posted 10-10-2005 02:29 PM         

man, that sucks!

posted 10-10-2005 02:40 PM         

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"When faced with certain death, eat strawberries."

GT4 Diaries

LDM's GT4 Obsessions

posted 10-10-2005 02:41 PM         

quote:

---

Originally posted by N8:
So can we all assume that next time you will switch to N3 or S1 tires (you can use sport for this series yes?) for the last lap?

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I'm still writing up the 'next time' with my revised strategy so you'll have to wait and see. You've got me intrigued however...

posted 10-10-2005 02:49 PM         

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"When faced with certain death, eat strawberries."

GT4 Diaries

LDM's GT4 Obsessions

posted 10-10-2005 03:03 PM         

I may not have Lug’s or Sukie’s stubborn tenacity, but I’m not one to give up quickly, and I restart the 1000 Miles! Championship in the Alfa Duetto against the same field as before, i.e. the other two Alfas, both 60’s Isuzu variants, and the Mazda 110S.

This time however, at Nurby I forego the crappy tires and bolt on some S1’s, with the same 3 dead PD employees in the trunk weighing 200kg, and at 110hp. Top speed on the straights is still the same but I can now corner much faster, so much faster that lap times fall by 10-15s compared to the N2/N3 combination. Starting last on the grid, and with a 5/10/15/20 lap pit strategy (compared to the Alfa GTA’s 8/16/24) this becomes a very easy win by over 3½ minutes with the Mazda in 3rd about ¾ lap behind. The Bellett was lapped on lap 22, the Alfa Speciale on lap 23, and the Izusu 117 on lap 24.

Points were still in triple digits at 108, fastest lap was 9’26.504 and total race duration was 3:59’36.382. I will have to revert to N tires at some point if I want to average the 125 points per race that is my target and the 95 laps of Paris is the obvious place to start.

So, on N2/N3 tires with the same ballast, Paris is rated 141 points, and turns out to be relatively uneventful. I was in 2nd place for only 6 of the 95 laps through pitstop differentials with the GTA. My schedule was 24/48/72 compared to the GTA’s 25/50/75. The GTA seems to able to run much longer on S1 tires than anyone else in the field who finish behind by 2 or 3 laps. The winning margin over the GTA is 27s with a fastest lap of 1’50.132 and a total race time of 2:58’32.425.

Moving on to the 99 laps of Monaco with the same set-up as the previous race, and with another 141 points up for grabs, I enter thinking this will be a similar story. This turned out to be the case – unfortunately I wanted a story similar to Paris – NOT one that was similar to my first running of the Nürburgring.

Like Paris the course is technical and ‘slow’, like Nurby it has a big fricking hill. On many occasions I had Nurby déjà vu and was in 2nd place for 20 of the 99 laps. My good fortune came in the form of the other cars, which even I had difficulties passing (losing 6s on one lap while trying to pass the Speciale). The GTA struggled even more, and more often, and this led to a 16s victory for me in a race that lasted 3:43’06.817. My pit schedule was 25/50/74 compared to GTA’s 28/56/84 and my fastest lap was 2’12.321.

Three down – one to go – and I move on to Sarthe II knowing that my top speed deficiencies are going to hurt me. With this in mind I go straight for S1 tires and get rated 109 points. That’s weird – power is still at 110hp, ballast is 200kg, the AI is the same – where did the additional 1 point over the Nurby race come from? All I can assume is that the game rating system looks at hp to decimals and that I may have lost a few fractions which weren’t apparent on the adjustment screen.

Sarthe II ended up being an easy 65s victory, but for the first 20 of the 35 laps I had major doubts about this being the case. Starting on pole I was pushed to third place half way down the straight as the Mazda and the GTA came flying past me. I managed to pick up a tow to 130mph (and I’d widened my 5th gear specifically for this purpose) to keep the gap manageable and retook the lead through the stadium section. I managed to increase the lead to about 5s by the time we got to the straight on lap 2 which was just enough to keep me here by the end of the straight. Gradually I widened the lead over the next few laps until I had a 14s margin at my first pit stop on lap 12. The GTA passed me in the pits but I managed to pull out right behind the Mazda for a tow down the straight. Figuring that the AI would also require 2 stops I didn’t push too hard to close the 15s lead that the GTA had. Lap 13 passes, then lap 14, 15 and 16. Come on guys, you’ve got to pit soon. Sure enough the Mazda pits at the end of lap 16 along with the Alfa Speciale but the others keep going. This is worrying because if the GTA doesn’t pit on lap 17 it means a 1-stop race for him – and then I’m in trouble. Lap 17 passes – no pit stop for the GTA (the Izusu 117 did pit on lap 17) – and then he completes lap 18 as well still without stopping. It’s time to turn up the wick now as I’ve got a pit-stop to make up. On lap 19 I finally get close enough to the GTA to draft him down the straight and pass him in the stadium. Then he makes his one and only mistake of the race – he still doesn’t pit and this turns out to be one lap too many, obvious due to the fact that I put 20s on him during this lap. He duly pits at the end of lap 20 but it’s too late and my victory is now assured.

As I crossed the finish line after 35 laps my MOV over the GTA is 65s, the Mazda is in third just approaching Arnage, and the other three car dots are indistinguishable from one another as they move on to the straight. It was only on the results screen that I saw that the Bellett had taken 4th place (the only time he didn’t finish last in the series) courtesy of his one pit stop (lap 19) compared to the 2 stops of the Speciale and the 117 Coupe. No car was lapped in this race which lasted 3:10’05.343 with my fastest lap being 5’20.621.

