A-spec Expert Level Race Car Challenge: Eifel

  • Thread starter nowcontrol
  • 204 comments
  • 24,977 views
A down tuned R18 TDI prototype was fastest for me with total time of 24 minutes 38ish seconds with IM and RS. The 2J and 2D Chaparral cars were also a hoot to drive.
Despite taking a long time to grind credits from this event I enjoy it more than the 550pp event, in fact I wish it was 20 laps long.
 
Mazda LM55 for me, starting out with wet intermediate right at the start, pitting around round 5 for gas and another pit round 8 for Racing Soft, once the RS is on AI car can't do nothing but watching the gap time on each section grew longer and longer. First 7 round you need to chill don't push the car too much, after round 7 you are free to push the car a bit but watch for wet spot on the track.
 
Had fun with the 330 P4. IM tires all the way. Pitted in at the end of Lap 7.

image.jpeg


Surprisingly sips less fuel than the de-tuned TS030, and conserves tires. :odd:

But hey, it saves you from the guilt of de-tuning LMPs, right? :lol:
 
I ran the Furai Concept using IM tires. I pitted after the 7th lap and changed to RS tires. I ended up winning by about 21 seconds. It helped that I had no collision penalties and only hit a wall once. Now to try it with a "real" race car (not concept, prototype, or VGT). I know that with a Weider HSV that I can't go 7 laps without running out of fuel.
 
I'm finally getting around to giving this one a try and took the win in my 2012 Honda RAYBRIG HSV-010 only abs 1 (could not turn off SFR!?).

I used the RS 2, IM 5 & RS 3 lap strategy that was mentioned earlier in this thread.👍

It would have been much easier and faster if I had not aborted / restarted the race when I messed up until after I knew the weather pattern and the correlation of the tire grip level to the % water on track for each lap.

Once you have this info all you need to do is execute and keep it on the track.

For my weather pattern using the 2RS, 5IM, 3RS here is what I came up with.

I could go pretty hard the first 2 laps on RS.
The IM tires started loosing noticeable grip by 50%, at 70% and above it was almost like ice (uphill corners were wicked slick)
Even though the HUD showed 0% water I had to be very careful when I came out of the pits with the RS on lap 8. It took about 1/4 of a lap until I could drive normal.




The AI seemed as passive as they were in the last expert event? (not saying event too easy, just didn't notice any fight in the leader once I passed him). IMO this hurts the replay value.
 
RuddRacer
The AI seemed as passive as they were in the last expert event? (not saying event too easy, just didn't notice any fight in the leader once I passed him). IMO this hurts the replay value.
Click to expand...
The AI acts like they always do, can't expect much from them. They have a strict pattern which does makes things a bit predictable but at least you get to avoid those ramming penalties. The replay value for me is finding/tuning the cars that will do the event in less than 25 minutes, the AI are just obstacles
 
Last edited:
Nissan Zytek. PP600. HP427. Cockpit race. No tune. Max rain 100%. One stop race on RS. Fast lap 2:21.751. Pass for the lead on lap 3. Lost the lead on lap 5 to Yellow Hat. Got the lead back from Yellow Hat on lap 5. Went into the pit on lap 5 took full fuel and RS. Went back out in P4. Took the lead on lap 8 from Yellow Hat. Lost the lead to Yellow Hat on lap 9. Took the lead back on lap 10 from Yellow Hat for the win by .723. Super great race from lap 5 after the pit stop to the end.
 
Mazda LM55 it is. stop in 5th round IM all the time. when you pass Gutierez, you won :)
fresh oil, no settings, just weight and reduction of power. Dont try it with Lister, or Bentley it doesnt work...
I must try it for at least 30 times :D
wish you good luck!
 
I actually enjoyed this event quite a bit. I drove the 15th anniversary Honda HSV. After learning the track a little bit I made my attempt. I started on IMs and pit at the end of lap 5, I took IMs for the second half of the race as well. I did crash a few times (the last one was particularly bad as I forgot which section of the track I was on and lost 5 seconds after slamming into the wall.)

The AI made the typical mistake on lap 1 and I took 8th going into turn 1 on lap 2. I had plenty of clear track for lap 2, made the three-wide pass on the frontstretch going onto lap 3 for 3rd. (3 cars pit). On lap 3 the 2nd place YellowHat Nissan GTR and myself (using IM) caught the leading XANAVI Nissan GTR (using RS) I had a fairly close battle for the duration of lap 4 (mainly due to poor driving on my part as the track got wetter) but I pulled away on lap 5 until I made a mistake.

