International A License

[GuidoDaccoFan]

I don't know how many times I've tried but I still can't complete a lap of IA-15without either ramming into the pace car or getting all four wheels off course. It caused me to give up the game for a while and now I'm back at it and I still can't get a lap done. GRRRR!

Does using the steering wheel help any in staying on course? I've been using the controller forever.

 

[CRXnut]

The controller doesn't have much to do with it. Just run the 4hr Nurburgring enduro race and try it again

 

[TheMoose]

Does using the steering wheel help any in staying on course? I've been using the controller forever.

1000% diffrence!!!
I was struggling with the Super tests & got a DFP & breezed thru them!

 

[wfooshee]

I don't know how many times I've tried but I still can't complete a lap of IA-15without either ramming into the pace car or getting all four wheels off course. It caused me to give up the game for a while and now I'm back at it and I still can't get a lap done. GRRRR!

Does using the steering wheel help any in staying on course? I've been using the controller forever.

The reason you're ramming the pace car or running off course is that you're braking too late. That's what the test is trying to teach you: brake in time, the turns ARE slow. I golded this on my second or third try, with standard controller and auto gears, after practicing the track outside the tests. You HAVE to learn the track.

There is one place where the pace car is actually slower than it needs to be, but not many other spots.

 

[GuidoDaccoFan]

1000% diffrence!!!
I was struggling with the Super tests & got a DFP & breezed thru them!

Ah ok. I am about to buy one this week.

wfooshee, I'll make sure to do that. It's hard breaking some habits.

 

[GuidoDaccoFan]

Thanks, wfooshee. I did some practice laps around the 'Ring to really force the course into my head. Now, I finally passed the test. I nearly blew it on the corner leading to the long straight but managed to save it. I feel a burden lifted off of me.

 

[masterofnone]

I swear, if I ever find that 🤬 pace car driver, I'm gonna take a Size 10 and put it straight up his ass.

Just on 5 (El Capitan), there's at least one place where I specifically have to lift to avoid passing him, and I haven't even reached 15 yet.

Edit: At The Ring, I thought I was a goner off of...one of the turns...but lifted in time, only pulled up beside that 🤬 instead of passing him, and got silver with just 0.3" to spare! 👍

 

[Sureboss]

Just did an 8m58s on IA15. Nearly overtaking the guide car twice!

 

[Sctn2labor]

IA-9, City Street Challenge: 4 (Opera Paris)
Citroen Xsara VTR '03
This COURSE is simple. Easy as cake.
The car, however, is a drippy piece of **** on wheels. I knew it HAD to be French, and when I exited the race and saw "Citroen" I was right. So, bought the damn thing and took a look. Turns out it's not so much the car as one aspect:

2nd gear starts around 3000 RPM. Torque curve is fine--really nice, actually. HP curve, though, is concave until around 4250 RPM when it FNALLY starts climbing reasonably. Plus, you only get 500 RPM between redline and revv-limiter, so you can't really build up a surplus for 2nd gear. So, you're stuck with a good 1500 RPM that's utterly useless, and another 1000 RPM that's fine as the bottom end of a gear but is absolutely unacceptable for the middle of a gear.

The goal for this course seems to be to take corners in mid-second, leveraging that nearly-horizontal torque curve to just keep you going in the direction you want to go. Might be good to use the e-brake to force a drift/powerslide around some of the corners; being F/F, this won't be locking up the drive wheels. The key has GOT to be keeping out of low-2nd.

This could be a decent car, if someone would just fix that 2nd gear. Even my crappy Saturn accelerates better than this! I'm frankly amazed this stupid Xsara doesn't stall out as soon as you shift to 2nd.

 

[TsukubaTrueno]

Just yesterday I finished my IA Liscence. I have not played GT4 in some time.. At first, the IA-16 test was really hard, so I backed off of it for about 2 days, yesterday I went at it, I was really surprised that in the first try of the day, I was about to win it!! But, the corners you hace to tackle to get to the long straightaway, I got it too fast andI went to the grass. Then, to pass this test, it took me like 10 tries. I got bronze with 9 minutes and 48 seconds. But, If I run that track on practice I can normally get around 9 minutes and 11 seconds. Oh, and the Mercedes that you use in the test, I didn't really like how the car handled in the first two straightaways. You know, the one where you have to be turning slightly to the left, then get a corner, then after the corner another straightaway. The car was bouncing and I were almost doomed. XD

I havn't had a steering wheel since I had my Playstation 1 and it broke in about a week.

 

[TsukubaTrueno]

Thanks, wfooshee. I did some practice laps around the 'Ring to really force the course into my head. Now, I finally passed the test. I nearly blew it on the corner leading to the long straight but managed to save it. I feel a burden lifted off of me.

Yeah, cause when you know that there is a test or something you can't pass, it's always in the back of your head frustrating you. Hehe. Pisses me off.

 

[Studentdriver]

Another revelation concerning IA-15 at the Nurb...