At the end of the series I’d added 371 points taking the series total to 499 points and giving a series average of 124.75 points – I can live with the 1 point I’ve dropped here . Nearly 14 hours of race time – sometimes quite tense race time – but as I had hoped I crossed the 99k mark with my points total now being 99,064.

posted 10-11-2005 11:11 AM         

…and now for something completely different…

One of the few areas of point’s availability that I have remaining is the Endurance Hall so, as if the 1000 Miles! was not enough, that’s where I head – more specifically to the Laguna Seca 200 Miles race, which had 62 additional points up for grabs. The car I had originally intended using was the Mustang ’05, but as LDM beat me to this I went in search of something original. After a bit of pondering, searching and testing, and then a bit of field selection – I’d already beaten the GT, Saleen and Series 1 so I avoided these , and I also wanted to run against the ‘Vettes and Vipers – I lined up as follows:

1. Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport (C4) ‘96
2. Dodge Viper GTS ‘99
3. Dodge Viper SRT10 ‘03
4. Chevrolet Camaro SS ‘00
5. Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 (C5) ‘00
6. Miko’s Mystery Car

With an NA1 tune fitted but no other power modifiers, R1 tires and no ballast, the race gets rated the required 200 points. At this point I’ll say that this race turned into one of the most enjoyable races I’ve had in the whole of GT4 – a race where I wasn’t confident of the outcome until lap 76 of 90 – a race that had 3 different leaders and 5 different second placed cars – where my pit strategy had to be adapted mid race (and became very unusual for an Enduro) – and where the lead five cars all finished on the same lap (which in an almost 2½ hour race is very competitive).

I’ll try to give you a feel for how the race developed…

Lap 1 – Starting from 6th with a rolling start, Miko had moved into 3rd place by the end of the lap behind the Grand Sport and the Viper GTS.

Lap 2 – Miko moves into 2nd place behind the Grand Sport as the AI warm their tires.

Lap 3 – Miko takes the lead.

Lap 10 – Positions at the end of the 10th lap: 1. Miko; 2. C4 at +3.579s; 3. Viper GTS at +5.807s; 4. Viper SRT10 at +7.638s; 5. Camaro SS at +16.345s; 6. C5 at +17.482s.

Lap 15 – Miko pits with a lead of 3.100s over the C4 Corvette Grand Sport. At this point I become very concerned that my lap times are only marginally faster than the C4, and that being the first to pit I might have to make additional stops over the AI. I switch to R2 tires to see if I can get a lap time advantage that more than offsets the additional pit stops that I will have to make. Miko exits the pits where he started the race in last place, 24s behind the Grand Sport.

Lap 16 – The Camaro pits, Miko to 5th place, 23s behind the C4.

Lap 18 – The Grand Sport and the Viper GTS make their first pit stops. Miko moves into 3rd place, 15s behind the Viper SRT10, with the Corvette C5 in 2nd place.

Lap 20 – Miko passes the C5 to move into 2nd place, 9s behind the SRT10.

Lap 21 – The Viper SRT10 makes his first pit stop. Miko moves into the lead, 4.646s ahead of the Corvette C5.

Lap 22 – The C5 pits. Miko’s lead is now 21s over the C4 Grand Sport.

Lap 25 – Miko makes his second pit stop with a lead of 24s over the C4, and exits the pits in 2nd place about 3s behind. The original R1 tires lasted for 15 laps, the R2 tires for 10 laps. Lap times on the R2 tires are about 2s faster than on R1’s. After a quick mental calculation I conclude that although I’m making 3 for 2 stops, there is a net positive gain in using the R2’s through faster lap times.

Lap 27 – Miko retakes the lead from the C4 at the last corner of the lap.

Lap 30 – Lead is 5.394s over the Corvette C4.

Lap 32 – Camaro pits in last place.

Lap 35 – Miko pits with lead at 13.566s over the C4. Exit the pits in 3rd place, 10s behind the C4, with the SRT10 in 2nd and the Viper GTS sucking in my exhaust fumes in 4th place.

Lap 36 – The C4 and Viper GTS make their second pit stops. Miko moves into 2nd place, 5.006s behind the SRT10.

Lap 39 – Miko moves back into the lead.

Lap 40 – Lead is 6s over the SRT10 with the C5 in 3rd place.

Lap 42 – The SRT10 pits, Miko’s lead now 22s over the Corvette C5.

Lap 44 – The C5 pits, lead is now 39s over the C4.

Lap 45 – Miko pits and exits with a 14s lead over the C4 Grand Sport.

Lap 48 – The Camaro SS makes his third pit.

Lap 50 – Miko laps the Camaro SS. Positions after 50th lap: 1. Miko; 2. C4 Grand Sport at +16.068s; 3. Viper SRT10 at +27.179s; 4. Viper GTS at +33.050s; 5. Corvette C5 at +46.064; 6. Camaro SS at +1 lap.

Lap 51 – replay ends…

As the C4 exits the pits to start lap 55 it dawns on me that although my lead over him is estimated at around 45s (the SRT10 at this point was in 2nd place followed by the C5), he only has one more scheduled pit stop on lap 72. The compares to the 4 further stops I expect to make on laps 55, 65, 75 and 85. Clearly my advantage at this point is not enough and I need to make up quite a bit of time on the road. An additional complication in the heat of the race (and without the 20:20 hindsight of the replay evidence) is that with all of the AI pit stop variants the cars have become spread all over the course and I’ve no idea which blue dot is which car, and who is on what pit schedule (apart from the C4).

