Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

[MidFieldMaven]

I'm confused. GT says the Kusabi is 1.3L but supercars.net says 1.6L so who's right?

 

[Nismonath5]

I'm confused. GT says the Kusabi is 1.3L but supercars.net says 1.6L so who's right?

All the websites I've looked at say 1.6L. Guess GT's wrong about this one.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

I'm confused. GT says the Kusabi is 1.3L but supercars.net says 1.6L so who's right?

GT is in the wrong about this, really. If websites such as supercar.net aren't enough proof, here's proof from the big boss himself (or themselves, if you prefer);

Mazda's press release says:

(...) presented as a small, modern sports car with a stylish and aggressive exterior, environmentally friendly 1.6-liter common-rail diesel engine (...)

http://www2.mazda.com/en/publicity/release/2003/200308/0807e.html

 

[LM7325]

I will get my PS3 back online and get back into it so I can give a review.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

No no Baron man, you're getting it wrong. I thought that McClaren was referring to the term "camps" when he was talking about the strange term which needed Googling in his sentence. I wasn't thinking that "camps" was the meaning of "spanner", that's far from being the intention behind my original sentence... I do know what spanner stands for, I just didn't think that was the term he was referring for.

But thanks for the lesson nonetheless, I can always appreciate that. 👍

Ahhh... got ya now. As I read his post about it, I knew spanner was the term he thought would confuse people. He's of Scottish heritage, and sometimes uses the terminology... as do I, as I have Irish heritage. In that way Mc and I can relate even though I don't really approve of Scottish guys wearing skirts.

Sorry for my confusion about the confusion!

Cheers

 

[Vic Reign93]

Ahhh... got ya now. As I read his post about it, I knew spanner was the term he thought would confuse people. He's of Scottish heritage, and sometimes uses the terminology... as do I, as I have Irish heritage. In that way Mc and I can relate even though I don't really approve of Scottish guys wearing skirts.

Sorry for my confusion about the confusion!

Cheers

Scottish heritage here too so I picked up what he was putting down pretty quick.

Of course there's many different variations on the saying, but they all mean roughly the same thing, someone or something is causing a problem for your plans.

"Wrench in the works", "Spanner in the system", "Messing with the set dressing", you get the idea.

First things first, the classic Italian GT's.

I agree that both these cars are classic masterpieces in design and racing history and they deserve all the respect they've earned.


Sadly, I think PD didn't give them the same level of respect that two award winning cars should get.

We'll start with the GT, at 7.5 million credits it's definitely not the one for money hoarders, but what do you get for it?

Well you get a 3.0 V12 with just under 290hp, a 4 speed gearbox and weighing in at 960kg.

By all accounts that sounds like a dream, but dreams have a funny habit of turning into nightmares when you aren't looking.

Let's get the minor gripe out the way first, the open differential.
With less weight in the car compared to some other powerful classics, the one tyre fires are much more common and if you light up the inside tyre and then put weight on it by turning in the opposite direction, the rear can snap out on you.

The two biggest complaints I have against the GT is the gearbox and the sound.

The gearbox is too short compared to the real model as we couldn't even do 130 mph and the real one can do 166 mph according to the Ferrari website.

And now on to the sound.... Oh dear god.

A V12 it is not, it's a lower pitch version of what the Amuse S2000 GT1 Turbo sounds like and that's a 4 cylinder car.

And it's a similar story for the ultra expensive 20 million credits 250 GTO.

Again, a V12 it is not in sound terms, more like a V8.

Yet again the Gearbox is too short, it was almost out of puff at around 160mph when most websites have at its real life speed around 174mph.

Also again, the car does light up one tyre in the corners, but that's not even one of the biggest issues this car has.

Worse than the sound, worse than the short gearing is the stock tyres and suspension.

For 20 million credits, you think you'll get Racing Hards as standard like the two Ford GT40's, Jaguar XJ13 and its Chromeline counterpart and the Ferrari 330 P4.

But no, you don't get RH tyres as standard, not SS tyres, you don't even get SH tyres, you are given the same tyre compound as the 250 GT which is Comfort Softs.

