- 24,120
- Midlantic Area
- GTP_Duke
At about 56% complete my first trip through the game, I'm nearly done Amateur level. I have half a dozen skipped or silver-trophy races to clean up, and the All-Japan GT is the only unstarted series. After using a stock RX-7 LM car in the amateur Japanese Championship a couple months ago, I want to do this series with a spec JGTC car. I have a prize-won Raybrig NSX, a car I've never driven.
I really want to run this series with the NSX stock, but mindful of the latter-series AI boost, I bought but didn't install NA tuneups 1 & 2 just in case. I dialed in the settings below, and only really changed the transmission autosetting and downforce between races. For most of these races I qualified, just to test the setup and to get a little warmup time since I am racing this series in short doses of play.
Car Info
stock Raybrig NSX, 497 hp
T2 super slicks
ASM: 0
TCS: 1
F/D 4.100, autosetting varies 26-32
Springs: 13.5/16.0
Ride Ht: 60mm/60mm
Bound: 4/4
Rebound: 7/7
Downforce: 0.66/0.81 to 0.72/1.00
Camber: 3.0/1.5
Toe: +0.5/-0.5
Stabilizers: 4/4
Brakes: 11/11
Phase I
Grand Valley:
This track was made for the NSX, and especially the racing versions. Long straights punctuated by sharp turns really bring out the advantages of the MR layout, and downforce helps through the sweepers.
I qualified on the pole by about 4.xxx" on T4s, so I went to T2s. T4s will be too soft for the 10-lappers anyway and I don't want to get used to the grip. On T2s I had the pole by about 1.5xx". Next to me was the Tom's Supra, which would prove to be the dominant second-place AI.
At the flag drop, I pulled out hard, followed closely by the Supra who seems to have an acceleration advantage. The whole field dogged me through the big hairpin, but I stayed to the inside and held the lead. I opened out a small margin through the climbing esses, but cold tires did me in and I went very wide on the tight hairpin, allowing the Supra to pass me cleanly, and the Pennzoil GT-R to bull me wider and take second. I hate that friggin' car. I re-passed the GT-R at the tight left entering the first tunnel, but the Supra was several seconds ahead at that point. I reeled him in a little over the next quadrant, so that I saw him leaving the second part of the final sharp esses as I was diving into the first part.
He out accelerated me through the doglegs, but I had a small top-speed advantage and I caught him on the front straight. I passed for the lead exiting the big hairpin at the start of the second lap, and was not challenged again.
Fast lap: 1':52.576"
Total: 9':38.006" (5 laps)
Margin: +5.230" (Tom's Supra)
Rome:
Again qualified on the pole by about 1.5xx". Race start was similar to GV, with the field close behind and me blowing the first big turn on cold tires. In this case it was the big left sweeper that wraps around the Coliseum, which proved difficult to carry good momentum through in the NSX on nearly every lap. I fell back to 4th place behind the Supra, GT-R, and the front half of the Mugen NSX. I regained second at the sharp right following the cobble section, and followed the Supra down the back straight. That car is squirrely under braking, as I nearly punted him as he braked hard, early, and barely under control immediately after the dogleg left leading to the sharp right. Beacuse of dumping so much momentum, I was well behind him through the short chute, but I caught him after the start/finish line and stayed ahead around the Coliseum. I believe he challenged me once or twice following that, but he never did get back around me. The margin would have been larger but I botched the last lap and played some wall tag in the section prior to the back straight. My driving throughout this race was not exceptionally smooth.
Fast lap: 1':24.769"
Total: 7':14.771" (5 laps)
Margin: +4.883" (Tom's Supra)
Phase II
Midfield Raceway
A fun drive, and I really worked on my smoothness rather than ultimate speed. After qualifying on the pole, I led the first half of the first lap until the Pennzoil GT-R punted me into the left side wall of the second tunnel, where the road crests as you're making the transition from the right sweeper to the left sweeper. I had it under control, so I guess he figured I could help him out too. Have I mentioned how much I hate that particular car? This kept me in 3rd-4th place around the sweeper by the back grandstands, though I moved up to 2nd on the back chute. I dogged the Tom's Supra through the last tunnel and passed him coming out of the last turn at the base of the front straight. I cruised 4 more laps to victory, driving very academically, and managed to avoid making any big mistakes.
Fast lap: 1':11.610"
Total: 6':13.085" (5 laps)
Margin: +4.979" (Tom's Supra)
Note:
Somewhere in here I raised the downforce up to 0.72/1.00, but i'm not sure where. I didn't up the spring rates to match, but if I go to max downforce I will probably stiffen them up a bit. It's been suggested that I max the downforce and shorten the final drive to the 4.400 range, and I'll probably investigate this advice.