…and so the race progresses. When I exit the pits to start my lap 76 I have a 28s lead over the C4 and I still have one stop to make. It was now, and only now that I become confident in my victory as I have an ace-in-the-hole which is to switch to R3 tires when I stop on lap 85 for the final 5 laps. These are worth about 4s per lap advantage over the R1 tires, and therefore the C4 .

Sure enough the race is completed after 2:23’24.853 and the winning margin over the C4 Grand Sport is 53s. The SRT10 finishes 3rd, the Viper GTS in 4th, the Corvette C5 in 5th, and trailing in last, and the only car to be lapped, is the Camaro SS. Fastest lap time on R1 tires was 1’33.458, on R2 tires was 1’31.430 and on R3 tires was 1’30.xxx. Post race power was 348hp and the odometer read 200.3 miles. That really was a lot of fun and the additional points have taken my total to 99,126 A-Spec and my 200 point tally to 325.

posted 10-11-2005 11:35 AM         

My first is in San Francisco but not in California,
My second is in exhaust but not sports, semi-racing or racing (turn up the volume ),
I’m not Japanese, although I have some commonality with Mazda and Nissan,
I’ve not been driven before,
And I make the sweetest sound…

posted 10-11-2005 12:43 PM         

------------------
"When faced with certain death, eat strawberries."

GT4 Diaries

LDM's GT4 Obsessions

posted 10-13-2005 02:08 PM         

LDM had previously provided some excellent analysis of the AI’s lap times and pit strategies – and then, like the good American he is, proceeded to drive the NY200 in a German car . It’s time to put that to rights and address this little thing called “National pride” . As I didn’t use it at Laguna Seca, I’ll try it at New York, so off I head in the Ford Mustang GT ’05.

I was concerned that the ‘Tang wouldn’t have the straight line speed to be able to handle the ‘rabbits’ so, using LDM’s data, I was ‘selective’ in the grid that I went up against. Lining up, a Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R ’00 was on pole (rolling start pole), followed by the Mercedes SL65 AMG (R230) ’04; Aston Martin V8 Vantage ’99; Lotus Esprit Sport 350 ‘00; and BMW M5 ’05. The only ‘mystery’ car was the Lotus but I figured he wouldn’t be too much of a problem – boy was I wrong.

With a racing exhaust and NA1 tuning, on S1/S2 tires, in the mid 300’s power range, the race is rated 200 points with no need for any ballast. As is normal, I moved into the lead by lap 3 during the AI’s tentative tire warming period, with the Lotus moving into 2nd place. We gradually moved away from the rest of the field and I noted very quickly from the checkpoint times that I was about 3s faster through the twisty section but lost most of this on the straight (the post replay showed that the Lotus was hitting 165mph on the straight compared to my 140mph). It also became very apparent that I was killing my tires much faster than any of the AI in LDM’s analysis.

By lap 11 my S1 fronts were verging on orange, and I made a minor mistake by pushing them for the 12th lap, losing a couple of seconds on my lap times. I exit the pits about 13s behind the Lotus, which extends to about 15s as I warm my tires, and then begins to close for the next few laps. On lap 22 I retake the lead and the Lotus still hasn’t pitted. He sits right on my tail for lap 23, and again I make a mistake and stay out for the 12th lap on my rapidly deteriorating tires. I have to pit on lap 24 when thankfully the Lotus pits with me. As we exit the pits (I didn’t take on a full load of gas in order to speed the turnaround) I have a 2s lead.

I resolve to switch to an 11 lap pit cycle so as not to lose the, what could become very important, few seconds on my 12th lap. So, pitting on lap 35, I about 10s behind the Lotus, and the race goes on in a similar fashion to the first 24 laps. If the Lotus was close enough to me on the straights I was toast, but it did enable me to see why he was losing so much time in the turns. Basically he was consistently slamming into the wall at the end of the shorter of the two straights and this of course killed his speed (the replay showed that he failed to make this turn 8 out 10 times – but when he did make it his lap times were 2s faster – and had he done this consistently he would have won the race comfortably).

I pitted on lap 46 and then switched to a 10 lap cycle and pitted on laps 56 and 66. By the time lap 72 started, which was when the Lotus was scheduled to make his last stop, my deficit was around 23s. I managed to pass him in the pits and then relaxed in the knowledge that the Lotus would have to run the last 4 laps on cold tires and this would now be a comfortable win. That is if a 13.574s win is ever comfortable in a race that lasted 2:20’04.732. The M5, SVT Cobra and SL65 AMG finished 1 lap back in 3rd, 4th and 5th places respectively, with the very disappointing Vantage down by 3 laps in last place.

My fastest lap was 1’46.983, and this was actually the only lap that broke the 1’47 mark, although I did have a number that were 1’47.0xx. The fastest lap for the Lotus was 1’46.544, although more often he was in the 1’47s and 1’48s due to his braking / turning issues at the end of the second straight.

