Beater or Sleeper? GT6 Car of the Week Thread

Does anyone know if the car has anything in common with the Mazda MX-3/AZ-3 1.8L V6?

 

A quick research brought up an answer to that: They are both from the same series of engines (the K engine series, to be exact), but not much more than that. The MX3's K8 engine has a smaller displacement (in fact, one of the smallest production V6 in history), with power ranging from 130 hp (US trim) to 144 hp, and it was only used on the MX-3\AZ-3 and the Eunos 500.

The Lantis's engine, the KF, has more power and a bigger displacement (being a 2.0 as opposed to the MX-3's 1.8). It had various states of tune, power ranging from 140 hp to the 170 hp that can be found on our Lantis. It was used in the Mazda MX-6, the Eunos 500, the Xedos 6 and 9, and the Efini MS-8, amongst others.

Also, they share the same platform, but that's about it.

 

The MX 3's EC platform shares much with the 323F's BG platform, but aside from that not much else.

Fun fact of the MX 3, it had the smallest V6 ever for a car sold in Europe and America. Japan had a 1.6 V6 in a early Lancer and Mirage.

 

That Lancer part I wasn't aware of. A 1.6 V6 engine!? If anything, that's an ode to the Japanese's masterful ways of using small spaces wisely.

 

Yup, the Mitsubishi 6A10 is the smallest-displacement V6 ever produced. That is so cool!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_6A1_engine#6A10

138 hp / 7,000 rpm
108 ft-lb / 4,500 rpm

It definitely deserves to be in the game.

 

And here I thought the 2.0 V6 thing was one of the famous Gran Turismo mis-prints we have all come to know, live with, expect and laugh at... I honestly did not know that was real! Thanks for the edumacation people!

Cheers

 

Well, PD may have accuracy issues with some cars, but the Mazda is a Japanese car after all. It should be their ballpark. And yes, some things that the Japanese do are a bit hard to believe, but they know their cars.

 

In stock form, this car is a beater
Have yet to tune it a bit to see what it do.

 

Interesting/exciting news to share at tonight's races. Hope everyone can make it.

 

Unfortunately I have to pass again until next week and or another night. Have fun!

 

Boosted it to 475 PP and trounced both Gasparini and Pulkkinen at the present 500 PP Seasonal.

Off to test it in stock form right at the COTW races . . . even as we speak. Came here to say that.

Isn't GTPlanet a most useful utility?

 

Back - but just for a quick and urgent fly-in.

Sorry about the mess-up at the beginning of the Sierra event; had a good chance of pulling it off there (especially after Vic had given me the 'Blessing of Good Luck' ) and totally blew it - I went throttle-crazy when I saw myself in the lead.

More later about the Lantis when I return.

Had to quit somewhat abruptly due to a domestic issue - my apologies about that, too.

Bye for now.

 

A Tour of @Lantis...
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In the COTW spotlight this week is the Mazda 323F / Lantis Coupe 2000 Type R '93!



I chose to pick up the Lantis version just because its name sounds much cooler than the plain old 323F, and it's also 40kg's lighter than the 323F version. In GT6, before the oil change it shows as 381pp, with a 167hp with 132.3 ft-lbs of torque V6 engine to bring the 1200kg FF drivetrain car up to speed. Just as a comparison, I looked up Automobile Catalog.com for the real world specs...

http://www.automobile-catalog.com/car/1993/1657760/mazda_lantis_5door_v6-2000dohc_type-r.html



As always, racing with COTW crew brings out some good performances, and last night was no exception. In a couple of races the results were exceptionally close, with 4 or 5 people coming within a second or so of each other! So does a night of fun, filled with great racing equate to a Sleeper of a car???



Sadly no... but the Lantis Type R is no where close to being the worst car, even for an FF. I even tried another FF car last night that was very close in stats as a comparison, and quickly went back to the Mazda. But it confuses me... some tracks it did pretty good, and it even got me a rare win, while on other tracks... . So after trying it on a bunch of different tracks, I have come to conclusion that I just don't like it. I just can't get enough of a consistent feel for the car to get good results at any point in time. It's a Beater in my mind that may have potential if I was willing to invest more time into finding a tune for it.

Cheers

 

Great title pun there, @Baron Blitz Red. That reminded me, I really need to stop being lazy and do some reviews. By the way, can I ask a question? What tires do you think are the best ones to get a proper feel for a car (the best one for each of all three types of tires)?

Also, I want to suggest an idea. How about we create a thread solely for the purpose of showcasing our reviews of the cars? Everbody could contribute with a review of the COTW of whatever week is the current, and people could give some feedback on them. What do you think? Good idea or bad idea?

 

Thanks @Niku Driver HC ! As for the tires... for the longest of times I was convinced that Sports Medium brought out the best in the majority of cars. Realistically though, they are never used in career mode or (in my short experience) online for that matter.

As for the review thread idea, I don't really see much of a difference between that and this one... in my opinion. On the other hand, @McClarenDesign has links in his signature to his other reviews for COTW cars. It's up to you on how you proceed, and if I do find it, I might hit the famous Like button if I find something that makes me smile or more. I personally wouldn't do 2 separate reviews for 2 different threads, and the copy and paste thing may raise the ire of the Mod Team here on GTP.

Again, I'm just voicing my opinion as you asked...

Cheers

 

Thank you for your feedback, there is no problem with voicing your opinion. As long as it is a reasonable, well-made one.

