Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

You almost made me **** my pants. Having all 3 of us go into the next turn made me super nervous.
I was wondering how it was gonna turn out too (Right at the back you can see me, in the red/white SC430). I saw you guys up ahead and thought "3 wide down mountain straight?! Unless someone yields, this can only end in tears..."

Bathurst is to me what Spa is to Baron. The right car, right setup and right track conditions and I'll be lapping it for hours! I just wish they added Pukekohe Park, then I'd really have the home advantage! ;)
 


The Tom's Chaser might be the mildest tuner car ever created. If tuner cars were bands, the Chaser would be Air Supply, easy to listen to but completely forgettable. Its styling feels like the team who designed the Camry challenged the team who designed the Chaser, "You can't possibly make a car look more boring and pedestrian than we can", to which the reply was, "Oh yeah, watch this!" I tested the Chrysler 300C against it and I found both cars failed to take advantage of their power, but in different ways. While the 300C tried to destroy its tires in uncontrollable oversteer at the slightest input on the steering wheel, the Chaser had the opposite problem. It understeered so hard initially, and while you could eventually break the rear wheels loose, it would happen all at once rather than in a predictable and controllable manner. Add to it that it's pretty homely even by Standard Car standards and you'll be barred from entering some high-paying Seasonal Events because the game doesn't consider it a "Normal Car"....you probably see where this is going. Better car than the Chrysler, but not enough to elevate it from "Beater" status.



Moving on to the ASL "How do you pronounce this word-ya", and I'll freely admit I'm not great at evaluating race cars. I spend so much of my GT time driving road-legal cars that I feel like I'm trying to talk in a second language when we get the rare race car to evaluate. I always seem to brake too soon and then compound it with getting on the gas too early, not familiar with the extra tire grip or downforce. That said, the ASL felt pretty responsive and didn't punish me too harshly when I didn't get the steering or throttle inputs quite right. I can't call it Beater or Sleeper, but overall I would give it a positive grade.
 
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I don't know how many of you know, but there was a pretty solid earthquake in Oklahoma today. I'll let Brad go into details when/if he wants to, but he's okay. Understandably, COTW is the least of his worries right now, so.. Hi, I'm your host for the week again! :cheers:

Congratulations @McClarenDesign!!!!

I'll take it [the choice] because I'm an American and life owes me everything for nothing. America, f- yeah!

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It's the 1976 Volkswagen Golf GTi Mk1!!!!!!
Make it the first gen Golf and we'll call it good.

It's done. The deal is sealed. We're good. The contraband is in the briefcase, now you didn't get it from me, alright.. Wait, what?

As the granddaddy of modern hot hatches, the mk1 GTi Golf is no doubt a car of historical signifigance. It's a daily driver, sporty runabout, and a primary example of a car that could be a straight up beater or an absolute sleeper! :D We've already driven the 5th generation model, but surely the 1st gen will be so much better!!!

"Playing With TT's!" are back! This week we're hitting the smoking hot asphalt of Wacky Wild Willow Springs! The "Streets of Willow Springs" track, not Big Willow. Apologies to all those who like it big... ;)
 
Well, I really dislike the Garaiya as a racing car. Can you call this mess on wheels a racing car these days at all? Now I'm really not into racing as a sports, so who am I to really tell? I'm just another guy with an opinion that has no facts behind it, I just drove a car in a video game with a crappy controller, but I'd say that even for 2008 it was below average when compared to its opponents, at least handling-wise. That's just how I feel.

You hit the smallest kerb? Too bad. Want to go through that tight turn with a slight banking? That'll cost you a couple positions. Oh and you thought you could just comfortably accelerate out of that corner? Nope.

I like it on one hand because it's a challenge and I like a good challenge, but I just wanted to race and have fun but with this thing I couldn't. It feels very rewarding every time you feel it's going to go terribly bad but you manage to keep it together and I admit I had fun the first time I drove it, in arcade, without any opponents who would show me how much time I'm losing every time the tail kicks out.

It sucks the "no tuning" prohibition in GT6 lobbies also includes suspension/LSD/downforce adjustments.