Car – pit cycle – fastest lap:

1. Ford Mustang GT ’05 – 12/24/35/46/56/66 – 1’46.983
2. Lotus Esprit Sport 350 ’00 – 24/48/72 – 1’46.544
3. BMW M5 ’05 – 23/46/69 – 1’49.179
4. Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R ’00 – 18/36/54/72 – 1’49.322
5. Mercedes SL65 AMG (R230) ’04 – 18/36/54/72
6. Aston Martin V8 Vantage ’99 – 17/34/51/68 – 1’51.604

The lap times I noted for the AI were within ½s of those noted by LDM, the only significant difference being that the SVT Cobra in my race was on an 18 lap pit cycle compared to 22 lap cycle noted by him. Based on his data, I would have lost this race if I had been up against the Zonda C12 or Proto Motors Spirra (who would have been faster), and probably the Corvette ZO6 and Viper SRT10 (due to them only taking 2 pit stops).

As it was, this was a close, fun race (and one I’d recommend). Adapting a Bobby George saying (only beer swilling, overweight Brits, will know who I’m talking about ), this demonstrates that “Straights are for show – turns are for dough” .

posted 10-13-2005 04:15 PM         

Excellent read, great information.

posted 10-13-2005 04:32 PM         

That wall at the end of the shorter long straight is a killer for most AI cars in most NY normal races. I was doing various cars in the Professional Hall Supercar series and noticed that pretty much all the AI opponent cars used that wall as their primary braking tool. Occasionally, they’ll get stuck there. [Aside: the BMW M5 provides easy and comfortable 200 point wins at all venues in the Supercar series. Stock shape works everywhere but NY, and some S3 rears and a little minor tranny upgrading will make NY a comfortable victory for the M5, too.]

You can never allow an AI car to follow you into that turn, or they’ll just take you into that wall with them. I always move aside and let the AI pass me on this straight. If you leave the blinking red idiot light for braking/gear shifts on the HUD, you’ll see what the AI’s problem is. If you follow the idiot light’s advice, you too will eat the wall. For whatever reason, PD’s programmers seem to have miscalculated the correct braking point for this turn for all purposes.

Bottom line is that I’ve never juggled any specific car out of the NY 200 field to help my cause there. One way or another, the AI cars seem to find ways to take themselves out of the race.

posted 10-14-2005 12:15 AM         

You are currently down for 108 points per race in that series. I've got 135 per race in that series, working the Saleen on N3 tires with a full load of rocks. At El Cap, I've got more points putting N2 tires on the fronts and still finishing with a 5 second lead. I haven't tried the N1s at El Cap yet, but that might just work there.

posted 10-17-2005 11:27 AM         

As I said previously I wanted to achieve a 200 point American solution to the El Capitan Endurance. As Lugs commented, there are many, many vehicles that fit the bill, however I wanted to drive an American icon, and one I had yet to drive, so of course I wheeled out the Corvette C5. In completely stock configuration (including S2 tires) the C5 is rated 200 points against a couple of ‘Vette wannabees, namely the TVR Cerbera Speed 6 and 350C , a Lotus Elise Motorsport, MB SL65 AMG and the only other real car in the race, a Shelby Series 1.

Needless to say, the honed V8 heritage of the C5 crushed the tinny 6 cylinder TVRs who finished down by 3 laps in 4th and 5th places, with the MB ‘tank’ down by 4 laps in last place. The Elise was in second, 2 laps down, with the Series 1 down by 3 laps in 3rd place – but this was mainly due to the fact that he and I stopped on lap 33 to crack a six-pack and do some trout tickling . This clearly provides categorical proof that… [insert your own Corvette superlatives and TVR denigrations here ]. Sukie, I guess it’s time for you to face up to reality and disgard those romantic illusions that TVR’s are for men .

Sticking with El Capitan I followed Lug’s advice and took the Saleen S7 for a run out on N2 tires. This, combined with 200kg of ballast, gave an easy 161 point victory, but truth be told you could probably win at El Cap while running on rims. Trying the same strategy at Sarthe proved fruitless as I couldn’t keep the Saleen on the black stuff so I gave up on this and walked away with the 53 ‘bonus’ points from EC.

The only other racing I did, although this was for a number of hours, was to try to find an American car for 200 points at the Nurby 4 hour enduro. The only car that seems to fit the bill is the De Lorean but to date I haven’t made it work – running in 2nd place after 1 hour of racing, about 12s behind an ’04 Impreza, is the closest I’ve got so far. Speaking of which, since when can an ’04 Impreza top 155mph? Is this more Japanese car bias?

posted 10-17-2005 01:48 PM         

I read you to say that you tried N2s at Sarthe. I barely made N3s work there, so I’m not surprised if N2s wouldn’t work there for you. You shouldn’t give up on this exercise on that account.

I also discovered that the Crossfire series works on N tires, at the two non-Motegi Speedway venues. You can even boost your Speedway score to 69 with S1/S3 tires and tranny upgrades. Not a huge boost—about 50 points in all, but at this stage, points is points.

Why, especially, an American car at the Nurby 4 hour? I would expect you to be focused on German (or at least European) cars. Or is it because I already took the Z4?

posted 10-17-2005 03:14 PM         

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lugnut:
1. Posting a reply to make sure I wasn’t misunderstood about the Saleen series…

2. I also discovered that the Crossfire series works on N tires, at the two non-Motegi Speedway venues...

3. Why, especially, an American car at the Nurby 4 hour? I would expect you to be focused on German (or at least European) cars. Or is it because I already took the Z4?

4. I’m in the midst of A-Spec-ing the 1000 Miles! … Good thing I was alone in the house, else the Mrs. would think I’ve gone bonkers.