So, would you say that the category of tires a car comes with should be the category used for testing? If a car comes with Confort tires, should I test with the given tires or change to softer tires inside the same class? What is your feedback on this question, @SuzukaStar?

As for the review part, I do suppose having a separate thread might be somewhat redundant considering what you said. Keeping the reviews on this thread is probably the wisest decision.

 

Depends on what you are aiming for... we do the as is thing here for the COTW, and that's fair to judge a car as it sits. When I was using the Sports Medium tires it gave me a sense of consistency no matter what the car was, as I was used to that compound. It's hard to say advice-wise, as everyone has their own preferences. Follow your instincts, as only you know how you like to drive. @SuzukaStar did an entire series of testing on CH tires if I remember correctly, probably for consistency, but you might ask him to be sure.

Cheers

 

When I did my first batch of testing at Suzuka, I thought Sport Hards were the best all-round tire to judge a cars' performance capabilities. Anything more was overkill for 99% of cars in the game.

Since my second round of testing, at Laguna Seca on Comfort Hard tires, I lean more towards Comforts for fun factor and realism. If I do Suzuka time trials again for GT7, I'll probably go with Comfort Mediums or Softs.

 

Thank you very much for the feedback Suzka, I guess Confort tires will be my way to go. For higher power cars I might use Sports tires, but for most of these cars Confort tires seem good enough.

 

Well, i noticed that the 323F has the lantis badge on the back instead of a 323F badge, and i would know, considering a 323F is usually outside my house.
Nice attention to detail, PD.

 

Well, that's an "Oops" moment. It really is the little things that count with cars, isn't it?

 

Talking about 'tires/tyres' or more specifically rubber - I'll go with compounds that can take the appropriate speed loaded on them.
For instance I have SH/SS (depending on the available torque/hp) on my immensely powered Nardo, but RH on my Bentley Speed 8.
CS for a lower-powered car and CH for the smaller crapboxes. If I take one of the small crapboxes and turn it into a pocket-rocket, then I might go up to CS/SH.

Not engraved in stone. It's a game. Do what you want.
When you are engaged in simulation to the max - well then - remember to put damage on. It effects the rubber. And everything else that effects the rubber, too.

And of course, while this is a 'debate' (conversation?) about rubber that can very well have its own thread (and most certainly there is a multitude of such discussions around, here in this forum as well as elsewhere) when it comes to relating it to the 'sleeper/beater' concept then what, I believe, is regarded as stock is the virtual machine we receive from the dealer (or elsewhere brand-new unmodified cars are available) and is run with the minimum of modification, taking that such things as TC, ABS, etc can be tweaked.
As soon as any part on that car is changed (not counting fresh oil) then it goes from being 'stock' to 'modded'.

I participate in this series because it gives me a chance to run stock cars live with a field of runners that are not only consistently fast, but also run the same car stock against me.
The only difference is in the settings we use - I drive manual, with ABS 1. Everything else off. But the host of this series provides with the field with the car as 'stock' which means players are allowed to use whatever settings come with the car. You can't change your rubber. But you can change your traction control. The choice of grip is up to the player.

 

Let's keep it to the one thread. I had been toying with the idea of another thread in the Video section, naturally for our videos. But in the end, this is easier to maintain and well organized. At this time it does not appear to be broken.

That said, thanks for the suggestion. I'm always open to ideas!

The differences in grip are trivial and minute. I use what the car came with stock, because if you can't handle stock, you won't improve anything with a tune. In the end, it's a matter of personal choice and philosophy. There is no wrong answer, and don't believe anyone that tells you otherwise.

 

First of all, thank you for answering my question. Glad to hear that you are always open for suggestions.

I do suppose that keeping reviews on this thread seems to be working so far. It's that adage of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", right? Then, it is better not to fix what is not broken...

That said, for the tire question, it does seem that I asked a question with many answers and no clear one to pick,eh? But after seeing and reading all the feedback, I'll go for driving the car with the given class of tires. If it is a car like the Lantis, I'll choose Confort Softs. If it is a car like the Spyker, I'll keep the given Sports tires. Following my gut instinct on this is the best choice for me. As you said, it is a matter of personal preferences and philosophy. Therefore, there is no clear (or wrong) answer to this question, it is our answer and nothing else.

Again, thank you all for your feedback, you were all very kind.

 

Yeah, I've been meaning to mention that. This polite (expletive) needs to stop right (expletive) now!
j/k

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What we learned this week. First, poor adaptation of front wheel drive set up can turn any small coupe into the definition of a woefully understeering Beater.

And Second, judging by my inexplicable win at the Brickyard, we learned that even a blind mouse can find the cheese once in a while.

 

It's not inexplicable @JackRyanWMU... as previously discussed, you have improved dramatically over the course of the hundreds of races we do just for the COTW! Personally, I think you are the most improved player among the ones that are the regulars or even the casual racers that show up once in a while. As part of the regulars, you and I share something in common... we have no choice but to improve just to keep up!

Cheers

 

Vic mentioned that last night. I'm not entirely sure it's 100% accurate, though. While my consistency has improved, my speed has remained the same. With lower powered cars, I could keep up and give Vic a run for his money. With the Lantis, I got left behind.

I honestly think PD has done something to their servers, improving (but not entirely fixing) the latency factors between different countries. Basically, we're all on the same page now, whereas before, Lewis and Vic were turning the page while we were still reading.

That said, I have noticed your skill improve, as with Baron's and proton's.

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@photonrider why put a rear spoiler in an understeering FF car? To provide even more understeer? Makes no sense to me.