April Car of the Month - The Little Engine That Could (No Fooling)

cbarbosa
So, since i've been away for a while, a little review for CoTM:

Tested:

Beginner Level NRC 400PP Motegi Seasonal Winner! 👍

A relative easy win, a nice surprise (and one not so good) and a "bug" that won't go away... :D

Car Review:

  • Cornering Capability - A lot! The little bugger has an incredible weight transfer, which allows an outrageous rotation... Maybe too much rotation, noticed that it helped on the fast cornering but on slow it caused some unwanted oversteer. That kind of "steals" a bit of the car essence, the fast cornering!
  • Understeer or Oversteer - Regarding understeer, never noticed to be appearing even while driving to the limit. It keeps nice and tidy threw the corners and almost no braking is needed... The oversteer appeared when I took the cornering to the limit! :D
  • Braking: Can't say much of it, almost never used it!! :lol: Seriously, when need it was there, effective and steady. Very well balanced...
  • Top speed and acceleration - Limited to the bug transmission! :grumpy: However the stock tranny (the one I used) got the job done, so on Motegi fitted nicely, on the longest straight reached the max rev on the right time.
  • Transmission - :grumpy: and :grumpy:... Cannot review the tuner values...
  • Suspension - On the spot, nice and stiff enough to cause no bounce. Dealt with the "excessive" rotation quite nicely...
Overall:

Really enjoyed the car, a cornering machine at 400PP. Maybe a little change on the ballast/weight and you can leave the brakes at home! :lol:

Great tune Mr. D! 👍


NOTE: Regarding @shaunm80 several tunes, I have reviewed some of it, gonna try to find on Shaun Garage... :nervous:
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Thank you very much for the review, sounds like you had some fun testing the slippery little bugger :lol:
I don't think the car can generate enough grip to ever be that quick so I tried to tune it to be fun. Oversteer is inevitable with this little car, to tune it out would remove the fun and give little reward so I just tried to make it easy to control

:cheers:
 
DolHaus
Thank you very much for the review, sounds like you had some fun testing the slippery little bugger :lol:
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👍 Sure did! And it also has a nice engine/exhaust sound...

DolHaus
I don't think the car can generate enough grip to ever be that quick so I tried to tune it to be fun. Oversteer is inevitable with this little car, to tune it out would remove the fun and give little reward so I just tried to make it easy to control

:cheers:
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TY! The oversteer is only if driven recklessly, other then that it's 👍
 
CoTM review:

Toyota Vitz F '12 (400PP SH) by @shaunm80

Vitz12Img2.jpg
​
Tested:

Beginner Level NRC 400PP Motegi Seasonal Winner! 👍

An easy win provided by a hidden gem... ;)

Car Review:

  • Cornering Capability - Flawless! For a FF car, sure does not feel like one... It has a superb weight balance/distribution, making it is easy to roll and attack the corners faster then the average FF. This fact allows that little or no pressure on the front tires appeared, only if driven recklessly...
  • Understeer or Oversteer - Regarding the oversteer, none, for the obvious reasons. However a hint of understeer was noticed while pushing it to the limit on fast cornering, being it perfectly natural. This only occured while trying to pass the car's limit...
  • Braking - Like @DolHaus Mazda, did not used much! :D The desacceleration is enough for the wider corners, and when braking was needed it did what it was supposed to, with no failures. A case in which Racing Brakes are kind of pointless...
  • Top Speed and acceleration - More then enough for 400PP... I was having a lot more fun with the surprisingly agility then top speed. Needless to say, the race was on on the slowest parts of the track, so the mid-turbo gives it the kick it needs to get the power to the ground...
  • Transmission - Being a Standard 5 speed, not much to say there, got the job done for 400PP. IMO, for higher PP a custom tranny is not a bad idea...
  • Suspension - Was a bit :odd: for the fact that the tune had higher values then the stock, so my 1st thought was "Gonna start to spread all over the track!!" WRONG! Incredible soft and responsive, made the car easy to control.
  • Mid-Cornering - just added this for a small note - The car does not behave like a FF, so avoid crazy mode and you get rewarded...