I'm on my third time through, starting by golding the licenses like my second time. So this might just be a special case. But as I was exiting the Karussell, leaving the "sidewalk", my nose shot right and I ended up tapping the wall on the right. I had been doing pretty well up to that point, so I figured I would back it up and keep going. As it turns out, I was able to get a 9'02.424, almost two tenths faster than gold, and it was far from a perfect lap excluding said gaffe.

Just a little story to boost the confidence of potential lurkers I suppose. And so I can brag about something again.

 

[Car-less]

Re-doing the licenses for fun, and I get to IA-15. 9'00 for gold, 10'00 for bronze - I think this should be a walk in the park, but I had forgotten that this was a "guided" lap.

It took four attempts before I managed to get to the finish line, all the while criticizing the pace car drivers lack of pace. Then a thought occurred to me. Not only is his technique 'slow in, fast out', but perhaps he is deliberately unpredicatible. Part of this test is about learning the track, but another part of it could be about being ready for the unexpected - you have to learn not to run into the back of other cars on the racetrack sometime.

Anyway, my lap. The pace car required a push in at least 3 places, and I got beside him a couple of other times, but when I finally managed to complete a lap without hitting him I was rewarded with a very nice 8'42.607. Could have been quicker too if it were not for that slowcoach insisting I stayed behind him.

 

[crx1299]

I love the IA-16 test as I really like driving on low-grip tires. They produce optimum grip at higher slip angles however once they start skidding, one loses a looooot of time. I managed to achieve a "51.974". I think that I can improve this by 0.2 or 0.3 secs or maybe more. I attached a picture. Unfortunately, I don't have that usb thing that records videos.

 

[Strop]

Impressive time for IA-16 except that it's not IA-16, it's A-16. Still a good time though, would put you in the top ten.

 

[DK]

When my PS2 is fixed, I'm going to try and get all silvers so I can get the new GT-R!

 

[Popeye]

Aaaargh. 6 hours straight on IA-1. Can't get better than 32.044. Any tips anyone?

 

[Austin343]

Assuming you've already read this...

IA1 - Mid-Field Raceway, Complex Corners; Jaguar XJ220 `92

Well, at least for those of you who have played any of the other games in the Gran Turismo series, you know the track, and it has not changed very much at all. Begin turning in very shortly after the test gives you control of the car. Start braking as you approach the corner, until you cross the apex, at about 70 mph. Coast out to the middle of the track, maintaining no less than 64 mph, and start throttle modulating towards the second right.

You should be at full throttle about two car lengths before the apex, and stay on full throttle, the little blip that occurs does not disrupt the car movement very much. You should be able to get the car to about one car width from the right side rumble strip, accelerating past 100 mph.

Just after the rumble strip starts, turn in aiming to get the car on the rumble strip, but you will not actually get to the rumble strip just yet. Once the car is no longer able to turn due to its speed, brake heavy down to about 65-66 mph, all the while holding the steering locked to the left. Use modulating throttle control to get the car up to about 71-75 mph and onto the rumble strip, you should be on full throttle once you can see past the barrier to your left and down the hill. Shift into 3rd at 105 mph.

Stay wide to the right, and come across the track gently and smoothly, you want to just touch the rumble strip to your right, and the brakes really hard for the turn in, which should slow you down to about 130 mph, coasting across the right side of the short ess. Start full braking once you get to the apex of this turn.

Aim to get two wheels onto the rumble strip for the 180-degree turn, you should be going at least 44 mph through here, and you will have to wait until about three-quarters of the way around the rumble strip to get on full throttle. This will put you wide into the outside rumble strip, so gently steer back towards the track, but only enough to avoid hitting the pole supporting the finish line banner.

...I don't have any other advice, except to say that I too found this one surprisingly hard to gold. It takes some time to learn how to drive the car which is what makes the difference here, so rather than just trying different lines, try to explore other ways of driving the car. holl01 has a video of this one, but it's useless for normal people because he relies heavily on the handbrake, using it twice on corner entry to combat the car's understeer.

 

[Popeye]

I'm going through different lines, trying different things. I thought it might be easier than the slaloms. First run, 32.168 then 32.044, since then pure frustration. Holl01 sure can drive. But for us mere mortals, I suppose practice practice. I have OCD so won't leave it now till its done.
Thanks Austin343, I read the guide. It has helped me gold a few, but for others, well, I just have to keep trying.

 

[Parnelli Bone]

Aaaargh. 6 hours straight on IA-1. Can't get better than 32.044. Any tips anyone?

It's been awhile since i golded this one, and i haven't written about it yet, so i'm not sure what exactly i did. I know i did have to experiment with various racing lines & braking points to get the best launch

 

[Popeye]

Just watched RoadHazards video, and the NTSC time is slower than PAL. Would have passed it by now. Still, luck of the draw. Just like you with Mission 34. But on this one, it always seems that I come in too fast for the last corner. Oh well, practice, practice. Thanks PB. Any help is good help.