We pit together at the halfway point and I got stuck behind two cars, my driver just wouldn't pull out in front of them (it's way worse than your usual pit shenanigans where your car slows down or takes a lit bit longer exiting) I had to wait for two cars that were completely behind me to pass before I could exit, and my car had actually started it's exit and then just stopped. I lost probably 2 seconds. I exited in 7th place and got back to 5th within a few turns. I had taken 3rd by the middle of the lap, having passed everyone that pit with me.

1st 2nd and 4th pit together at the end of lap 7 and I had an 8 second lead over the supra. Now it's no longer raining so my tires are getting worn, I make that one mistake losing me 5 seconds, but every lap I'm gaining 2 seconds in the first part of the track. Due to the worn tires, by the end of the race I had only a 2 second lead.

Part of me wants to try again without making so many mistakes, but then again it takes about 26 minutes to do the race and I know I'm going to win.
 
Last edited:
Finally managed to win this, thanks @coryclifford for the tip about tire changes. This helped me, RS 2, IM 6, RS 2, I could have gone in to pit at the end of the 7th lap, but there was still around 20% water on the track when I came around the last bend before the pit stop area so I went another lap on the IM tires. I used the TS030 hybrid, managed only one collision penalty early and no wrecks into the wall at all. :)
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    89.6 KB · Views: 37
Troubles for a backmarker in the rain:

Driving as D.Leitner, I get in my Eneos SC430 '08 for the Eifel race.
I start the race in 12th place on IM tires with 0% surface water.

On lap # 1 at the tight right-hander at the top of the hill (turn # 10) I follow the 10th place Nissan Calsonic and the 11th place Nissan Yellowhat off the track and into the kitty litter. This allows GTsail driving an Audi R18 TDI to drive past.:grumpy: Being a very considerate driver, I also allow the 15th place and 16th place cars to drive past before I get back on the tarmac, but I beat the two Nissans who are still stuck in the kitty litter:) so I'm now in 14th place. It begins to rain at about the 1min35second mark, so even though I'm on IM tires, I slide off the track and smack the Armco on the outside of the button-hook corner which allows the 15th place Nissan Yellowhat to drive past me. He's on IM tires too, but seems to be faster. At the end of lap # 1, just at the S/F line I draft and pass the Nissan Yellowhat and begin lap # 2 in 14th place after a 2:41.217 lap.

It gets quite wet on lap # 2, maxxing out at 45% as I finish the lap with a time of 2:32.955

I begin lap # 3 in 12th place because the Lexus Bandai and the Honda Epson NSX have pitted. On lap # 3, at the 1min and 23 second mark, I catch and pass the 11th place Lexus Petrona who is driving quite slowly on RM tires in the rain which is coming down at 66%:) At the 1min and 57 second mark, I catch and pass the 10th place Toyota Yellowhat who is also driving quite slowly on RS tires in the 69% rain. At the 2min and 10 second mark on lap # 3, I catch and pass the 9th place Lexus Denso who is driving very slowly in the 72% rain. At the 2min and 26 second mark, I catch and pass the 8th place Honda Weider who is driving slowly on RM tires in the 74% rain. Three of the leading cars pit at the end of lap # 3, so when I begin lap # 4, I find myself in 5th place:) after a 2:57.199 lap. 5th place!!:) Must remember to thank my pit crew for putting me on IM tires at the start of the race!

As I begin lap # 4, the rain begins to ease. The rain falls all the way to 0% by 1min and 20 seconds into lap # 4. even though the rain is at 0%, I drive off the track going thru the button-hook corner and lose my 5th place position to the Nissan WoodOne who is driving on full Wet tires.:irked: At the end of lap # 4, the 5th place Nissan WoodOne pits to get off the full wet tires since the rain is still at 0%, so I begin lap # 5 in 5th place again after a 2:38.216 lap.

Looking up the road, I see a couple of more cars, can I catch any of them??:dopey:
About 30 seconds into lap # 5 it begins to rain again. By the end of lap # 5 the rain is at 30% and my left rear tire shows a 3 bar and my fuel gauge is down to about 20% so I will need to pit soon. Lap # 5 takes me 2:38.765.

I begin lap # 6 just behind the 4th place Nissan Motul who has just exited the pits on IM tires. The Nissan Motul has cold IM tires so he's struggling a little, so I drive past him before turn one and take over 4th place in the race!:) 4th place! Visions of a 3rd place podium finish dance before my eyes!:) On lap # 6, going thru the tight right-hander (turn 10) at the top of the hill, the Nissan Motul drives back past me showing off his fresh IM tires. I check my left rear tire and see that it shows a 2 bar.:nervous: Its now raining at 43%. On lap # 6 at the 1min and 45 second mark my fuel gauge turns red.:nervous: Going thru the final long right-hand sweeper, I get passed by the 6th place Lexus Bandai. At the end of lap # 6, I veer towards the pits and get T-boned by the 7th place Honda Epson NSX who is on my right side but doesn't want to pit. He pushes me past the pit entrance!!!