Overall:

For me a hidden gem. Never knew it could be so agile and balanced. I'm glad it decided to test it... Great job Shaun! 👍
 
cbarbosa
CoTM review:

Tested:

Beginner Level NRC 400PP Motegi Seasonal Winner! 👍

An easy win provided by a hidden gem... ;)

Car Review:

  • Cornering Capability - Flawless! For a FF car, sure does not feel like one... It has a superb weight balance/distribution, making it is easy to roll and attack the corners faster then the average FF. This fact allows that little or no pressure on the front tires appeared, only if driven recklessly...
  • Understeer or Oversteer - Regarding the oversteer, none, for the obvious reasons. However a hint of understeer was noticed while pushing it to the limit on fast cornering, being it perfectly natural. This only occured while trying to pass the car's limit...
  • Braking - Like @DolHaus Mazda, did not used much! :D The desacceleration is enough for the wider corners, and when braking was needed it did what it was supposed to, with no failures. A case in which Racing Brakes are kind of pointless...
  • Top Speed and acceleration - More then enough for 400PP... I was having a lot more fun with the surprisingly agility then top speed. Needless to say, the race was on on the slowest parts of the track, so the mid-turbo gives it the kick it needs to get the power to the ground...
  • Transmission - Being a Standard 5 speed, not much to say there, got the job done for 400PP. IMO, for higher PP a custom tranny is not a bad idea...
  • Suspension - Was a bit :odd: for the fact that the tune had higher values then the stock, so my 1st thought was "Gonna start to spread all over the track!!" WRONG! Incredible soft and responsive, made the car easy to control.
  • Mid-Cornering - just added this for a small note - The car does not behave like a FF, so avoid crazy mode and you get rewarded...

Overall:

For me a hidden gem. Never knew it could be so agile and balanced. I'm glad it decided to test it... Great job Shaun! 👍
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Once again, thank you for the thorough review. As you say, no point doing a FC Transmission on this car as it is only 400PP. Not that i could make a custom transmission like I use to these days. I wish PD would get that sorted. I agree with you that this car does not really feel like a FF car at times. It was a surprise to me when it felt so easy to drive at the limit. I was careful not to push the limit to far as that is when any serious amount of understeer appears, as you picked up on. There are a lot of under used, low powered cars out there. good choice from @Bowtie-muscle for selecting them.
 
shaunm80
Once again, thank you for the thorough review. As you say, no point doing a FC Transmission on this car as it is only 400PP. Not that i could make a custom transmission like I use to these days. I wish PD would get that sorted.
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👍 The tranny bug isn't allowing to get the best out the cars/tunes... It's starts to annoy a bit... :grumpy:

shaunm80
good choice from @Bowtie-muscle for selecting them.
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Absolutely!

@Bowtie-muscle - 2 more reviews on the making (compensanting for previous month... ;))
 
CoTM Review:


Volkswagen 1200 '66 "Herbie" by @Motor City Hami

16828328000_c2edb3eede_z.jpg
​
Tested:

Intermediate Level NRC 500PP Eiger Seasonal Winner! 👍

"Fully Loaded"!! :P

Car Review:

  • Cornering Capability - Loads and loads! Those 500PP at Eiger got the jaw dropped when I honk the horn passing them! :lol: Has an amazing rotation and balance, the weight distribution makes the car roll on his own and even on the slowest corners it's possible to get the pedal to the metal sooner. Extremely well tuned!
  • Understeer or Oversteer - Regarding understeer, did not noticed during the race, even driving at the limits (and I did that almost all the race! :D). Even in mid-cornering it was possible to keep half of the gas, not loosing too much time... Oversteer is present, but it helps the car a little bit. I noticed that in Eiger the 90 degrees corners were easier to do with some higher acceleration on exit, making the car correct his position. And don't forget the fun part (drifting a bug!).
  • Braking - More then enough and effective! Racing brakes sure help... 👍
  • Top speed and acceleration - The top speed was perfect for the track, however the car has its limitations, don't expect to reach 200MPH... The acceleration, well that got me by surprise, it was amazing. I was expecting at the start of the race it would fall behind... Boy I was wrong!!...
  • Transmission - Despite the recent bug, it was nicely done. The only issue was that 2nd gear was maybe a bit long, causing a sudden loss of power under a certain RPM. Maybe a small adjustment is needed.
  • Suspension - Very good, just noticed that it was a bit hard on the jump, other then that 👍