The Suspension is by far the worst offender for the GTO and here's why.

A while back, a certain update tweaked with the camber and also the Toe numbers on a good number of cars with race cars getting 1.5 camber on the front and 3.5 on the rear tyres, the Toe numbers are -0.50 front and 1.00 back as well.

Now normally this wouldn't be too much of a concern because you can dial that sort of thing out, but you can't for the GTO as both Camber and Toe are locked and can't be adjusted.

These settings really affect the cars braking performance and makes the car not that pleasant to drive, Heck even the Gazoo GT86 has the same issue with the suspension, same camber, same toe and can't be adjusted.

Both of these classic cars were new to the series and this is how they were treated?!

It's a bloody shame really, they are absolute stunners to look at.

It's with a heavy heart I have to call these two cars Beaters, all the issues, plus the price tag make them pretty hard to justify in buying to race them.

Verdicts: Beater 👎

Ok, that's now out my system, time for something that impressed me right from the off.

The Mazda Kusabi Concept.

Now the previously mentioned engine mix up is a pretty glaring oversight as the real engine is a 1.6 diesel whilst we have a supercharged 1.3 petrol engine.

But this might be the one time where the mix up gave us something better.

Yes I know that's gonna make me sound like a hypocrite considering the botches with the ferraris, but in those cases the botches made the cars much worse than they should've been.

With the Kusabi, yes it loses the Diesel engine (which would've made it one of two road cars in GT6 to have one.) but it's also lighter than the real model as well, it's quoted at 1085kg in reality, where as ours is 900kg and is more powerful to boot.

Combine that with the decently geared 6 speed gearbox ( some say manual, some say automatic with manual mode.) and it's actually quite a fun car to drive.

Weight balance for a lightweight front wheel drive is remarkable as well at 54-46 if I recall correctly so handling is pretty solid as well.

The only black marks against the Kusabi are its paint choices and price, it's 50,000 credits which makes it expensive against similar spec machines and it can't be painted.

But as shown by the others, it's capable of fighting entry level race cars which are more expensive.

Verdict: Sleeper 👍

 

[McClarenDesign]

He's of Scottish heritage, and sometimes uses the terminology... as do I, as I have Irish heritage. In that way Mc and I can relate even though I don't really approve of Scottish guys wearing skirts.

It's a kilt, you (insert list of terms that would get users banned, then remove the spaces and increase the volume to 11)! And besides, according to my clan history, we helped settle Scotland but originated from Ireland... why we're considered Scottish I have no earthly idea, but I assume it has something to do with the expletives mentioned above.

Important Announcement​

If you've been paying attention, you know that on most Friday nights I run a vintage F1 series on Twitch titled "When Sex Was Safe: The Nostalgia of Vintage F1" featuring Project CARS and the vintage Lotus F1 cars. We also discuss the history of that particular race and the overall year (currently 1967) via discussion on a program called Discord.

This week, you're all invited! The main topic of discussion will be an extension of ongoing debate about the future of the Car of the Week thread, it's relation to GT Sport and/or GT 7, and a few ideas that @Nismonath5 and I have been kicking around. If possible, please try to attend the next race (Friday at 10p CST) and join us on Discord, so you can give your opinion on the options before us. There are some great idea floating around, and I'd like to include as many people as possible, including those that play other sims. If you're interested, send me a message on Google+, or on Twitch, and @Baron Blitz Red, @Vic Reign93 or Jarred will respond with a link to join the discussion.

 

[Draggon]

As for the Ferraris, I vote sleeper on the GT. Despite having so many handicaps, it's still a lot of fun if your not looking to get crazy with the power. As for the 250GTO, major beater. What a shame PD has given the suspension the crippling settings it has.

And this sushi-sabi thing. What a sleeper. I found this gem back in GT5. One of the FF seasonals, the one at Deep Forest was near impossible for me. Before I started learning that tuning was more than parts replacement and a gearbox slider, this was the only car I could win that event with. I'm quite pleased that PD has not sucked the life out of this one during the transfer to GT6. Kudos to @LM7325 for this weeks pick.