So I'll call this a "meh". Not the best choice for racing but fun. There are other better, cheaper things to have fun with though.
Pics in spoiler.
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Couldn't help but notice the matching paintjob.
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Catching up.
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Close finish.
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Always a great weekend of racing with you all.

Edit:
I'm really looking forward to trying out the Golf.
 
First time in a few months that I've written a review of a car. As for the ASL Garaiya GT300 Race Car, it's a pretty decent MR race car. It turns in quite well in the corners and has great breaking. Going up against others you could simply break later and make it a fair pass on your opponents. The downside to this race car is if you put the power down to early coming of a corner you find yourself losing the back end. Looking at the picture from the Tuesday and Saturday night races, the styling of the car kinda reminds me of the Daytona Prototype chassis. Anyways, I give this car a middle ground neutral as I typically do well with MR cars and it performs as it should.

Also I turned 26 today. Looking forward to driving the Mk 1 VW Golf.
 
First time in a few months that I've written a review of a car. As for the ASL Garaiya GT300 Race Car, it's a pretty decent MR race car. It turns in quite well in the corners and has great breaking. Going up against others you could simply break later and make it a fair pass on your opponents. The downside to this race car is if you put the power down to early coming of a corner you find yourself losing the back end. Looking at the picture from the Tuesday and Saturday night races, the styling of the car kinda reminds me of the Daytona Prototype chassis. Anyways, I give this car a middle ground neutral as I typically do well with MR cars and it performs as it should.

Also I turned 26 today. Looking forward to driving the Mk 1 VW Golf.
Happy birthday Racer!!! :D
 
*crickets chirping*


No love for the Golf, huh? :lol:

The Tuesday turnout was really poor, though I suspect the election may have played a part in that... Consequently, I didn't get lots of mileage in the Golf, so I'm not exactly ready to make any comments on it either... Other than, being FF, it obviously will understeer if you go blazing into a corner at warp factor 9.

Hopefully we'll get some better racing on Saturday!
 
On Comfort Soft tires, the first-gen Golf is capable of 1:35 at Mid-Field.



It'll get up to 106 mph on the front straight.

1.6L
107 hp / 6,000 rpm
101 ft-lb / 5,000 rpm
820 kg (1,808 lbs)
359 pp

Cars within 0.500 seconds:

1:35.687 - 347 - Mazda Demio Sport '10
1:35.758 - 350 - Suzuki Swift Sport '07
1:35.785 - 350 - Honda Fit RS '10
1:35.862 - 375 - Lotus Europa S.2 '68
1:35.907 - 358 - Mitsubishi Lancer 1600 GSR '74
1:35.936 - 342 - Mazda Cosmo Sport (L10A) '67
1:35.940 - 381 - Honda City Turbo II '83
1:35.953 - 355 - Renault Mégane 2.0 16V '03
1:35.990 - 356 - Chrysler PT Cruiser '00
1:35.996 - 359 - Volkswagen Golf I GTI '76
1:36.061 - 341 - Toyota Sera '92

Looks like the original Lancer is the Golf's prime target. And check that out, the PT Cruiser ties the Golf! And we KNOW that car is a beater, so is the Golf as well? I'd argue no, since the Golf is a quarter-century older.
 
Well 🤬, so much for not falling a month behind on car reviews. :P

Ok to business.

The TVR Griffith, there are not many cars that AREN'T Japanese that have survived from the first game and are still with us now after being in all the major versions of GT (Spinoffs like Prolouges and Concept don't count.).

The Griffith follows standard TVR protocol, be made out of Fibreglass, have no drive assists and sport a manly engine. ;)

The engine in question is the Iconic Rover V8 that saw duty in dozens of British cars
in different displacements from as low as 3.5 liters in the Rover SD1 and all the way up to 5 liters in the Griffith we have here.

Making 340hp and weighing just over a ton, It's definitely got the get up and go you expect.

What you don't expect is the Understeer, despite a respectable weight distribution it pushes wide in the turns.

Perhaps it's down to the 205/55 sized front tyres and 245/45 sized rear tyres or the suspension being quite soft on the front.