---

Comments on the above…

1. I hadn’t misunderstood you. I first tried the N2’s at Sarthe for 161 point – disaster – and then switched to N3’s for 134 points – also disaster. I haven’t driven the Saleen very much compared to you and therefore haven’t figured out the finesse needed to put over 550hp through bicycle tires. I’ll work on it.

2. Thanks – I’ll try that – all points are gold-plated at this stage of the chase .

3. To be different. LDM has gone the Japanese route, you the German route, so I thought I’d just be different. I had a short list of cars to try including the Hommell and Lancia Stratos (both of which can contend but are somewhat ‘seat-of-the-pants’ racing), the MB 230SLK (which I haven’t tried as yet as it’s German), the Solstice (which can’t get the points unless with a lot of junk against the Speedster-NSX grid – and we both know what that’s like ), the Dodge SRT4 (but driving a FF at Nurby for 4 hours is unpleasant), and the Hyundai HCD thingy (way too slow ). I’m sure that a few of the Lotus’s (Loti?) could do it but I’ve already driven them to death and like I said I just want to try something different. The conundrum at this race is that a low powered car is required for the points, but it has to be capable of running laps in the low eight minutes and hitting 150mph or so the straight to contend. I still think I can make the Delorean work and this has become my current challenge. I am however open to alternative suggestions .

posted 10-18-2005 04:14 AM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
A couple of days out of town and the NL LCS (looks like we could see a Houston-Chicago World Series ) limited GT4 time recently, however I did complete a couple of things…

loads and loads and loads of ...er ... 'insightful' automotive opinion ... or did I sense bait in the water and a sneakily placed hook?

As I said previously I wanted to achieve a 200 point American solution to the El Capitan Endurance.
Anyway, point’s total is now 99,235.

---

Mmm, plenty of comment there on a certain marque of fabulous sports cars - my only concern is that you have now blighted this threads hitherto sterling reputation for clarity and accuracy :P.

A Corvette better than a TVR indeed ... pshaw!

I suggest that you bring your new toy over here (and a case of money so I can buy a Cerbera ) and we'll test your Chevy Supremacy theory .

posted 10-18-2005 04:28 AM         

------------------
"When faced with certain death, eat strawberries."

GT4 Diaries

LDM's GT4 Obsessions

posted 10-18-2005 11:55 AM         

On with the Nürburgring 4 hour enduro, but first a warning – Do not try this at home – I am a highly tuned and trained professional in the art of suppressing frustration and anger, and yet the GT4 disc came very, very close to being converted into a Frisbee

I again spent a lot of time driving around the Ring – gave up on the DeLorean as a bad job – and, after many more tests, completed 2½ hours of the 4hr enduro before aborting the effort due to the obscenely exaggerated performance of the ’04 WRX. The car I have decided is the winning formula here, and to balance the transatlantic books , is an MG TF160 (in British Racing Green) with oil change and a few power bolt-ons.

Against a field comprising the aforesaid WRX, the Mitsu Evo VIII, an RX8 Type S, Corvette Grand Sport and BMW M Coupe, the 200 point rating is given on S1/S2 tires with 210hp, courtesy of an oil change, stage 1 turbo and semi-racing exhaust, with 10kg of junk. With the exception of the Beemer who was a third of a lap adrift at the 2hr mark, the rest of the field ran very close for the first half of the race. On a 4 lap cycle (changing to S2’s all around at the first stop) I had the Evo and RX8 beat (on 4 and 5 lap cycles respectively) and also just about had the measure of the Grand Sport despite his 6 lap pit intervals. The problem was the WRX who could take 6s per lap off of me on the two straights. This, combined with his 5 lap pit strategy, proved just too much, and at the 20 lap mark my deficit was around 14s. I figured that with my speed disadvantage and increased pit requirements that this was too large a deficit and didn’t want to suffer the frustration of running another 1½ hrs only to finish in 2nd place.

The solution is to find a similar field that doesn’t include the Impreza, and the one that looks to fit the bill nicely has already been described by Lugnut. With this field Lug’s biggest competition was the Evo and as I know I can beat him this should be money in the bank. Hopefully I won’t drive around Nurby for another 2+ hours to discover otherwise as I’ve been messing with this race for 3 days now .

posted 10-18-2005 01:28 PM         

I think if you try the field I used, you'll discover that you have even more overhead room in the A-Spec calculations for power-boosting modifications. That, in combination with a slower rabbit at the head of the field, should make things a lot more comfortable for you.

As for the rage against the machine, I feel your. I failed in my first attempt at Monaco in the Duetto on N2/N3 tires last night. Basically, I could keep pace with the lead Alfa for the first 20 laps of the 25 lap pit intervals you suggested, but at lap 21, the tires go from yellow to reddish, and by lap 24, they are totally red. I lost roughly 30 seconds to the lead Alfa at each pit interval due to failing tires. Unlike the case you reported, he never seemed to get caught up in traffic for more than a lap or two. As a desparation move, I tried switching to N3 fronts, but discovered that they were only good for about 12 laps. I was making up time, but not enough to account for all the extra pit stops it would cost me. So I had to pull the plug on my own failed enduro attempt after a couple of hours.

posted 10-18-2005 02:50 PM         

quote:

---

Originally posted by Lugnut:
I'm either going to have to drop some weight to make the tires last longer, or add some power to make up time for an extra pit stop. I suppose I could also learn to drive better, but I don't think that's going to happen in a day, LOL.