 

[Nismonath5]

The Kusabi suffers from what I call "Ford Edsel Fever" (I just came up with that now, actually!)

There's nothing wrong with the car as such, people just don't like the way it looks and therefore it never gets used. Being standard doesn't help, and neither does resembling that of a Cyberman..

"That's my car!"

 

[Nismonath5]

Lobby's up people, let's go racing!

 

[Vic Reign93]

Now I said earlier tonight after Baron brought out the Dome Zero against the Mazda and won in a 20 lap battle at Tsukuba that the Dome was capable of winning the Like The Wind at SSRX with a good setup.

There was some understandable scepticism about it being possible so here you go.



It'll happily sit at just over 240mph without slipstreaming or a shot of Nitrous.

The stats are as follows..

524PP
353 HP from a N/A 2.8 6 cylinder engine
837kg
50:50 weight distribution

Used some Nitrous at the start to keep in slipstream range of the guy in front and didn't touch it again heavily until the second banked turn.

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Trying to grasp the Concept...

This past week we've had a taste of the Kusabi, and it wasn't as fishy as I originally thought. I don't really remember driving it before now here in GT6, even though I do remember seeing it before. My prejudice for FF cars usually has my eyes looking elsewhere. ANYWHERE else. But I must admit, I've been surprised before with other FF cars and this one has done the same.

First off, 154 hamsters out of a 1.3 litre engine is pretty decent even if it needs a supercharger to get these numbers. Wrapped up in an angular monocolour package that only weighs in at 900kg's also gives it an edge... in the performance category let alone in its body styling. Pretty impressive all around. For me to say I'd probably drive it again is in of itself almost as surprising as I found the car itself. I'd give it a Sleeper and a Keeper vote.

Today we were given a chance to go Tsukuba diving for a 20 lapper, but I went with an older concept just to see what it could do against the speedy sushi delivery vehicle. 25 years older, the Dome Zero was the weapon I used for this affair. Fairly similar in many ways to make it fair. One colour only... check. Same PP rating... check. JDM concept car... check. Similar power and weight gains... (it has an additional 16hp with 20kg's extra added) check. Lots of angles... check.

And for me, the added bonus of rear wheel driving pleasure... check. This one I had driven before, and wasn't a big fan of it. But with the recent experience of driving both the Stratos road and rally car, I had a better handle on it. Slicing through the circuit with razor knife like precision, I was able to keep my cool and my lead with the exception of the mandatory pit lap.

Happy with having 2 separate JDM concept cars for take out this past week... Check.

Cheers

 

[JackRyanWMU]

To explain my absence from Tuesday night's races, my lap had been claimed by my sick and beloved cat who was spending her last night on Earth before passing away the next day. So, no review this week while I recuperate from the loss.

 

[LM7325]

Unfortunately work really got in the way of gaming time this week. I wanted to get back into GT6 after being away from it.

I never really gave Kusabi a shot before GT6. I gave it a try for an FF time trial last year and came away impressed. It may not be pretty, but it sure can dance. And like many cars it usually sits at the dealer untouched sadly.

I will miss hidden gems like this when/if I move to GTS. However some new developments may change that. There are reports of 400 extra cars... And possibly real offline content. People are losing their minds in the GTS thread over all these possible revelations...

 

[Nismonath5]

Well I'll be dammed @Vic Reign93... That's gotta make the Dome Zero the ultimate sleeper!

Now then, time for a thorough going-over of the Mazda Kusabi!

In one way or another, concept cars are always exciting. They bring new and exciting ideas to the table, some of them sensible, some of them ambitious. Some make it to production, others don't. Some of them showcase the latest technology (like the Mitsubishi i concept), some of them showcase mind-boggling performance (just look at the Devel Sixteen prototype!), some of them announce the next generation of a legendary name (like the 2001 Nissan GT-R tokyo motor show prototype) and some of them are simply a manufacturer's vision of the future.