Picture of my Eneos SC430 making a last second dive towards the pits:
22752171126_5e4d80c711_b.jpg


The Honda Epson NSX drives into my SC430 because I cut across his bow:
22764634192_9bc73d362c_b.jpg



My Eneos SC430 has now been pushed past the pit entrance by the Honda Epson. You can see that the fuel gauge is nearly on empty so another lap without a pit-stop is going to be tough!:

22752221926_bec97cc136_b.jpg


So I begin lap # 7 with about 4 liters of fuel and with a dodgy left rear tire after a lap that took 3:00.801. The rain is at 65% to make my plight even worse. At the 1min mark on lap # 7, I run out of fuel and slow to 50 mph.:eek: At the 1min 28 second mark on lap # 7 the 8th place Nissan Calsonic drives past my 50mph SC430:( At the 1min 52 second mark the 9th place Lexus Denso drives past me. At the 1min 55 second mark the 10th place Nissan Yellowhat drives past me. At the 2min 12 second mark the 11th place Toyota Yellowhat drives past me. At the 2min 17 second mark the 12th place Lexus Petrona drives past me. At the 3min and 31 second mark on lap # 7, GTsail driving his Audi R18 TDI drives past me and puts me a lap down.:ouch: At the 4min 12second mark the 13th place Nissan WoodOne drives past me. Finally at the end of lap # 7, I drive into the pits for some much needed fuel. I loose three more places while getting fuel and tires so I'm now shown in last place.:( Lap # 7 took me 4:45.554:lol:

At the 36 second mark on lap # 8, I get lapped by the 2nd place Nissan Xanavi:ouch: At the 1min and 43 second mark on lap # 8, I get lapped by the 3rd place Honda Keihin. Lap # 8 takes me 2:38.470 which is a decent time since my RH tires match the 0% rain conditions.

On lap # 9, at the 1min and 13 second mark the screen goes blank:confused:

I guess the race is over because GTsail has finished 10 laps in his Audi R18.:boggled:

Maybe I will have better luck next time!:lol:
:cheers:
 
Last edited:
GT-R GT500 Stealth is a beast. 597 PP. Always liked how stable it is. Found a really easy rain pattern where it rains twice but only goes up to about 12%. That means RS tire one stop. Add a little extra fuel than they do. Like 5 liters for a little cushion.

image.jpeg


23 minute race. 53 seconds gap. 👍
 
Last edited:
coryclifford
I've seen the 100% rain too. I think I've seen five rain patterns now but I have no idea what dictates any relationship to a car choice or PP level. Seems completely random to me. Which is great for replay value.
Click to expand...

I get consistent rain patterns and I always down tune to 600pp, first lap dry, at end of 2nd lap starts to rain at around 20% 3rd to 5th goes up to 100% then down to 0 again, at end of lap 5 it starts to rain again up to 100% then down to 0 at end of lap 7 and which point it's a dry track all the way to the finish line.

When I used the Ferrari 330 P4 which was up-tuned I got almost dry track up to lap 5.
 
Whew this one is tough! I've managed 2nd and 3rd place using Nissan GT-R GT 500 Stealth but those pesky A.I. cars keep getting me caught up catching penalties.

I've learned the track but I get caught in blind spots by A.I. cars that have spun out.
 
I got lucky with the rain and strategy of start inters, pit lap 5, inters again, build up a mad lead, pit end of lap 9, racing hards, yeehar!
 

Attachments

  • image.jpeg
    image.jpeg
    92.1 KB · Views: 22
Two stops for me, end of lap 4 and end of lap 8. Im, Im than Rs. Won three times in a row with Zytek, Praiano tuned. After a lot of time an interesting and tight race. Wouldn't mind some dry more laps at the end after all that rain but it was nice. Best I did was 2:16 on the very last lap...
 
I think I'm done with this race. I've tried the LM55 (DNF), the TS030 (7th and 8th) and the Toyota 7 (7th). All 3 finishes I was between 40 and 50 seconds behind the leader. I've been running RS for 2 laps, then IM for 6 and then RS for 2. They've added back the rabbits, in the rain while running on IM's I caught the 6th and 7th place car running side-by-side, I touched the one car and never saw him again as he turned on the rockets and was no longer having a grip issue in the rain. *SIGH*. I'll just grind on the intermediate race for credits until the next set of seasonal races.
 
Last edited:

Latest Posts

Back