Overall:

Call me crazy, but this tune has something of Herbie on it, true! It was a very close race, but the beetle fought all the way to 1st place! I only caught the leader halfway the last lap... It was really fun and a challenge. And let me tell you, catching the BTR'86 felt awesome, the "guy" was insane and a pain in the rear end! :P :lol:

TY MCHami! 👍

Oh, and check the color of the BTR!! (I know, the photo is small, this new resizing is 👎)

Eiger Nordwand Short Track.jpg
 
CoTM Review:


Suzuki Cappacino (EA21R) '95 Time Trial by @Bowtie-muscle

14014145957_4d8560f3e1_z.jpg

​
Tested:

Beginner Level NRC 400PP Motegi Seasonal Winner! 👍

Coffee, anyone? :lol:


Car Review:

  • Cornering Capability - Lots and lots of it! It has an amazing grip at CM, seems like was using Sports Soft or something... It is extremely well balanced and has enough rotation to keep it on the correct line of the corner. The 51/49 WD gives it a great stability on slow cornering and allows to maintain acceleration threw mid-cornering.
  • Understeer or Oversteer - Despite some reports of signs of understeer being shown while driving on the limit, during this particular race, for me, they were not showned. But, in this case, driving to the limit is kind of relative, the car is not a 200 Mph supercar! So, no signs of understeer and oversteer is only noticed if reckless driving is used... Overall, it's extremely well balanced and has huge grip.
  • Braking - According to the tune, standard brakes... Are more then enough! On the little few occasions braking was needed, got the job done with effective braking, no locking under heavy situations and no need to smash the DS3 buttons to make them work.
  • Top speed and acceleration - A little less then the the Autozam... But more then enough to small/medium curvy tracks.
  • Transmission - Forced use of stock version. Got the job done, but a bit weak. A more precise teste need to be done after the bug is fixed...
  • Suspension - Very well achieved. Not too low or stiff.
  • Overall weight - This one needs a reference. Give me a feeling that the stock weight 690Kgs is a bit heavy and it hurts the car performance a tiny bit. But then again maybe it's just me... :)

Overall:

Another great little racer. Enough power, speed and grip to compete with 450PP opponents max.
Very competitive at 400PP and maybe deserves a nice 450PP version...

Great job Mr.B! 👍
 
I didn't want to just post my old tunings I did, I'll put the links to them but most are made for other things than racing.

So the dilemma was which one to choose, I had most of them on some kind of projects but had completely ignored the Honda Life Step Van, and for obvious reasons, it's just plain ugly. So what use could I have with this, - voila - let's make it an Ice Cream truck, called two of my buddies Tommy Chong & Cheech Marlin to help me decorate it and on the road we went until we came to Ronda, found a good place to park, have a good meal and a couple of cold beers, but for some strange reason non of us seem to want to leave. So as soon as I find the courage to leave here I promise I will do that challenge, promise.

Tuned for National B GT-Compact Championship - 391PP/SH ABS/0 - if you can't drive this snail with abs/0 you should seriously consider playing Mario Kart or come and join us in Ronda. Use the PDF file upload to get the tuning.
Picture 18.png

Quiz , how many foreign objects other than the trucks decoration were added to this picture.