The Kusabi seems to be Mazda's vision of the future, answering a question noone asked-
"What would a Mazda2 look like in 30 years?"
The result was this rather interesting vehicle. On paper it seems quite sporty. A supercharged 1.3L 4 cylinder diesel engine (later shown to be 1.6, dammit PD!) delivers just over 150bhp to the front wheels via a 6 speed gearbox, and the whole package weighs in at a very slim 900kgs.

What better way to show the world your latest concept car than by hammering it around a racetrack?

I am guilty of underrating this car from the start. I had it in GT4, but not in GT5. I drove it a little bit, I remember a few cruisy race meetings at Motorland in it, but all in all there was nothing about the Kusabi that stuck out, or set it apart from the rest. In GT6, it is further underrated by means of being standard, being non-customisable (with the exception of the wheels), and being generally ignored by a lot of people.
When I picked up my Kusabi this week, there was something about the rear that bugged me...

Odd green-ish tint around the numberplate.. Is there moss growing on my Kusabi?!

Visuals aside, I actually found the Kusabi surprisingly pleasant to drive. It's relatively quick off the mark, with a whisp of smoke if you're not using TCS, and a solid powerband, thanks to the combination of diesel and the supercharger. It shows no signifigant understeer, which is surprising for a FF. As mentioned after Tuesday night, this may be partially thanks to the fact that it's a little nose heavy, keeping weight on the front wheels even under acceleration!

It has a brilliant suspension setup, making it very versatile. It can tackle the bumps of Bathurst just as easily as it can drag race on the smooth asphalt of MidField! Despite running on comfort softs, it clings to the track with confidence, maintaining perfect racing lines and apexes all the way. It will only become harder to drive when the tyres start to wear, as the comfort tyres give less and less grip than they're already providing..
The brakes are also very good, a few times I thought I had overshot it and was about to ram into the back of a fellow COTW driver (For some reason it was usually Ash or Rob this week. Sorry guys!), but 95% of the time it would pull up just in time!

Quick side note, we raced at Bathurst on Saturday night and as I trailed Vic down the esses, I saw him set up for a drift. Realising what he was doing, I pulled my handbrake too, and hoped I'd get a good pic... 👍

"Tandem drift pracitse, yo!"

It doesn't take much practise to get the hang of the Kusabi. It's one of those "Easy to race, difficult to master" kinds of cars! It certainly made for some exciting racing, and it even proved to be competitive on snow and dirt too! Again, two uses you'd never think it could fulfill, yet here it is beating a Peugeot 205 Gti! It definately deserves more credit on GT than it gets now.

Giddyap, Mazda!

Group B? How bout Group Kasa-B!

Shock absorbers get a thorough testing

Yes, it slays the snow too!

So, the verdict on the Kusabi?
Well, it's a lower-end PP racer that is sure to please! It's light, nimble, agile and comfortable, with enough power for a beginner to hop in and learn, but at the same time some veterans could use it and have some titanic battles together. It has proven to be versatile, simple and quick, all wrapped up into one futuristic looking package. By not trying too hard, the Kusabi succeeds in being very, very good! A sleeper. 👍

 

[Obelisk]

I'm just voting sleeper on this. It, interestingly enough, served a good role for me in GT4 and I almost had my butt whupped by a stock one in a race I did a while ago.

To explain my absence from Tuesday night's races, my lap had been claimed by my sick and beloved cat who was spending her last night on Earth before passing away the next day. So, no review this week while I recuperate from the loss.

I'm sorry for your loss. Take as much time as you need - I've been in the same exact position before with my beloved dog.

 

[Draggon]

To explain my absence from Tuesday night's races, my lap had been claimed by my sick and beloved cat who was spending her last night on Earth before passing away the next day. So, no review this week while I recuperate from the loss.

I'm sorry to hear that Jack, being a cat person who went through something similar I understand how you must feel.