Either way, it's set up to be more forgiving for the beginner driver as it can bite if pushed far enough.

At just under 59K, it does make up for the understeer by being a cheap V8 soft top sports car, especially compared to other V8 soft tops like the AC Cars 427 S/C priced at nearly 425k. :eek:

So the classic British sports car this time is a Neutral verdict. :)

Now on to the Tuner Car of the 4 and it's pretty mild tuning in the grand scheme of things.

The TOM's X540 Toyota Chaser was a tribute to the company's involvement in JTCC ( The Japanese Touring Car Championship to you and I.) where it dominated it's class with a Toyota Chaser in 1998.

With some minor upgrades to the 2JZ GTE, it upped the power to around the 315hp mark which hauled almost 1500kgs of weight through a 5 speed gearbox.

The Chaser does however run into the same issue as the Griffith as in it'll understeer going into the turns because it's still a luxury car and it's still got to accommodate everyday driving.

Without a stock Chaser to compare it to,
I've decided to use the '91 Toyota Aristo instead.

Both have the fabled 2JZ engine, both are luxury cars and both are rear wheel drive.

Now the Aristo in game has CS tyres (IIRC) stock whereas the Chaser has SH tyres, Now imagine if the Stock Chaser was in the game as well, you can be sure it would've had CS tyres as standard like the Aristo.

Granted the tune up of the X540 Chaser is definitely mild, but it's also one of the cheapest Tuner cars in the game at just 50k so that can be rectified.

If you however, factor in the understeer and the fact that it doesn't feel as energetic as you expect in acceleration in stock form, it is unfortunately a Beater. 👎

Next up The ASL Garaiya GT300 Base Model.

The one that was being tested was the Nissan VQ V6 powered model, but seeing an opportunity to stand out and also make a point, I picked the older SR20 Turbo powered model. :D

2 things in favour of the older car, It's lighter by 50kgs and is HALF the price of the newer model at 250k.

Things against the older car, less powerful, isn't premium, has a lower performance ceiling if both cars are tuned and doesn't have the option to be painted.

Was the newer car worth double the price compared to the older car? It depends on what you do with it.

If left stock, then no as the older car can do the job just as good for half the price.

If you want your car to stand out and have more potential when tuned and you can stomach the extra 250k you pay for it, then yes go for it.

They both handle about the same, quick, but can get real tail happy if you push it past it's limits.

So if compared to its older brother, stock for stock it's a Beater. 👎

If judged on its own merits, Its a very capable Sleeper. 👍

And last but by no means least, The original "Hot Hatch.

The 1976 VW Golf GTI.

The car that showed that practicality didn't have to be boring. :P

Packing a 1600cc fuel injected 4 cylinder engine, it made around 110hp, hauling only 820kg by the front wheels through a 4 speed manual gearbox.

Even though some of the drivers were concerned about understeer, I found the Golf to be quite responsive and fun to drive even when racing around a very wet Nurburgring. :D

During our nights racing, our resident comparo driver @JackRyanWMU brought out the early 2000's Golf GTI to compare.

I flat out said that it was going to lose at Laguna despite his car packing more power simply because of the weight difference, 820kg to 1280kg. :eek:

And no prizes for guessing what happened. :D :lol:

And looking at the other stats it's no surprise either, despite the dealership specs saying his car had just under 150hp and the old Golf had just under 110hp, there was only 2PP difference between them.

And the kicker? The old Golf is less than half the price at 15k to his Golfs 31.5k. :sly:

So the original Hot Hatch still has the moves to outrun its younger brother despite the 25 year gap. :bowdown:

Verdict: Sleeper ;)👍
 

Welcome to "Racing Life With Vic", Jack. The sitcom where "Vic wins lol" (trademark Niku 2016) and everyone else wished he wasn't so damm good! Sell it to HBO and watch those ratings grow tenfold... :sly: :lol:

As for the ye ol'GTI, I think I want to test something else. Jack got the Golf IV, but I'm not going that way for one simple reason; I despite the Mark IV GTI, it's a fat rich man who robbed a poor man of his fair proud name and used it for all the wrong things.

