chuyler1
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- New Hampshire
- chuyler1
DISCLAIMER:This analysis was performed with the 1.06 patch. 1.07 patch removes tire selection from performance points making some of these conclusions (and lap times) null and void.
I wanted to see how I could get the most out of a 500pp class. I selected 3 different cars that I might think about racing from my stable. Car 1 has lots of mods, car 2 has a few mods, and car 3 is bone stock. I also wanted to experiment with tire selection to see whether sacrificing grip over horse power would yield some benefits.
Car 1: '86 Toyota MR2 Supercharger
Setup: modded w/wing, tuned suspension, LSD, no power reduction or ballast
Weight: 910 kg / 910 kg
Power: 269 hp / 205 hp
Torque: 264 ft-lb / 188 ft-lb
P/W: .295 / .225
Car 2: '90 Mazda RX-7 GT-X (FC)
Setup: modded w/o wing, tuned suspension, LSD, no power reduction or ballast
Weight: 1060 kg / 1060 kg
Power: 320 hp / 241 hp
Torque: 314 ft-lb / 225 ft-lb
P/W: .301 / .227
Car 3: '09 Nissan GT-R SpecV (GT Academy Version)
Setup: bone stock, power reduction for SS, power+ballast for RS.
Weight: 1680 kg / 1753 kg
Power: 329 hp / 240 hp
Torque: 436 ft-lb / 425 ft-lb
P/W: .195 / .136
UPDATE:
The cars below were added to try to beat the GT-R trial mtn time. I only ran on racing soft tires since it became apparent that sport soft were slower across the board on this track.
Car 4: '95 RX-7 Type RZ
Setup: modded w/o wing, tuned suspension, LSD, no power reduction or ballast
Weight: xxx / 1250 kg
Power: xxx / 271hp
Torque: xxx / 225 ft-lbs
Car 5: '07 RX-8 Type S
Setup: intake, racing filter, tuned suspension, LSD
Weight: xxx / 1310 kg
Power: xxx / ~260 hp
Weight: xxx / ~230 ft-lbs
Trial Mountain Circuit:
Car 1: 1:36.716 / 1:34.008
Car 2: 1:36.571 /1:33.810 1:32.646
Car 3: 1:34.798 /1:32.991 1:31.519
Car 4: xxxxxxxx / 1:31.952
Car 5: xxxxxxxx / 1:30.083
Suzaka (full course):
Car 1: 2:21.047 / 2:19.152
Car 2: 2:19.415 / 2:18.345
Car 3: 2:18.008 / 2:20.505
Analysis:
First off, even with giving these cars the same tires, they handled very differently around the courses. Weight and downforce played a key roll in speeds around corners. The MR2 was at the limit of lateral grip on every turn...entry,mid corner, and exit. The RX-7 required earlier turn-in to induce a little oversteer. The GT-R basically coasted around the track with very little effort.
For Trial Mountain, which has very short straights, it is clear that racing soft tires will produce faster laps and overall corner grip was far more important than hp. The heavier GT-R could run flat out while the MR2 and RX-7 with significantly less downforce needed to use more gas/brake to keep up. But in the end the smooth running GT-R produced the fastest lap time.
For Suzaka, which has longer straights and faster sweeping turns, grip still played a roll but there was a limit. Both the MR2 and RX-7 fared better on racing soft tires with less power. It allowed me to take turns before the straights quicker and the hp advantage of running sports tires never quite overcame the slowness in the twisties. The GT-R however was a lesson in how much detuning is too much. In order to add the racing soft tires I had to run at 50% power AND add some weight. It was so slow through the straights that I produced faster times on the sports tires. In fact it was so slow that I was a second faster in the RX-7 on sports tires and came within .5 seconds in the MR2! However the GT-R simply doesn't need racing tires to be quick. It beat out the RX-7 on racing tires by 3/10ths with only using sport soft.
As far as fun factor goes, I think I'd rather lose a race driving the MR2 or RX-7 than win the race in the GT-R. People say that racing tires make the game to arcade-like. Well the GT-R even on Sport Soft tires is pretty arcade-like at this pp level. I doubt I will be using it in online lobbies despite it being a few seconds quicker. In general though, I think I will stop paying such close attention to picking light weight cars. When running soft tires, the weight is key in keeping the wheels on the ground.