---

LOL!

posted 10-19-2005 01:15 PM         

I was awarded 200 points in the MG at 216hp (dropped to 206hp at end of race) on S1 tires, the added power coming from an early game oil change and NA2 tuning. I also had 10kg of ballast that I had forgotten to take off from my previous testing. I went no further in finding out the maximum level of power bolt-ons that could be applied so it may be possible to add exhaust and/or chip as well.

To cut a 4 hour story short, I was confident in my victory at the 30 minute mark and if it wasn’t for the fact that Mission 35 materialized, this would have been a somewhat boring and tedious race. So what’s Mission 35?

Your mission, should you choose to accept it , is to lap the Ford Focus before the 4hr mark – the Mission is called “Focus on the Focus” – this message will self-destruct in 5 seconds.

This provided me with an interesting and challenging side race that made the 4hrs pass very painlessly. I actually caught and passed the Focus early on my lap 29, after 3:54’34.xxx race time had elapsed. It was a shame that I didn’t get 250 points for this Mission completion .

At the conclusion of the race proper I had completed 29 laps in 4:02’24.350 with a fastest lap of 8’11.635, with the Evo VIII in 2nd place over 2 minutes behind. The Mustang Cobra was 3rd, followed by the Camaro and Mercedes. The Focus was the only car to be lapped. Pit schedules varied somewhat with mine being 5/9/13/17/21/25, switching to S2’s all around at the first stop. It was interesting that on an S1/S1 set-up, all tires were very orange at the end of 5 laps, and on S2/S2 I was still able to run 4 laps. I believe that this was due to there being more lateral motion on the S1’s (tire squeal) and this led to the durability differential being much less than I would have expected. The Focus pitted on a 3 lap schedule, the Evo every 4 laps, and the rest of the field every 5 laps.

Watching the replay I noted that the MG was up to 20mph slower on the straight than the rest of the field, topping out at 140mph before the mini-crest. The quickest car, although not the fastest, was the Focus, but he was hitting the rev limiter at 148mph early on the straight, and this combined with his propensity to spin or wipe out at least once per lap left him battling with the Mercedes for 4th and 5th places for most of the race. With the benefit if hindsight I think that the DeLorean could have competed against this grid, and that a number of other cars could achieve the 200 point win.

Points are now at 99,337 and the 200 point tally is 327. The Resource section has been updated.

posted 10-20-2005 01:54 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
[Postscript] As an aside, ‘pursuit’ racing might make a fun alternative to the conventional OLR ‘point-to-point’ or fastest lap racing. If anybody is interested in this let me know and I’ll post such a race in the OLR section. [/postscript]

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posted 10-21-2005 03:33 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by miko:
I'm still writing up the 'next time' with my revised strategy so you'll have to wait and see. You've got me intrigued however...

Sports tires are definitely allowed for this series (the AI uses S1's) but it never even crossed my mind to switch from 'N' to 'S' tires. Can you even do this? If you can it opens all sorts of opportunities for the enduros by starting on N1's and then switching at the first pitstop to S1's (or even softer). I'll have to try this out .

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Things may be slightly different for the PAL version, of course. (I have a first day of release NTSC-US; a detail like that might even get changed in unannounced version changes; i.e. I'd presume they'd stop the game from offering the sports tires in the pit-stop menu if you started on normal).

Interestingly, this was also in A-spec in the 1000 Miles! ("Mille Miglia"), but in nothing like a maximum attempt. Sort of a "dry A-spec run". (Well, apart from anything else I've got an AI billiard-ball, I mean Fiat 500, toddling around presumably skewing the figures; you really don't want them in the field, do you?). I managed to sneak Cote d'Azur in on a weeknight. Sarthe should be tonight. Testing last night suggests I can win on N1's and get an extra 3 points. Woo! Hoo!

[This message has been edited by SportWagon (edited 10-24-2005).]

Edit: Yes, I confirmed on the weekend that everything except the performance of your car suggests the change from normal to sports tires has been done. I used N1's for the Sarthe II race of the 1000 Miles! last weekend, and needed to pit about half-way for fuel (tires still going strong!). So I stopped on lap 17 of 35, and "asked for" S3 tires, and fresh tires were fitted. But by about lap 30 of 35 they were still going strong, so they obviously weren't S3's. I stopped for more fuel and, indeed, the pit menu did look like I was currently running on S3's, even though cornering performance and tire wear both demonstrated that I obviously wasn't. I put a small amount of fuel in the tank and got new tires.

I'm reasonably sure I could have run the car 18 laps and used a single pit stop strategy to finish, but between having a very comfortable lead (I eventually lapped the GTA twice), not wanting to run out of fuel (you can't see your precise fuel reading until you pit), and wanting to do the tire experiment, I opted for the splash-and-dash at the end.

posted 10-26-2005 01:26 PM         

I’ve been out of the loop for a while now – real life catches up with you from time to time – and have nothing to add to the points tally. I have however been doing a little analysis of my next intended foray into the endurance world – the Nürburgring 24 hours

I’ve decided on the car I want to use – it’s the one I bought for the DTM before finding out that it was ineligible for these races – the BMW 320i Touring Car. Stock power is 261hp, a stage 3 NA takes this up to the 320’s. The opposition I’ve seen is made up of DTM’s and JGTC300’s (or similar to each class) and from my testing I’ve concluded that I can compete with the JGTC cars at stock power, and the DTM cars with the NA3. Now all I’ve got to do is to find a field that contains one or the other, and only one or the other.