My first cartoon:
Citroen 2cv Type A '54 - 373PP/SH
citroen 2cv 800.jpg


My second Cartoon:
Sambabus '62 418PP/SH
samba bus copy2.jpg



Stunt Car:Subaru 360
Picture 1-1.png


FIAT 500F '68 350PP/SH
fiat photo2.jpg


Honda S500 '63 330PP/SH
Honda S500'63.jpg



Stunt Car:Daihatsu Midget D Type '98
Front-1.jpg


Show Off Car:Mazda Carol 360 Deluxe '62 Funk Car
Show off 1.png
Show off 2.png



My first Replica Car:Citroen 2cv Type A '54 - 2CVGB National Meeting
2cv_racing_snetterton.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Life Step Van '72.pdf
    1.3 MB · Views: 32
DolHaus
10? (11 if the plane and banner are considered separate)
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Man you have a keen sense of observation (10/10), I was sure the telecommunication tower would go unnoticed, i thought that some other things would distract more :lol:.
 
I missed the party :D here is an old tune that haven't bee reviewed yet :

Toyota VITZ F "RS" Turbo 2012 Silk Road RM/A8 450PP

Special Build Vitz "RS" Turbo tuned with Silk Road RM/A8 Kit 450PP

Comfort Soft to Sport Medium​




CAR : Toyota VITZ F '12
Tire : Comfort Soft to Sports Medium

Specs
Horsepower: 244 HP at 7000 RPM
Torque : 184.3 ft-lb at 6600 RPM
Power Limiter at : 100%
Weight: 990 kg
Ballast : 100 kg
Ballast Position : -18
Weight Distribution : 61 / 39 as the real car spec, close to 62/38
Performance Points: 450



GT AUTO
NO Oil change
Improve Body Rigidity ( NOT INSTALLED )
Wheels : Stock or ENKEI Competition S2 in Matte Pink
Car Paint : Matte Pink



Tuning Parts Installed :
Engine Tuning Stage 3
Sports Computer
Racing Exhaust
Isometric Exhaust Manifold
Catalytic Converter Sports
Intake Tuning
High RPM Range Turbo Kit
Fully Customizable Suspension
Adjustable LSD
Twin Plate Clutch
Fully Customizable Dog Clutch Transmission
Weight Reduction Stage 2
Window Weight Reduction



Suspension -SILK ROAD RM/A8 5/4 Springs with Factory Alignment Range
( 1.75" Front Drop / 2.75" Rear Drop )

Front, Rear

Ride Height: 96 75 ( rear supposed to be 70, not possible, 75 used )
Spring Rate: 5.00 4.00
Dampers (Compression): 7 7
Dampers (Extension): 7 8
Anti-Roll Bars: 4 5
Camber Angle: 0.2 1.0 ( Front Camber 0.17+-0.75, Rear Camber 0.95+-0.75 )
Toe Angle: 0.08 0.24 ( Toe In Front range 0.08+-0.16, Toe In Rear range 0.24+-0.24 )


Suspension -SILK ROAD RM/A8 5/4 Springs with Track/Race Alignment
( 1.75" Front Drop / 2.75" Rear Drop )
Front, Rear

Ride Height: 96 75 ( rear supposed to be 70, not possible, 75 used )
Spring Rate: 5.00 4.00
Dampers (Compression): 7 7
Dampers (Extension): 7 8
Anti-Roll Bars: 4 5
Camber Angle: 0.2 1.0
Toe Angle: 0.00 -0.40 ( HKS Track Test Alignment )



DOG CLUTCH TRANSMISSION - Toyota VITZ RS Manual 5 Speed + Final Swap
Install all power parts
Set Default
Set Final to 4.312
Set Auto Max Speed at 220kmh / 137mph
Adjust each gear :
1st 3.166
2nd 1.904
3rd 1.392
4th 1.031
5th 0.815
Set Final : 4.312


LSD - 1 Way TRD Helical LSD

Initial Torque : 17
Acceleration Sensitivity: 20
Braking Sensitivity: 5


Brake Balance:
7/9 ( personal BB) or for ABS 0 wheel : 5/7, for ABS 1 - feel free to use your preferred brake balance.

Recommended setting for DS3 user :

Steering sensitivity at +1 or +2, all aids off, except ABS 1 ( if not comfortable with ABS 0 ) with 7/9 brake balance as starting point.

Notes :

This is one of rarest FF tuned in GT6 :)

For this build, I used Silk Road RM/A8 coilover damper kit with 5kg/4kg spring package. Toyota VITZ factory alignment range has also been implemented. The coilover allows nice drop at 1 3/4" front and 2 3/4" rear, this gives nice stance and visually level appearance.

