Mother Nature doesn’t exact further wrath on Louisiana and the other Gulf Coast States. All I can do now is to extend my heartfelt thoughts and prayers to all of those in East Texas and West Louisiana who did not fare as well as I did. IP: Logged | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
. A re-run of the 4WD El Capitan race quickly converted this to 200 points with a win by over 3s. The Delta had previously been given an oil change and therefore restricted points in La Festa to the low 190’s so I used my other HF, with black-oil at 192hp, on S3 tires with 75kg of ballast and achieved 200 point victories at Autumn Ring and Infineon. Like Lugs I couldn’t do the same at Monaco and the high-water mark here remains the 175 points gotten in the Stratos. 200 point wins were also achieved at the Beginner Course and El Capitan in the MR Challenge (I still can’t leave the Beginner Hall alone!) using a Toyota MR2 1600 G-Ltd SC ’86.
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