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Actually, @Nismonath5, my trust white Pug wasn't a GTI but rather a Turbo 16 (as the gaudy '80s lettering on the rear read), but I'll let that mistake slide. You were probably intoxicated by the Kusabi's eagerness and the battle between me and Vic... I know Baron was intoxicated by the latter, at least. And in the hands of someone who understands rally driving a bit better, I bet the 205 could give the Kusabi a better run for its money...

At the very least I got a 2nd place out of that rally venture, which is more than what can be said about the FTO Plan; as Nismo held a 20-lap race at Tsukuba, I decided to try a Mitsubishi FTO GPX for kicks. Sadly, those kicks proved to be squarely directed at my nuts, because the car simply couldn't keep up with the Mazdas and/or Baron's Dome. And with my one pitstop attempt botched by excessive pit lane entry speed, the salt just kept being poured into my wounds... It just goes to show how much hidden potential this Kusabi has as a 400-PP car.

And yet I still wonder how and why did PD label the car with a supercharged engine of all things...

 

[Vic Reign93]

Actually, @Nismonath5, my trust white Pug wasn't a GTI but rather a Turbo 16 (as the gaudy '80s lettering on the rear read), but I'll let that mistake slide. You were probably intoxicated by the Kusabi's eagerness and the battle between me and Vic... I know Baron was intoxicated by the latter, at least. And in the hands of someone who understands rally driving a bit better, I bet the 205 could give the Kusabi a better run for its money...

At the very least I got a 2nd place out of that rally venture, which is more than what can be said about the FTO Plan; as Nismo held a 20-lap race at Tsukuba, I decided to try a Mitsubishi FTO GPX for kicks. Sadly, those kicks proved to be squarely directed at my nuts, because the car simply couldn't keep up with the Mazdas and/or Baron's Dome. And with my one pitstop attempt botched by excessive pit lane entry speed, the salt just kept being poured into my wounds... It just goes to show how much hidden potential this Kusabi has as a 400-PP car.

And yet I still wonder how and why did PD label the car with a supercharged engine of all things...

PD's gonna PD, that is to say that mistakes like that will happen.

Just for the record though, the real life model had a 108hp 1.6 Turbo Diesel and the one we have is the 1.3 litre petrol engine from a lower spec version of the Demio with a supercharger bolted on to it.

As to why its Supercharged? It was the early 2000's when superchargers were common like on the Mini Cooper S '02.

If this car went into production with this engine as a performance model, even with the real life models weight of 1,085kg it would be lighter than the Cooper S by 35kg and only 13HP down.

Of course that's just me speculating, but it makes sense don't you think?

 

[Nismonath5]

Actually, @Nismonath5, my trust white Pug wasn't a GTI but rather a Turbo 16 (as the gaudy '80s lettering on the rear read), but I'll let that mistake slide

Oh geez, that was a total mindfart. I'm usually better than this, dammit Nismo! Why?!

 

[Niku Driver HC]

Oh geez, that was a total mindfart. I'm usually better than this, dammit Nismo! Why?!

Well, you live near Australia, so let's assume your train of thought was upside down when you wrote that.

PD's gonna PD, that is to say that mistakes like that will happen.

Just for the record though, the real life model had a 108hp 1.6 Turbo Diesel and the one we have is the 1.3 litre petrol engine from a lower spec version of the Demio with a supercharger bolted on to it.

As to why its Supercharged? It was the early 2000's when superchargers were common like on the Mini Cooper S '02.

If this car went into production with this engine as a performance model, even with the real life models weight of 1,085kg it would be lighter than the Cooper S by 35kg and only 13HP down.

Of course that's just me speculating, but it makes sense don't you think?

Well fair enough for most of those points, that doesn't quite explain whether or not the Kusabi actually had that supercharged Demio unit when it was unveiled in real life. Mazda themselves claim it had a 1.6 Diesel unit, which is a far cry from a 1.3-litre supercharged unit. I can certainly understand the supercharger's popularity in small cars, this was back when most manufacturers weren't taken in by the "downsize & turbo" rage of today, but it's still such a strange difference between real life and PD's world...

And yet Mazda never got to release a supercharged 2/Demio in most markets, which is beyond unfortunate (and odd at the same time). Talk about a wasted opportunity, huh...?