LSD uses TRD Helical Type 1 Way. I retained stock weight and distribution, but I fine tuned the balance via weight reduction and ballast to achieve closer to 62/38 of the real car. With only rear seats removal and spare tire in real life, weight shifted forward to 63/37.

As the real car and in GT6 is equipped with 175 wide tire and 14 inch diameter, comfort soft will struggle for traction with the amount of power and torque on 450PP, thus sports hard is highly recommended.

Gearing has been changed from CCVT to 5 Speed Manual, taken from Toyota VITZ RS Manual Ratio. The gearing is well balanced with enough top speed for medium speed track.

The VITZ F 450PP was tuned and tested at Red Bull Ring Short, Tsukuba, Nurburgring GP/D and Big Willlow. At Tsukuba, it can lap easy 1:06s on CS tire, not bad for a VITZ :) Not as quick as my J's Racing Honda FIT RS Turbo as the VITZ retains stock ratio 5 Speed :P




UPDATE : Added race alignment setup and some fixes to the toe values.



PINK makes you harder to be overtaken :lol: Enjoy :cheers:
 
TurnLeft
I love the headlights 👍, BTW are you going to have time for this or is everything all packed up? Moving is a big thing, especially with a couple of kids :nervous:, so if you can't we can understand 👍. Would be cool to have a Herbie race.
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I'll have time before the end of the month. Movers are coming tomorrow doing the final car loads today of odd, very fragile or heirlooms today. Gotta bless the house finally, and organize the garage for the movers. Get the remaining junk from the old owner sorted out., start final repairs of the old house. Then by Monday we will done moving and cleaning and it just be a matter of unpacking.
 
@DolHaus
Suzuki Cappuccino (EA11R) '91 400PP/SH review

Hello dear sir, it seems it’s been a long long time since I reviewed one of your cars, well not really that long, which one was it? Ah yes the AZ-1, that was a fun pesky bug and it won the *TUNE OF THE WEEK* 👍👍👍. I had this on my list before the April COTM came along, guess it’s was just one of those things that was meant to be, eventually.

I’m working on a new way of doing my reviews but fortunately :sly: I’m not ready yet to go ahead with that, so back to my old ways of a lot of words but saying little (Doing good so far, heh? 👍)

Now this is my type of cup of coffee :cool:, all puns intended :D. It turns on a needle point, nimble like a thief, you can if you desire thrash the rear out in curves and it will go to where you point it at. It does have a major flaw, this came up on one of the races that I took it on that I LOST :banghead:.

500PP Clubman - Rottenboden
The pin point handling was perfect for this course, though quite under powered it made up magnificently with it’s great maneuverability, it did seem out of breath when it painfully made it’s way up the hill :odd:, It felt I was just back on the chairlift at Mount Tremblant looking at the scenery while biting my time before the anticipated moment, but how can we blame it when it peeled off as an olympic down hill skier and passed all of it’s rivals who were all much more powerful. The result was an unanimous victory. :bowdown:

500PP Clubman -Mount Panorama
Sometimes we chew off more than we can handle, I think I’ve developed an expertise in this matter :dopey:. So long story short, it was never in the race, that's it, well ok, there just was not enough sharp curves here, and the long straight going up were just horrible, just imagine that I was passed twice by the same Corvette :ouch:, an ugly blue thing with white stripes :rolleyes:, what’s this world coming to :crazy:, frankly, a Corvette faster than a Cappuccino :eek:, I think PD have really made some humongous mistakes with their programming here, not with your car sir 👍, no, I stand and say that this one is perfect and dead right on :bowdown:, but just with some of those over weight so-said sports cars, I know you understand so you don’t have to acknowledge this truth if you want to stay safe from the venomous tongue lashing defenders of that gender :P.

