Apricot Hill, Midfield Raceway and Trial Mountain

[Cobra_UK]

1st Challenge Honda S2000 '03

Any upgrade is allowed and any driving aid. The only upgrades that are not allowed are N2O and rear wing. All cars used in these challenges will have these restrictions. The tracks are Apricot Hill, Midfield Raceway and Trial Mountain. 3 classic GT circuits that will test a range of different aspects of this car.

The purpose of this thread is to find the best tune, best driver and best lap time around these tracks. The length of the challenge is unlimited and I will type the car in blue font with every new challenge. The posts will be constantly edited with the times and the drivers that are interested in participating. I hope this will help me, my friends and anyone else to achieve a better tune on the cars used in the challenges and improve our driving technique around these 3 circuits. You are all welcome to make suggestions on what cars should be used in challenges. Please PM me. I know this game is old but it's a long wait until GT5 so I hope this thread will atract some attention. If the idea is succesful I will make another thread using another 3 different circuits.

Apricot Hill
1'15.010 NielsG
1'15.616 sjaak68
1'15.978 arora
1'17.319 alrivers
1'17.881 Cobra_UK

Midfield Raceway
1'06.228 Mr P
1'06.330 sjaak68
1'06.375 NielsG
1'07.189 arora
1’08.824 Cobra_UK
1'09.112 alrivers

Trial Mountain
1'19.736 Mr P
1'20.149 sjaak68
1'21.311 NielsG
1'22.970 alrivers
1’23’172 Cobra_UK


Important note to all: Save your best time ghost replay guys, if you're in the lead you may have to prove it with a video of it on YouTube or something similar to others.

As a side not I would like to inform you all that every 3rd challenge/car will be a race car and after every 6 challenges/cars will move continents. Below is a list covering all the challenges:
1. Honda S2000 '03
2. Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nur (R34) '02

 

[jgda9rs]

can we use the mugen or amuse s2000 or just the factory one ?

 

[Cobra_UK]

Just the factory Honda S2000, specifically the '03 model. This way we can really pin it down to a specific car. Then it's just down to the parts used, the settings and driver ability and perseverance.

I really hope this becomes a big thread and there will be many more cars. The Honda S2000 '03 was readily available and I had all the best parts already bought. I have also done a lot of free runs with a friend last weekend with it and I have some reference times readily available. I will introduce a new challenge car every few days. For example in a couple of days I'll post a Nissan Skyline GT-R V-spec II Nur (R34) '02 challenge. Then who knows. As I said you're more than welcome to suggest cars for future challenges in a post or PM me. I hope this makes things a bit more clearer.

 

[NielsG]

With a stage 3 turbo and all other allowed mods my Honda S2000 end at 464 BHP. A stage 5 turbo is available at the tuners village, but end result is slightly less power. Don't know though if it's better though?

Lots of power, but on R5 it behaves very good. Fun racing.

Apricot Hill:

11.772
25.391
51.715
1'15.715

All settings at default except the driving aids at 0.

Midfield:

21.086
41.511
1'07.295

This is great fun. Now heading for Trial Mountain. 👍

Trial Mountain:

16.109
35.916
1'02.942
1'21.893

Phew. The ride at TM was a bit more bumpy.



Oh and btw. Both at Midfield and at Trial Mountain there's some areas you need to define as track or off track.
At Midfield there's the "concrete" areas in the two tunnels outside of the normal track.
And at Trial Mountain there's the area in the first tunnel and more important the concrete outside of the rumble in the last chicane.

As long as you haven't defined these areas I'll drive after the most conservative rules just to be certain, but be aware that other racers will take the opposite approach.

 

[alrivers]

1'18.731 just did 3 quick laps around the apricot hill raceway. I'll be back to work on that later. btw, I'm running the car naturally aspirated in lieu of forced induction. the result is an output of 389 bhp.