No, I know something else which can be used... (Possibly obvious) clue, I may have vouched for this particular car before in the past when it comes to COTW. :sly:
 
(Due to lack of time this week, there shall be no pics of the racing in the Golf.)

The Golf (And all the perks & problems!)

The Mk 1 Golf is believed by many to be the original hot hatch. Some will try to say it was actually the Autobianchi A112 Abarth, but I reckon the Golf was the more popular option. It packed a compact 110bhp engine, high tech equipment like fuel injection, and trimmed the weight down from the base model's 970kgs to 810kgs. With a top speed of some 110mph, you can see why it was considered a "hot hatch"!

On Gran Turismo however, it doesn't feel so exciting to drive. Granted, it's no slouch given the PP, but still it's no racecar. It has a great launch off the line, with a light, forgiving feel. Now naturally, being a FF, it will understeer horribly if you kamikaze into a corner expecting it to hold the line, but if you give it plenty of braking room and generally treat it the way any FF sportscar demands to be driven, you'll be fine. :sly:

The races this week were quite lonely. On Tuesday, I suspect the election had something to do with it, and on Saturday... I guess noone loves the Golf that much? :lol: However the Golf displayed some awesome pace and drivability. I had some awesome battles with the various drivers that did show up, though.

It's cheap, cheerful and packs a punch. Despite being the lowest PP car currently in my garage, I'd drive it again. Sleeper! 👍
I'll now announce the new car..
 
This week's racing was really quiet. This could be down to the fact that the Golf is a bit boring to drive, but thankfully Jack swung to the rescue!

Congratulations @JackRyanWMU!!!
Has it been too long since we've had an American car? Of course it has!

Good to see I wasn't the only one thinking this!! :cheers: What's in store for this week, bud?

Which is why I'm picking...
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The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28!!!!!

V8, rear drive, affordable and grunty!!! You won't wanna miss this week! ;)
This week's "Playing With TT's" will be held at the Laguna Seca circuit, because America.

Results from the Golf's TT...

1st @Draggon: 1:30.120
2nd @Baron Blitz Red: 1:30.611
3rd @RobboGTAddict: 1:32.031
4th @Cowboy: 1:33.403
5th @Thematic: 1:33.579

Do my eyes decieve me?! Ash's plucked the top spot for this week! :eek:
 
Do my eyes decieve me?! Ash's plucked the top spot for this week! :eek:

Ha, it's not often I best @Baron Blitz Red! I love that Golf, it really suits my driving style. Getting top spot helps the "love" too. I found it quite stabile, predictable, and easy to toss around. The Tuesday race at the 'Ring in the rain was one of my all time favorite events at COTW. Even with the limitations CS tires, I thought it pretty much went where its pointed, with a touch of handbrake needed to help rotation in the tighter corners. I did a comparison with a few other similar cars at Midfield and I found it to be the most consistent. Easy for me to give the verdict of: Sleeper 👍

 
The races this week were quite lonely. On Tuesday, I suspect the election had something to do with it, and on Saturday... I guess noone loves the Golf that much? :lol: However the Golf displayed some awesome pace and drivability. I had some awesome battles with the various drivers that did show up, though.

The election can justify a bad attendance number on Tuesday, as it was an important moment in 'Murica and whatnot, but there's no way it can justify such an empty lobby yesterday. Vic was the only true COTW regular (I say that because you joined rather recently, Nismo, mind you), and I'm pretty sure only three or so races were held before Nismo had to leave. I joined late and only had one race before Nismo's leave of absence, so...

The Golf isn't even that bad of car, despite not having driven it for long enough to describe it properly. My guess is that we are truly reaching the point of no-return for GT6, where most players online like to race dirty and nothing else while all the proper drivers jumped ship to other racing games in an attempt to defy PD (except that's only going to result in a GT game that lacks most of the things that made us fall in love in it to begin with).

After all, when was the last time we saw Mcclaren race on a Saturday? Being a Negative Nancy isn't going to help things much, I know, but this still both worries and saddens me. We do something that most GT6 online lobbies don't do, but yet even the regulars are stopping... The Camaro is a nice muscle car, but I just don't know if people care enough to drive it as things are currently.
 