The closest I’ve come so far was a field made up of an Audi A4 Touring Car, Chaparral 2D Race Car, Opel Calibra Touring Car, Alfa Romeo Race Car and the Audi TT Touring Car. On R1/R2 tires, with no ballast and the NA3 bolted on, the race was rated 200 points. Seemed fair and at the end of lap 2 I was in 2nd place about 2s up on the A4. The only trouble was that after only 2 laps the Chaparral had a 34s lead . OK – so I need a field that doesn’t contain the 2D.

From the entrants I’ve seen the field needs to be either…

1. Any five of the following (with NA3 tuning):

Audi A4 Touring Car
Audi Abt TT-R Touring Car
Alfa Romeo 155 2.5 V6 TI Race Car
BMW M3 GTR Race Car
AMG Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II Touring Car
Nissan Falken GT-R Race Car
Opel Calibra Touring Car

or…

2. Any five of the following (without NA3 tuning):

Amemiya Asparadrink RX-7 (JGTC)
AMG Mercedes 190E 2.5-16 Evo II Touring Car
ASL Arta Garaiya (JGTC)
Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC)
Spoon S2000 Race Car
Subaru Cusco Subaru Advan Impreza (JGTC)
Toyota Superautobacs Apex MR-S (JGTC)
Toyota Wedssport Celica (JGTC)

The Mercedes is probably a bit weak for the first field and may be a bit tough for the second, likewise the Spoon is probably too weak for the second field and may drag down the points. We’ll see as I work my way through the fields. The Chaparral 2D is the only car so far that I know for sure I do not want to meet. Should the BMW 320i not work out I will try the Renault Clio Race Car or the Opera Performance S2000, although I prefer to stick with a European car if I can.

In preparation I again returned to the S-licenses in order to fulfill one of my outstanding challenges – that is going sub-seven minutes in the S16 test. I now have three of these recorded, two of which are 6’59.xxx and one that broke through the 6’58 mark at 6’58.787. I think that there are probably another couple of seconds available should I get the urge to return again – or more accurately when I get the urge to return again .

posted 10-28-2005 12:05 PM         

It still shows only 20 points total for the European Classic Car series. Ah. I see, you apparently used the Alfa Duetta but haven't updated that chart.

Sorry I misread entirely

posted 10-28-2005 12:17 PM         

quote:

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Originally posted by SportWagon:
Is your page 6 chart really up-to-date?

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The chart on page 6 of this diary has not been updated since I achieved 100% completion - it's nothing more than my historical reference of how I first reached 100%.

posted 10-28-2005 01:18 PM         

You were asking if we saw any other places you might gain some points.... Well I did not see it on your list and you may know about it but I think there are a few points up for grabs in the Tourist Trophy race. I am working on the El Capitan race, when I get some exact data I will post it for you.

------------------
"When faced with certain death, eat strawberries."

GT4 Diaries

LDM's GT4 Obsessions

posted 10-29-2005 01:45 AM         

Method has been posted in my diary and the A-spec Points Assault thread.

Good Luck!

------------------
"When faced with certain death, eat strawberries."

GT4 Diaries

LDM's GT4 Obsessions

GT4 Obsessions Companion Log

posted 11-07-2005 11:12 AM         

Audi A4 Touring Car ‘04
Opel Calibra Touring Car ‘94
BMW M3 GTR Race Car ‘01
Nissan C-West Razo Silvia (JGTC) ‘01
Nissan Falken GT-R Race Car ‘04

I gradually picked my way through the field on lap 1 and, after a nice tow down the straight behind the Audi, was in the lead by the end of the lap. I had a 6s or so lead when I pitted at the end of lap 4, and both the A4 and M3 (who were fighting for 2nd place) passed me. The R1’s were orange after 4 laps so I switched to an R2/R3 set-up to see if the faster laps offset the additional pit-stops.

The lead was regained after the M3 pitted on lap 5 and the Audi on lap 6 and I increased this to about 12s before I pitted again on lap again on lap 7, with orange tires all around. Again passed by the M3, who was now in 2nd, and the Audi, it didn’t take long to regain the lead and extend it to around 18s by the time my lap 10 stop came around. I was surprised when the other Beemer didn’t pit behind me and exited with a 6s deficit. Although this was initially concerning, as it indicated that I would take twice as many stops as the M3, it actually turned out be the M3’s downfall as he lost over 10s on this lap due to his failing tires. After the M3’s 11th lap stop, the A4’s stop on lap 12 and my next stop on lap 13, I had a comfortable lead of over 20s and was already confident of the win. The only issue now, with over 22½ hours remaining, was one of stamina.

And so the race progressed for the next 9½ hours until I parked it up at my pit stop at the end of lap 85. Elapsed time is 10:28’xx and my fastest lap so far is a 7’09.574, although this is my only sub 7’10 lap. Fast laps are difficult on a three lap pit cycle as the first is an ‘out-lap’ and the third is an ‘in-lap’ so you only have one chance every cycle. Although my fastest is a 7’09, the norm is in the 7’12 to 7’14 range. The Silvia has been lapped approximately every 12 laps and is currently down by 7 laps, the Calibra is in 5th at +2 laps having been lapped on laps 35 and 68, the Nissan GT-R is down by 1 lap, he being lapped on lap 58, the Audi by 1 lap which happened on lap 72, and the M3 also finally went a lap down on lap 78 (after quite fight for a number of laps).