 

[Cobra_UK]

Right, I've updated your times guys. Just to answer some questions:

NielsG, you said it yourself that some people may use the extra concrete areas. To be on the safe side I suggest these can be used. Great work on those times there mate and thanks for participating.👍 It really opened my eyes on just how much faster the car can go, especially on Apricot Hill. I'm sure there is a lot in the settings and the driving. You can post a better time at any time if you want. I'm obviously expecting people to improve or try again if someone else posts a quicker lap.

alrivers I respect that you want to stay NA and if you feel that you're happy with your time, no problem, but if you believe you can go much faster that I suggest you go for maximum power if you'd like to compete for the top spot.

One thing I would like to ask. If some people out there post some really quick laps and they feel it's a lot to do with a very good settings package we'd all I'm sure, like it if you shared it. Obviously this is not a requirement but it would be very much appreciated by myself and others. This is not just a competition but also a community and team building exercise and I hope that everyone that participates learns from it and finds it fun.

 

[NielsG]

NielsG, you said it yourself that some people may use the extra concrete areas. To be on the safe side I suggest these can be used.

👍 That's cool. Just wanted it to be equal for everybody.

Important note to all: Save your best time ghost replay guys, if you're in the lead you may have to prove it with a video of it on YouTube or something similar to others.

👍 I have a MAX-Drive and always post my replays, when I do better than my average.


It's a little early for that now though, as I think I still left some in all tracks.
But if anybody want to see them now, don't hesitate to ask. It's always an honor, whenever they're requested, whether it's for checking or ghost chasing. (I always ask myself btw, when I race people I don't know. )

 

[NielsG]

Had another go at Midfield:

20.857
41.076 ( saw a couple of 40.8xx but blew them in the last hairpin )
1'06.546

Changed the settings a bit. Tranny trick with the final at 3500 and ASM understeer at 1. Otherwise still default settings.

Edit: Hmm... Just realized that my power was down to 454 bhp due to dirty oil.

Edit2: With some fresh oil and the same settings.

Apricot Hill:

11.735
25.188
51.178
1'15.010

 

[Cobra_UK]

Yeah I was messing around with the Honda NSX-R Concept '01 for just over an hour and noticed the same thing myself. I usually change oil after a long testing or practice session and championship.

I got a friend coming around on Friday for some GT4 action. 2 DFP, 2 LCD, 2 VGA converter and NR upscaler to 1024x768. Should be pretty cool. I hope the LAN set-up is not too hard. He's a bit better than me so we'll see if we can come up with some more challenging lap times by pushing eachother.

By the way, I thought the Tranny Trick was not that useful in GT4. Now that you mention it I'll look into it tonight.

I wish more people got involved with this. Come on lads it will be fun.👍

 

[NielsG]

I got a friend coming around on Friday for some GT4 action. 2 DFP, 2 LCD, 2 VGA converter and NR upscaler to 1024x768. Should be pretty cool. I hope the LAN set-up is not too hard. He's a bit better than me so we'll see if we can come up with some more challenging lap times by pushing eachother.

Lucky bastard. 👍

The LAN setup should be rather easy, WHEN you know what to do. In the past people have spend a great deal of time on it, but there should a lot of good walkthroughs out there by now.

As I understand it, you can only use arcade cars in the GT4 LAN, and the only thing you can alter is the driving aids and the tyres. No quick tune.
So if you need to even things out a bit, choosing different tyres usually is the way. It can be pretty hard to find 2 cars close enough to give the wanted advantage/disadvantage

By the way, I thought the Tranny Trick was not that useful in GT4. Now that you mention it I'll look into it tonight.

Opinions seems to differ on the matter., so you might as well use it when you're setting the gears anyway.
In this case adjusting the gears gave a huge advantage under all circumstances.

I wish more people got involved with this. Come on lads it will be fun. 👍

He's right, guys. Those combo's are great fun.

 

[Sjaak]

Cobra_Uk ,if the lan settings give you a problem,then I can help.

If you want I can give you a brief instuction how and why in a pm.

On the other hand,brief,it would be a novel.