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Here's the officially unofficial results for the "Wash your hands before" Playing with TT's event with the sushi car...

BaronBlitzRed: 6:52.284
G_ASHER: 6:52.927
McClarenDesign: 6:54.275
Rob_on_Drums: 6:54.865
EmaRED_82: 6:55.286

Cheers

 

[McClarenDesign]

Here's the officially unofficial results for the "Wash your hands before" Playing with TT's event with the sushi car...

BaronBlitzRed: 6:52.284
G_ASHER: 6:52.927
McClarenDesign: 6:54.275
Rob_on_Drums: 6:54.865
EmaRED_82: 6:55.286

Cheers

Holy spit, a podium finish! How's Our Dark Lord and Master going to relight the pilot?

Congratulations CORRUPTEDDISC! You've been selected to choose next week's car, despite or perhaps because of the predetermined criteria to do so was thrown out of a very high window with great velocity and warm intent.

Gotta be my faithful sleeper...

HEY! You leave my mother out of this!

...waitaminute...

It's the 2000 Daihatsu Sirion/Storia X4!!!

343 bhp from a 713cc turbo, AWD, and launches like an Evo!

Again, please leave my mother out of this...

I also highly recommend Mike's new weekly GT6 photo contest on his YouTube channel, the latest episode of which can be found here:

​

This week's tribute to breast feeding, "Playing With TTs!", is at Toscana! Because everyone deserves the chance to dodge spectators and local wildlife in equal proportion. Remember, you're only luck if you touch the passing cars and don't actually lose the limb in the process. Sadly, the Toyota Duet was not available at the time of this writing. Huey Lewis was the best I could do.

​

​

Oh, and @Nismonath5 is under investigation for improper handling of written materials as well as the unapproved flight plan of said materials, and will be reviewed upon the conclusion of this week. @Vic Reign93 is also under investigation for failing to report to race control in a timely manner, and instead listening to his gut feeling and gentleman's sausage. The FIA refuses to comment on the latter until the investigation has reached a conclusion. Both investigations carry the possibility of stiff punishment.

Gigitty.

 

[Obelisk]

Oh, and @Nismonath5 is under investigation for improper handling of written materials as well as the unapproved flight plan of said materials, and will be reviewed upon the conclusion of this week. @Vic Reign93 is also under investigation for failing to report to race control in a timely manner, and instead listening to his gut feeling and gentleman's sausage. The FIA refuses to comment on the latter until the investigation has reached a conclusion. Both investigations carry the possibility of stiff punishment.

Gigitty.

First time I actually laughed at your snarkiness. Good job.

As for the Storia, I'm calling it "Meh". From prior experience, it's a good car but it loses a lot of ground on longer tracks.

 

[McClarenDesign]

First time I actually laughed at your snarkiness. Good job.

Your lack of humor and taste is no fault of mine. No further action will be taken.

 

[Obelisk]

Your lack of humor and taste is no fault of mine. No further action will be taken.

I am not a man of low-brow humor. It's a shame I slipped this time...But that said, your level of humor is far below my standards of good humor. Action to be taken: @McClarenDesign needs comedy classes.

 

[Nismonath5]

Woohoo, #9 & #8 on the photo comp!

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

I am not a man of low-brow humor.

Well, that depends on how tall you are...

I was actually surprised that I didn't have this one already! I'm pretty sure I've owned them in every Gran Turismo since GT2... this time around the Storia Cross 4 cost me a paltry 579,250 credits to buy. Not bad at all.

Cheers

 

[Obelisk]

Well, that depends on how tall you are...

I was actually surprised that I didn't have this one already! I'm pretty sure I've owned them in every Gran Turismo since GT2... this time around the Storia Cross 4 cost me a paltry 579,250 credits to buy. Not bad at all.

Cheers

Half a million?

 

[Baron Blitz Red]

Half a million?

Yep... for the car, any and all available parts, new wheels, paintjob(s), oil and chassis work. Sometimes it's rough finding ways to spend my money!

Cheers