 

[alhajoth]

Thought I'd make a video of IA-1 since I was doing the slaloms anyway.
Not a great run, but the only replay I had of this one. Drifting slightly in the last corner might be the way to go..


Hope it helps!

 

[Popeye]

Thanks. Will give it a try. So far I have logged about 9 hours trying to gold this one. And I still have the slaloms to try again.


Edit. Thanks for your help. Don't know what I did different but finally, 31.847 Jeez, 11 hours to gold it.

 

[Popeye]

While my ps3 is away getting repaired, thought I would look at my notes. Seems that at the moment I am struggling with IA-3. I have hit a wall with it. Got every time from 17.416 and up. And I mean everytime. I log all my times on paper after each run. I got 17.416, 417, 418, and so on. The only one I am missing is 687. Been trying cutting the first corner, driving it properly, etc. Seems that 416 is my limit. Been watching holl01's video's and RoadHazzards, can't see the problem. Perhaps the only hing I can think off, is the exact turn in point on the right hander after the start. What did you use and how much did you brake. Any tips. I have read the gold medal guide.

 

[Austin343]

First off, let me say that this test confuses even me, in terms of what works and what doesn't work... you think you're doing it perfectly and you get a silver, then you do a run that you think has no chance and it gets you a gold. As you probably know, the first right-hander can apparently be actually cut, to a certain extent - it seems that if you have two wheels touching the brown stuff next to the curb, you won't fail. But, that doesn't really help much, as my best run (done just now, a 17.169) keeps four wheels on the curb there. Also, if you're shifting down to second gear, don't. The shift slows you down more than third gear's lower acceleration.

I suspect your problem is that you are taking the left-hander a certain way that makes sense under normal circumstances but does not work with the TCS on, as in this test. I imagine you are sliding the car a bit in the transition from right to left, perhaps putting two wheels on the grass at the apex. Unfortunately, if you slide at all, or put any wheels in the grass, the TCS kills your speed and your speed is hurt all the way to the finish. By the way, for that last full-speed right, steer as smoothly as possible, getting as close as you can to the curb without actually touching it. If the TCS lights up, you're doing it wrong. Then steer smoothly towards the inside again to the finish line.

Wow, that was a lot of detail. I hope it helps.

 

[Popeye]

Cheers mate. Will have to wait while my ps3 gets fixed before I can do anymore. I hope they can fix it, its the last of the series that was backwards compatable. If they can't then I'll have to go buy a ps2, and that means all this has got to start again. I watch yours and holl01's video, and alhajoth as well. Tell me, what do these tests prove. I mean, even after playing and being as good as you three are, could any of you say honestly, that you could hit the time or below 99 times out of a 100. The tests are about repartition. But could you hit them that frequently?
Surely, they are ( being some of them as hard as they are ) just proof that on one day, at one time, you could do it.

 

[Austin343]

Some of the easy tests, yes, I can gold 99 times out of 100. But I certainly cannot on tests like this one. However, I don't think consistency is what they're aiming to teach. I think what they're trying to do is teach you how to take good lines, learn good speed management, etc., and in that regard, I think they are quite successful.

 

[Popeye]

Yeah, I agree. When I started, I just bronzed them and left them. But now they are a different game. A game within a game. But now they are enjoyable. And now I am at 63 golds. THe slaloms and the yellow rally car in the special licemses are gonna be the ones the mean I don't get 80. I think I got most gold in the IA class. I really hope that the licenses stay in GT5.

 

[alhajoth]

Yeah, I agree. When I started, I just bronzed them and left them. But now they are a different game. A game within a game. But now they are enjoyable. And now I am at 63 golds. THe slaloms and the yellow rally car in the special licemses are gonna be the ones the mean I don't get 80. I think I got most gold in the IA class. I really hope that the licenses stay in GT5.

I assume you mean the Mitsubishi Starion at Grand Canyon, which I honestly believe to be the easiest test of them all. Though the track itself is quite difficult, the gold time is ludicrously poor. Just take it slow enough to avoid hitting the walls, and you should get the gold with several seconds to spare.

Further to what Austin said, I've worked through golding the licenses a total of about 7-8 times now, with a few exceptions (B7, B16, IA3, IA16 if you're using the DS2) I don't consider them to be very difficult anymore. But the trick is, the best way to learn is not in the license hall, but rather in the different race halls. Simply playing the game, driving different cars on different tracks is the best teacher.
Going for 100k a-spec points have improved my skills much more than the licenses did, though I still think they're fun to do.

 

[Popeye]

THanks. I'll have to wait though. My ps3 came up with a serious erroe code so it has had to go and get repaired. I hope I get the same one back, otherwise I'll have to restart on the ps2. But next time, I'll just gold licenses and missions first, then go racing.
By the way, forgot if I said thank you for your video on IA1. Thank you