SS R5 (II)
I hadn't realized this was the reverse version of this track until the car came off the jacks in Pit Lane. A new experience! All in all I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a feel for this track quickly. I actually think it flows better reversed, since many of the big turns are now uphill before a long straight rather than down hill after one. This reduces the combination of high speed/unloaded suspension that requires caution on the forward R5.
I led this race from pole to flag and had fun doing it, though the racing was not particularly close. The Supra is dominant followed by the GT-R (ugly, stupid and aggressive car that it is). The other Raybrig NSX is in the bucket, usually finishing 8"-11" down.
Fast lap: 1':23.490"
Total: 7':11.457" (5 laps)
Margin: +6.439" (Tom's Supra)
Phase III
Laguna Seca
I like this track. Not only do I like it, but I'm actually learning to drive on it. I can't stress the importance of early braking enough, and this track is a good lesson in it.
I only qualified 3rd here, because the gearing was still set fairly tall from the long straight at R5. I took the spot and adjusted the gearing down to 26 before starting the race. I worked my way to the lead heading uphill to the Corkscrew, then promptly spun in that turn. I normally blip the throttle just a touch in the middle to reorient the car from left to right. This is apparently a mistake in a mid-engine car on cold tires, because it snapped around, landing me back in 4th. I spent the next lap or so regaining the lead, and passed the GT-R in the first left dogleg before the uphill run. I managed to hold the lead for the remaining three laps, though I never did get a good smooth and fast run through the Corkscrew. I could gain 1.5xx" on the rest of the lap, only to lose a second in that one spot. This and the 3rd-place start really narrowed my margin a bit. The GT-R for some reason was dominant here, which is great because it cost the Supra some points and widened my series lead.
Fast lap: 1':23.456" (really!)
Total: 7':06.591" (5 laps)
Margin: +1.888" (Nismo GT-R)
Super Speedway
Dull as always. I launched from 2nd spot but I had set my gearing too wide/tall at 32 so I had to hang with the GT-R and Supra. Once my tires warmed up I could run flat out around the wide end and just touch the brakes at the narrow end, so I got around the field for good. Figuring out exactly where to downshift to 5th, and where not to, also opened up my lead.
I could have done a lot better here by making speedway-type adjustments to the NSX, such as lowering it all the way and chopping the downforce, but it just wasn't worth the effort.
The Pennzoil GT-R was following me in 2nd place, about 3.xxx" seconds down, when it pitted on the 9th of 10 laps. This gave Tom the second-place points, and the GT-R finished last, down by more than 20.xxx". Ugly, aggressive, and stupid.
Fast lap: 35.597"
Total: 6':07.023" (10 laps)
Margin: +4.117" (Tom's Supra)
I really want to run this series with the NSX stock, but mindful of the latter-series AI boost, I bought but didn't install NA tuneups 1 & 2 just in case. I dialed in the settings below, and only really changed the transmission autosetting and downforce between races. For most of these races I qualified, just to test the setup and to get a little warmup time since I am racing this series in short doses of play.
Car Info
stock Raybrig NSX, 497 hp
T2 super slicks
ASM: 0
TCS: 1
F/D 4.100, autosetting varies 26-32
Springs: 13.5/16.0
Ride Ht: 60mm/60mm
Bound: 4/4
Rebound: 7/7
Downforce: 0.66/0.81 to 0.72/1.00
Camber: 3.0/1.5
Toe: +0.5/-0.5
Stabilizers: 4/4
Brakes: 11/11
Phase I
Grand Valley:
This track was made for the NSX, and especially the racing versions. Long straights punctuated by sharp turns really bring out the advantages of the MR layout, and downforce helps through the sweepers.
I qualified on the pole by about 4.xxx" on T4s, so I went to T2s. T4s will be too soft for the 10-lappers anyway and I don't want to get used to the grip. On T2s I had the pole by about 1.5xx". Next to me was the Tom's Supra, which would prove to be the dominant second-place AI.
At the flag drop, I pulled out hard, followed closely by the Supra who seems to have an acceleration advantage. The whole field dogged me through the big hairpin, but I stayed to the inside and held the lead. I opened out a small margin through the climbing esses, but cold tires did me in and I went very wide on the tight hairpin, allowing the Supra to pass me cleanly, and the Pennzoil GT-R to bull me wider and take second. I hate that friggin' car. I re-passed the GT-R at the tight left entering the first tunnel, but the Supra was several seconds ahead at that point. I reeled him in a little over the next quadrant, so that I saw him leaving the second part of the final sharp esses as I was diving into the first part.
He out accelerated me through the doglegs, but I had a small top-speed advantage and I caught him on the front straight. I passed for the lead exiting the big hairpin at the start of the second lap, and was not challenged again.