You won the Tune Of The Week with the AZ-1, and we shouldn’t compare apples with apples but, I think this one stands above the other one, not taking anything away from the AZ-1, but this one is much more sweeter :cool: to drive. :cheers:
 
TurnLeft
@DolHaus
Suzuki Cappuccino (EA11R) '91 400PP/SH review

Hello dear sir, it seems it’s been a long long time since I reviewed one of your cars, well not really that long, which one was it? Ah yes the AZ-1, that was a fun pesky bug and it won the *TUNE OF THE WEEK* 👍👍👍. I had this on my list before the April COTM came along, guess it’s was just one of those things that was meant to be, eventually.

I’m working on a new way of doing my reviews but fortunately :sly: I’m not ready yet to go ahead with that, so back to my old ways of a lot of words but saying little (Doing good so far, heh? 👍)

Now this is my type of cup of coffee :cool:, all puns intended :D. It turns on a needle point, nimble like a thief, you can if you desire thrash the rear out in curves and it will go to where you point it at. It does have a major flaw, this came up on one of the races that I took it on that I LOST :banghead:.

500PP Clubman - Rottenboden
The pin point handling was perfect for this course, though quite under powered it made up magnificently with it’s great maneuverability, it did seem out of breath when it painfully made it’s way up the hill :odd:, It felt I was just back on the chairlift at Mount Tremblant looking at the scenery while biting my time before the anticipated moment, but how can we blame it when it peeled off as an olympic down hill skier and passed all of it’s rivals who were all much more powerful. The result was an unanimous victory. :bowdown:

500PP Clubman -Mount Panorama
Sometimes we chew off more than we can handle, I think I’ve developed an expertise in this matter :dopey:. So long story short, it was never in the race, that's it, well ok, there just was not enough sharp curves here, and the long straight going up were just horrible, just imagine that I was passed twice by the same Corvette :ouch:, an ugly blue thing with white stripes :rolleyes:, what’s this world coming to :crazy:, frankly, a Corvette faster than a Cappuccino :eek:, I think PD have really made some humongous mistakes with their programming here, not with your car sir 👍, no, I stand and say that this one is perfect and dead right on :bowdown:, but just with some of those over weight so-said sports cars, I know you understand so you don’t have to acknowledge this truth if you want to stay safe from the venomous tongue lashing defenders of that gender :P.

You won the Tune Of The Week with the AZ-1, and we shouldn’t compare apples with apples but, I think this one stands above the other one, not taking anything away from the AZ-1, but this one is much more sweeter :cool: to drive. :cheers:
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for reviewing the car :cheers:
I liked the Cappuccino more than the AZ-1 as well, its just a lot more compliant without being dull to drive. :tup:Unfortunately hills, straights and Kei cars just don't work together, I tried asking nicely but they told me that the laws of physics are THE law and if they changed it for every Tom, Dick and Harry then we'd all be getting rained on from below whilst running around on the ceiling in no time :lol:
 
@shaunm80
Vauxhall Corsa Comfort 1.4 '01 review

Well hello mister Gentleman ;), I was quite surprised that you had such a huge collection of bugs. The one that stood out to me saying "Try Me, Try Me p-l-e-a-s-e ?" was the Corsa. We don't have any those around here and according to some unreliable source :odd: it seems they are some sort of dangerously boring little tykes. But I have a semi open mind so I did the only logical thing and that was to go with it. Now I do try to drive these cars to the letter of their tuning spec sheet, but I made 2 small changes :embarrassed:, I sincerely hope you will take no offense from this gesture, as you know hoons are hoons. With it's more than real reputation of being a somnolence creature, I decided to add a little excitement to our adventure, I took off the TC1, and just to make sure I gave every opponent a chance at victory I put the ABS to [ 0 ] :D. & since I can't drive MT I used that. CS were always used.

First track was Seasonal - Beginner Level Non-Race car Challenge - Twin Ring Motegi East Course

Now I was a bit taken back, this was not the promised beast, not the Achatinoidea I was promised, but more of a Marmotini, now on with the adventure.

Very smooth drive, turn ins are precise and easy to handle, out of curve acceleration is also very easy with no sign of wheel spin. No wheel lockup under braking, and acceleration is very decent for it's engine size, the Low RPM Turbo seems to fit it well. First place was never an option :mischievous:.