 

[Cobra_UK]

Thanks mate I would really appreciate if you could PM me with that. I have a Netgear Router and will also have 2 PS2, one is the new slimline and the other the in the big old style. Thanks.

By the way would you like to participate in this challenge? I'll post more challenges , cars..., on Friday.

 

[NielsG]

By the way would you like to have a go at this challenge?

Of course he will. Sjaaks all time favorite course is Midfield.


And I can see MrP is lurking here too. He's crazy about both the Honda S2000 AND Midfield. 👍


Maybe you should put the next challenge on a little hold, and give them a chance to race this one. 💡 Definitely more fun racing than the WRS this week

 

[Cobra_UK]

No problem NielsG, I'll give each challenge 3 to 5 days before I post a new one. Please remember though, the challenge is indefinite. In 2 months someone might get a top score and get the top spot. It should be fun as it will keep people coming back to certain cars used in earlier challenges it their position is threatened.

So don't sell any of your challenge cars guys. There are 3 Settings (A, B and C), one for each track, so just keep your cars. If you need to, if someone's beaten your time, you can come back and your car is ready to go.💡

Don't forget to post cars you'd like to be used in later challenges, I would like this to be a community driven challenge.

 

[Mr P]

I just loaded up an S2000 type V 03 full modded with oil change from brand new and it has 464hp ... will go and try it on a few tracks now 👍

Using NTSC version btw

 

[Sjaak]

Had a quick go with Niels settings on Midfield.
A few small changings,no aids,lowered it to 100.
I'm a wreck when it comes to set up a car.

20.914
40.998
1'06.394

Nice challenge.👍

 

[Mr P]

Stock settings S2000 with no aids ..

Midfield
20.753
40.763
1'06.397

Need to tweak it slightly to sort out the last tunnel I reckon ... nice laps posted so far guys 👍

 

[NielsG]

Nice Midfield laps (as always), Ron and Sjaak. 👍

I'll give it another go tomorrow to see, if I can catch you before you move too much ahead.


I had another session on Trial Mountain:

16.519
35.753
1'02.525
1'21.311

Lost 0.4 in the start.

Had to drop the ASM here. It was ok on several turns in the midsection, but just too difficult to control in the highspeed start and finish. The S2000 is a little too wild here for my taste. I crash too much and it soon begins to be too frustrating.

 

[Mr P]

Midfield
20.808
40.790 (seen 40.6 )
1'06.228

a 1'05.9xx is on the cards with a well held lap it seems 👍

 

[Cobra_UK]

Great time there Mr P. Since I heard of how much you like Midfield and the Honda S2000 I knew you'd come back and try to get the top spot. By the way, a good friend of mine actually owns a silver Honda S2000. I've been in it a few times and I have to say it's a mean machine if it's driven hard and kept in VTEC.

I'm impressed with your times guys, haven't had time to get back to GT4 myself but I will definitely be working on my times over the weekend.

 

[Mr P]

Cheers mate its a sweet combo at Midfield ... much easier and flowing to drive than TM, ran a few there also ...

Trial Mountain
15.970
34.707
1'00.883
1'19.736

I lost a hell of a lot just after T3 as my car skidded sideways and barely kept it on the track .... a 1'18 is doable without a doubt 👍

 

[alrivers]

alrivers I respect that you want to stay NA and if you feel that you're happy with your time, no problem, but if you believe you can go much faster that I suggest you go for maximum power if you'd like to compete for the top spot.

well, I chose NA over turbo because I figured everyone else would shoot for the turbo kit and cuz I wanted to see how it would stack up against the competition. anyways, here's some times:

1'17.319 - Apricot Hill
1'09.112 - Midfield Raceway
1'22.970 - Trial Mountain

I'm sure a more dedicated driver could do better than my said times using the naturally aspirated approach.

 

[NielsG]

Great times, Ron. 👍

As promised I went back to Midfield. Couldn't let Sjaak have it that easy.