The 320i has been a very pleasant drive so far (not sure if rigidity loss will become a problem) and appears to be a much easier solution to the 200 point race than LDM’s Altezza Touring Car on sports tires. Talking of tires, it is a shame that the M3 in this race didn’t adopt a 5-lap cycle as this would have made the race much closer and much more exciting. It seems as though the AI is programmed to pit when its tires reach a particular shade of orange, which can lead to an impossible additional lap at Nurby, or a completely unnecessary stop on the penultimate lap at, for example, Laguna Seca. Just shows that a computer program will never be as smart as a human – and there’s me refusing to go online at home through fear of invasion by Bill Gate and being attacked one day by the vacuum cleaner – no, no, no! On its own, not with Mrs. Miko on the other end .

Moving quickly on…

posted 11-08-2005 11:58 AM         

I’ve been experimenting with different lines and, despite over 500 laps of Nürburgring driving, I am still finding nuances in the circuit, and I am still getting faster. My fastest lap went from 7’09 to 7’08 to 7’07 and is now at 7’06.676 (second fastest lap is 7’06.677). It’s pleasing to beat the S16 ‘gold’ time in the Beemer, especially when considering the power disadvantage over the Mercedes, the R2 tires, and the ballast .

My faster laps, and consistently faster laps, now have me 11 laps up on the Silvia, 4 laps up on the Calibra and 2 laps up on the Falken GT-R, Audi A4 and M3 GTR. The Audi was lapped for a second time on lap 125 which means that it took me only 53 laps to put the second lap on him compared to 72 for the first. Likewise the M3 was lapped again on lap 128 which means 50 laps for the second pass, compared to 78 for the first.

With 8 hours to go I anticipate completing 195 or 196 laps, and expect to be 3 laps up on the M3 and A4 by the end of the race. I’ll continue to experiment with line but have noted a fall off in the 320i’s power on the straight – top speed is down about 2mph – and so don’t expect any major improvements. I am looking forward to again running S16 with the new lines to see if I can go sub 6’55 – although I suspect I’ll never be as fast as Egag, VB or Wastegate.

As I said, 500+ laps of Nürburgring, still learning the fastest line , still suffering the occasional wipeout , and still none the wiser as to whom Britta loves .

posted 11-08-2005 03:58 PM         

Good luck with your remaining hours. I'm dying to know who's romantically involved with Britta . I've got some more "anti-24houritis" questions. How many times has Britta's name been painted onto Nurby's hallowed tarmac? Is she monogamous? Who IS Britta (and who cares)?

posted 11-09-2005 11:13 AM         

OK, another 4¾ hours at the Nürburgring taking the elapsed time to 20:45’00, on the pit exit lane at the start of lap 170. The Silvia has been passed another three times, and the Calibra and Falken once more. Laps are still improving , firstly to a 7’05.9xx with a minor draft from the Silvia, and then on lap 166 to 7’04.979 completely unaided. Only 3¼ hours to go – yeah!

posted 11-10-2005 10:26 AM         

At the finish I had a margin of 3 laps over the M3 Race Car and A4 Touring Car, 4 laps on the Falken GT-R Race Car, 6 laps on the Calibra Touring Car and 16 laps on the Silvia JGTC. Power had dropped from 327 to 323hp with the NA3 fitted but the oil light did not come on. Fastest laps recorded through the first 10 laps of racing were 7’12.525 for Miko in the 320i, 7’19.131 for the M3, 7’22.565 for the A4, 7’19.944 for the Skyline, 7’28.101 for the Opel and 7’57.106 for the lowly Silvia.

The following are a few Nürburgring snapshots from lap 1 (only 195 to go at this point!)…

Moving on to more important matters – namely Britta…

I found her in four places (there may be more) and I’m sure that everybody is now familiar enough with the ‘Ring to know where these are from the following…

I’ll leave you to translate / interpret these for yourself – my only comment being that it is clear that Helga, Heidi, Miko and Rock ‘n’ Roll are not in the frame .

Whilst ‘cruising’ I also noticed a number of CSI-type body outlines such as the one shown below…

I am curious as to whether-or-not these are at the locations of real-life track fatalities – anyone?

posted 11-10-2005 12:20 PM         

I had wondered how you got fastest laps for other cars, until I noticed you said for first 10 laps only. Presumably the replay was only a little over 10 laps long, and during the 11th lap you flipped through all the cars noting the fastest times.

[This message has been edited by SportWagon (edited 11-10-2005).]

[This message has been edited by SportWagon (edited 11-10-2005).]

IP: Logged

posted 11-10-2005 03:30 PM         

Thanks for clarifying the Britta issue. Britta must be a popular girl! I somehow don't think she likes steady relationships . Wonder who'll post the first picture of Britta . This is starting to sound like a thread of its own.

One question sir. Now that you're drawing close to the big mystery jackpot for 100,000 points (I heard it might be a brand new Corvette ) which race will you choose to pass this milestone? Doubt it'll be a Super Speedway race. You've just gone and completed one of the premium races in the game (again!). Good luck choosing a location and car combo worthy of this achievement.

CSI Nurburgring. Sounds like a hit tv show to me. I had nothing to do with the above-posted contours (but I remember playing a bit of pinball there ). Maybe your B-spec driver knows more (seeing as he hasn't been able to race for you yet). Oh well, maybe Britta knows more .