Now I needed a bit more excitement and challenge, so I was thinking:
National A - Night Masters Matterhorn Rottenboden - 450PP Limit - SS or less

I knew that with the abs set to [0] I would have to be careful coming down that fast speed hill into the tight corner, so I came prepared. I did get some wheel lockup but it was more due to my over aggressiveness than the cars settings. The curves could be taken either sharp inside or smooth outside depending on the opponent there was to pass, again out of curve acceleration was done without any wheel spin. Going up the hill was a bit of a Achatinoidea pace, but we survived. The downhill part was what makes this race so fun, managed to have no crashes, wall hits, or turnovers on this section, but I did warn myself before and it seems the open side of my mind was there to reel in the commands.
Much more pleasing race, won by 0.226 . I never found I was missing grip with the CS, I'm sure it would be faster with SS or RS :grumpy:, but I like having to compete and I don't mind losing if it was a good race.

Very pleasant surprise, it's too bad most people go for the exotic and powerful when they could be enjoying the little things in life that make everything wonderful.:cheers:

How many people are going to use google to learn a couple of new words?
 
TurnLeft
@shaunm80
Vauxhall Corsa Comfort 1.4 '01 review

Well hello mister Gentleman ;), I was quite surprised that you had such a huge collection of bugs. The one that stood out to me saying "Try Me, Try Me p-l-e-a-s-e ?" was the Corsa. We don't have any those around here and according to some unreliable source :odd: it seems they are some sort of dangerously boring little tykes. But I have a semi open mind so I did the only logical thing and that was to go with it. Now I do try to drive these cars to the letter of their tuning spec sheet, but I made 2 small changes :embarrassed:, I sincerely hope you will take no offense from this gesture, as you know hoons are hoons. With it's more than real reputation of being a somnolence creature, I decided to add a little excitement to our adventure, I took off the TC1, and just to make sure I gave every opponent a chance at victory I put the ABS to [ 0 ] :D. & since I can't drive MT I used that. CS were always used.

First track was Seasonal - Beginner Level Non-Race car Challenge - Twin Ring Motegi East Course

Now I was a bit taken back, this was not the promised beast, not the Achatinoidea I was promised, but more of a Marmotini, now on with the adventure.

Very smooth drive, turn ins are precise and easy to handle, out of curve acceleration is also very easy with no sign of wheel spin. No wheel lockup under braking, and acceleration is very decent for it's engine size, the Low RPM Turbo seems to fit it well. First place was never an option :mischievous:.

Now I needed a bit more excitement and challenge, so I was thinking:
National A - Night Masters Matterhorn Rottenboden - 450PP Limit - SS or less

I knew that with the abs set to [0] I would have to be careful coming down that fast speed hill into the tight corner, so I came prepared. I did get some wheel lockup but it was more due to my over aggressiveness than the cars settings. The curves could be taken either sharp inside or smooth outside depending on the opponent there was to pass, again out of curve acceleration was done without any wheel spin. Going up the hill was a bit of a Achatinoidea pace, but we survived. The downhill part was what makes this race so fun, managed to have no crashes, wall hits, or turnovers on this section, but I did warn myself before and it seems the open side of my mind was there to reel in the commands.
Much more pleasing race, won by 0.226 . I never found I was missing grip with the CS, I'm sure it would be faster with SS or RS :grumpy:, but I like having to compete and I don't mind losing if it was a good race.

Very pleasant surprise, it's too bad most people go for the exotic and powerful when they could be enjoying the little things in life that make everything wonderful.:cheers:

How many people are going to use google to learn a couple of new words?
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Thank you for the extremely in depth review. Great test of this cars ability. I have found that cars of 400pp or below rarely need tyre compounds above SH so CS tyres seemed to work well for this machine. They are a boring little car in real life. They don't usually come with a turbo as standard either. It is the turbo that really made this car feel like a budget price pocket rocket. I have a garage full of these cars. I agree that some of the best races are with a really underpowered car. Glad you liked the corsa. If you want a real challenge. Try out the mini on CM tyres. That should tax you a little more :)
 
shaunm80
If you want a real challenge. Try out the mini on CM tyres. That should tax you a little more
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I've added it to my list of things to do, it may take a while to get to it but I will at one point, right now I'm just trying to keep my head above the water with all the projects I've got going and I still have 4 that I want to try here. :cheers: until we meet again.
 