20.681
40.825
1'06.375

Losing a little in the last hairpin, but don't believe it would be much better without an awful lot of work. And as we say in DK: "If work is healthy, let the sick do it."

I guess I'm pretty much finished here. Might be tempted to give AH another try though, but let's see about that.

Have a great weekend guys.


Here's my PAL replays:

 

[Cobra_UK]

The last hairpin on Midfield is a tough one. Come in too slow and time is lost come in too fast and control is lost.


Good work NielsG and thanks for posting those replays, I wish I had a max drive so I could watch them. Maybe someone will post a video. I'd like to see one of those fast laps people posted. Have a good weekend lads.

 

[Sjaak]

Ran the three tracks this evening,very,very nice combo's.👍

Apricot Hill
11.893
25.422
1'15.616 (Very good result from Niels btw)

Trial Mountain
15.911
34.872
1'01.304
1'20.149 After T2 all went wrong,a good 0.5 is still on the track

Midfield
21.033
40.966
1'06.330

This time I changed some of the settings.
Tranny trick,aids off
Brakes 3-3

Suspension
9.4-7.4
87-93
4-4
8-8
2,5-1,5
0-0
5-3
everything else default.

 

[NielsG]

Great times, Sjaak. 👍

But about those news settings. Did they made any difference at all? ( I mean on Midfield )

I honestly did expect at least the same improvement from you, just by racing the combo again. 👍

 

[Sjaak]

Great times, Sjaak. 👍

But about those news settings. Did they made any difference at all? ( I mean on Midfield )

I honestly did expect at least the same improvement from you, just by racing the combo again. 👍

Sorry Niels,I just copied my settings from another s2000 race I was in but that car was on 285hp and on roadtires.
I wanted to compare them for my self if I could use those settings with these combos.
Conclusion: the car wasn't much better but also not much worse.
Only good thing about it was that I had less crashes before T1 on Midfield.


I will give the default set up another go later on.👍

 

[Cobra_UK]

1’17.881 Apricot Hill (you guys are very quick around this circuit, no way I can match those times at the moment)

1’08.824 Midfield (there is another 2/3 of a second there I could loose but I was running out of time and had a busy weekend)

1’23’172 Trial Mountain (I need more practice, there could be as much as 2 seconds I could loose with more practice and a better driving rhythm)

Here is some information: I use DFP, manual gears, strong force feedback. Car has the highest stage turbo, I haven’t tried the original turbo kit. That may improve my time as it’s supposed to be better, even though it has slightly less Bhp, same goes for the original suspension kit. I also haven’t used the transmission trick. I just use the auto setting. I tried the transmission trick last night and although I was slightly faster I decided to stick with auto.

Here are my settings please let me know if I’m going wrong somewhere or if there are things that need improving.

(F/R)
Brakes 5/7
Spring Rate 8.5/7.0
Ride Height 90/95
Damper Bound 7/5
Damper Rebounce 9/7
Camber 3.0/1.0
Toe 1/-1
Stabiliser 5/6
Transmission Auto 15
TCS 5
LSD Initial 20/Acceleration 50/Deceleration 15

 

[Sjaak]

Cobra,please set the TCS to zero and I recommend the stage 3 turbo.

Also I ran some laps at default suspension again on Midfield and got a 1'06.356.

 

[arora]

Hi all, ran a bit today on the faster tracks, trail mountian was a mess for me with this car so I'll give it a pass.

Apricot Hill / 11.984 / 25.722 / 51.931 / 1.15.978
Mid-Field / 21.011 / 41.309 / 107.189

Don't think my settings well make anyone faster but here they are.

All upgrades, stg3 turbo, 1.5 LSD, NO roll cage: 460hp / 290 ft/lb / 1079kg

Springs 9.4f / 10r
height 106f / 106r
bound 6f / 7r
rebound 6f / 8r
camber 2.2f / 2.5r
toe 1f / 2r
stabs 3f / 3r
brakes 3f / 2r

All aids off.


Erik