I wanted to see how I could get the most out of a 500pp class. I selected 3 different cars that I might think about racing from my stable. Car 1 has lots of mods, car 2 has a few mods, and car 3 is bone stock. I also wanted to experiment with tire selection to see whether sacrificing grip over horse power would yield some benefits.
Car 1: '86 Toyota MR2 Supercharger
Setup: modded w/wing, tuned suspension, LSD, no power reduction or ballast
Weight: 910 kg / 910 kg
Power: 269 hp / 205 hp
Torque: 264 ft-lb / 188 ft-lb
P/W: .295 / .225
Car 2: '90 Mazda RX-7 GT-X (FC)
Setup: modded w/o wing, tuned suspension, LSD, no power reduction or ballast
Weight: 1060 kg / 1060 kg
Power: 320 hp / 241 hp
Torque: 314 ft-lb / 225 ft-lb
P/W: .301 / .227
Car 3: '09 Nissan GT-R SpecV (GT Academy Version)
Setup: bone stock, power reduction for SS, power+ballast for RS.
Weight: 1680 kg / 1753 kg
Power: 329 hp / 240 hp
Torque: 436 ft-lb / 425 ft-lb
P/W: .195 / .136
UPDATE:
The cars below were added to try to beat the GT-R trial mtn time. I only ran on racing soft tires since it became apparent that sport soft were slower across the board on this track.
Car 4: '95 RX-7 Type RZ
Setup: modded w/o wing, tuned suspension, LSD, no power reduction or ballast
Weight: xxx / 1250 kg
Power: xxx / 271hp
Torque: xxx / 225 ft-lbs
Car 5: '07 RX-8 Type S
Setup: intake, racing filter, tuned suspension, LSD
Weight: xxx / 1310 kg
Power: xxx / ~260 hp
Weight: xxx / ~230 ft-lbs
Trial Mountain Circuit:
Car 1: 1:36.716 / 1:34.008
Car 2: 1:36.571 /
Car 3: 1:34.798 /
Car 4: xxxxxxxx / 1:31.952
Car 5: xxxxxxxx / 1:30.083
Suzaka (full course):
Car 1: 2:21.047 / 2:19.152
Car 2: 2:19.415 / 2:18.345
Car 3: 2:18.008 / 2:20.505
Analysis:
First off, even with giving these cars the same tires, they handled very differently around the courses. Weight and downforce played a key roll in speeds around corners. The MR2 was at the limit of lateral grip on every turn...entry,mid corner, and exit. The RX-7 required earlier turn-in to induce a little oversteer. The GT-R basically coasted around the track with very little effort.
For Trial Mountain, which has very short straights, it is clear that racing soft tires will produce faster laps and overall corner grip was far more important than hp. The heavier GT-R could run flat out while the MR2 and RX-7 with significantly less downforce needed to use more gas/brake to keep up. But in the end the smooth running GT-R produced the fastest lap time.
For Suzaka, which has longer straights and faster sweeping turns, grip still played a roll but there was a limit. Both the MR2 and RX-7 fared better on racing soft tires with less power. It allowed me to take turns before the straights quicker and the hp advantage of running sports tires never quite overcame the slowness in the twisties. The GT-R however was a lesson in how much detuning is too much. In order to add the racing soft tires I had to run at 50% power AND add some weight. It was so slow through the straights that I produced faster times on the sports tires. In fact it was so slow that I was a second faster in the RX-7 on sports tires and came within .5 seconds in the MR2! However the GT-R simply doesn't need racing tires to be quick. It beat out the RX-7 on racing tires by 3/10ths with only using sport soft.
As far as fun factor goes, I think I'd rather lose a race driving the MR2 or RX-7 than win the race in the GT-R. People say that racing tires make the game to arcade-like. Well the GT-R even on Sport Soft tires is pretty arcade-like at this pp level. I doubt I will be using it in online lobbies despite it being a few seconds quicker. In general though, I think I will stop paying such close attention to picking light weight cars. When running soft tires, the weight is key in keeping the wheels on the ground.
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