TurnLeft
I've added it to my list of things to do, it may take a while to get to it but I will at one point, right now I'm just trying to keep my head above the water with all the projects I've got going and I still have 4 that I want to try here. :cheers: until we meet again.
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No problem. Being the gentleman that I am, I will wait around until a Hoon comes along again. Have fun testing the other cars out.
 
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Review of Suzuki Cappuccino (EA21R) '95 400pp CM-CS
@Bowtie-muscle

I had a car on the same tyre compound so I made the changes to my tune and tested this little coffee car on the 400PP seasonal race that was released today. I should have come first except I over-drove on lap 7 and lost a second to the lead car. I ended up coming 2nd but in reality, this car is a gold tune any day of the week.

Being that this car is on CM tyres, and the rest of the cars on on SH tyres. It should have been harder than it appeared. However, this little car was dropping 0.31.xx second laps consistently. It has plenty of grip, lots of rotation and is easy to drive. The downside this car has is the lack of power compared to those around it. Also, the PD bug with transmission didn't help. I made up my own quick transmission based on the initial figures of Bowtie but with my own gear settings to reach a higher speed than 99mph. It seemed to work but its a temporary fix.

Another positive and negative aspect of this car (yes, i say both) is the over steer when you put the power down. On this short track, you light up the rear tyres so easily which causes oversteer and this can cost time, however, get it right and power slide the car through the bend, you can carry more time and hence the over steer is good. I guess this depends on the sort of driver you are. For me and particularly on this seasonal, it is a positive effect. however, if you were to use it on another circuit, it might not work as well. To be honest, this over steer is minor, if you don't have a fat thumb, you won't ever run into a issue with this. It is only when you really go for it round a bend without lifting off prior to the apex that this happens so it is easily manageable and can be a great aid to the rotation if required.

A great little car which I have no doubt is very useful around low powered circuits due to its nimbleness. Well done on a great tune. Really good fun and even its negative aspect can be a positive aspect in the right hands.
 
shaunm80
Review of Suzuki Cappuccino (EA21R) '95 400pp CM-CS
@Bowtie-muscle

I had a car on the same tyre compound so I made the changes to my tune and tested this little coffee car on the 400PP seasonal race that was released today. I should have come first except I over-drove on lap 7 and lost a second to the lead car. I ended up coming 2nd but in reality, this car is a gold tune any day of the week.

Being that this car is on CM tyres, and the rest of the cars on on SH tyres. It should have been harder than it appeared. However, this little car was dropping 0.31.xx second laps consistently. It has plenty of grip, lots of rotation and is easy to drive. The downside this car has is the lack of power compared to those around it. Also, the PD bug with transmission didn't help. I made up my own quick transmission based on the initial figures of Bowtie but with my own gear settings to reach a higher speed than 99mph. It seemed to work but its a temporary fix.

Another positive and negative aspect of this car (yes, i say both) is the over steer when you put the power down. On this short track, you light up the rear tyres so easily which causes oversteer and this can cost time, however, get it right and power slide the car through the bend, you can carry more time and hence the over steer is good. I guess this depends on the sort of driver you are. For me and particularly on this seasonal, it is a positive effect. however, if you were to use it on another circuit, it might not work as well. To be honest, this over steer is minor, if you don't have a fat thumb, you won't ever run into a issue with this. It is only when you really go for it round a bend without lifting off prior to the apex that this happens so it is easily manageable and can be a great aid to the rotation if required.

A great little car which I have no doubt is very useful around low powered circuits due to its nimbleness. Well done on a great tune. Really good fun and even its negative aspect can be a positive aspect in the right hands.
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Thanks for the review, it was s TT tune from a year ago which is why it has CM Tires, likely the same reason you have one at same spec.;)
 

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