Fast lap: 1':52.576"
Total: 9':38.006" (5 laps)
Margin: +5.230" (Tom's Supra)
Rome:
Again qualified on the pole by about 1.5xx". Race start was similar to GV, with the field close behind and me blowing the first big turn on cold tires. In this case it was the big left sweeper that wraps around the Coliseum, which proved difficult to carry good momentum through in the NSX on nearly every lap. I fell back to 4th place behind the Supra, GT-R, and the front half of the Mugen NSX. I regained second at the sharp right following the cobble section, and followed the Supra down the back straight. That car is squirrely under braking, as I nearly punted him as he braked hard, early, and barely under control immediately after the dogleg left leading to the sharp right. Beacuse of dumping so much momentum, I was well behind him through the short chute, but I caught him after the start/finish line and stayed ahead around the Coliseum. I believe he challenged me once or twice following that, but he never did get back around me. The margin would have been larger but I botched the last lap and played some wall tag in the section prior to the back straight. My driving throughout this race was not exceptionally smooth.
Fast lap: 1':24.769"
Total: 7':14.771" (5 laps)
Margin: +4.883" (Tom's Supra)
Phase II
Midfield Raceway
A fun drive, and I really worked on my smoothness rather than ultimate speed. After qualifying on the pole, I led the first half of the first lap until the Pennzoil GT-R punted me into the left side wall of the second tunnel, where the road crests as you're making the transition from the right sweeper to the left sweeper. I had it under control, so I guess he figured I could help him out too. Have I mentioned how much I hate that particular car? This kept me in 3rd-4th place around the sweeper by the back grandstands, though I moved up to 2nd on the back chute. I dogged the Tom's Supra through the last tunnel and passed him coming out of the last turn at the base of the front straight. I cruised 4 more laps to victory, driving very academically, and managed to avoid making any big mistakes.
Fast lap: 1':11.610"
Total: 6':13.085" (5 laps)
Margin: +4.979" (Tom's Supra)
Note:
Somewhere in here I raised the downforce up to 0.72/1.00, but i'm not sure where. I didn't up the spring rates to match, but if I go to max downforce I will probably stiffen them up a bit. It's been suggested that I max the downforce and shorten the final drive to the 4.400 range, and I'll probably investigate this advice.
SS R5 (II)
I hadn't realized this was the reverse version of this track until the car came off the jacks in Pit Lane. A new experience! All in all I was pleasantly surprised to pick up a feel for this track quickly. I actually think it flows better reversed, since many of the big turns are now uphill before a long straight rather than down hill after one. This reduces the combination of high speed/unloaded suspension that requires caution on the forward R5.
I led this race from pole to flag and had fun doing it, though the racing was not particularly close. The Supra is dominant followed by the GT-R (ugly, stupid and aggressive car that it is). The other Raybrig NSX is in the bucket, usually finishing 8"-11" down.
Fast lap: 1':23.490"
Total: 7':11.457" (5 laps)
Margin: +6.439" (Tom's Supra)
Phase III
Laguna Seca
I like this track. Not only do I like it, but I'm actually learning to drive on it. I can't stress the importance of early braking enough, and this track is a good lesson in it.
I only qualified 3rd here, because the gearing was still set fairly tall from the long straight at R5. I took the spot and adjusted the gearing down to 26 before starting the race. I worked my way to the lead heading uphill to the Corkscrew, then promptly spun in that turn. I normally blip the throttle just a touch in the middle to reorient the car from left to right. This is apparently a mistake in a mid-engine car on cold tires, because it snapped around, landing me back in 4th. I spent the next lap or so regaining the lead, and passed the GT-R in the first left dogleg before the uphill run. I managed to hold the lead for the remaining three laps, though I never did get a good smooth and fast run through the Corkscrew. I could gain 1.5xx" on the rest of the lap, only to lose a second in that one spot. This and the 3rd-place start really narrowed my margin a bit. The GT-R for some reason was dominant here, which is great because it cost the Supra some points and widened my series lead.
Fast lap: 1':23.456" (really!)
Total: 7':06.591" (5 laps)
Margin: +1.888" (Nismo GT-R)
Super Speedway
Dull as always. I launched from 2nd spot but I had set my gearing too wide/tall at 32 so I had to hang with the GT-R and Supra. Once my tires warmed up I could run flat out around the wide end and just touch the brakes at the narrow end, so I got around the field for good. Figuring out exactly where to downshift to 5th, and where not to, also opened up my lead.
I could have done a lot better here by making speedway-type adjustments to the NSX, such as lowering it all the way and chopping the downforce, but it just wasn't worth the effort.
The Pennzoil GT-R was following me in 2nd place, about 3.xxx" seconds down, when it pitted on the 9th of 10 laps. This gave Tom the second-place points, and the GT-R finished last, down by more than 20.xxx". Ugly, aggressive, and stupid.
Fast lap: 35.597"
Total: 6':07.023" (10 laps)
Margin: +4.117" (Tom's Supra)