After all, when was the last time we saw Mcclaren race on a Saturday?
McClaren actually asked me to take over Saturdays full stop a few months back, so he had more time to make his other content, I'd assume.

And we have actually been seeing some new drivers in the club, particularly on Saturdays. there's at least five I could name right off the beat, and others have recently expressed interest on Google+ on joining in. :sly:

I agree Niku, all good things must come to an end. But I think there's still a bit of life left in the ol' club. I hope to at least get to the end of the year, have a Car Of The Year and all the other awards that get dished out at the time..
 
Sorry Nate and Jack, but I'm pulling rank on this as I'd already contacted the winner. My phone is being repaired and won't be returned till Thursday at the earliest, thus I'm not able to keep up here and elsewhere on the internet.

Congratulations Braulioaej
, please help us keep our knuckles off of the ground...

I've got so many ideas it's hard to choose, but I'll go for the...

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It's the 1994 Cizeta V16T!!!!

It is my favorite kind of car, 80's-ish european supercar looks, pop-up headlights, and way more power than grip.

How much coke.... nevermind.

Congrats to Sauber for scoring points today as well!!!

This week's Playing With TTs! is at The Red Bull Ring, up now.
 
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McClaren actually asked me to take over Saturdays full stop a few months back, so he had more time to make his other content, I'd assume.

And we have actually been seeing some new drivers in the club, particularly on Saturdays. there's at least five I could name right off the beat, and others have recently expressed interest on Google+ on joining in. :sly:

I agree Niku, all good things must come to an end. But I think there's still a bit of life left in the ol' club. I hope to at least get to the end of the year, have a Car Of The Year and all the other awards that get dished out at the time..

Well I guess good ol'MC wanted to prove both of us wrong, huh...? Although for me, the new car choice isn't exactly better; the Cizeta is better known for its controversial backstory than good driving dynamics, and it isn't the easiest to drive when it comes to supercars. But if MC has decided such, it can't be overruled...

Maybe the influx of new drivers is a good thing, but only if they can display good driving etiquette and respect other drivers. Having new blood isn't nice if said blood is dirty...
 
Oh yes, the Cizeta has quite an interesting story. Had Chrysler not bought Lamborghini back then, this is what we'd call today a Lamborghini Diablo, or at least something very very similar. All the people who were responsible for this car were ex-Lamborghini employees, including the designer obviously, as you could have deducted by what I said above. Only 19 examples were made during its time, but it's still possible to order one today or so Wikipedia says, only it's about 3 times more expensive. The car was meant to be named Cizeta-Moroder V16T, but Giorgio Moroder and Claudio Zampolli (two of the responsible guys for Cizeta) parted ways.

I expect this car will receive a "beater" verdict by most due to its handling, and I can only agree.This thing requires full attention and careful acceleration control to keep itself straight. If you're one of the folks who use SRF you should be quite alright tho. Another supercar that is super fun but not super competitive. Won't win you any races unless the other guys are using their toes or something.

Sorry for those who may have been disappointed by the change of car although it had already been picked before. :)
 
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I'm afraid there's more to the Cizeta story than there should be... And it's not pretty.

In an Internet forum called Ferrarichat.com, a man named Brian Wiklem was promoting his lifelong work, a full book on Cizeta-Moroder and the V16T's story. With no one expecting it, another user who was seemingly Claudio Zampolli (one half of Cizeta-Moroder, and the man who would go on to finish the V16T project) kickstarted a stream of accusations towards Brian and his partner. Invasion of privacy, promoting false information; you name it, Claudio threw it at Brian (who posted in the forum under the alias Jet-X). Apparently Brian dug up information that put Claudio on a bad spot(ergo, the bad kind of information), and Claudio didn't want any of it.

As I said, it's not pretty. And it's one of the primary reasons as to why I can't like the Cizeta, either as a car story or just a straight-up car. For me, the Cizeta is more overblown Hollywood drama than supercar, and things like this don't really help. You can see it for yourself here, but word of warning; your hair strand strength will be put to the test with the amount of crazy, nonsensical things your eyes will see...
 
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